AUCKLAND PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2909, 21 November 1866, Page 4

AUCKLAND PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20.

The Speaker took hi 3 seat in Council rft 3 o'clock, when nineteen members were present.

PETITIONS. Mr. Creighton presented a petition from Bobfttt Drummond, praying for a grant of land. Mr. O'Neill presented a petition from Thomai Murphy, who states that in 18.58 he sent in a tender for the construction of certain works for supplying the city with water from the Government Domain, which tender was considered to be the moat eligible. He made arrangements for carrying out the works, when tbe Government subsequently decided, upon not proceeding with the works, on the ground that the supply of water would be inadequate. The, petitioner prayed that the Council would consider, the circumstances, and grant him such relief as they' might seem meet. Mr. Newman presented » petition from Adam Laybouru, praying fur a land grant. Mr. Wynn piesentsd a petition from Simon Lip* stine, who (states thut in April la«t ho, puicba»ed from the Government ap allotment at Wainu for £52^. and paid £10 1(K, part of purchase money. He afteiwaMs went to Ngaruawahia, and when the timer for paying the balance came he was unable to be' preseut . He has since paid the full amount-, and prays for such redress a 9 tbe Council might deem fit. Mr. Wynn presented tbe following petition, signed by 245 citizens of Auckland :—": — " To the Provincial Council of the province of Auckland, in Council assembled. — The , humble petition of the undersigned merchants and others of the city of Aupkland , showeth,-— That your petitionerslearn { by , Message No. 10 from his Honor. the Superintendent that proposals have been made to secure certain exclusive privileges' in landing passengers by ferry steamers at the wharves at Stokes's and O'Neill's Points ; and that his Honor, before consenting to these proposals, invites an expression of opinion on the subject by the Council. That your letitioners believe that regular steam -ferry/ accommodation will be best secured by having the" ! services open to private competition. That all the ferry steamers ought to be subject to similar charges for the use of wharves. Your petitioners, therefore, trußt that your -honourable Council will refuse your concurrence with Message No. 10 j and your petitioners, as in duty Lound, will erer pray." Mr. Sheehan presented a petition from Robert Haswell, praying for a Jand grant. ; The several petitions were received. PAPEBS. Mr. Williamson laid on the table the followingpapers :—: — Correspondence having reference to the proposed transfer of the confiscated lands iv the province of Auckland to provincial administration. Return of the names of men discharged from the Government employment at the Mount Eden Gaol since April, 1865. Return in detail of all prisoners who have escaped duriug the last five years from the Mount Eden Gaol, and cost of captme. PRFSRNT- STATE OF MOUNT EDEN GAOL. Mr. Wykn wibhed to a&k a question which the hon. member at the head of the Government might be aMe to answer without notice being given, — Whether it was the intention of the Government to move for a committee to investigate and report upon the present state of Mount Eden Gaol ? Mr. Williamson wished the hon. gentleman to give notice of the question. In putting that question the hon. gentleman had addre»sed him (Mr. Willianwon) as the lion, member at the ht-a i of the Government, and asked him to give a reply to a question he was unable to answer. The terra, " hi>n member at the head of the Government" was a mistaken term, and did not belong to the present form of Government. The gentleman at the head of the Government was his Honor the Superintendent, and it occurred to him to lie an inappiopnata term to apply to the hon. gentlemen sitting on that bench. Hon. members would recollect that, whde he and hi 3 colleague sat there to represent the Superintendent, neither of them was entitled to the term, *' hon, member at the head of: the Government." Mr. Wyjw j I meant the hon, member at the head of the Executive. Mr. WifciuajsoN e»id the lame remark would apply equally to that term. The bPRAEERsaiJ the matter must drop,

PKTITIQNB REFERRED TO COMMITTEE. Mr, Wv^N moved, %< 1 hat ihe petiiiou of John King he referred to the Petitious GommitUo." — Curried. Mr. Sheehan moved, " That the petition of Alexaiiiier MoMHIau be referred to the i^eCitioui i Comraitbee." — Carried.

XiIBBABT COMMITTEE. Mr. O'Nbiil moved, "That the name of Mr* Cheeseroaa be added to the Library Committee,' 1 — Carded.

BEPQBT OF PETITIONS COMMITTEE. Mr. Rowe moved, " That the interim report No. 1 of the Petitions Committee be adopted." — I Carried.

