HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3133, 1 August 1867, Page 4

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

FRIDAY, JULY 12. The Speaker took the chair at 2 p.m. The minutes of the last meeting were rend and. confirmed. I PAPERS. The Hon. the Postmasteb-General laid on the, (table a return relative to the Telegraph Depart*' ment. The Hon. the Premier laid on the table the 'following correspondence — on Arbitration Court, also on the Marriage Act, and other papers. The papers were ordered to be printed. I TAXATION OF THB COLONY. ' Mr. Reynolds asked, " Whether it is the in* tention of the Government to propose any redaction ,on the taxation of the colony, and, if so, from what sources of revenue, and to what extent !" The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer replied, and. said that he was not prepared to state as yet whether • the Government were prepared to reduce the taxa* ' tion. There was no doubt that a reduction would be desirable and a great boon, and it was possible that circumstances might happen under which the taxa* tion might be reduced. A.RAWA TRIBE PETTriOK. Mr. C. Wilson, 0. 8., asked the hon. member at the head of the Government, " Whether the report of the Committee on Public Petitions, on the petition of certain persons of the Arawa tribe, was translated into the Maori language and printed j and whether copies thereof were circulated among the said tribe P The Hon. Mr. J. C. Richmond said that the report had not been circulated, but the restriction* of the report had been complied with by the Govern- ! ment, which was much better than merely translate ing and circulating the report." The Hon. the Speaker said that there had been no resolution ordering this paper to ba circulated , elsewhere than among the members of the House. NON-PAYMENT OF SAIiABIES JN THE LAND SERVICE. Mr. Williamson asked the Hon. the Colonial Trea« surer, "For the reasons which led to the non-payment ' for a considerable period of salaries and other claims recognised at due in the months of March, April, and ! May last, to surveyors and others engaged in the Waikato and confiscated]land service." The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer said tbat tha | Government Agent went into the history of the case,, ,' showing the Government had been misled as to the ! amount due ; but tbat as soon as they clearly under* , stood the amount due they had at once forwarded an amount to liquidate all claimi, although theexpentes had been incurred without the sanction of the Government. He wished the matter had ended here, but only by the la»t mail they had received most unsatisfactory accounts for amounts stated to be long since due. He would like to see a committee appointed to inquire into the whole matter. THB COMING CONFLICT. Mr. Vooel asked whether the Government would wish the notice given by him for Tuesday to take pre^ cedence of Government business, and whether the Government could have the returns of the goldfields laid on the table by Tuesday ? The Hon. the PREMißßsaid that he did not wish to proceed -with any Government business until this question was disposed of. The reports would be laid on the table on Tuesday, if possible. MUBDER OF MR. BENNETT WHITE. Major Atkinson atked if the Government hid received information as to the truth of the report. The Hon. J. 0. Richmond said that they had received information that Mr. White had been murdered by th» Hauhaus at Waiotaki ; a native mailman had also been killed near there, at a place near Manihatuki; both their heads had been taken offc There was also a report that a man named Lawson, formerly of the Ist Waikato Regiment, was misting. The rest of the party had escaped. COMMITTEE OP SUPPLY. On the motion of the Hon. Colonial Treasurer, it was agreed that the Committee of Supply should sit on Tuesday next. WAIRARAPA TELEGRAPH STATIONS. Mr. Borlasb moved, " For copies of all correa* pondence that has taken place with the Government as to the establishment of the electric telegraph stations in the Wairarapa district." — Agreed to. - EXPENSES OS 1 LAW COURTS. Mr. BORLASE withdrew his motion, "For aretarn of the cost, for the past financial year, of the Resident Magistrates' Courts and the District Courts at Wellington, Wanganui, Picton, and Napier: specifying tho names of every paid officer in every such Court, and the amount of the salary paid to every such officer in each of the laid places," on being informed by the Hon. Mr. Stafford that a return was at present being compiled of every officer of the Government, his office, duties, and salary. > : PROVINCIAL LOANS. Mr. Wells moved, "For the returns showing the amount of provincial loans authorised by the General Government, the amount of debentures told on account of such loans, the price at which they have been sold, and the annual amount of interest and sinking fund payable by each province respectively." The Hon. the Premier said he hoped by Tuesday next to lay a report of this kind on the table. The notion was then carried. NATURALISATION OF MANHSDI KRAKOUR. The Hon. the Premier moved, "For leave" to bring in a bill intituled* An Act to remove Doubts as to the Naturalisation of Manheim Krakour.' " Leave was granted. THE ADDRESS TO HIS EXCELLENCY. „■ f Several members, headed by the Speaker, pro* cceded to present the addre« in reply to the ipceob,.

