THE LATE SESSION OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Press, Volume II, Issue 43, 8 March 1862, Page 2

THE LATE SESSION OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

We propose to give a brief sketch of the proceedings of the Council during its late session. We shall not attempt to describe the personal appearance of the members; because we do not think it of great political importance whether Mr. Tosswill has blue eyes or Mr. Murray ruddy cheeks: nor should we venture to say that any gentleman was " prematurely aged " unless we had ascertained how old he was, which we should hardly take the liberty of asking him. But it may be interesting to the public to have before them in a condensed form, a statement of the most important results arrived at by their representativeSj, and of the papers laid before them, and the petitions presented. We shall not overload the subject by giving the contents of all these documents, but merely such a description of them, that any one wishing to know whether a particular paper was laid on the table or not, can ascertain that fact by referring to this catalogue, and can then obtain a sight of the paper he may require by application to a member of the Council. For, in our opinion, there is nothing more desirable than that the public should be in a position to watch constantly the work which is going on in the Council. The Seventeenth Session occupied three months : the Council having met on the 22nd Oct., and been prorogued on the 22nd June, during which time there were thirty-eight sitting days. The average attendance of the twenty-six members of which the Council is composed was twenty-one ; but had the business been concluded, as it ought to have been, before Christmas, that average would have been much higher; after Christmas, owing to the approaching harvest, many members could attend no longer. Only once there was 'no house,' and very often all the members were present. The business was conducted by the Government in a slovenly and unsatisfactory manner. Whilst making full allowance for Mr. Maude's want of experience, and giving him every credit for his imperturbable good humour, it became clear that the absence of any determination or even wish to guide the House, and of any important assistance from his colleagues, occasioned the loss of much valuable time, and frequently perplexed the House in coming to a decision. Bills were introduced and motions proposed which were abandoned at the first shew of opposition. The Government seemed to have literally no ruling policy, and to accept cheerfully the most contradictory proposals emanating from all parts of the House. Votes equivalent to censures on their conduct were as acceptable to them as majorities in their favor: no future Council will probably sutler such an absurd state of things. The Council has regained a great part of its power during the last session; but it will probably go a step further, and insist that the leader in the Council shall bo a leader in the Government: because, without going into abstract disquisitions on the theory of responsible Government, it is clear that in no other way can a thorough harmony exist between the Executive and the Legislature. We are far from saying that Mr. Maude would not make a good leader in the Council if he chooses to accept that position. He has mauy qualities which tit him for the post. Good temper, and the aptness to receive impressions from an opposition, are useful characteristics in a leader. What he requires is tact in knowing when to insist upon the house following" the Government, and when to give way. He is an excellent and painstaking man of business, and seems very anxious to discharge his duties conscientiously : but his style of speaking can only be described as slip-slop, lie must learu to speak if he wishes to continue in otlice ; and he may readily do so ; for any man with a clear head and a right comprehension of the matter in hand, can. if he chooses, aud ought, if

