The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1874.

Evening Post, Volume X, Issue 120, 9 July 1874, Page 2

The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1874.

¦'& ©bbatjs on the address in'replydoes not, we think, come within the category of those Parliamentary practices which may be deemed more honored in the breach' than in the observance. It does n?fc betoken a healThy condition o£ ? pdlitical life when in* the representative ' Branch of tffe Legislature the address is 'passed subsilentio, and whe"n the Preinjer has to confess his ignorance of the' existence of an Opposition or ,atr Opposition: leader.' The "legislative Conneif We are glad to notice/ had a debate on the address, and a debate of an mterest,idg character. The Hen Mr Campbell made an excellent speech in moving it, although he certainly did lay himself open to the application of tbe quotation from Trollope about "blowing^ which Mr Waterhouse did not fail to' apply I.'1 .' Mr' Campbell was' quite right- ;in«eaying ¦ that: the introduction of immfgranwHs a reproductive work, and he wag probably not far wrong in estimating that each immigrant contributed indirectly to;the revenue some 30 or 40 per Cent per annum on the cost of his introduction. Mr Campbell,' however, forgot to take into *. account the fact' that- those contribution^ can only continue so long as tfie immi-> grants' can^mske /'gnod"' waged. They have no capital of their own, • and their 'spending 'power is entirely regulated by their e&ningr power. Should a monetary :crisi» occur, and public Works be checked or suspended, leaving the - Colony with a Ilrge unsettled population dependant on , their. ' daily earnings, not only would this population cease- to contribute 'to the revenue, but ib ! would ' inevitably become a burthen upon it and upon those who, having: means, would be obliged to assist in supporting^ those who have no mean's, Af the same time we may at once, say^thafc we do not think the limits of prodefied have been parsed, or even reached, in regard to the introduction of population, ,' and tbat although, as 1 Mr Waterhouse pointed out, the Government have exceeded' the sum authorised to be expended in im- ¦ migration, we think,, that^they'were,- quite' justified ill doing so, seeing how readily the country absorbed all , the population thrown into it and seeing also tbafc'pnbhc works (and private enterprise would alike have been checked add paralyzed had labor ' been scatter than it has been. It is satisfactory to find Mr Campbell agreeing with J.U3" aa to tbe necessity of an 'independent actuarial valuation of the Government Life Assurance scheme, but- the" remark's 'made by himself and Captain Frazer in. approval m the scheme for the solution of the Polynesian problems, surprised us. They may kfJow something of the details of the scheme Which has not yefcj,been more than hinted at, bat as prudent and sensible men we should ha^e expected them to have unhesitatingly declared that New Zealand is likely^ to have qnite^ enough to do in attending to its own business. for many years to* come, sad that no speculative foreign en' terprise, however alluring in appearance, can be safely entered on. Tfie remarks made by Mr Campbell in reference to Provincial borrowing and regarding the proposed constitutional amendment to rega-* Jato the relations of the two houses were' /exactly whit mighfi^ have' beenfantieigate'd, 'and, *nd doabt, reflected the mind' of_tho Council, That body will cartainly remain firm in its opposition to provincial loans and will refuse to recognise any nefc&diiy for providing' 'for * a constitutional contingency which never yet has angen and ,tbe proposed provision for whicfi would lessen the power and reduce the influence I of the Council as a constituent .portion of' the Government of the country; Mr Waterhouse, spoke, well,, as t he always . does. His utterances were perhaps rather Cassan-dra-like, bat they had much in them to C6mmand the attention: o( L thoughtful men. in commenting on the Premier's tour of public speaking, public eating,- and provincial ,promiaing, Mr Waterhouse but expressed 'the general opinion of surprise that no mention of the results, or reference to the question of provincial borrowing, appeared in tbe speech. We have already said that we do not concttr in Mr Waterhouse's remarks as to excessive immigration, but we do so cordiahy in the praise which he bestowed on the Minister of Public Works respecting the administration of that department. We cannot believe that the present prosperity of i the countcjf is " entirely"* deceptive,! for we recognise the existence of many of the elements of sound, substantial prosperity,' At the same time it is impossible to deny that, the Colony is in & dangerous condition. The slightest check now would , probably be attended with ruinous consequences* j*lf it' holds its own for but a few years longer, .it will have established a position of safety and independence ; but now ail hangs on that " if." ™Ihe ; slightest trifle tday turn the balance either way. That a reaction will certainlyWollow the present season of proaperity. j ia undeniable—^tbat a period- of Severe trial await^tbe Colony is more than probable. Whether we shall pass through the crisis unscathed, or emerge from it crippled and shaken, depends Very much on the period when it occurs, and the state of preparation in whicb'we ai*e at the time. We venture to think that Mr. Wafcerhouae and all the other speakers in the Council yesterday failed' to hit the real palpable blot in the present system of administration and government. The danger lies' riot in • the introduction cf too many immigrants, but in the absence, of .sufficient inducement and provision to 'settle these immigrants as owners or occupiers of the soil. As unattached laborers, they sre a constant source o( danger, but everyone who settles on the land adds to the strength of the Colony, and to its ability to bear up undef uiificnlties in the coming day of adversity. In the rfeglect to thus make provision against, tffe^e^il days to come, lies the "source of danger, and the great blot which defaces and mars Mr Vogel's * r great policy."