On their return, the Shakir read the following r»ply of his ExotUenoy : — '♦ Gentlemen, — I thank you for your loyal address, and do not donbt that I shall hare your cordial cooperation in all measures tending to increase the prosperity and promote the welfare of the colony." The House adjourned at 3.20 p.m.

TUESDAY, JULY 16. The Speaker took the chair at 2 p.m. The minute* of the last meeting were rend and confirmed.

new uimur, Edward JBaigent, E«q., the new member for Waimea, was intioduced to the Speaker, and took the oath and hi* seat. DISTRICT COURTS ON THK GOLDTMI/PS. Mr. HaUOHTOK asked the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, u When it ii intended that District Courts in Criminal JurUdiotion shall be held in the Otago goldQelda district Y. The Hon. the Psxmisr laid that if it were shown to the Government that these Courts were necemry they would be established.

, . LIGHT DUIS. Mr. ' JRiynolds asked, " Whether there is any intention on the p*rfc of th« Government to reduce the present oharges on shipping for light dues, and, if so, to what extent ?" The Hon. the Postu astir-Geotciul Mid that any reduction of .these dues would entail a lois of revenue. The final decision of the Government on this question would be announced in the financial statement of the Treasurer.

SFXAKKB OJT OTAGO. Mr. Brows asked the Hon. Mr. Kiohmond, "Whether the General Government in any shape or form whaterer, directly or indirectly, are supporting Mr. Efery, and Mr. Robinson, in the action they are bringing against the Speaker of the Provincial Council of Otago f ' The Hon. J. C. Kiohmond said that the General Garernment had supported Messrs. Every and [Robinson in this matter. These gentlemen had acted under the advice of lawyers employed by the General Government. If- these ■ gentlemen -went in for damages the Government would not support them to that extent, bnt only so far as to ascertain whether the. course they had taken was right in point of law. LIGHTHOT73B ON TAKWMiti BMT. Mr. A. J. Richmond asked the Hon. PostmasterGeneral, " Whether Mr. Balfour has reported farourably on a site for erecting a light-bonne at Cape Farewell Sandspit ; and, if so, whether the Gorernment are prepared to place a sum on the Estimates for its erection?" The Hon. the PostmABTßß-G«nibal replied in the affirmative to both questions.

BKPORTINO OOMIfITTBJt. Mr. Atkinson brought np the ad interim report of this committee. The report was ordered to be printed. BRITISH AND JIUSSHAJJUS MAIL SERVICE BILL. The Hon. the Postmastxr-Giniral mored that this bill be ordered to bs (to-morrow) referred to a committee of the whole Home to consider whether it ffu a proper- bill to pan the House.— -Carried.

commute* or supply. The Hon. the Colonial Triasorbr moved the Houie into Committee of Supply, as at the present time the public ohest was locked up, and no money could be taken until voted by the Home. The Speaker having left the chair, The Hon. the Colonial Trkasttrib resumed. The only motion that he now proposed to make was, " That a nipply be granted." On a future day he would be prepared to go into a financial statement, and show the items and total of the supply asked. The motion was agreed to, and the resolution reported to the Home.