I he has a right idea of his position, to acquire the habit of explaining his ideas in simple and unhesitating language. The most unpleasant hesitation and perpetual interjection of—hem—hem, or —cr —er in speaking, simply betray a want of that study and labor to acquire a facility of utterance, which is as much a part of the duty of a secretary to a Government as any other duty attached to such an office. Throughout the Session Mr. Maude experienced the utmost forbearance from the opposition, owing to the absence of any wish on the part of any member of the House to supplant him. He may not be so fortunate in future. We shall first refer to the resolutions passed by the Council. The first step of any importance was the resolution passed on the 29th Oct., forbidding the introduction of cattle from England and the neighbouring colonies. The fearful ravages committed by the pleuro-pneumonia in Victoria and New South Wales, and the fact that diseased cattle are said to have been actually imported into Southland, fully justify this exclusive policy. On the 30th Oct. the House went into committee on the subject of the Branch Railway, and continued to take evidence until the 12th November; and on the 19th November the resolutions condemnatory of the Government were submitted to the House. It is well known that had the last of these resolutions, asserting that the money paid for the land for the Branch Railway ought to be replaced in the chest, been omitted, all the others, containing a strong censure on the conduct of the Government, would have been carried. An amendment moved by Mr. Ollivier formally approving of the conduct of Government was rejected, shewing that the House only abstained from visiting the Government with censure, because it was unwilling to take the strong alternative of calling on members of government to pay £IGSO out of their private purses, 'lhe debate on the evening of the 19th November however made a great impression on the House and on the Province; and though j the opposition failed to establish the great constitutional precedent they strove for, it enabled them to carry several very important resolutions with little further discussion at a later period of the Session. On the 13th November the Committee of Supply granted an imprest of £5000 for carrying on the Government until the estimates were passed. This is a most inconvenient custom, and we hope will never again be permitted. The Secretary ought to make his financial statement upon the first occasion of asking for supply. In this cession the whole' business was delayed and the Session unnecessarily prolonged, by the accounts and estimates being unprepared, and the financial statement delayed until half the Session was over. On November 15, the Council first went into committee of supply for passing the estimates, and an important step was taken. A most improper and disagreeable duty had been imposed on the Council in former Sessions, that of passing the salary of each officer of the Government as a separate vote —discussions as to the merits of each individual were forced on the House, and a rise or fall in a salary depended on the private friendship of the public servant with the members of Council. It was rightly pointed out that the Government are solely responsible for the public service being properly performed; aud that the legislature is interfering with the duties' of the Executive, when it undertakes to say what salary each individual clerk shall have. The Government accepted the proposal that the House should pass the vote for the service of each department in a lump sum, and the Council adopted that plan in the remaining estimates. On the 20th November, the House resolved that it was desirable that a direct communication should be established with Otago and Melbourne. The same subject was discussed on several subsequent occasions, and the Council exercised a most judicious control over the Government in rejecting its various proposals, and adhering to the resolution first adoptedA plan for endeavouring to establish direct steam communication with Melbourne, so as to catch the

return mail for England, was negatived impossible. A contract actually complete/ Messrs. Miles for a coastal service to T" -v i j • lir naru n„„ thrown over, and two services were adopted bringing the mails from Melbourne by Lyttelton, the other for a coastal service bet* Lyttelton and Dunedin. calling at all the interrL'7 ports of Akaroa and Timaru. On the 2Gth November a resolution of th- , i 4- i x -v • • utmost importance was adopted", arising out of the R l debate, to the effect that the value of all lands T* under the Railway Acts should in future be det^ mined by jury or by arbitration. This was a diV" vote of censure on the policy of the Governmen^ A minute of the Executive Council had empowe^H the Superintendent personally to negociate for t{-> purchase of all these lands, and all such bargains jj been made by him alone, in private, in concert uith the vendors. The Council could not but feel th inconvenience and impropriety of this course- __i without division, and almost without debate pass the resolution above referred to. Two other resolutions arising out of the sa debate were withdrawn. It came out in the course of the examination that, since Mr. Bowen's departure the Provincial Treasurer, through whose hands tens of thousands of pounds were passing, had been held under no security. Notice was given of a severe vote of censure on the Government, unless the Treasurer were under bonds. When the evening arrived, the Secretary stated that the proper security had been entered into. The resolution, of course, was unnecessary, the required result having been produced. The other was a motion for a Committee to enquire whether any, and, if any, what steps should be taken fcr improving the means of communication between the port and the plains, pending the construction of tbe Railway. This was of course reopening the whole question of the branch railway. The avowed intention of the Superintendent was to open the main line and branch at once from Christchurch to Ferrymead. The Council appeared to dread not only this but any other temporary expedient, and many of the ordinary supporters of government, together with many of the opposition, opposed the motion on the ground that it, might be the means of diverting the province from the great work, the direct railway. Nothing could be more unmistakable than the dcrmination of the Council throughout, that they would have nothing more attempted until the railway is complete. The object of the mover was of course more than answered, and the withdrawal of the motion was a more severe defeat to the Government than its adoption would have been. On the oth December a debate occurred upon immigration. £15000 was voted for the service of the year, but it being pointed out that the year expired on the 30th September, and that, before the ensuing financial year, the agent must, if the immigration were to be carried on without check, have entered into fresh engagements which must bind the Provincial Government, the Council resolved that no such engagements should compromise the province to a larger extent than £10,000. The effect of this resolution is virtually to vote at least £10,000 for the ; service of ISG2-3, unless the agent be instructed in. the mean time to hold his hand. On the 10th December a very important resolution was arrived at. To those who were attendants of the debates iv the Council, the process of passing the estimates for public works must have appeared a most unsatisfactory one. The temper of the Hou*' varies from night to night. Votes are passed one night, which would not have been passed another night. The Council sometimes gets into a lazy mood and allows everything to pass. Sometimes a generou* fit seizes it, and it gives not only what it is asked <*r but much more. Another time it becomes captious and querulous, and a vote of fifty pounds for sontf trilling culvert creates more opposition than a of £1000 for a purpose less wanted would have at another time. The main principle at wor' i» • T ''I VOtS 'fi rolling —'you vote for my road, and 1 win I yours -.'—that- is the system. A Committee ot pu>

