PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Press, Volume XIII, Issue 1762, 4 December 1868, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

.^ '... ,,..'..,... December 3, „.,_., The Council met at 5 p.m. Prayers were read by the Chaplain. The minutes of the last sitting wero read and confirmed. -•■ Mr Mubbay-Aynbi/B-: presented a petition from the Munioipal Council of Lyttelton, referring to the Municipal Reserves Bill. J - * ! - The petition was received.; Mr Hawkes obtained, an extension of time till Tuesday next; ifor bringing up the report of the Orphan and Destitute Children Committee. ' - :.'-':.'/ ..-w; .''■•i'-i ' GBIST TO"VOLViraBItBS. Mr Hawkes moved---" Thai the House resolve itself into committee to consider the following resolutions :—l. That in the opinion of this Council the existence of a nucleus of a Defence Force for the. Middle Island is desirable. 2. That for this purpose, the Volunteer force should countenance and support of > the Government. 3/1 " That bis Honor the Superintendent be reapectfullv requested to cause to be placed upon the estimates a sum of money not exceeding £150, to be expended by the commanding officer of the district, in the manner "he may think moat tended to promote the before-mentioned object." He observed that many of the old objections against a grant of this kind had been removed. It used to be said that the Volunteers were largely. supported by the General 'Government, but their ;capi* tation allowance had been greatly lowered, and the assistance which they used to receive had been discontinued. He thought no one would depute that_Jhe existence of a aaoleus & 9 dafeaca force foe tho

jfiddle laland waa desirable ; there -jjjight be no necessity for such a force now j; but no one could tell what would happen in the future and it would be well to be prepared. It had been said that the Volunteers were ' not a disciplined force, but he thought the encampment at the Waimakariri proved quite tbe contrary. If the first class militia were called out the country would be put to a>. heavy expense, but if the Volunteer force j were encouraged there would be no need for j the militia. The sum asked waa very small,; and would be placed in the hands of the Com-mander-in-Chief to be used for the object in -view. He trusted the Council would, not xefnse so small a sum, aa the Volunteers were f % to heavy expenses and could not be kept *C|j|ether without aome auppork . ? ■ j Xhe Council went into committee. j.

On the first resolution being moved, j Mr*; DIXOK asked whether it" would * not be j ultrapres for the province to interfere in the! defehfce of any part of the colony. j ThePEOViNciAii gkfLiciTOß said lie reaolu-j tion did not apply to -the defence force men-i tioned in the Militia/ Act. _ ',_', , r< ' r ;, r"i The resolution was "carried. Mr Hawkes, in moving the second resolution, said that theroTwere 700 men .enrolled under.the Volunteer Act, and that they were > put to', a great expense; in a variety of ways.; Up to the last two years they had . from the General Government an allowance of £2 10a per man, and from the Provincial Government £1 10s, besides a handsome sum for a band, and had the expense of drillinstructors defrayed.; All theae- advantages were now taken away, and they found themselves reduced to an allowance of 12s 6d per man. He knew that Un the opinion of BOrne , people Volunteers were of no use, but he did not think that was the opinion of the Middle Island in General. Except in Canterbury the " Volunteer movement had prospered. In Otagoit tad been liberally supported by the Government. He asked for a very small sum

just to keep volunteering alive. It was bard in these times to require the men to pay 5 all : ' the expenses themselves, but they did ao willingly,-and only asked the Government and people of Canterbury ibr some sught encour; agement to keep themselves together. .. At the suggestion Bbown, MrHawkea obtained leave to incorporate thesyrd resolu? tion with the aecond. r ~■,___._ 7 7 Mr Bbown had hitherto always opposed a vote for the Volunteers, but under the present circumstances he thought it ought to be granted. He objected % tthe latter part of the resolution, placing, the expepditure. of the grant in the hands of the commanding officer, and moved that the words be struck out, Mr Massell was quite willling to leaye t the * expenditure of the money to the Government. Mr EkKNAWAY opposed the motion; Th<jre were other institutions quite as deserving'of support aa the Volunteers. .-/ •''-*'"■ ' Mr Mr/BBAY-AYNsitEY did not object to the sum asked for, but Wanted more guarantee - that it would be expended for the propoB&d; -■ The money voted x by the Council on former 7 occasione.'had been The outlying diatrictaxfpr instance had kept.up their their own expenae/ l but -flic Christchuroh men haying once got-"money fop their support, were not willing to pay any-thing-themselvesi but came to the Government. L If this Bum'waß to be divided 'atriong

