OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Press, Volume XVI, Issue 2153, 12 March 1870, Page 2

OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

The last session of the present Provincial Counoil was opened yesterday at 2 p.m. by His Honor the Superintendent. The attendance of spectators in the stranger's gallery and below the gangway was rather meagre. The Speaker took the chair shortly after two o'clock. Present—Messrs Jollie, Williams, W. H. W.; Fyfe, Buchanan, Webb, Montgomery, Williams, J. S.; Inglis, Knight, Gray, Hawkes, Kennaway, Hornbrook, Hall, Westenra, R, jun. j Sheath, and T. S. Duncan.

Prayers were read by the Very Rev. the Dean of Christchurch. NEW MEMBERS. The Speaker announced that he had received a communication from His Honor the Superintendent informing him that the following gentlemen had been duly elected to serve as members of the Provincial Council for the districts respectively specified—John Smith Willcox, Esq., for the town of Lyttelton, in the room of E. A. Hargreaves, Esq., resigned; R. Westenra, jun., Esq., for the town of Akaroa, in the room of J. Waeckerle, Esq., resigned ; 3. B. Sheath, Esq., for the town of Timaru, in the room of A. Or. Horton, Esq., resigned.

his honoe's addeess. His Honor the Superintendent, accompanied by his Executive, then entered the Chamber, and proceeded to deliver the following address— " Mc Speakee and Gentlemen, — "I have called you together for a special session, previous to tbe meeting of the General Assembly, to ask you to determine upon the line which you consider the best for the Northern Railway, in order that an Act may bo obtained from the Colonial Legislature authorising the taking of the necessary land and the construction of the work.

" Resolutions will be submitted to you embodying the views entertained by the Government of the course which should be adopted.

" Bearing in mind the economy and advantage of keeping the railways under one management, and the improbability that any company or contracting firm would be likely to enter upon the undertaking, and to provide a large proportion of the necessary funds on terms which would be advantageous to the province, I am of opinion that you will do wisely to determine upon proceeding with the railway with the funds which the province has already at its disposal; and that you may do this with a reasonable prospect of being able to carry on the line to such a point as will largely promote the interests of the Northern Districts, I am further of opinion that if a system is adopted by which the work will be divided by the Government into separate contracts, the country will obtain the advantage of greater competition in tho distribution of the work, which will thus be brought within the reach of a larger numbar of contractors, and the Govornment will have it within its power to arrange for the performance of the works so as not to interfere with the ordinary industries of the country. "In connection with this subject, I cannot let this, our last meeting, pass without drawing your attention to two matters which may be regarded aB corollaries upon the extension of our railway syßtem. The first is immigration, and the second the enlargement of our wharfage accommodation.

"In regard to the first, the experience of the late harvest renders unnecessary any argument to show that unless more labor is introduced in the province, tbe area of cultivated ground will be contracted instead of enlarged, and our trade and commerce be brought to a stand-still. I have it on reliable information that the breadth of cultivated ground, including English grasses this year, will be 218,680 acres, against 145,000 acres of the last year, and the estimated amount of grain this year is 3,276,458 bushels, as against 1,490,682 bushels of last year, being more than double last year's produce.

'* To enable the producer of this article of export to compete with other grain growing countries, it will be necessary that he should have a reasonable certainty that he will be

able to obtain labour to gather of his year's toil, and that ho Si, I **! iuciliies of transport and W « winch will leave lum a margin of 1 p ta «Ht "I must therefore a^in consideration tho necessity of m l-- Kk vision, which shall extend over * R a &°- ---years, for the introduction of ooniil»? r,o,i cf tho province Nothing but staS L° n the result of neglecting our duty 1 V* 11 b * speet. J " "Us re, "I beliove that there is a Yen . feeling in favour of the General undertaking this work. ctn %:n "I will not here speculate &, f probability of tho counsels of th a , 9 issuing in any immediate eatisfoctor y m the promotion of immigration \ t U they may. Under any circumstance* A r * that the colony will not refuse to I tl T T> who have the means of selecting a ea Z , ' of immigrants to carry on tho colonic•" which alono can enable it to struggle » mA ? terrible incubus of debt resulting disturbances in the North Island. l¥ ° " I accordingly propose, to ask the Colonial fiovcrnS for the province the sum of £30000 t? expended solely in immigration of hree years, the interest and sinking jK of the loan to bo paid by the province « Should the Colonial Legislature ' 3santh this proposal, and the moneys be i u _<_, • spent, I feel confident that tho expend,? would react upon the land sales, and e_Ki us to proceed with the extension both !t wharfage and of internal communication "Since the last session, I have heard { m Mr Selfe of his willingness to baud i»t £3000 of the Sinking Fund of the W? tion Loan, and I have given directions for th.' expenditure of the sum of £10,000 voted br you for the purposes of Immigration. " I trust that you will affirm the desirable. ness of maintaining a general immigration of labour adapted to the wants of tho proviW leaving it to the Executive to modify from time to time the classes of immigrants to suit the requirements of the province. "The manner in which Mr Ottywellhag dispatched the ships which have arrived during the past year, and the caro ho hu taken in the selection of immigrants, is deserving of great praise, and convinces mc that- lie will be able, with some assistance, to carry on a larger immigration should you determine upon it. Since the beginning of January in last year six ships have srrived, with a total of some 700 adults, and in every instance I have had reason to be thoroughly satisfied with the arrangements made,

"A draft bill will be transmitted to you providing for the management of cemeteries. The law, as I am advised, does not allow tho Superintendent to convey public cemeteries vested in him under the Publio Iteserra Aot, 1854, to the different religious denominations, and the Bill which will bo laid before you is intended to carry out the purpose of the resolution passed by you on this subject in the month of April, 1868.

"It is not my intention to propose any other measures of general importance during the present session, as a future Superintsn* dent and Council will no doubt have to meet before the termination of the financial year, on the close of the next session of tho General Assembly. As it will be necessary that the elections should be over beforo that time, and as it is inexpedient that they should be proceeding while the Assembly io sitting, I hove in accordance with what I understood to bo your wishes, requested His Excellonoy Io direct a dissolution to take place at an earlier date than that at which tho present Council would be dissolved in the ordinary courae. " I now declare this Council opou for tho dispatch of business."

His Honor then withdrew.