THS OOUMTOXDS HANAMMINT. Mr. VoGßii moved, " That in the opinion of this House the authority under the Goldfields Act should be delegated to the Superintendents of the provinces within which the goldfields are respectively situated." He hoped that this would not be considered as a personal question, and in opening the matter he would refrain from making it suoh. He hoped that the Government would have seen the desirability of giving way in the matter. The Government had committed a fault, and the best thing they coald do was to admit and rectify it. The meaning of the resolution simply was that the authority under the Goldfields Act be delegated to the Superintendent of Otago. The cause of this resolution was the course which had been adopted by the Government, which had almost thrown Otago into a state of revolution, and would indeed have done so but that the people of Otago had such confidence in the House that they relied upon it for redress. In February last, Mr. James Macandrew had been elected Superintendent of Otago, and the Government could have disallowed it, as empowered by an Act passed last seniqn. They had not disal* lowed it, but had instead made use of the Goldfields Act to show their disapproval of the election, and their intention to commence an anti-provincial policy and establish a despotic central Government. He looked upon this as a matter of the greatest importance, and the Government should really have taken the proper steps to rectify the unfortunate course they had pursued. The Government were responsible for all that had occurred in Otago since they took their step ; they would have been responsible if there had been bloodshed. The Goldfields Act was never meant $o be used in the way it had now been, tq annoy the elected persons and punish the electors. It was useless, for the Government meant this only as a formal right. Under the power claimed by the Government under the Goldfields Act they might entirely supersede provincial institutions. Was the Home, therefore, safe in trusting the Government with such power ? In a singular speech made by one of the members of the Government, it had been said that the Government in this matter had acted tßta}ly on th.c diotatgs'of expediency. Thift argu* nientne Ipoked. on as' a sham. If the Government had meant this, they had acted quite against the dictates of expediency. They had taken the most inexpedient step that they possibly could. It might be convenient for the Government now to say they did not view it in this light. The Govern' ment bad laid on the table a set of papers under the name of Macandrew's case. He hoped in arguing the question the Government would not refer in any; way to them, as this was not, as he had* said before,' a personal matter,' but the question was, were the electors to be punished because a man was elected with the consent and concurrence of the Government?—for the Government, if they chose, could have disallowed it. Those who had opposed Mr. Macandrew — and he himself was one — accepted the result of the election because he and they felt they had no other course than to regard^ hitn a.s the ejected, Superintendent olf the' province, and for the gpod order and «MQd government of "the.'provin.ce it was necessary that this aotion should stand. Was it right that the legally elected Superintendent of Otago should be deprived of part of the powers that were absolutely essential to his position ? The goldfields .were part of the province of the Superintendent, and it was utterly impossible that there could be proper control under double government in the province. The members of the Executive fy$ 9ir this, or later ie would pome tq this,' that whoever had the goldfields must have the province. The goldfields covered an area of 4,808,000 acres, containing tan or twelve townships.' On these goldfields the sum of £514,814 17s. Id. had been, expended; during the first five yea/s they were opened, gut of the funds of the province, ft' was little short of revolutionary conduct, for the Government suddenly came in and took possession of this territory, on which so much money had been expended. The course the Government had taken would probably materially injure the credit of the province. Great credit was due to Otago for the very mild course it had taken, and that it had not broken out into open disturbance. The Government would have been justified in suspending the payment of the public loans, and in stopping public work| and, calling upon the General Government/ who had taken forcible possession of part of the province, to carry them out. The people of Otago looked ton this House for redress, and that alone had saved Otago/ /from, a most serious disturbance. The Government had sent a person down— a member of the House— to take /possession of the goldfields andno notice had been given to the ProvinejalGqvernTnent ql %hj> intentiqn of doing 'se.. He 'must, ifcongfy^condemn th.'c power givfcn ; tp tbe.Go^rpqr 'in Council of 'making orders bpin'g delegated' to any one member of the Government. ' -The hon. member of the Government, who had travelled down South, had incited people against the provincial authorities. .He hoped/ that the hon. member (Mr. J, C. Richmond) could state that he had not "done what was (reported of him, namely, ordering Mr. Thompson to tweak into the Provincial Government buildings at Laurence. , He must say that he considered the member for the Gold Fields town was ' very much to blame for taking the action he had taken in this matter. He thought the House was insulted by such an appointment being made, as attempting, to. bias < the members of< the House. The hon. member at the head of the Government had been strongly .'opposed to his buying of rotes, a* he had shown by what he said, and the measures hff had introduced in .1865-; and yet he had now gone against the priuciples of f tttering {he imdependeao*

