PARLIAMENTARY. House of Representatives. Friday, August 18.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 664, 22 August 1876, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY. House of Representatives. Friday, August 18.

THE COUNTIES BILL. The Prrmier, in moving the second rending of the Counties Bill, tnnde ■ long upeech, in which, bteidtt commenting up»r> the leading features of the Bill, and announcing certain important alterations to be made in it* principles, read eever»' tnb^f of extracts and computations relating to local government, both here and at home, at exemplified ra the count j its' em in the one country, andßoid Boards in the other. These were intended to thow the superior advantages of the county nyttera ovrr other forms of local government (or the pnrpocet of prosecuting jmSlic works, raising money, and carrying on rtie ordinsiy functions of locil government. He pointed out that the present boundaries of counties laid down in the Bill were not arbitrary, as the withes of the people in Severn] districts mutt b« tikm into consider ion j *nd thit, in fact, from the very nature of the system Anil Ihe configuration of dutric'?, thn size of coun'ies mast greatly vary. In illustration, he instanced the county of Y<>rk in Snglnni, in whioh were over 2,">00,000 inh lbitants. In order to prevent di"atiifnctton nmong-t people in ony part of tbe colon t, it w s proposed to make th<f Bill prrmi'iive, so that if people wiahrd not to avail themielves of it tbey n<*ed not do so | hut cren then provis op was muds to enable them to avail themsplvcr of the fi- tnciol arrangement* of the Bill, th 'uah they miglit not be nble to taks advantage of the other mirhiner; of the m asurp. It was proposed that the first election of councillors thonid bo for — ye»w, and the second for three year*. Ho thought a great deal could be said on both tHes of the question as to whether oh virmen of county councils should have *eat# in the Antcmbiy. He professed himself t-> be at a loss to understand tha opposition of the Anckland members to the Bill. If ther<» wot one pine more than another that would benefit by the measure, it was Auckland ; and, indeed, the Auokland members had a very great influence in di'tei mining the form of thris nioasures. r lbey were al»o influenced hy the outcry of Auckland when Separation w»» first moved againot as being erecinlly deilt with in the way of If q Mat ion. He asked thn a«ittanee of the House to pass the BiH. a» it would bs a inrcat misfortune to the folony if th« sesxion closed without this Bill becoming law. He r'epreontrd tbe endeavoun whioh wpt* made to keep ibe people snd the Gorernavnt from nrrivinff at *omc bu»in<"*«-Hl<e vind«r«tnndin? wi'b rrgtrd to tbfir mtdt, and what. irutMt 1> to apply.

Sir Geoive Grov. in irn>v» 2 ilni . he Bi'l b* rend fchat day six month", ace sod the Prcn>if. r ,,f jowint; dissension between the p> yin c* t and th© Canterbury nicirt hern of miling the 3-o?emm»nt to depr.<© A 1 'kland of Ie • rights in conseq jciiic t f a i arrangement or unarr.-itauding nctw fa 1 c-m r. sp'cting the (enure ot pinkral lands. He denouncsd tlio Bill us the moft objectionable cv r introMicrd in au> ciriltsed nesfmbly, as it rodoe i tt.e peo • c of their iustitut'Ons and lands, and tvoird make them ■vlfMi an I slavei to th ci >nejrd canes. The whole spnit of I c Bill was properly, proven,), p'opeity He wondered how any man, who had tiie hardihood lo mfr >dnce iueli a Bill, could be allowed t!iec<u(rol over the destinies of a great colonj like this, and plnce upon the poor classet th • burden of th 1 immens* debt which lie rrckltsslj •■juandered, and made his fiiem'i uch by. Peop'p did not know of the tricks nu<l deceptions by which ih-ir present in t tutiors— incomparably superior to iho^e proposer! — were bein* altered, and tlie^e iilterationi must bring disaster upon th.m in the future. They ousjht to be allowed time to make up thfir mi. ids. Mr M under s ttroDgly supported the Bill. The House rose at I lie usual Loan