Provincial Council.

The Speaker and all the members.;-.;' , »,.The - jninut.es of., the; last meeting.. Were Tead and confirmed; T. : ' ',. •; ■,■ 1 .

1 : papers. . His HONOR the Superintendent laid on the table copies of :the Public Debts 1 Act,ari'A<st ■to authorise the £7,000,000 . loan, and an Act regulating the receipts ' and expenditure, of the* Colony y-' nlso further correspondence with the Bankof New Zealand;' The latter- was orderod to be printed. PAYMENT OF COUNTRY MEMBERS. Mr BUOHANAN moved— That an instruction to'the Committee of Supply to make no provision for the payment of . country members. —At the last sitting of the Council this amount was omitted from the Estimates; he had heard.from some of the •that this was done intentionally, to bo used by the Government as a means of coercion. At all events the. Estimates in this form received the sanction and fiat of his Honor the Superintendent. The item was subsequently inserted on the motion of. the .member for Waipukurau.' He had now 'been personally charged with delaying the business of the council in order to receive this small sum a few days longer. He did not ; choose to sit and be exposed to such taunts, but would use every endeavour to get the item struck out. In no other Colony in these seas was such an allowance made.. [Mr Obmond : How about Melbourne ?] It was not made in Melbourne. He had seen the evil of its not being made j but New Zealand was the only Colony that adopted it. Mr LOCKE seconded the motion pro forma.

Mr CARLTON, Baid that the hon. member admitted that he did not agree with the principle of his motion, but had brought it forward in consequence of a passage of arms with the member for Po rangahau, in which he got worsted. He considered that the majority of the members sustained a loss by being absent from their homes during the busiest portion of the year, and should ODpose the motion. Mr TANNER said the hon. member for the Country Districts did not say anything against the principle of the Bill. He considered the slightthrown upon that gentleman by the member for Porangahau as unworthy of him, and he believed all who heard the remark made were sorry for it. It was a remark let fly in the heat of the moment, and the lion, member would have done better to have treated it with the contempt it deserved. Certainly he had repaid the hon. member with interest for the dirt thrown at him. It was a fair quid pro quo , and neither gentleman had any fair ground of complaint. . The member for the Country Districts no doubt thought himself justified in delaying the hill when he knew of the petition; but be (Mr Tanner) thought the member for Porangahau really believed that chat gentleman had no legitimate ground for his opposition, and that his saying he wanted time was a mere ruse. He hoped the member would withdraw his motion. . Colonel "WHITMORE said he hoped the member for Porangahau would express his regret for the expression which had rankled in tho hon. member’s mind. He hoped that what was done in Australia would riot be taken as a precedent for New Zealand, for he thought the New Zealand people were as good as the Australians, or a few degrees better. He-should oppose the motion. Mr ORMOND would not have spoken had not a direct appeal been made to -him. He had only followed the example " of the member for Te Aute, in speaking of things said outside the Council. It wasvlorily about two daya-before that the member for the Country Districts had said “ If I had any charges against the member for Porangahau, - the Council knows me well enough to know that I would have made them to his face.” • Yet, soon after this, he heaped upon him a number of grossly personal charges. The inference was that the hon. gentleman lived in a place where he got his information very suddenly. His own words were sufficient to condemn him. He (Mr Ormond) thought that the allowance was insufficient for the expenses of the country members, but if the allowance was not made they would not come; To force these gentlemen to a vote on the subject was placing them! iu a - false position. It appeared to him that the hon; gentleman’s motion went "one way and his speeotaanotber.. He thought all that had satd|pnght as well have been in Comnmbterffq^npjply. -Mr A’DEANE satatfnat the object of the hon. - member in bringing this matter before the house , was to secure to himself . the privilege eornuch prized by the other sex—the last yvord§ or right of reply.•: He thought it -would have been more discreet . and courteous , on the part of- the member for. the town hot -to have seconded the motion, but to have let it die a natural death. He was not surprised at the course thevhon. member had taken to vindicate himself from the charge ofthe, member for Porangahau.yHe considered,it was the , only.; one open to .him under, ' the ■ circum- . stances.^; With. regard to the- allowance, hecbnßidereditwasveryinßufficient.vHe shpuldlrathee, ; vpte for its. increase than; for it».aboUHon,;and ; nocountry membersj-fromjjalsedeiicacyjwoaldsupr ; port; the hio t ion .s-He ;:wished 'he had: a Latin, proverb- to but as. he had not,-he would use an English one. . If. the country supp'orted-this theyi would; to -be .revenged on their-face.” ■ . ~

Mr BU OH AN AN, in reply, said he had brought; this motion forward to vindicate the.honour of gentlemen around. If they did||aot think‘ their honour; was at stake, fte could not help it. He would.;press the motion. \ ' . : 'y! , r . The motion was then put aridlpst. . ROAD THROUGH 70-MILE BUSH. .