< all the Volunteer companies, or spent on some objeot Wneficial ; tp> them all, such as an encampment/ well - and 1 good i but ; if it wete to be Spetit for the-benefit of Christchurch only, he should opppa^'it. ' ' ;' Mr Hawkeb said the reason - why money was required was because it was proposed tq' have-oamp inatructipn;at the fall of* this year and again-before the meeting of "the' Council:, He pledged himself that the money should be apent i&-fm*bering r dri!l throughout the pro*,ince and in camp instruction. • - The--amendment proposed by Mr. Brovrn? was carried.-- i , i - ! .' r '" :i •* '" '"{ aMrHAWEESprbposM to add the words, "ih; aid of the Volunteer'force in the Province of Canterbury' 1 ! afterithe 4 word8 M £lso? , •-'• ;'• r '•.:-'', The Hon.G^ : L. was a6rry '- oppose the motion, but; he objected onl dple to any-grafltf/being given to-Volunteers/ X a defence force '4raa the pro-; teotion-*of^the : island 'the militiy should,;jbs called out. -' ••:*;-...■•■.« ; Mr Kjbi&AWAY*/referred to come; to in was; carried the finwieial atefe of' the province itwas*not desirable to 7 any*sum of money in aiddf the Volunteers, and sf proposed thereupon thrown He; did not think-the' financial atate p?'*the ! proy i ince had much* improved aince thattimei; • Mr Maskell said *hat the Volunteejnfwere then in receipt of -a large capitation 1 allowance from the - General ? GoTernment, :i which J; bad; been the main inducement to hon. members to pasa the resolution' referred to. _ * ■-'"'■ '"■ '■'■ replied that -the pdunou\ were aware when they >paaßed the that the-capitation • grant waB f 'about 'to be withdrawn. - .--:?*

After a further discussion, the. Committee divided upon the resolution, which : Wasloet by a majprjUy of one, "the numbers being, ayes, 13, noes, I 4 : .; "• _ _ ~-; rK " Progress was then reported, and ih6> first resolution reported to, the House. T ' I. ,'p-' V", ;.- GBANT3 TO BOAD DIfIXBICTS.; >i ?;.- •.-*

Mr Haii. That there be laid on the table ~ a return, in continuation ?of the return laid on> the table in the 28th sesaion,; showing the amount of land sold in each Boad * District iv the province j and of the amount' of money: granted and expended "in - each- dis- ! jtriet to the 31st October last." He asked for this return because the last, from June,'lß64y to Jauuary, 1868, showed auch remarkable raaulte that he have ft continued. On comparing the amount of revenue derived; fromeackof the three districts;whichscorn* prised his constituency with the amount -expended in it, he found that the expenditure in the Rakaia diatrictwas only three anddne-eighth of the receipts, in the Malvern diatrtot two and three-sevenths, and in the Courtenay diatricfr one andfive-eevehths. He must expresahisdeep disappointment that '«the Government having this return before them had not ; maderaniy proririondbr the- Road Boards but of the £48,000 which they expected to derive from l«ndisale&; Nothing could be more calculated to promote discontent in the country diatricta. He hoped that before the cloae of the sesluon the Government would -reconsider their finanao as to allot some :aum' to; the " Bead Boards etenif it were_ever ao small, * -~-- •Ur MouTSOMEBY said Government? found -Muncultto save money to satisfy the claims* no 1 ; gefc-their mnnpyt should have had it tln-ee years ago.JfeaoaejL thatshould .then «sSi^whfretheland waa sold was absorbed< i» ; ilarge u ej&diture^bovthef West w arid-for nulway purpoiss." :P&*?& *&nt oame with from th« hon.

member, who when he was in office, had not given money to the Boad Boarda but had spent it on purpoaes for which it would have been better for the province if it had not been spent Mr Keitkaway agreed with Mr Montgomery, but thought his remarks showed how necessary it was, that some settlement should take place aa to what the Boad Boards should receive. Spmetimea the Bbad Boards did not receive any .money because it. was 'supposed not to be waited, but that principle often Worked; very'badly? It often happened that in a dtatrict, such as theEUesmere district for instance/ a large, quantity of jand was £d)d; but no part of the proceeda given to the dibtrict, because there -was ho* imtnediate requirement for it.- But in a year or two settlers came on to their lands/and roads were wanted, but'by this time the money which had beenr raised by- the sale of lands Was all spent. -The Boad should' have their -TOOney every year," and if'it was not wanted one year they could keep-it till the'next. Mr; DrxqfT thought it was but fair that everydistrict should- nave- •"* portion of the land revenue raised within-it?