I k* is appointed to enquire into, and recommend f -hit public works are most necessary, and the estit , tt , s s0 prepared by it come into the House, but i all the members of the Committee appear speak- j (T nnd voting against one another, so that the labors [/the Committee are entirely thrown away. J 1 The Resolution passed by the House asserted that, j future years, the estimates for public works shall | I , mai j e u p under the head of each district, so that it • ill be seen at a glance what each district is to have. I uill clearly be much easier to divide a given sum •mioufst the works of each district, than amongst the works of the whole province. The ' log rolling ' will then extend mainly to the passing of the total votes for the districts, and will not exteud through the whole work of the Committee of Supply as it does at I j; resent. • On the 12th December a resolution called for a special report upon the way in which the arrears in the surveys of purchased land w r ere to be made up. It appeared that 50.000 acres had been sold for which no Crown Grants had been prepared. The report called for was not presented. On the 12th and 13th resolutions were passed in favor of making a bridge over the Courtenay, and in favor of making a tramway to the Little River ; and 250 acres of timber were reserved at the back of the latter place for the purpose of constructing the tramway. On tbe 20th a memorial was agreed to be sent to the General Government calling for a dissolution of the Council. The determination was come to, to have a free bridge over the Hcathcote at the Ferry. One can hardly imagine how the province can have so long tolerated the absence of a bridge on the principal high road in the province. One would have thought that a bridge at this place would have been one of the first works called for. At the end of the Session three important resolutions in finance were passed. The sinking fund of the £30,000 loan was directed to, be invested in Canterbury Association Debentures: it was agreed that the first instalment of £50,000 of the Railway Loan should be taken up by the Provincial Treasurer out of current revenues: £5450 was granted for Educational purposes, to be divided as follows : the Church of England, £3000; the Presbyterians, £1100; the Wesleyans, £1000. The Inspector of Schools, £350. Amongst notices of resolutions, we must include that which was one of the most important acts of the Session, the refusal of the Council to sanction the reserves made by the Government for the coal fields. This matter has been so much discussed that it requires no further notice from us here. It will be seen on a future occasion, whether the public of the Province generally coincide with the view of the present Council. The above is a sketch of the action taken by the t.oune.il in matters not involving actual legislation.