Major LAMBERT brought up the Report of the Committee .on the\ 70-mile Bush road, and'moved that it be read. - > '"Agreed to. !• ','-■■■■■ :'. Major LAMBERT piovedrtbat it be printed... > 'y : -y. y- ..;'y Mr M,‘LE"ANobjeeted > ash& considered that it wias a needless expense. Mr BUCHANAN said,it was only in Tegular course to,have the report printed. It was a necessary preliminary to the consideration or adoption ,of the* report by the house.:- As it stood it was not the report of the, .Council, but merely of the five gentlemen who formed the committee, and it was" treating their comraijttee very cavalierly to object to print, the report. Any opposition to the mere printing of a report was most unusual.

Major LAMBERT was not prepared for any opposition to this motion; he looked upon the printing of a report as a matter of course. [Hear, hear.] . This report wa* drawn up. after due investigation, and should not be thrown aside. It really seemed as if a section of the Council wished to burke the report of their select committee. He trusted no further objection would be made. [Mr Ormond : The Government have no objection, except that it is a needless waste of public money.] He certainly had not expected any speeches on this motion, and must confess his surprise at the course the Government had adopted. Mr BUCHANAN said that in the General Assembly it was the practice to print every document that came before them, unless sufficient cause to the contrary was shown.' It was looked upon as a matter of course, and a motion for printing was always passed without comment. Mr RHODES said the Government had no objection to the printing of the report. The motion was then agreed to. HORSE NUISANCE BILL. Colonel WHITMORE moved that the Horse Nuisance Bill be read a second time. Considerable discussion ensued, and the general opinion ,of the Council being that the bill was impracticable, it was withdrawn. LOAN APPROPRIATION. Mr BUCHANAN said that after the correspondence which had been laid before the Council, no public purpose could be served by carrying this bill any further. He-would therefore move for leave to withdraw it. Leave granted. The Council then (6 p.m.)' adjourned to 7.30. '

SUPPLY. The Couneil met at 7.30, and went into Committee of Supply. " MR. ASHTON’S PETITION. Mr WOOD moved that the report of the Provincial Engineer on Mr Ashton’s petition be read. Agreed to, and read accordingly. [The report stated that the actual damage sustained was very slight; that if this claim was allowed, many others, much better grounded, would be brought forward; and concluded with a recommendation that a source of private profit be made out of a public calamity.] TOLLGATE BELL. The Council then went into committee on the Tollgate Bill. Mr Buchanan drew the attention of the committee to the resolution of the day that some other tax should .be substituted, and; protested against suspending the standing rules aud orders to rescind the resolution. Mr Wood declined acting as chairman, being personally interested in the bill, and almost every member was proposed to take his place, but all declined. The committee was therefore postponed till the following day. Major Lambert giving notice that he would then move that the resolution moved by the member for Havelock, be rescinded. - SLAUGHTER-HOUSE BILL.

This bill was then passed through committee and reported as amended to the Speaker, and the third reading 1 was made an order for next sitting day. The pouncil adjourned at 10.30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 16th OCTOBER. The Council met at 3 ,p.m. Present,— The Speaker arid all the members except Mr "Weston., ’ APPOINTMENT OF NEW CLERK

The SPEAKER- stated that the Clerkwas unable; from illness, to attend. On the motion of Major Lambert, seconded by Mr Sutton, 1 Mr Hamlin was appointed Clerk pro. tom; -

J, The; -minutes of, the last meeting were read arid confirmed. . . . COUNCIL-lIBBARY.

Mr CARLYON drew , the, attention of the Speaker, to. the inconvenienca arising from the yoluinea of statutes.not being properly arranged,. andsuggested that a shelf should be. ppt up r for : their dation.; ;/ .V.V,,-yAy j Col; WHITMORE complained that the library was sometimes used-. as; A - committee room, so tiiat membera had ringtheTecessitvirasopentoCallcpmers; andvolumes i had i ey,enbeeri:.taken.away.-' X <: The, SPEAJEERvsaid'hri/was.quite prer pared to -carry out -any suggestion that ytouldinvolve .only a moderate cost. ,