ORDERS OF THE DAY. HIGHWAYS BILL. Mr. Wilijamson moved the second reading of the Highways Bill. The object of one of the clauses was to give the Superintendent power over the whole province, as gtevt inconvenience had been felt fr»m roads being made in oertain districts which could not be oontiuued. It was his intention, if the Council agreed to the second reading, to refer the matter to a seleot committee, which might take evidenoe on the subject, as no doubt the bill was capible of improvement. Tha Highways Commissioners objected to cattle being allowed to ruu in the roads, and he thought that some regulations might be made on the subject. Mr. Dignan seconded the motion , Mr. 0' NeilTi supported the measure. He hoped that the Government would now see that it was their duty to compel the people of Epsom to pay a rate to support the road. Now when Highway Trusts were to be spread ove* the oountry, he hoped the Government would see its way clear to repeal the Turnpike Aot. He remarked upon the objec* tionable praotice of the Government referring all their measures to a select committee, when they virtually cams out a new bill. Mr. Bookland said the bill was creditably drafted, but he was sure there weie principles in the bill which were repugnaut to the country members, The vote by proxy wis taken away, and other ob« j.)cfcion*ble changes made ; and very large powers were asked fur by the Superintendent. He asked for a power of putting on a tax of 6d. per pound upon the estimated value of all lands. That was not a modest proposal for the Government and it would not show m nob. wisdom in the Council to pass it. He acknowledged the necessity for cousolidatiug the different measures on the subject, but he hoped this bill would come from the committee in a very different shape. Mr. Carle ton said it appeared to him that in some respects Mr. Backland was right, but not in any very important particular. When the bill was introduced in 1862, it was stated that it was intended that the bill should only be provisional. It was only the thin edge of the wed^e of taxation. It wa3 not n bill such as was required to make all persons tak3 their fair share of taxation . The true system of taxation of land was the value to sell, and uot a rae per acre. They felt they wonld have to come to that, aud last session they had taken away the acreage system over a portion of the country. This year the true system was introduced in this bill. There might be a difference of opinion as to whether this was the right time to introduce the principle, but there was no doubt the principle it'4f was the right one. As to the p >wer to be given to the Superintendent, last session the power over a part of the country was put upon the Superintendent by the Council, and now the Council would surely not refuse to extend their own principle. He should be gUd to see the rule brought again into the Act by which not less than oue-third of the ratepayers xhould be present at the election of trustees. If there was to be a good Highways Act, the people must be forced to work it. The Superintendent had power to step in and render the Act effective, if the people themselves did not do it. Mr. Maclian said that the system of the value to sell was r-ulier a complicated one. Re did not think that the valuators should be chosen from the district they belonged to. He thought provision should be made for that purpose. He thought the Government hhould compel iliatiiots to be formed within a certain radius of Auckland. He thought, where there were reserves belonging to the Government, that they should- be let, the proceeds to goto the districts within which they were. Mr. ROWI said he had intended himself to refer to the reserves. There were many road reserves and other reserves which were nut utilised. As to the powers given to Government, they had not exercised rightly tho s e which were given them. They had put toll-bars on roads where they did not spend sixpence ; and on others, which the Government kept up, no tolls had been erected. Mr. DiGNAir contended that the powers given to the Government had not been abused. The toll-bar had been put on the Mount Eden Road bacauss it was a branch of the Gieat North Road. In speaking of the observations made about responsible Govern

