OTAGO.

Press, Volume VII, Issue 796, 18 May 1865, Page 3

OTAGO.

GtTABAOTEE OF PBOVBfCIAL LOANS. A debate took place in the Provincial Council, on the 10th inst., on a proposition to endeavor to obtain from the General Govment a guarantee of the provincial loans. The following is from the report of the debate given by the Daily Times : —

The Provincial Treasurer moved—"That it is Expedient to obtain for the Provincial Loans the guarantee of the General Government on such terms as may be reasonably demanded by the General Government, in order to secure them against requests to guarantee for this or any of the other provinces to an amount exceeding the legitimate resources of such province; that to this end the Council authorise the Provincial Government to accept such guarantee, secured by a first charge on the provincial revenue, ordinary and territorial. Provided that so long as the interest and sinking fund on such guaranteed loans be duly and regularly paid, the administration of the revenues by the province shall remain undisturbed." This was a question affecting the £306,500 of debentures at present in the hands of the Bank of New Zealand, in London. The advantage of the proposed guarantee would be obvious. •*• The Home Agents wrote strongly in October on the matter when they learned that such a thing was contemplated, and expressed great regret that it had not been effected. The bank directors evidently had the same feeling; and he believed that it was in despair of ever getting the guarantee that they sold the £150,000 of debentures which entailed a loss of some £40,000 to the province. It was not known on what terms the guarantee could be obtained; but the circular letter of the Colonial Secretary, stated that for unpaid as well as for future loans, the allocation of land as a collateral security would be required, as well as the security of the ordinary and territorial revenue. These terms were exceedingly hard; and he believed the Government would be led to look more favorably on the matter, and would perceive that there would be ample guarantee by making loans a first charge on provincial revenue, ordinary or territorial. . . Mr. Bell said that the terms contained in the Colonial Secretary's circular were only a reflex of the opinion of the House of Assembly on the subject. The proposal made by the Provincial Treasurer was certain not to be acceded to by the Assembly, for it really offered nothing like security. There was another point which should be considered—that if the Assembly guaranteed provincial loans, they would certainly demand to have the decision as to the appropriation of the proceeds. Mr. Vogel believed that the Assembly could never guarantee Provincial loans, while! two millions of its own loan were unfloated. All that the Assembly ever contemplated doing was to recognise Provincial Loans, blocks of land, or a portion of the territorial revenue, being hypothecated against them. He held, that it was most unwise for the sake of getting a guarantee for £300,000, to enter into a joint guarantee of between two and three millions, which was the amount of provincial indebtedness. He should move as an amendment, ** That it is expedient the Assembly should authorise the provinces to borrow money upon the security of their lands, and toproyide that a certainproportion

of land revenue be put apart to meet the liabilities for interest and sinking fund on such loans."

Mr. Macandrew wanted to preserve the provincial entities, and therefore he objected to the motion. The Council were far too apt to put themselves in leading strings to the General Government. He would move as an amendment, " That it is expedient that the unnegotiated debentures in respect of the various Otago Provincial Loans, now outstanding, be converted into Exchequer Bills of such amounts, and at such dates, as may be most readily negotiable ; such bills to bear the same rate of interest as the debentures "which they represent, and to be placed in the Colonial Market." If that was agreed to, he believed that the whole amount in question would be absorbed in the colony if not in the province. Both the amendments were negatived, and the original motion was adopted with the omission of all the words in the earlierpart of the first clause from " in order that" to " province." The Telegraph.—The telegraph wire between Invercargill and Dunedin was yesterday brought into operation, and messages passed between the Postmaster General and the Southland operators. The circumstance was mentioned last evening in the Provincial Council, by Major Richardson. We publish in our shipping columns a message announcing the arrival of the steamer Titania, which reached Invercargill yesterday afternoon, at three o'clock. We believe the Northern line, as far as Lyttelton, will be brought into working order in the course of a few days. The Southland line is not yet thrown open to the public; but we trust the necessary arrangements will be made to render the wire available for the transmission of the English news on the arrival of the mail at the Bluff.— Daily Times, May 16. The Exhibition.—On further consideration, we understand, the Commissioners have decided not to re-open the Exhibition to the public. There are many circumstances that have led to this decision. It is true that it was originally contemplated to affix the jurors' awards to the exhibits, before the closing of the Exhibition. But the labors of the juries were unexpectedly prolonged, and there are difficulties in the way of the re-opening. A great quantity of the goods has been taken away, and the owners of the articles left in the building are anxious to have them disposed of with as little delay as possible. Again, the Exhibition was permanently closed, and it would be an unnecessary risk to re-open it. These and other considerations have induced the Commissioners to relinquish the idea. It is found that the ball announced for the Queen's birthday cannot take place at so early a date. But as soon as the building is cleared, we believe it is contemplated to allow its use for a grand public ball —the largest probably there has ever been in Dunedin.— lbid. 1 A Maori Jubt. —At the next Criminal Sitting of the Supreme Court, which is to be commenced on Thursday, June Ist, there will be, for the first time in the history of the province, a Maori jury empanelled. The Bth section of the Jury Law Amendment Act (September, 1862,) provides that in any case where a Maori is charged with a crime on or towards a Maori, the prisoner may, by giving a certain notice, require that a jury of Maoris shall be empanelled; that the Governor may, by proclamation, order that the jury may be composed of less than twelve if the case be not to be heard in the Supreme Court, or, with the consent of the Judge, if that Court is concerned; and that in the absence of such proclamation, if twelve Maoris cannot be procured from within the assigned limits of 20 miles, then the panel shall be completed from the bystanders in Court. Testi Tira, who was sometime ago committed for a murderous assault upon another Maori, at a place near Moeraki, has given the requisite notice for a jury of his countrymen; and the Registrar of the Court has taken the steps necessary for bringing together a Maori jury.— Ibid, May 13.