! : PETTY'tSESSIONS; ,;, v Major LAMBERT moved—* That thii Council is of opinion that it is expedient'that the Petty: Sessions Act, 1866, should be brought into operation so far as concerns the Electoral District of the Province of Hawke’s Bay, other, than the districts lying to the northward of the Ngamroro River. . " t-His reason for bringing this motion before the Council'was that there many gentlemen who were very' fond of the J.P. to their hainej. butdidnot care to perform the duties of. their'office.! The Petty Sessions Act would keep, these gentlemen to their duties. Appeal could be inade to the District -Judge, who would meet the magistrates once a quarter, - and the system would be much less expensive than appeal to tlie Supreme Court. The population of the district approved of the proposed alteration. ijj. Mr CARLYON seconded the motion. This of the most useful Acts tho New Zealand Government had ever passed. Mr Stafford had stated that he had applied to the nine provinces to know whether they were favorable to the Act beigg.put in force, and the only Province from which he had received a favorable answer was Auckland. This confirmed his (Mr C.’s) opinion that Auckland was the most sensible Province. He wished to know to whom in Hawke's Bay this application had been made, for he believed nine out of ten of the magistrates would be favorable to the Act coming into force ; and he thought it would prove a great l blessing. In the 12th clause it was provided that “ Justices not attending to their duties shall be removed from the commission of the peace.” For that clause alone he should like to see the Act enforced. He should like the District Court to be the. Court of Appeal. [He continued at great length with reference to the Supreme Court, saying that, with the exception of one case, all that the Supreme Court had ever done could have been done by the District Court at much ess expense.] .. Mr ORMOND would support the motion if it was confined to limited districts. For instance, it would be too far to drag people from Porangahau to petty sessions at Waipawa. He would move as an amendment—

That this Council is of opinion that it is expedient that the Petty Sessions Act, 1865, should be brought into operation so far as concerns the Provincial Electoral Districts of the Province of Hawke’s Bay, known as the districts of Waipuknran, Te Aute, and Hampden, and that the Speaker be requested to forward this resolution to the Colonial Secretary. —His Honor the Superintendent could answer tho question of the member for Te Aute with reference to the reply given to Mr Stafford. He could • not agree with that member as to the respective value of the two Courts, though he believed that the Distriot Court, which only cost £l5O a year, was of great benefit to the Province. He would be sorry to see any action taken to put a stop to the sittings of the Supreme Court.

Mr A’DEANE would support the amendment. He thought the Act would be very satisfactory to the people. Mr M‘LEAN cordially agreed with the amended motion, and considered it very desirable that Justice of the Peace should no longer be an empty title, but that the office should have duiies as well as privileges. It was he who had given Mr Stafford the answer referred to, and his reason was that there were many natives in a very unsettled state in the various districts. He looked upon the. member for Te Aute’s attack on the Supreme Court with great regret, and considered that it was the duty of every Englishman to uphold -the supreme Court to the best of his ability. .. Mr CARLYON explained that he had not attacked the Supreme Court; neither had he attempted.to weaken its influence. He had merely tried to dispense with a superfluous form. .

Major LAMBIjRT said* the amendment of the member for Porangahau met all that lie could desire.- He" was glad the Superintendent had explained how it was we had not had Petty Sessions before, but he thought it would have been only rightto have made the magistrates acquainted with the nature of his ..answer. He thought" too much respect could not be paid to the Supreme Court, the highest legal tribunal in the Colony.. Subsequently an amendment was moved by Mr Buchanan that the words “ Meanee and Havelock” be added to the motion. Major Lambert objecting, a diviiiori took place with the following, result:— Ayes, 11—Messrs. M ( Lean,Kennedy, Ormond, Buchanan, Locke, A’Deane, Tanner, Carlyori, Dolbel, "Wood, and Parsons. Noes, 2 —Messrs. Rhodes and Lambert. Mr CARLYON rrioved that the Speaker be requested to forward" the . resolution to the Colonial Secretary. . 1. ~ . ... . Agreed to.. .

, TELEGRAPH STATION. . ! Mr CARLYON’ moved— That Mr Speaker be requested to forward to the Colonial Secretary the resolution of this Council in! favor! of a Telegraph Station being erected at Waipawa. iri preference to "Waipukurau.

