PARLIAMENTARY. THE PIAKO SWAMP DEBATE CONCLUDED. House of Representatives, Wednesday, 7.30 p.m.

Waikato Times, Issue 642, 1 July 1876, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY. THE PIAKO SWAMP DEBATE CONCLUDED. House of Representatives, Wednesday, 7.30 p.m.

Mr FyJ:e resumed, and stigmatised the charges of corru t jtion as the inventions of diseased miuJs. The debate would do good, as it would teach new members not to believe the reckless charges made by the O|)p wjition leader against Ministers. Mr H H Lusk said the question was not a party one. He stated that additions of land worth £'20,000 had been made to the original grant. Commercially therefore the transaction was a bad one for the colony. Tie stigmatised the acfc of the Government as There was no conceivable action of corruption which, could so upset the confidence of the people ia the impartial administration of the Government. No action of the Government could be more disastrous to the interests of the people of Auckland. Referring to the defence set up for the Government by the member for Waikato, he said there were public meetings held for the purpose of endorsing the action of the Government as a beneficial transaction in tht district, butthese meetings were got up by people more or less interested in 'the Piako Swamp works. Many of the people around Hamilton depended upon these works for their daily bread. The storekeepers of that place depended as much, upon the spending of the earnings of the hundred men employed upon these work« as the men themselves depended upon those who carried on the works, and it was «*ot in human nature that either -class shonld cry out against what they all' depended upon. But there were other meetings which endorsed the action of the hon member for Auckland City West, and amongst them he could point to meetings held at Ngaruawahia. These meetings did not want Abolition to be gone on with until this Piako buamyss was cleared up. The Hon Major Atkinson maintained that the debate Had been ma le essentially a party one. Each ra -mbcr of tue Opposition who spoke had charged the Ministry with corruption, and uot.bly their leader, Sir George Grey, who had said — "-Yob (Ministers) have betrayod yonr publis trust ; you have robbed the people of their property, find given it to your friends. w There was moi r evoo. than that which the hon member had said, but which did not appear in " Hansard." Ho produced the land >office mapi, anddelied Sir Q Gnsy or any -member to show that the area of the gr mt had been altered. Mr Joyce said the operations of the Piako Company wero considered a great benefit to the Waikito district, but he knew a Compmy in Southland thai spent thousands where the Piako Company spent hundreds on swamp land. T-he Company was at one time thought to be a irreat blessing to the district ; but Southland descovered now, when too late, that the same Company was the greatest obst.icleto the progress and settlement of the place. Mr G McLean .said he had taken some troublo to go to Waik.ito solely to examine the tJw.imp himself, and tho result was, tli.it ho was couvmced that it could never h tv© oeen*de.»lt with save by a powerful Coin[),niy. It w.ts all nonesen.se to say y.m oonld settle 4i')o families upon it. There was no comparison Ivtween the Pinko Swamp and the Taieri Plains. There w.ia not the slightest comparison between the Piako Company aud that referred to by the member for Wallace. Ti'ie G >voriiraent hud euly promised to deal with this •matter by legislation, and .they endeavoured to do i>u by iMB-.iii / a bill through, that Hou*e. Through some uutoresee.i delay in prepai iu<( the surveys of the Swamp, they were not r^ad^ until shortly l>Rforetij j op'ningof Parliament, when tl^ Government at once issued Oners la Council, a/.d that Ji.td bten tatisfuctoi ily explained already. Sir Donald McLean biM he was the person nio-st responsible for the tvam> iefion. Ir. was conducted, not in secrecy, but ope ily, fair.j, and honourably. There was nobiii'j^ in common between himself aud Mr JJuesell to induce him to q ant him any aJvautag? He took all borta of precautions to preserve any rights attaching to it. Tho country was in so peculiar a state as to justify a course different from ordinary. Up the Piako River there was a very dangerous nest of disaffected natives, who prevented any vessel going up the Piako River. Years ago he sailed over that Swamp in two cauoes. with nothing to guide them but the trees, and natives told him that may lives were lost ia sailing orer the Swamp. It was a regular sea. Mr Button was satisfied with the explanation given by the Government. As a member of the legal profession, he thought that the Governor had the most ample powers to do as he had done. Mr Hodgkinson characterised the transaction lisa" Swampy" one. Mr Andrew deprecated the action of Sir George Grey in wasting the time of | the House under the pretence of a flimsy -charge. It was a 'breach of propriety. Sir Julius Vogel -replied, and a divisicoi having been taken on Mr Stout's amendment, there was for it, Ayes, 20 :—: — Messrs Brandon, J C Brown, Burns, JDe La Tour, Dignan, Fisher, Hamlin, Hodgkinson, Joyce, Lusk, Murray, Nahe, Rees, Rolleston, Stout, Swanson, Shrimski, Thompson, Tole, W Wood. Noes, 52 : — Messrs Andrew, Atkinson, Biillance, Barff, J E Brown, Bunny, Button, Baigent, Bastings, Bryce, Carriu""ton, Cor, Curtis, Mandei's, Montgomery, Moorhouse, Murray- Ay nsley, Ormood, Pearce, Pyke, Read, Reynolds, Richmond, Richardson, Rowe, Russell, Sir R Douglas, Messrs Fitzroy, Gibbs, Henry, Hunter, Hursthouse, Johnson, Kelly, Kennedy, Larnuch, Macfarlane, G McLean, Sir Donald McLean, Messrs Sharp, Stafford, Stevens, Taiaroa, Tawhiti, Tribe, Tej>chemaker, Sir Julius Vogel, Messrs Whsou, Williams, Wakefield, Woolcook. Majority for Government : 32. On the oricri ra l motion being put, the Ayes weredeelared to have it, but Mr Stout called for a division. The following was the reealt: — Ay-en, 51. Noes, 11). Majority ifbr Government, 32.