of any member. The Government had taken a course to bear as heavily and as gallingly on the Province as possible. The Hon. the Commissioner of Customs had done very wrong in encouraging insubordination in the inferior officers in the goldfields, and in lending them his assistance to bring actions against agaiost the Provincial Government. The central policy spoken of by the Government simply meant egotism, as they were anxious to have all power as long as they were in office, but as soon as they got out of office they would be the first to take the opposite side. In proof of this, the hon. gentleman quoted a speech made by the Hon. Major Richardson, when Superintendent of Otago. Everything that the General Government put its hand to they made a mistake of. He pointed to the Telegraph Department, native affairs, &c The House would decide that an improper use had been made of the Goldfields Act by the Government,—that they had acted unexpectedly, —that the course taken by the Government in endeavouring to supersede Provincial Governments was revolutionary— that the House had been insulted by the action of the Government in choosing one of their members as their head agent— that the course taken was such as to induce serious disturbances in Ptago. In conclusion, he would assure the Government that, failing a satisfactory settlement of the resolution, very serious results might follow. It was exceedingly wrong to keep 50,000 people under a state of government which they objected to. The people of Otago wera loyal to the Throne and the Assembly, but th»y were not loyal to a Government who were endeavouring to over-ride their constitutional rights. Mr. O'Korkb seconded the motion. ' He had given the Government uniform snpporfc since they came into office, but he had felt that the day would come when the House would break into two parties. He was glad that day had come, and he now took his stand among the provincialists. He had read the papers concerning Mr. Macandrew, and he was very much surprised that the Government should have j made such a person Superintendent. The Hon. the Prbmeeb said that he had been much disappointed with the illogical and inconclusive speech thai; had been made by the hon. member for the Goldfields. The hon. gentleman had said that he would avoid personalities ; he had not done so. When the hon. gentleman spoke he was always either weak in his arguments or personal. The House must know exactly what is the issue of this motion, and they knew that there were certain personal ingredients in the question. The members of the Government were, and always had been, of but one mind, that his Excellency's power should not be delegated to the Superintendent of Otago. If there was an Act which had been carefully considered in the House, it was the Goldfields Act, and in it the discretionary power waa given to the Governor to delegate the power to Superintendents, or as he thought fit. The reason why the Government had not disallowed the election was that if they had done so they would have put everything in Otago at a dead-lock, and there could not have been an expenditure in the province of a single penny. The Government was now only allowed to mine and legislate on the goldfields on sufferance. They were actually royal powers which had never been delegated to any one else. The Government were not prepared to advise the Governor to take a step making this particular Superintendent hold these powers. The course taken by the hon. member (Mr. Vogel) in reply to a mild and temperate letter had prevented any negotiation. The Cabinet had done, and were determined to do, everything they could to satisfy the people of Otago. The hon. member had apostrophised him (Mr. Stafford) and his conduct, but he would say that he had been twenty-three years in a prominent position in New Zealand, and he appealed to the public, and not to the hon. member, for a character. In order to arrive at some satisfactory state of things with regard to the goldfields, a short bill would be introduced. With reference to the present resolution, it was inconsistent wiih the statute book, and incomplete. He should move as an amend nent that the words "unless under exceptional circumstances" be added to the resolution. The bill whioh the Government would introduce would give the management of the Otago goldfields to the Provincial Executive, of whomever composed, for the time being. That was what the Government would do, and if members were satisfied with that they would vote for his amendment. The hon. mover had dealt the most deadly blow at provincialism in one of the thing* he had said, in saying that because there was a dispute between the General and Provincial Governments, the latter were to repudiatejtheirloans. Thehon. gentleman would yetregret that he ever said that. He had also said that he (Mr. Stafford) had no right to make these orders in Council, but he informed him that he did it as