The motion, was agreed to after, a very long discussion. "■[

; GOVERNMENT LE ASES. Mr CARLYON moved—

T That the Provincial: Solicitor ‘shall riot! be entitled ; m? officio ■ to charge 1 purchasers of.; -land leased from the Government : with the costs iff "the lease and counterpart; ■ >!;' A, ! - •>/' '!,A; practice liad lately / arisen- for;: the Gbvernmenttoleaselandfrqmthenative pwners,,and,leaßeitagaintothe public.! the lease b fvpnii ;t)i\e,Ptoyiriouifl bp!.icitor, vyithout. referenpe;!to; any . other person whatever. A Now he found that the

chargirigfthe public who leased)theset;laride not only with the cost of the -lease. biit of the counterpart. as well, and that: these fees went into his own pocket . He did: riot complain of that gentleman getting ; the oyster," hut he certainly objected getting the shells as well, and his digestion was. strcriig enough for anything.. This was a iriost enormous addition" to-that gentleman’s salary. He hoped that in future of making the public pay tiuued. : : ;

Mr M*LEAN said the Government would, issue instructions that no charge should be' made for the counterparts in future.

Mr ..BUCHANAN said he had never heard of the costs of leases and counterparts' being both borne by one side. In England even the costs of the stamps were divided.. .

The motion, after some further discussion, was negatived on a division, and the Council adjourned to 7’30 p.m.

CARPENTERS’ WORK. . Mr TANNE R moved— « For a return of all carpenters’ work done for the Provincial Government, from Ist July, 1866, to 30th Jane, 1867; whether done by contract or otherwise; by whom done, and what amounts have been paid. y ; . - His HONOR laid the papers on the table. ! RESCINDING OF RESOLUTION. Major LAMBERT moved—

That the resolution passed yesterday on the motion of the member for Havelock be rescinded.

After a long and tedious, discussion, in which nearly all the members took part, the motion was agreed to on the following division: Ayes, B—Messrs M’Lean, Rhodes, Kennedy, Tanner, A'Deane, Parsons, Lambert, Whitmore. Noes, 6 Messrs Irvine, Sutton, Dolbel, Wood, Buchauan, Locke. DOG NUISANCE ACT. Mr TANNER brought up the report of the Committee on the Dog Nuisance Bill, which recommended that the bill should be referred to the Provincial Solicitor. WAYS AND MEANS.

The Council then resolved itself into Committee of Ways and Means, and afterwards into Committee of Supply.

TOLLGATE BILL.

The house went into Committee on the Tollgate Bill. Several amendments were moved by various members. Mr Carlyon made a long speech on every clause that came under consideration, complaining that they were badly drawn, ungrammatical, &c. He confined himself however, to pointing out the parts to 'which he objected, and did not move amendments. He also repeatedly expressed his wish to know whether or not the Provincial Solicitor was responsible for the drawing of the Act. The first eleven clauses having been passed through. Committee, progress was reported, the Speaker resumed the chair, and the house adjourned at I*lo a.m.

THURSDAY, 17th OCTOBER. The Council met at 5 p.m., and on the motion of Mr Buchananj adjourned for half an hour. The Counoil met at half-past 5. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. BREACH OF PRIVILEGE. Mr CARLYON said that no one had a greater respect for the privileges of the press than himself,' except when it descended to wilful misrepresentation. A case of this kind had occurred, which he could not look upon otherwise' than as a breach of . privilege He would, not care if he was not reported at all, but he objected to be misrepresented. In the Hawke’s Bay Times of that morning he found it stated that “ great opposition was offered to the bill, principally by Mr Carlyon.” Every person who had heard the debates or read the reports knew that there was not in the Council a more strenuous supporter, of the bill than himself. No-' thing could have been clearer than the manner in which he had -pointed: out that though he gave'the bill his full support, yet he objected to the loose inauner in which the clauses had been drawn. He had distinctly stated that his object was to see if the Provincial Solicitor, did any! work for his money, and here he had been made to say that he opposed the principle of the bill.. If the reporters could not do their work better.than this he should draw the attention of : the Speaker to the fact that there were strangers in the gallery ; but when he considered the very distinct manner in which he had always expressed himself with regard to this bill, he corild not. look upon this report iu any other light than that of a deliberate arid unfair misrepresentation.: . Mr WOOD. said that he was very sorry that the member for Te Auto had made any charge of unfairness against the reporters. He was,perfectly, satisfied tflat there was no suoh. thing as.. sentation in the. report. - The.. qQurse that gentleman: took 'in committee, making long speeches, .in. l whirihi he found fault- with every clause of .the bill, was very : apt-to mislead any persou listening to Hiar } !'eßpecially a, yoripg .reporter.; ; It was easy to see how the. xriutake .arose, j, The hon. mrimbeT had threateried, ; !shp uld! any; such mistake agam be made; to ciear.!the house of strangers; -y-'riEp?-corild speak ifrom his own knowledge that reporting. was a most be t(H> r gentleman take the couree he haH-suggested. ‘ ' ' A for leave *tb bring .twaTAst» 1887*” . • J * 'V .V- ' ‘* i >!ij