turn to the Bills brought in and passed or withdrawn. I. The Provincial Council Extension Ordinance.—This Bil] divhles the Province into twenty districts, returning on the whole thirty-five members. The important part is the schedule describing the boundaries of the district. It was published in the ' Press,' and previous to the new elation we shall again print it for public information. A Notion was made by Mr. FitzGerald for doubling the numlier of the_;niembers in the Council, but as it was clearly "gainst the temper of the House, the mover did not press the motion, nor even enforce his view by a speech of any length. '- Ibe Third English Agents Bill—is almost word for word " ropy of tiie law it repeals We tried but failed to underhand why it was brought in at all. It certainly did no but as it did no harm it was not opposed. "•-• Housekeeper's Bill—merely allowed whir, beer, and s '"nts, to be sold to members of the Council by the house--tvper during session. This was of course necessary. The ■overnment however proposed to extend this sale to all "nernnient officers employed in the Government Buildings «vi tuiK-sof the year, under certain restrictions. The -''•meil seemed to think this too great an interference with •■ licensed publicans, and threw it out. There was much *-' be said on both sides : and the house was nearly equally luiu. 'H u . publican interest however prevailed.

4. The Dog Nuisance Bill—was very necessary. It provides that all dogs must wear a Government collar with a nnniber on it; must be registered at a cost of ten shillings a year; and that all surplus dogs may be destroyed. Never was the sword of a destroying angel more necessary. 5. The Volunteer Service Bill—was not a Government bilL It was introduced and carried through by Mr. Ollivier, and provides that certain sums of money may be paid by the Superintendent for the arming and training of a volunteer force in proportion to the numbers enrolled. 6. The Superintendent's Salary—was passed at Mr. FitzOerald's suggestion to relieve the House from annually discussing the salary of His Honor. That salary will in future appear on the estimates as a 'fixed charge.' 7. The Auditor's Salary Bill—provides a salary for the Auditor, as required by the Audit Act passed by the General Assembly. S. The Lyttelton and Christehureh Railway Loan Appropriation Bill— is an er ;xw< facto law, appropriating the money already spent out of the Railway Loan. There is no reason why this should not have been made a part of the ordinary Appropriation Act. 9. The Railway Severance Bill—empower* the Superintendent to sell such portions of the land purchased ou account of tiie Railway as are not wanted for the line. 10. The Lyttelton Municipal Council Reserves Bill--empowers the Superintendent to make over to the Municipal Corjmration all the reserves made by the Canterbury Association in Lyttelton, excepting that between Norwich Quay and the sea, which will be wanted for the Railway. 11. The Canterbury Police Amendment Bill—renders any one j leaving dead animals on or near any public highway liable to prosecution, and compels all persons to fence dangerous wells, even if on private land. This Act was passed mainly in consequence of the nuisance arising from newly landed sheep dying about the Town of Lyttelton. 12. The Cattle Trespass Amendment Bill—enacts tliat the owner of any horse found tethered in the public streets shall be fined, and that the owner of any cattle found straying in the streets should be fined for each head of such cattle. 13. The Appropriation Bill in the usual form appropriates £218,995 Ss. Id. to the service of the current year ending 30th September, 1862. and £14,982 4s. lid. to the service of the past year ending 30th September, 18G1. The latter is the sanction by the Council for the over expenditure of the past year. Besidesjme above, there were introduced by the Government, a Roads' Bill, a Roads' Diversion Bill, an Education Bill, and a Civil Service Bill; all most important laws; all withdrawn with very little discussion ; all laws on matters requiring immediate legislation. The Roads' Bill got into committee, and was dropped mainly owing to the sense pervading the House that the government were not competent to handle the subject. They must get it up much better next year if they are going to pass any Bill through the Council. The Education Bill went to a select committee, but was never submitted to the House for discussion. It w r as indeed discussed one night, but, by a strange mistake, that was after it had been withdrawn ; and the minutes of the discussion were erased from the records the following evening. A Loan Ordinance Amendment Ordinance, and a Public House Ordinance Amendment Ordinance, were brought in by private members, but were not printed and were dropped without discussion.

