(Per Press Agency.) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday. THE AGENT-GENERAL.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 674, 7 October 1876, Page 2

(Per Press Agency.) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday. THE AGENT-GENERAL.

lii the Legislative Council to clay, The Hou. Mr Wa erhome aikod the following qii' stioiu of the lion Dr Polleu :— From what date Sir Juhut Vcgul will commence to draw salary as Agent-General ? Whether or not the Government )• to pay the cost of tho passage to England of Sir Julius Vogel aud hii family ? Whether or not travelling allowance* will bo paid during such voy.\»«, and if so, at what rate per diem? Whether or not the Agent*

Gi-iicr&l will bo rccjuned to devote the whole of lua tmio to the duties of tin oHico ? Whethtr or nob ho will 1 n ca'le i upon to fin I seourify f yr the disth^rgo of hia duties ? Th« Hou DPolleu'repliedasfolloweiSir Julma Vo^el would diaw laUry from the (Lite of hid appuiutuitnt. Qt the pasiage* rcfe-nl to m tiia qiuatiou, twoj would I c paid for. Travelliug allowances would not be m»do; as to the fourth queutioD, Yes ; and to tho last, the previous Agent-General had not been called upon for B( cunt}', and the Government did not think tht-meelvot justified in making & diffetcnce between tiir Julius Vogel and j the gentleman who had previously held the appointment. A clause, at the inatanoe of the Hon. Mr Hart, wao introduced into the Debtm and Creditors Bill for the appointing of provisional trustees in the place of Registrar of the Supreme Court ; and tru*teea are to be appointed by the Registrars.

DuNEDiy, Wednesday. MR MAO ANDREW'S REPLY TO THE GOVERNOR, The following is the reply of Mr Macandrew to the Governor :—": — " I have the houor to acknowledge the riceipt late yesterday of your telegram in leply to mine of the previout day. I now venture to expiess my deep regret that y^.ur Excellency'a Government seem* to oe completely under a cloud, both as to ' the practical eflects upon Otago of Abolition, and as to the feelings of the people thereupon. 1 admit that there is a very small minority in favour of Abolition, inasmuch as the interest s of many of !bem oie hk< ly to bo served thereby, although at the oxpeuou of the community. 1 ol serve that your Government attribute the strong feeling which exists against Abolition to misreprekeuti.tion and agitation, for whioh they bod me, in a great manure, responsible. This is a grave cbaige agniDst myself and others, which la utterly without foundation. In fact, it is, moreover, a poor compliment to the intelligence of the peiple, who, 1 would beg to assure jour Excellency, are perfectly competent to understand and judge for themselves in this matter, and who cannot but see in Abolition the dentruction of their proviucial entity, and the almost entiie abstraction of their local reveaues for colonial purposes, outside the province. This they regard -as a grievous wrong, which they at o determined to u>e every constitutiwual meios to avert. As it appears that no redrtss need bo looked for at the hands of your Excellency 'a Government, it only remains now to appeal to the Imperial authorities in the hope that whit is understood to bo the law o( the Empire will be mumt.ined, namely that constitutional privilegea once grauted to a. people are never taken away without their consent. Your Government deeply regieta that a Superintendent •hould venture to tell your hxcellency that the action of your advisers must, if pereialed id, le-mlt |tn the dismemberment of the colony. Kowing however, as I .10, the strong determination which animates thousands of taoie who are the stamina of Otago, not to submit to a poioy which is detrimental to their interests, and being forced upon them by what thoy beliove to be a minority of the people of tlie colony, I should be much to blame if 1 did not fell jour Excelteucy what i know and believe to be the tiuth. Indeed I might have gone faither, and said that, but for thef.es the people of Otago are a law abiding peopl", entertaining the utmost loyalty to her Mvjcsty and tbe Imperial Parliament, this determination ere now would have evinced itself in more decided action. Tnanking your Excellency for permission to publish which, I presume, applies to thia communioat on also, — 1 have, to., J. Maca.ndrkw. „ H'jUjsE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY. IS ABOLITION "ULIRA VIREb?" Iv the House this uflernoon, Sir Georgo Grey raised the constitutional question by asking Government if they would produce any opiuion or advice of the law officers of the Crown iv London to tbe efloct of the General Asfembly in regard to abolition, that it wa* ultra vires ? The Premier said they had not much opinion or advice, and .vfter explaining tho process that colonial Acts had to go through, affctr being sent home, and tbe scrutiny to whioh they were invuriabiy submitted by different law| ofliccrs vf tlie Crown, said he was justifiel m assuuj,ng that the Abolition Act hid been Jeft $0, its operation, Ho also explainetKtlat when bis Excellency, ,who"*was the Queeu'a dele/ate, asaei ted to the bill, piactically the Queen asstnted to it. Iv reply w a chaliaiye by Mr bheehsn, Mr VVhitaker gave it as his opinion, after mature consideration, that tbe Abolition Act was not wllia airat.

YYkdneskat. COUNTIES BILL. Sir George Grey proposed new boundaries for (JoromandeJ Ccuuty, wbiofa were agreed to, and the ulauda were struck out Irom that aud the Tbamw County Sir Genrgo G^ey and Mr Rowe proposed amendmeuta viituitlly ainountinir to the aiidfion of half the Piako County to the Thames, which were opposed bv Mr Murray and Mr YVhitak«r. The proposal was carried by 37 to 26. The other half of> the Puko County was ad Jed to the Waikato County