GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Press, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5558, 12 July 1883, Page 5

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

j PBESS ASSOCIATION TDJMBAM.j COUNCIL. ■Wkdnksbat, Jttlt 11. The Legislative Councilmet at 2.80. UCKKSTNO COIOUTTSXS. On the motion of the Hon. Mr Ntose, a return was ordered of the erpense of elect- __. an the Licensing Committees, also of how many Committees had to be nominated by the Government. Mr Nurse asserted that the present system of election was a complete failure,and that.the nomination system should be reverted to. public woeks KxrraDrroßi. On the motion of Sir G. S. Whitmobk, a return was ordered of all Public Works expenditure in the different counties iv the colony since 1880, also showing the population and taxation paid by the several -counties. Sir G, Whitmore asserted that many districts in the North Island have been wholly neglected, while Patea and Taranaki had always been favored. His views were supported by the Hon. MrBoBIKBON. The Hon. Mr Chambeklain advocated .subsidised steamers for the Auckland district instead of expenditure on railways. The Hon. Mr Holmes urged the Government to speedily complete the connection Of the two railways by making the link through the Manawatu Gorge, otherwise the whole of the "West Coast traffic would have to pass over a private line, which never ought to have been allowed to be made by a company.

PRISONS BILL. The Prisons Bill was passed through Committee. The Council rose at 5 pan. HOUSE OP BEPEESENTATIVES. Wednesday, July 11. The House met at 2.30. 6T. john's college. The report of the joint Committee of the Standing Orders on St. John's College Bemovai Bill was read, considered, and agreed to. The Bill was introduced and read the first time. NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY'S BILL. The joint Committee on Bills reported that the New Zealand Land Company Empowering Bill was a private BilL PBE-EMPTTVK BIGHTS. The Hon. Mr Bolleston asked leave to lay on the table a list of the pre-emptive rights in Canterbury, and in doing so galled attention to the fact that ithadbeen alleged that information re these rights had been improperly withheld, whereas the list had been laid on the table as far back as 1879. QUESTIONS. Beplying to Mr O'Callaghan, The Hon. Major Atkinson said it was intended to bring down an amended Counties Act, in which provision would be made for keeping public roads clear of gorse. Eeplying to Mr Taiaroa, The Hon. Mr Johnstok said provision ■was made under the Eoads and Bridges Construction Act for making such roads a* the one from Portobello to Otago. Heads. That was the only provision that could be made. Eeplying to Captain McKenzie, The Hon. Mir Dick said he had recently seen samples of paper produced at Mataura mills, and he was glad to find that it was a very great improvement on the sample anbmitted previously. If the price was __■, the Government would buy. Beplymg to Mr Levestam, The Hon. Mr Johnston said a Bill for tyring property increased in value by the c-istrnction of public works would shortly be brought down for the consideration of Parliament.

_ : . Eeplying to Mr Moss, . The Hon. Mr Dick said the Government hadi ho power to protect teachers of the Auckland Education District'from an inquisition into then? religious beliefs. It was a very improper majiiry, and he did not think the teachers wore bound to answer such questions if they objected toit. '■'- Replying to Mr Lee, _ _* ;■.' The Hon. Mr CoNotiiT said Leeston RJo\ Court had been discontinued,, as -another Court situated within four miles was sufficient for the work of the locality. Replying to Mrßracken, The Hon. Mr Conolxy said no more xhbmey would be spent on the present Dunedin Gaol than what was absolutely requisite for -the keeping it in repair, and if a suitable site for a new gaol offered they wwdd be prepared to negotiate for its ptrchase. Replying to Mr Bracken, The Hon. Mr Bbtcb said he had no pcwerinlaw to prevent Carey and other JPioenis Park informers from coining to Niw Zealand if they thought fit. , Replying to Mr Hutchison, Fhe Hon. Mr Eollkston said steps wculd be taken to see that the provisions ■of the law were enforced in reference to thi publication of the annualjstatements of mhing companies iv the " Gazette." Replying to Captain Mackenzie, The Hon. Mr Dick said a letter carrier wmld be appointed at Gordon. The portioi of the railway between Clinton and Gone not required for railway purposes woild be considered when dealing with the gemral question of such reserves. feplying to Mr Pyke, mc Hon. Mr Dice said the Government hadno poorer to assist by way of subsidy towir<?s the maintenance of a medical max at Jackson's Bay. Bplying to Mr Shaw, Tie Hon.; Mr Dick said a Bill to providefor the arrest of husbands deserting their wives would be brought down. 00NTAGI00S DISEASES ACT. M' Hutchison moved for leave to intro- _ duce a Bill to Repeal the Contagious' Diseses Act, 1868. He argued that under the Iw as it existed a woman might, on the Certificate of a gaol surgeon, be detaind in prison for a period of three moats, without the chance of being heard in he own defence.