As Sir F. D. Bell has intimated that his iWard in the case of the claims of Wellington against the Colony foj, tbe land taken by the Hon Mr M'Lean as native reserves in the Raogitikei'Manawatu block will be to the same effect as the opinion he exPleased lasfr Session on the* subject we republish :thoge remarks. According to Hansard he said :~"Ab far. as he had yet been able 'to form an opinion, he hadar-

rived at two conclusions : One was that the Province had failed to establish the claim it had made on the Colonial Government with respect to the reserves made by Mr M'Lean. That claim was based on the Gazette notice that the native title was extinguished ; but it had been apparently agreed between the Colonial and the Provincial Governments, that, notwithstanding this notice, the lands should not be deemed to have been really,- handed over to tffft Province ttntil after a settlement ot the disputes which, bad arisen between the natives and the Government in laying out the native reserves. The same reasons which led him to this general conclusion had also led him to the second conclusion, which was, that the interest in th'i3 case should be charged in the way as was providld for in the 38fcli lection of the_Pubhc Works^and immigration Act, 1870, for r purchasesfto be made of native lands under ''that Act j, and that an acconnt should be taken of the interest paid by the province on the sum originally advanced to the natives, and tßtt this jnte-est should then be capitalized and added to the 'coat of acquisition of the territory, so that the Province should pay interest on the total sum which the purchase had entailed up to the time of the land being finally handed over, after McLean's reserves. That was the. principle of the Act of 1870, and the same reasons which went to show that^ the province had failed to establish its claim against the Colonial Government, pointed also to- the fairness of applying the same f , principle to the Manawatu purchase." We abstain^Jrom making any comment until the award itself ia laid on tbe table.

The Hon Mr Waterhouse has given notice that he will to-day move that this Council- would see with regret any increase to the general of the colony, except for the purpose of completing undertakings already authorised, until such time as the works ndw in progress are so far completed as to enable a reliable opinion to be formed as to the capability, of thje colony to meet the annual expenditure thereby required, wifchoutdiaving recourse to a degree of taxation "Which might injuriously affect the industrial resources of the colony. The New Zealand Times this morning contains amongst other thing 3 three very palpable errors. *In the first place,* Mr J, L. Gillies did not call for a division on the motion for leave to introduce the Otago Larfds Acfc Amendment Bill. Secondly, Parata and TaiAroa dM nob Walk oat of the fitfnse when the division was called for, as Taiaroa did not happen to be in tbe House, or in Wellington. Thirdly, Mr J. L. Gillies' motiSn for the production of the Wasd-Chapman correspondence was not agreed to, as ib was never made, notice only of the intention to move it being given. The tender of Mr Charles MfKirdy for the construction of the Paki Piki contract of the Hawkes Bay railways (about 13 miles) for £19,532 has been accepted by the Public Works Department. Messrs Parker, Shepherd PeartSe, and O'Neill have been appointed the acting committee for the session to take charge of the house' and' building on behalf of the House of Representatives. A' meeting of the' Local Board of the Kaiwarra district was held yestarday, when the tender ot James Nairn for the repair of the old Porirua Road aa far as tbe foot of tfee-bill.fdr £44 103 was accepted, the work to be completed in a month. At the last meeting the chairman had been instructed fco apply to the Provincial Government for the Board's share of the £1290 voted by the Provincial Council S3 a subsidy to the local boards of the province. A reply from the Provincial Secretary was read, statuig that the amount wonld be paid to the Board as soon as the Government was in funds, A memorial was agreed to, addressed to the Superintendent, asking the Provincial Government to construct a drain across the main road, as the oulyjnf.ana of dipposffig of the drainage of the out Porirua ! Road. Messrs A. P. Stuart give a ball this evening to celebrate the opening of their new premises on Custom House Quay. The premises in which the firm have for some time carried on their business were found to be inadequate, and s4be building has lately been enlarged by a room aTtho back 60ft long by 36ffc broad, and another of the same dimensions above. The lower room will be used for storing Manchester goods, and the; tipper " room will be set aparfc_ for general warehouse goods. The addition of these rooms will make the premises large and commodious, and in every way suitable for the large business now carried on by the firm. It is in tn*e upper room that the ball will be held. The floor is an excellent one for dancing oorn r and the room will be well lighted and nicely decorated. Supper will be laid in the large lower room, and ia under the management of Mr Peter Laing. We believe that about 200 invitations have been accepted, and as the weather ia likely to be propitious there will, no doubfc ; be a large* attendance Smith's Combination Company was regarded last night with one of the best houses tlrey have' had* since their appearance. In the Ofcago Police Court, Mr Batbgate haa given a somewhat important decision tinder the Licensing Act. A certain lodger in an hotel invited some to dinner on a Sunday, and while waiting for dinner, asked them to *have a preliminary nip which he ordered and paid for. Mr Batbgate took time to consider whether this sale involved a breach of the Act, and eventually decided in the negative, stating that it was legal for a publican on Sunday to sell liquor to a lodger although that liquor was to be consumed By persons who were not lodgers. It*tfay interest sporting men .to knowthat Captain Mfochell, whose horse Reugney won the last Liverpool Grand National with a gentleman rider on his back, is a brother of Captain Machell, aid-de-camp to Sir George Bowen. Captain Machell won the National last year, and is described as " a man, who, miking racing a business, has honorably made a fortune by it." An English paper states that, Messrs Garrard, of the Haymarkee, are just on the pdinb of shioping for ' Wellington, New Zealand, a service of plate designed and manufactured tbihe order of certain residents in Dnnedin, for presentation to Mr Julius Vdgef. ' The Service' consists of a massive centrepiece and six stands. The centrepiece bears^a suitable inscription, testifying to- the great worth and ability of Mr Vogel, and to the estimation in wHich he is held fey the donors. The design is of the Renaissance of Queen Anne, so tbat NewZealand will be possession of a specimen of of the purely English style of plate*ornamentation. The set is exceedingly handsome, and doesjgreat credit to the firm by whom it has been prepared. '

\ One morning lately a young roan, on taking up the daily paper,* turned flo the column of births, and said, " I wonder if there's anybody born that I * know f " ,