' Mr BbOWN aaid that a return had been once laid on the table showing how the grants to Boad Boards had been expended, to which a strong exception was taken by the Council. Ho should ' like to -have suoh another return, and should move that - after the word " expended" in the fourth line be inserted the words "by the Provincial Government, including the money paid to Boad Boards." The PbovSNCIAITSbcbbtaBY would lay on the'table a re turn-showing the amount of land sold in* each district, but he could make no return to the latter part of the motion, as no money had been voted to the Boad Boards as such, but for the maintenance of '■'■ main roads. The itemß of that expenditure were already oh the table, f'£ 7 -•> '■ - - ■''•■■ 7-'_ ,The amendment 'moved by Mr carried. ■•- ! * '■ ■*■* 5-i-:o*.: >■•;-.■ f,w?

Mr Hall said he had not intended to throw anf 4Jfamr©u kM instances he had quoted from- the-report on the table, as the preaent Government weW'ttbt then in" ofiice. ? What he complained '6f 7 fo*s that though Government expected to receive £42,000 from land sales, they did not propose to give- any* part of ; it to the Road Boards, whose claima ought to be taken into considera--tion? 'With respect-to the amount-he -had himself paid fo the Bdad when* ih office, he challenged "the Government to projduce such: a --return- as he for : =in> Mb motion, and : -that return would he a sufficient answer. If they would treat the Road Boards as well as he had treated them, he should be quite satisfied; With regard to the payments for the Great Sbuthern Bail way, they had been chiefly in debentures and wasteland, and very little had come out of'the provincial that the railway had paid for-itaelf oVer amount of iland which had been sold in consequence of its being -'constructed:? 'It'i waß not the time theta to go - into i the question of-tbe public s expenditure during the time when' he was in the Government, but on any proper occasion lie should-be quite ready to do-so* -; "The motion aa amended was carried. ■ a '■'••_■•__ ivAjk.jbv ABSENCE. . ' 7 '"' -)' : On the mbtipnoi.Mr Bbhnaway leav,e of absence was granted to Mr Johnstone for; ten daya. ,-..'"■_..■-' ' BAr&WAY'BXPBNDITTIBBi ?;/ n V Mr Pbaoook moved the reconaideratiori -in Committee of Supply of the estimatea - of expenditure upon the Canterbury railwaya; ? • Some diacussion ensued as : to the "mOBt ; orderly mode of proceeding. The' Speaker ! ruled that the particular sums to be expended ;must be stated* "and Mr Peacock havmg amended hiscmotioh accordingly, it was-put and carried. ■•■-- ; ' ■• •» * : ' : ' : : '.,. 1 :,- iTOT r EBOVINCIAI. DEBT. _^~/',■'.] Mr Obmsbymoved—" That therebelaid; ion thej table a tabolar return showing-;-r-rl.' | The amountiOf ipdebtedness of the province' {on accouiutiOf loan not subjectteßdjuatment junder ' The Canterbury and Weetland-Public;, IDebt Appo3#?nni<-nt Act, 7/ Thtf ! amount annually, payable on account of auch, loan for. sinking, fund and interest.' 3., The iamount of ; indebtedness of the;proyinoe on, subject to adjustment between? 'Canterbury-and Westland. 4. The amount [annually payable on account of such loan r -fpr, sinking fund,"anji<interest." ii.jh ..:„-.-, j, ; ., i, j The motion,wasicarried. 7 j ; GEBAJUDHfE ; EOAD DISTfiSCfi •'>'.' ? • ( Mr Obmsby moved that his respectfully requested' to; proclaim that pprtmn of the Geraldihe Road; Board Diatriet a&uth *>f the river Prari/fan; agricultural district, In. accordance with the;;; Trespass of Cattle Oroihance. Mr Hal£ pointed out; that it would be "diffi - ■ cult tO'earry the resolution into effecl? over the: whole district south of/the Orari,' on hccdunt; of of the bduntry. _'_ : ;-"['_ .?'" In reply te' a T reniark from the Pfdyihpfal Secretary, ''-'■' :r: -:V l ' v; " " < -~ i \ Mr OBMSBY'Baid he'had been apoken to on. the aubject by many of the inhabitantsdf£ the; diatrict and by the 'Bbardv-' reapect to the difficulty raised by"-Mr Hall Ke ? waa it, and wouldbe'glad' tohave his wwolution so modified aa to omit any part of the district that waa -Btrfofily. wai not himaelf 'pre^redto ( apeoify any other bdundary? -' , • - ; '■'• '- 1 - - ':, ', \ The motion 1 was'chrried. ? ' ~ - - • ?*-.'," ■•" \ Job . ?J? BC &9P&ai ■ ■■>.i • Mr moved— xr That/m.; the opinion of thisi Cbuhjpil: it ia ; the granta to certafn.of;'the achopla referredjto' ih Clause 33,.0f *;the " Oroinlnoe, 1864, be adVfthat henceforth-"the, 'amount of aid payable ltd auch echoola shall in no case exceed telt>D, and the. Boird of Education, is hereby Authorised ihaccordahbe with the 3¥tli sard"Ofdihance; ip_ •reduc&eiu-n' gragts acljordingly." Education: ;brd^anpC r og'' n e into were certain estabTished':ih receipt of-granted had.been continued at' the same time. was one school; receipt of -£164, •#notHer* t-6168, WQth]e|; ,;#!s% another J6l2Q,:&c, Iheaoird considered; that |Kese "grants should be as there were-other schools esj»blishfict ainee the Ordinance' was /passed .quite as deserving of assistance, ancf ithe Government, -upon the rJßpreaentation of the Board, recogmsipg tbf ijuaUqe their a jPp,hed .to tihe Cc|un-. itkftSt pd'weVfo effect thSi deaired reduction.;,.. , . - ; Mr J. S. WiiatlAMS thought" the motion could hardly paas'm form. . The in the Education Ordinance provided that when any proposed duced, the |i|u|hcttlat' f instances musl; Be fied/ whereas roaojution called" o^, the CouncU*to and Board of Sa&MK'W do at they tfofpt