Th Hon. Mr Roixbston said that when .the El came on for the second reading he woulcshow that the Act operated benefidaß;. The tendency rather was to see ifce Ast extended. The original Bill was brouat in at the instigation of a number of petons who had studied the whole •questub, and it had not been a failure by any mens. Women referred to could not be comnitted to prison for three months until th<?hsd been tried for the offence before a ompetent tribunal. Mr Pr* gaid that instead of the original Act beini repealed, it should be rendered compulsor. From Christchurch, where .the. Act /<as iv operation, the women migrated, iso carrying contagion in their itraek. ' Mr MoNTojixET corroborated the statement that ?omen in a state of disease migrated eiewhere from Christchurch.. Not only woJd he advocate more strin* genoy.in the.pplication of the Act, but he would ye prpared to insist that proper snpervisun s&uld be exercised over houses of had wput* and thereby protect their .young mm frcn a serious eviL Mr Joxse arjued that there was no case , on recort of any respectable woman having -suffered indigity from the operation of ithe Act. He opposed repealing the Act. Mr H<mzs testified to the fact that in Christchich tte Act had been most beneificial.

Mr FrzGsRAiD thought it would be better totllow the Act to remain in force another jar or sc, until they had seen how it operatd elsewhere. If he was not mismforisd, in France the Act had worked a great eQ, as woken neglected to call in medioal vidence; and instead of open prostitutn a great deal of immorality of a mere prate character went on. Mr J. Utchakax said that in France it bad give rise to a system of bribery on the part of rumen so afflicted. So much so wasthathe case that France had abolished thepoluforce whose special duty it was to look aer this offence. Mr OUuaqhan said that the worst class of jlice in Paris was selected for this pajticuli duty, and that might account for its ilure there. He advocated the keeping M_e Act in operation for another

year at least, although he was not very decided in his opinion as to its merits. . . Mr HtjWjhisok in reply, ****** that instead of mitigating the evu it had, under j this Act, increased. He hoped there were better influences at work for the protection of their young men than that proposed by Mr Montgomery. The motion for the mtroduction of the Bill was put. The House divided Ayes, 19; Noes, 42. The motion for the introduction was lost. COMPANIES BUI.. On the motion of Mr Shaw, the Com- ! panics Act 1882 Amendment Bill was introduced and read a first time. DECENTRALISATION. The adjourned debate on Mr Montgomery's resolution was resumed by MrLsvisTAM, who, in reply to the Treaaurers's statement that there were no petitions before the House demanding the change proposed, said when abolition was given effect to there were no petitions claiming that step, and he had further to remind them that the projected insurance scheme of the Treasurer was about to be brought forward without any such demand being made. For the Government of the day had at various times made compacts with sections of members. One was with tue Nelson members in 1879, when the Government undertook to proceed with the Nelson railway at the rate of ten miles per annum, yet nothing whatever had been done Bince. These compacts arose from the enormous spending power of the Government. It was evident the Government in the exercise of that power was influenced by notions altogether apart from those of good government. Another case of complaint against the central Government was the utter hopelessness of obtaining redress for well|foonded grievances. If the Government, as the; Treasurer boasted, did not want a largea majority than he had, why was it that they had entered into the compact with the Canterbury members about the West Coast Railway. The Public Works statement and the compact in question differed widely, and the latter was a departure from the spirit of the former. The Hon". Major Atkinson interrupted the hon. member to declare most emphatically that Government would not under any circumstances consent to the w6180,000 being diverted in any part from the purpose to which it had been appropriated and for which it was raised