awnt, Mr. Dignan laid that in early sessions tbose •who wanted refcponsibtodGdvernmeut did it for the take of a principle j thole who moved in the matter Bo Si. merely wtnted to-g&sp'at office. The Spkakich here Yerainded,thehon. member that a* must not impute motives. Captain Cooler said he thought rating according to the value to sell was •cafculjttrd to check improvement*, In the committee he should object to the taxing of improvements. Mp « K«rb thought Jbat oattle were a beneßt to the roads, by eating down the gra-s on them. Of course, if the roads were macadamised, it would be ft different matter. He agreed with Mr. Maclean that the valuators of a district should, nrtt b&long to a district, but should belong to a distant district. H* would vote for the second reading. Mr. Willtamson replied. The bill was r*ad a second time, and referred to the Select Committee on the Fencing Bill. estimates. Mr. Williamson lud the estimates on the table, and stated that his Honor's message explanatory of them would come down with the Appropriation Hill. ' .' Mr. Whliamson laid on the table two returns With reference to the provincial land*. - jjjt KAWAKAWA COALFIELDS. Mr. Williamson moved that the Superintendent* message with reference to the leasing of the Rawakawa coalfields should be read. The message was read by the Cleik. Mr. Williamson snid the 1 only question for the Council was to say whether they agreed or nnt with the Superintendent's proposals relative to the coalfield. Ifj they did agree, the maps and advertisement would.be aent.to Australia with the first mail. He proposed that the Council now express their concurrence with ths Superintendent's proposal. Mr. Dignan seconded the motion. Mr. Row* s*id he saw nothing very objectionable in the course proposed, though he would have taken another. A good deal of time would necessarily elapse in negotiations by the mode proposed by the Government. He believed, if the Government had proposed favourable terms for a company, that sufficient capital might have been g.>t in Auckland in a fortnight. He believed that it would be found necessary to have a tramway from the mine to deep water. If that had to be done, and the line brought through private land, and the Bay of Islands proprietors were like land-holders elsewhere, the Company mi^ht find it a costly undertaking after they had taken their lease. The informaton ought to have been given whether the land through which the line would have to come was Government land or | rivate land. He was connected with a project to bring miners out some time ago, and if proper steps liad bren taken these mines might have been in operation, giving employ to tl.o c men, many of whom had left tbe province. There was no prospect of the line being worked now for n twelvemonth to come. , Tbe motiou was carried, and it wai agreed that the resolution should be forwarded to his Houor. LICKNSING AMENDMENT BILL. The Council went into committee upon the lao ming Amen Iment Bill, Mr. O'Neill in the chair. Mr. Williamson propose.! an amendment, to the effect that the nost of a bush license be raist-d to the minimum of £21, instead of £5, aud specifying a certain amount of aooommodatiou which it was necessary for such houses to have. The Superintendent was to have the power of modifying the license fee. Mr. Mat opposed the motion. Tbe Government must try and raise a revenue from something else than bush licenses. Captain Cooprr moved an amendment to the effect that, if the Superintendent thought fib, he might grunt a license without a fee. upon the holder undertaking to build a bridge, or do some other work beneficial to the distriaJ-. Mr. Mat moved thai- the Chairmau leave th chair. Mr. Creighton said he held a return which put the argument used by My. Williamson out of eowt. He had stated that the Justices granted in country districts licenses for small sump, but from the return be found that there were only five house -i which paid so low as £5, and those in oufc-of the-way place*, such as Waitetuna and Ahi para, it was uot worth while to pass a bill to get those five licenses raised. Mr Eowe said be thought the Government ought to bring down an entirely new olause for the 41st olau»e of the Licensing Act. Mr Buckland said the fault was that the Government did not keep the .Resident Magistrates pi sted up. 'i he fault had been found chiefly with Mr. Saaranoke, in regard to houses in Waikato. Mr. Willtamson said that every one who had travelled in the country would at once agree that an amendment was necessary. The Justices would not impose restrictions, but, if the power of imposing condiiionsrested with tbe Superintendent-, it was more likely that the interests of the province would be looked after. Mr. Ball contended that the power of making restrictions xhonld rest with the Justices rather than the Superintendent. Mr. CaiiLETON said the object of this bill was to increase the revenue, which they must do by every means. Mr. Wtnn said he found, from the return ob- .,'" tamed by Mr. Creighton, that the bush licenses averaged £18, and some in the Waikato jiaid £40. The Justices had taken every penny they fairly could out of the licenses', and had not justified the attack made on them by Mr. Williamson. Besides, the Government ought not to adopt this meaus of raising revenue. Mj>. Williamson expressed his willingness to report progress, in order to bring down another amendment, Mr, Cbeighton said it had been argued that when a bush license wan granted it was necessary to appoint a constable and erect a lock-up. He would ■negeat that the Government come down with a proposal to add the expense of arresting and maintaining in prison all persons convicted of drunkenness to the license fee. The Government to be consistent muvt go this length, and co raise a revenue. The motion that the Chairman leave the chair was put and lost on a division— ayes 8, noes 10. A motion that progress be reported was carried — the committee to pit again to-day (Wednesday). Mr. Williamson, in moving the adjournment, laid that he should have to lay the Superin* tendent's message on the table to-day, and would Immediately move that the House go into committee on tbe estimates. Tb« Council adjourned at 20 minutes after six O'clock.