fit. The object of the Ordinance was to take the power of dealing with these schools away from the Board and place it in the hands of the Council. [ Mr Knight hoped that something would I be done about the school fees, the high rate' of which was, he maintained, an insuperable ; obstacle to ' children attending school. No labouring man in the country could afford to pay such fees as were demanded. ' * s ; The Hop. jG* L. LBE.moved that the words; " certain of" be'dmitted. ' The amendment was agreed to, and the resolution as amended was carried. The, House-resumed at eight o'clock* »#>~ FENCING ORDINANCE. -.:■ The: P_OTi»orA_ ■ SOX.IOTEOB-'obtained le_ve| to postpone the consideration,, of the Fencing! Ordinance Bill until the following day. I RAI-WAX TOLLS AMENDMENT BILL. j The Hou.e: went into committee on thisj Bill. ~.r , ,-.v l ;Qn the Bcheduje/beiqgcdniidered, [}> j Mr Aynslev thought a reduction might*be| made in the passengers' faresv 1 jSuchj a reduc-* tion would act beneficially in increasing the' traffic. He moved that the price of a return ticket, second class, Bhould be 2s instead of 2s 6d as at present. ..; , ;- ; ( " Mr Bbown thought that the time for returning at. a single fare Bhould be ex-j tended bsyond the Same day. . j Mr Montgomery .said that the line hadj cost a large sum, and that the Government was bound to endeavour to;derive a reasonable revenue from it. He could not.See that the fare-was too high. On the thought that the public were getting a good deal forj their money by way of accomirfodations ?> |j I Mr Peacock suggested that there should; be an,-excursion -train on? Saturday c.7 Thisj would bring in a large increase of, fares. Mr Bbown -moved ■s that"lretufn ; • ticketsshould be availabj^ for two date. Mr Hawkes -endorsed the isentoments of Mr Brown. He ishjpgid tickets extended to Monday. ;>'' - i j The Pbovinciai,___ccioitob said that the; subject was one entirely of management. i| Mr Dixon objected to the reduction. Thej ■whole province paid for ? the railway, and he I did not see ;w£y Christchurch. should enjoy the whole benefit of it. ' !

The Pbovinoial Secbetaby said that the proposal of Mr Brown would, if adopted, cause great ponfapion'in the railway' accounls. Mr, Brown's proposal was lost on the «2L- * t .*'".!■ ■■■"-' "' "- voices.