The following were the select Committees appointed by the Council during its Session. 1. The Library and House Committee. Members—Messrs. Cookson, Ollivier, Thompson, Westenra, and the Provincial Solicitor, appointed Oct. 24 ; report brought up, Dec. 10. The report recommended that members of the Executive ehoidd be allowed the use of the books. 2. The Committee on Education. Members—Messrs. FitzGerald, Ollivier, Peacock, Thompson, Wilkin, Jf-ylde, and the Provincial Secretary, appointed October 25; report brought up Dec. 13. The report recommended the i j bill to be withdrawn, and submitted a draught bdl in the j place of it !3. Committee for the Revision of the Standing Orders. j Members—Messrs. Bradwell, Harston, Murray, Ollivier, I Kickman, and the Provincial Secretary, appointed Oct. j 25; rej>ort brought up Nov. 12. The report recommended j that No. 22 should be altered, and stand as follows:— | "The Speaker shall take the chair at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and on Fridays at noon, or ! at such other hour as shall be appointed by the Council ■ at its previous sitting." '4. Committee for the revision of the Ordinances of the House. Members —Messrs. Brittan, Harston, Ollivier, the Prov. i Secretary, and the Prov. Solicitor. Appointed Oct, 25 ; report brought up Dec 12. The report distinguished between those ordinance wluch were in force from those no longer so, and recommended that the former should be i printed.

5. The Conunittec on Publio Works. Members—Messrs. .troistrong, Bowen, Hargeaves, Ollivier, Templer, Thompson, Tosswill, Rhodes, Studholmc, Wilkin, Wylde, the Pro v. Secretary, and the Prov. Solicitor. Appointed Nov. 15; rejwrt brought up Dec 5. The Comniitteo divided the public works into three olasses : those of primary importance, those of secondary importance, and those to be undertaken only if the revenue was sufficient t». The Canterbury Armed Police Force Committee, Messrs. Fitzfterald, Hargreavos, Ollivier, Wilkin, Wylde, and the Provincial Secretary. Appointed Nov. 14, report brought up Jan. 21. The report recommended the addition of a clause to the Police Ordinance, compelling owners of sheep to bury the carcases of such as might happen to die, 7. The committee on the petition of the Christchurch Companies of Volunteers. Members: Messrs. Bradwell, Brittan, Ollivier, "Westenra. Wilkin, appointed Nov. 14 ; report brought up Jan. 21. The report recommended the formation of a title practice ground at Hagley Park. 8. Committee for the amendment of the Sheep Ordinance. Mcmlicra: Messrs. Brittan, Harman, Maude, Ollivier, Studholmc, Templer, and Wilkin. Appointed Nov. 14 ; report brought up Dec. 5. The report recommended that it should lie made compulsory on sheep owners to give previous notice when about to muster their sheep. 9. Committee to consider the clauses of the Land Regulations referring to Pre-emptive Rights. Members—Messrs. Hickman, Studholme, Templer, Tosswill, Wilkin, and Wylde, Appointed November 20; rejwrt brought up December 10. The report recommended that the amount under which pre-emptive rights were granted should le considerably increased 10. Committee to rejwrt upon the proposed telegraph between Cliristehurch and Lyttelton. Members—Messrs. FitzOerald, Harman, Peacock, Templer, Wilkin, and IKylde. Appointed November 29; report brought up December 19. The report recommended that the construction of tho telegraph should be immediately proceeded with; that the iron posts imported from England should bo used, but that the Wbeatstone's instruments should be exchanged for Morse's, to be procurred in Melbourne. 11. A Committee was appointed on Dec. 18, consisting of Messrs. FitzGerald, Davis, Studholmc, Toswilll, Wilkin. and Wylde, to investigate a petition presented on the subject of a bridge at Kaiapoi at Kainpoi, "but was discharged without bringing up a report.