President of the Council, after consulting the members of the Execntive. As to \rhat the hon. gentleman had spoken of his not supporting the honour of the House by appointing one of its members in charge of the goldflelds, he (Mr. Stafford) ■till held as strongly as he had ever done his opinions as to the desirability of disqualifying office-holders. The Government had been placed in a very unpleasant position in having to express want of confidence in any public man ; and he did not remember, in his public capacity, ever having any two such unpleasant things as, first, removing Mr. Macandrew from the Superintendency, and advising that he should not have those powers delegated to him. Mr. LffDUM thought the Government would not have been justified in delegating the Governor's powers tq Mr. Macandrew, who. it was evident from the papers that had been laid on the table, had repeatedly applied public money to his own uses. Mr. J. O'NEtiiT, was in favour of the original unamended motion. Mr. G. Graham was strongly in favour of with[rawing the amendment. If an offence had been committed by Mr. Macandrew, the duty of those concerned was to bring him to a' bourt of justice. The, Home of Representatives did not sit judicially there, but as legislators, and the hon. members would not consider the question as actually personal to Mr. Macandrew. If these charges against Mr. Macandrew were true, it was a slur upon his constituency to re-elect him. If the Government thought that there was truth in them, why did they no^ let the late Superintendent carry on, the. duty, aad appoint a special commission to. inquire into the matter \ Th^ House should remember that they were mot dealing with the man but with the office, and by voting for the amendment they would be doing an injury to Superintendents of every province, and to all provincial institutions. Mr. Main disclaimed all partizanship in any remarks he might make. He spoke sincerely pi what, he had seen from the withholding of the 'delegated powers from the Superintendent, vV hat the Government; proposed, was already provided for by the Executive Council Ordinan.ce, 1862, which, gave the Executive. Council ay the powers with the advice of the Superintendent. The mover of the resolution deserved great credit for the temperate manner in which he had opened the question. Hon. members must bear with Otago member! if they urged upon them the necessity of allaying the excitement in their province. He had to use his influence aq Justice of the Peace to allay the excrement caused among the miners by the withholding of the delegation qf powers. Notwithstanding his exertions and those of ofner4, they had been unable totally to suppress the smouldering rebellion,, which requires little to start it to a flame. The b,o.n. member at the head qf the Government foad no doubt worn his politioal piujnes. w&h honour for * long time. He [Mr. Main) was a great admirer of his, and had been tor a long time, but what Otago objected to was not to the Hon. Premier himself, but to his policy, whioh they now attack in a very salient point. They had been told by the hon. member at the head of the Government that the election of Mr. Macandrew bad been confirmed because it was necessary fay the. province, and for the outlays $ acJmaT necessity. Now, he would inform, the House that there was £ clear t°^ e months from the time the election took plac,e to "the end of the finanoial year. The royal right over valuable metal, stated by the Premier to be a royal prerogative, was only mythical, and was never claimed in the Australasian colonies. He (Mr. Mwn) was but a recent convert to provincialism, but he now thoroughly believed in it, and he conld see that the course taken by the Government was directly to injure the provinces, and tended strongly to centralisation. He wquld not deny that under clause 109 of the Goldfields Act the Governor had power to delegate the powers to any person whom he thought fit, and it would have been well if the hbn. member at the head of the Government had had the powers delegated to himself instead of sending down an irresponsible agent. Miners were peculiar men to; deal with, and expected immediate attention to palpable rights. HecouldnotholdtheGovernmentfree from blame in endeavouring to administer goldfields without having the necessary machinery ready. It was not likely that the Provincial Government would pay all the expenses of the goldfields, to let the General Government take all the revenue from them. It would be impossible and impracticable to administer the goldfields from Wellington. They must have a local responsible administration. When the Hon. the Commissioner of Customs was 03 hjs missionary tour in the South, thisj had De 9* okajly P™*Mnted to him bj the Jnbab.itants of the Clyde. He had be«p! sfrry to ste that the Hon. Premier had made little of the Lawrence business, whioh was • suob aitoUadiigraoetoanyplaco. Tho building