Mr Peacock moved that a special train, with return at aingle fareß, should run on Saturdays. /Mr AynslßY W& s aware that Ihe fares were theimaximum ones,! but the Government had never reduced them, and he wished to see them forced into the course he had'Suggeßted, which.;would at once benefit the railway and the public. Mr Jollie said that the 'Government had shown a disposition to yield to the public wishes.., '■[■}■_■■_ y a? p.^ 3 Mr AynsleVs motion fof the'reductioh was lost on the voices. "'. .> --.-.; ' 7-' Mr Peacock withdrew hia proposal. -Mr (BJNieHX;said that the Bail way never did, and never t will pay ita expenses, so 3 long' asTthe present 5 high- -cna ! Tges J for the ; oonyeyancev;of ] gddds and auch high wageß were paid.. He moved a reduction of 9d per ton should be made from Christchurch to the Selwyn. , ; 'Mr MontgOmeby objected to ! the reduction. The Government had already made a reduotiop,and ; they .could not. afford, to doj more in that direction. The "PEOYTNCIAJ*. SSCbetaSy aaid that if the Governm ( eut«qtuld be aho*?ra to their satisfaction that "any redujcfion could be beneficially effected, feaj make"'itl' v "'"' *

v-Mr EjSlomi:jon drew his amefidmerifcO S V ; 'SK i Mr Knight moved-7-",That in order to. benefit the "small -farmers, 'return 1 ' tldfilts, 5 j second class, at single fares should be issued W market days on-the iwaajL*?--i-S ~\^\,->y -/'' - H J c " c -' : _l n v 4"'i\ I The.motion-was negatived;' : "";"; ; J A discussion of ; some length ensued on the, insertion ? ih one of ;the.tclaiise^,of, wordsto'the effect that stores c 'a_djgo6ds bt a similar description not packed.sliould be charged.afc.jfche rate of'a freignt'anbfhalf. *:/; t ( ,'* f ;/i,"- '..,■ .• I * insertion..<*f ,£bel words/which was however carried. Tho Bill passed through committee, and was reported to.the it,was decided that the third take place on the following day. T MTJNICIPAD COBPOBATION BESEBVES BILL, '■rrr\ r.-o;rraß6Brrr r Vr -HIT \ ™ 8 time, ah_ tl& House -conmiitteeaipon ?it~> ; The Bill through l committee, and Waß reported to the Hpnse, the. third reading to take place day; i *I J - - l - '& I This Bill was recommitted, and having passed through committee,' with a 'few aSemtions«- waa;. reported with thee principal of pfjjtjbej whole ;bf schedule "&? defining jthe kindsxifience tone cb^ideredlegal; Witbfthe yiew of recommitting the bill, for' the insertion of words leaving it to the magistrates to decide in _acE oa_&-broughfe before them /l whether , l the fence was sufficient. ;- r- _ - -j.s-i-.-ui ; The bill was reported and the third reading fixed for4_esaay.*■--"* ■ % * "' BAILWAY. Mr Bbown pn moving the House into committee*b_ s respecting the 'rail-way-toJ%^orth c wisl-e& intended to substitute for the second resolution the following 33^&&-*sft UMt to die Government to take, by Ordinance or otherwise, suoh steps- as -may-be-neeessary to ?make £30,000 of the unexpended balance of the loan, and any--interest that may accrue thereon, available as a fund |br guaranteeing /capitalists* inWesf" on* the'eosfc of tnefsaid railway. His orighial£Tefolutianß! went perhaps too much into detail! but he had done so, not because hc'orftß to fully explain the principle he,wished to see adopted. After the 1 -Ha^lc_o_te , manner in which Government had supported , that, prin- '§^ in their 'hands; " 4 ,"V/ f . -V" ,a ;[ .--;• Mr Montgomeby "said the Government did not objeot -to- the -principle- of the-guarantee, but would do. their best to cany itjout* As to the mtereat the estuhates calculated on the receipt. o£ *U the- interest up the end of after that date" *Gbver_meht would interest for the purposes" required! The reeolnrion.asand earned. The third resolution was also . oaxriad, and-the ; c l» _ii' -— v* -'■-Hit-'-"**- — j T The Council thea roiuatd.

________ commxeteb of btjeply. The Council jwent into Committee of Supply to consider the estimates of expenditure on railways. After a prolonged discussion a vote of -627,000 (being less by, £3646 19a than the sum on the 1 estimates) waa passed in a lump sum, Government undertaking to make every possible reduction. -•---*- ----The House then resumed, - and at twenty-five minutes to 2 a.m. adjourned till noon.