MR. BARFF'S MEETING.

West Coast Times, Issue 164, 28 March 1866, Page 2

MR. BARFF'S MEETING.

A crowded meeting was held at ,tho Shakapere Hotel last eyeningj .at •whicji Mr Barft gave an account at sbnie leiigth of the part he had taken in the Provincial Council since his election. Mr Gibson was called to the chair, and briefly intimated to the audience that the meeting had been called for the purpose of giving Mr Barff an opportunity of ren~ dering an account of his etewardshid, and concluded by introducing that gentleman to the meeting, Mr Barff came forward amid Co«sid«;f-' able applause | atid, in giving ah epitoing 6f hiS actions in the Council, stated thathis first notice of motion in the House had been one asking the, Government tpky. upon the table a return of the entire, revenue raised in, and the expenditure Upon, the West Coast. Those return's) had been laid upon the table some time afterwards, and he need only state that they caused general dissatisfaction on this side of the province. He next brought forward a notice of motion, asking the Government if they intended to take any steps to place the ferries of the West Coast under Government supervision, as in the eastern part of Canterbury. He had introduced this, measure from being painfully aware by experience that iii many instances ndt only was the traveller overcharged, tyut also life, was frequently endangered, in consequence of either the inefficiency of the boatmen; or frbifi ih'& unseaworthiness or bad equipment of the boats themselves. The Government had promised to devote their attention to the matter. (Hear.,) He (Mr Barff) had likewise endeavored to obtain the establishment of a Court of Mines for the district, but the Government had replied that the General Assembly only had power to deal with the question. In all probability, a Miner's Court of Appeal would be established here shortly* (Applause*), His colleague and himself had sat on & Committee appointed to investigate the 1 claims of thdse who had made application for the reward offered for the discovery of a payable Goldfield in the province. Albert Hunt had on all sides the credit of having not only discovered, but developed, the Goldfield ; but all he had received in the shape of reward^ was £200. The esr tablißhment of Mining Boards, Mr Barff said, he considered a great necessity, and instanced a case in which part of the Mining Regulations had been withdrawn without the alterations having been gazetted. In alluding to the Estimates, he . said it was hardly necessary to mention that he had objected to the expenditure on the Overland RoaU and Escort; ' although without avail (cheers) ; soni6 alterations had, however been effected, at his suggestion. The first was the placing the sum of L2OO upon the Estimates for the purpose of procuring a Manby's Apparatus for the port of Hokitika, and a like sum for Greymouth. However, only the one sum had been granted under the head of contingencies for this port. The sum of .L2OOO had been struck off at hid suggestion from the amount proposed for the erection of buildings for Warden's re 1 * sidenCes, &c, so there remained that sum to be devoted to other and more useful ' Eurposes. (Cheers). Other alterations he ad likewise managed to get effected, by which L 4500 had been added to the sum devoted to the construction of .local roads, tracks to new diggings, &c. (Loud applause). The proposed sale of auriferous land on the Coast had, he was happy to say, for the time, been frustrated, in spite of the attempts of the Government to carry their measure. (The speaker then read extracts from the correspondence which" took place between the Government and certain officials upon the subject.) All this correspondence went to prove that the land proposed for sale was highly auriferous. When the reserves were under discussion in a fnll committee of the House, he (Mr Barff) had obtained a distinct' pledge from the Secretary for Public 1 Works, on behalf of the Government, that in all cases in which streets v^ere altered,,, or reserves made, if any prior rights existed' to the land, compensation should be given. (Loud cheers). During the past session he had called the attention of the Provincial Solicitor to the unsatisfactory and un* pleasant position in which the inhabitants of Hokitika and Greymouth were placed, with regard to the formation of Electoral Rolls. The matter , was generally understood to be one with which the General Assembly only could deal. After a few more observations upon various topics, Mr Barff resumed his seat amid loud and continued applause. Mr Prosser came forward and said he entirely agreed with what had fallen from his colleague. They had fought the battles of the district side by side, and he hoped not without some beneficial results. After some remarks upon ■ the proposed sale of waste lands, Mr Prosser sat down amidst loud applause. ! ' -* < ■ Several questions were then put to Mr Barff, all of which he answered satisfactorily. It was proposed by Mr Swanson and seconded by a gentleman in the body of the hall, " That a vote of thanks be given to Mr Barff for the manly aud straightforward manner in which he had represented the district in the Provincial Council. This, on being put to the meeting, was carried without a single dissentient voice. A vote of thanks was given to the chairman, after which three hearty cheers Were given for Mr Barff, and the proceedings terminated.

Mr Moorhouso has sincohis election visited, the Kanieri and Grey Gold-fields, and will proceed to Okarita boforo his roturn to Christchurch. Tho hou. member yosterday intro- 1 ducod to his Honor tho deputation from the Improvement Committee, and took part in tho di§oußßion of tho local mutters submitted to the Superintendent. The New Zealand Advertiser, rofomng to Mv Sowell's visit to England says : — "'Mr' Henry Sewell proceeds to England by tho ship Wild Duck. Few pooplo in this country will rogret Mr SowoU's departure, and a si ill less number will miss him. Olovor and shrewd iv, politics, ho was over roady to sot' his sails to ■ oatoh tho passing brcezoj and ho bocamo so. used to tins sort >of tiling, that ho lost all political prinoiplo, and ho could not bo trusted by any party. Mr SowolJ, as Mv Weld's Attomey&oiioral.' was nearly as much a source of weakness to tho administration as Mr FitzGorald as Notivo' Minister, and botween thorn thoy accomplished moro harm to tho Government than could well bo oaloulated. Howevor, Mr Sowell is goiug li'oin us j and while wishing him a spoody and prosperous voyage to the mothor country, wo would recommend him to oxoroiso moro caro ,in. making statomonts with reference to this colony than has hitherto ohavnotorisod Uun litre," ■ ' , i >n\