! Leave was granted, the bill was. brorigbt'in','.read a first time}^arid-ordered to b»r read a second tiine-neixt. sitting.day. r-; ' : ~ CIVIL. SERVICE ACT. : r Mr .WOOD moved— ' ■ That this Council, having had before- it the. Civil Service Act of New resolves that the .claims of ofißcera of the Provincial Senrice of _ Hawke’s Bay, whose services have been - dispensed with since it passed, ought-to be dealt with in coaormity with its provisions. . The motion was withdrawn after much discussion. , TOLL-GATE ■; The Council went into committe on the Tollgate Bilk Several clauses were recommitted, and, further, amendments made, and the Chairman reported the Bill as amended to the Speaker. : ; The third reading was ordered for next day. ! The Council adjourned to 7’30. SLAUGHTER-HOUSE BILL. The Council met at 7*30. The Slaughter-house Bill was read a third time and passed.'

SUPPLY.

The Council then went into Committee cf Supply, and the Estimates being passed, adjourned at 9*45.

FRIDAY, 18th OCTOBER.

The Couneil met at 3 o’clock. : The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. STANDING RULES AND ORDERS. Mr A’DEANE brought up the report of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders, and moved that it be read, which was agreed to. [The report recommended that the new standing rules and orders should be printed aud distributed among members during the recess, in order that they might have full opportunity to study them and suggest alterations.]

CREDIT BILL. Mr M‘LE AN moved For leave to bring in a Bill to authorise the Provincial Treasurer to take credit for certain, charges. ; Leave granted, bill brought up and read a first time. AUDIT COMMITTEE. Mr BUCHANAN moved that the report of the Audit Committee be read. Agreed to. [The report simply recommended the reappointment of the Committee next session.]

NEXT MEETING OR COUNCIL.

Mr BUCHANAN moved—

That this Council is of opinion that its next meeting ought to be fixed for a date not later than, the 15th May. —Od the assurance of his Honor that the suggestion would be carried into effect the motion was withdrawn. PETITION. Mr KENNEDY presented a petition from certain cab-drivers, with reference to the subsidy to Cobb and Co.’s ooaches.— Read and received.

GRANT TO. GOVERNMENT. Mr ORMOND moved in Committee of Supply—

The Superintendent requests the Provincials Council to grant the sum of £571 14s* Id., to' meet the outstanding and unauthorised expenditure . for the year ended June 30,1867, the said unauthorised expenditure haying been incurred on account of the services herinafter mentioned:—

Agreed to. REPORT ON 70-MILE BUSH. On the motion of Major . LAMBERT this report was adopted. TOLLGATE ACT. The Tollgate Aot was read a third time and passed. On the motion of Mr ORMOND, the Council adjourned'at 5 p.ra. to 7‘30, to give the Government time to prepare the Appropriation Act; ' : APPROPRIATION AND CREDIT ACTS. The Council met at 7*30. The Standing Orders were, suspended, and the Appropriation Act and afterwards. the Credit Act were read a second time; committed, read a third ,time, and passed.; PROROGA'nON.

His HONOR saidthat in- closing the session he had to thank fchose honorable - ’ gentlemen who had, -at great inconvenience, ; left their homes, many of them : at a.nooi-' aiderable ; distance, ; for the unremittihgv* ’attention thejr.had'shown to'. :.thehr duties.] ’ He consiidered it highly. roredicable toother Province that so. large jai number* of gen-; tlemen could %he.' found ctP rsacrifioe time and convenience fori, the public vice.Hewas pleased;to think that should' 1 Provincial'institutiohsbe.■ dissolved;'.tVbfcJ which there r appeared. some , probability,. . there; tvouldjistiU. helfoirnd i a suffioienir numberof public-spirited men: to-carry pi ihe’; f:.c|istac«Q!E»h£t Thanking|iim4memb^raifox , .theirjattend-, Cpjun?; cil to rj'V.^Vi^:&^’

Wairoa District Roads ... ... £126 6 4 Town Jtoads 94 0 2 Harbour Purposes 9 15 4 70-mile Bush Road 64 16 0 Middle Hoad 64 16 3 Mohaka Bridle Track 29 11 0 Taupo Road ... ■ ... ... ... Road Contingencies 89 5 0 8 5 6 Opening mouth of the Wairoa 14 14 River ... ... Papakura or South Meanee 0 Road " 103 13 0 Hikutoto Road ... 16 11 6 £571 14 1