Mr Levestam expressed pleasure at 'eceiving such an assurance; but he had naintained this was not in accordance with ihe understanding entered into -with the Janterbury members. Again, he pointed >ut that while in the statement the Governnent saw no need for the Canterbury and iVest Coast line, they now undertake to nake an alternative survey of that line. Vgain, he objected to the extra taxation caused by public works, not the amount, >ut that it was raised from the wrong )artieß. It was not taken from the parties vho were most directly benefited by ie expenditure of the tax. Money vas voted and never spent, and that ras one of their great complaints against ids central government. The Govemnent asked how it was that railways and sublic works were to be provided for when ihe local bodies could not borrow money, md the answer was that the Government ras the proper party to borrow the money, md re-lend it for disbursements to these Local bodies. The conditions under which ibolition was acquiesced in not having been riven eftect to, the argument of the treasurer that members were returned who supported abolition, was bad. Had these conditions been fulfilled it might have been otherwise, but not having been fulfilled, abolition was virtually secured by Ealse pretences. He had always been in Favor of provincialism, and had seen no cause to change his mind. Mr J. W. Thomson argued that the subsidies under abolition had been so far paid out [of loan. The provisions of the Roads and Bridges Construction Act of last year had already broken down, as there was not sufficient funds, and the deficiency had to be provided for by Treasury bills. That deficiency would next even greater/and the Treasury Bills would be again repeated and repeated, until they would have to be added to the consolidated debt of the colony. The country generally was dissatisfied with the central administration, and he argued the "discontent was well founded. It was not, however, at all likely to assume a direct shape in public estimation so long as the Government was in a position to contract loans. Then, again, he argued that between the' North and South there was a great want of community of interests. The Native question in the North would be much better understood by Northern members than could possibly be the case by men in the South. Had the people in the North Island alone had control of their own affairs, the large estate of Patetere would net have been parted with. He criticised the Financial Statement at considerable length, showing that the current expenditure -was largely increasing, and blamed the Government for not trying to live within their means, instead of proposing to impose fresh taxation. Trade in Dunedin, for example, was in a most depressed state. What was the reason of that ? The fact was that the population was beginning, rightly or wrongly, to associate this depression with the present centralisation tendency of the Colonial Government. The colony was drawing a very large land revenue from Otago. A sum of .£890,000 was drawn from that provincial district last year, exclusive of railway revenue. There was the feeling there that with their large revenue they could go on making roads, bridges, and railways, without borrowed money at all. Under the circumstances it was not wonderful that there should be considerable discontent. His opinion was that New Zealand should consist of two colonies altogether. He looked upon the resolutions as an assertion of public opinion being in favor of a change. He denied that in Wellington they were, doing the business of the country efficiently. To do so they would require to remain in Wellington at least six months every year, and as an industrial population they could not afford to do so. He reviewed the trifling nature of the work they had to do. A question about the construction of a railway Biding at Forth street, Timaru, that was how their time was taken np. As the work increases it would be found more and more duficult to getjmen to come up here. It would be much better to have the South Island men assembled at some place at their own doors, and the North Island remain in the North. Mr Fish twitted the Government; for allowing the debate to go on without either them or any of their party saying anything. The subject was one of great importance, and as such it was deserving of more consideration, even although it might be expending courtesy to their opponents. Interrupted by the 5.50 adjournment.