waß put up at the Provincial Government expense, and was forcibly taken possession of by the General Government. The behaviour on that occasion was most unseemly, and such that the house should condemn. The result of the example was that miners in the Laurence district, who had expended a considerable amount of money on their claims, now had them "jumped" by men who said, " There is no Government here j we have as much right as you have." It did not become the hon. member at the head of the Government to make the strictures which he had made on the mover of the resolution. He and other members came up to the House to represent the true feelings of their constituents. He was glad to see now that the inter-provincial policy of the Government was not taken favourably by the generality of the House. He admired the way in which the Government had carried on the business of the country up to this time, and he was 6Orry to be opposed to them; but, to quote the words of one of England's best statesmen, they mustrecogniiethe growing democracy of the times. The Government now required some new blood infused into it. The central system would be strongly opposed, as it ought to be. What would the country nave been had it not been for its provincial institutions ? Would it have been populated as it now was ? The interests of the goldfields were bound up with the other provincial interests, and must be administered with them. If they were withdrawn, the province might as well "shut up," as, if they had not the administration of the goldfialds, they had nothing to administer. To the goldfieldi the province was indebted for it* magnificent trunk lines of roads. To any practical person it was simply absurd to say that the goldfields could be administered from Wellington. If the Ministry had before taken the course which they now shadowed forth, all the trouble would have been saved. But it was now too late— the Government had insulted Otago, and said they would give what was wanted, but would not apologise. He hoped the House would not accept the position of the Government by pasting the amendment of the Premier. Major CARQiLii said he would be in favour of the resolution, but it was wanting in its principal part. He could not agree to a resolution saying that the General Government had no grounds for the oourse they had taken — for there were certain charges brought against the Superintendent, and_ he had taken no steps to remove the Stigma. This he was wrong in not doing. The action taken by the Provincial Government at Laurence and elsewhere was, throughout this business, just as oensurable as that of^the General Government. The hon. member who had moved this resolution said that the people of Otago relied upon this House ; if they did so, why did the hon. member's Government apply to General Chute ia the matter ? He would vote for the additionjof the words proposed by the Government. Mr. Reynolds said that very little weight could be placed on what was said by the last speaker, the hon. member for Bruce. When he returned from Parliament on the last ocoasion his constituents had played the "Rogue's March" before him, as they considered him a traitor to Otago. When he last came to Wellington he had broken six out of seven pledges made by him. The hon. member had had a requisition, signed by nearly every elector in his district, asking him to resign, which he had declined to do. As to the question in hand, he, as well as other members, had voted against Mr. Macandrew, but they had accepted the defeat. The antecedents of Mr. Macandraw were no worse than the antecedents of those who had been appointed to public offices in Otago by the General Government. He hoped that this House would not throw any insult upon Otago, for they must remember that Otago was one-fourth of the oolony, and, if the Otago people considered that there was a slur cast upon them, he wonld be ' sorry to be responsible for the results. He hoped that justice would be done to Otago, and trusted in the fairness of the House to see to it. Mr. Cbaobofb Wilson, 0.8., said that he was rather astonished at the audacity of the hon. mover. He was in the colony when the unfortunate circumstances which had struck such a blow at the credit of the provinces occurred, and had hoped it would never be brought up again. The mover did not, for the sake of his own case, go into the personal part of the question. He himself was a friend of the provinces, but he did not think that they would last much longer if they went on borrowing as they now did. In the Constitution Act it was stated that a time-expired felon had power to sit in the House of Assembly, but if one of these were to be chosen as Chief Magistrate of a province, would the Governor depute royal powers to a felon ? The incidents of 1861 were very fresh in his mind. When a certain hon. member had been deprived of his office for misappropriation — when stories were written and spoken, and no action was taken to remove them, — what was the value of the character then? He would not dw*U more on this distasteful subject, but he trusted to the good sense of the House to support the course taken by the Government. Mr. BobIiASE was strongly opposed fa the course proposed by the Government, and he was sorry to hear the language used by the last speaker, who took such a gloomy view of the future of the provinces that he could compare him to nothing but a Qasaan. dra in trousers. He was sorry to hea,r the personal part of the speech of the hon. member for Coleridge. If the hon. member for Clutha was not fit to hold the chief office in \he jjxeoutive of the largest province, why did the Government allow him to do so ? And if he was fit to hold the office, he was fit to have the delegated powers. He considered the action taken by the Government was subversive of^ the powers given to the ifovinces by the Constitution Aot. He would not vote for making the Government despotio and taking awayfprovincjulnpwers. He hoped members would give their opinion, on this question. The Hon. J. C. Richmond said that the whole of the cue had been totally misstated by the hon. mover. The Government could not and would not delegate the power to Mr. Macandrew. This cry about the menace that was offered to provincial nstitutions was proved to be the very reverse of truth by the action which had been faken. by the Government on every occasion^ One of the most able advooates of the provinces, in, th,e. House had said last session — "Yfe.wil} m»ke the General Government impossible." That had been the main policy of the party who weca now attaoking the Government. He had gone almost a perfect stranger through the province of Otago, and always spoke out his opinions, and he had always been listened to calmly, and had never seen any majority in favour of delegation of power. When he had spoken in Laujpenae, he had been treated remarkably well. The id^a seemed to him to be total jndjffjsren.ee ay to who did the business on the goldfields so long as it was done. He had visited the goldfields with carte blanche>from his colleagues to do what he wished to put a stop to the threatened disturbances. He had written a letter to the Superintendent ; but from the tone of the Council then sitting he could see nothing but insult to the Government, and to the House through the Government, The letter he bad afterwards written was before the Council. As to this violence at Laurence which had been spoken of, there had been no more violence used than was absolutely neqesgary tQ obtain documents to carry on the business. The Jocks were pulled off the doors, and the law, common sense, and the necessities of the goldfields, were on the side of the Government. The course taken by the Wardens of the goldfields had heen strictly in accordance with their instructions, and he trusted the House would see them through it. The hon. mover had said they had exaggerated §the amount of interference through the non-delegation of powers. The sole amounts that were now dealt with by the General Government on the 'goldfields came to about £35,000, of whioh *W,OOO or £18,000 went to departmental expenditure. The hon. mover had also laid that he (Mr. Richmond) had scattered prom^seg broadcast when he was down there ; now he ha.d done nothing of the kind. He had given his ooinio^G. in several matter*, but had pledged himself to nothing without oonsulting a colleague. In concluiion, he would say that this non-delegation of powers had nothing whatever to do with , an, attack on the provinces, ai had been attempted to be represented. Mr. Maoandbhw asked for the adjournment of the House ttntil to-morrow. He was naturally of a cool temperament, but after the avalanohe of "filth," to use his own words, launched on him by the hon. m,ember for Coleridge, he could hardly do it to-night in proper 1 language. He hoped * the adjournment would be granted. She debate; was adjourned till the next day.

HOURS OS 1 MEETING. The Hon. the Pkemier moved, " That after Tuesday, the 16th Julyftthifl House shall, until otherwise ordered, meet on Wednesday *t five of the clock, and on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at two of the clock j and that on Thursday the hour for proceeding to the orders of the day be seven p m., unless motions have been disposed of at an earlier hour."— Agreed to.

HXPENBES OF THE EAST COAST CAMPAIGNS. Mr, G- Graham moved, " That there be laid on the table of tbia House a return of the sums expended, by the Colonial Government in conducting the. Eaafc Coast campaigns, showing the amount expended under the different heads of pay, rations, &c, of Militia* Volunteers, and native allies ; allowance Ac,, to surveyors serving with the colonial forces, cost of transport, and miscellaneous expenses ; also, the amount claimed by the CowoiijMcia.ti Depart-

xnent for rations supplied or services performed on the East Coast." — Agreed to.

ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF ASHLEY. Mr. Reeves moved, " That a select committee, consisting of Mr. Carleton, the Hon. Mr. Hall, Mr. Brandon, Mr. Macfarlane, Mr. Cargill, and the mover, be appointed to search for precedents »nd report upon the best means for declaring the seat for the electoral district of Ashley vacant, — with power, to call for persona and papers." — Agreed to. The House adjourned at 10.20 pan.