EVENING SITTING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7542, 13 August 1886, Page 3

EVENING SITTING.

The House resumed at 7.30. WAIMEA PLAINS RAILWAY. Colonel Trirnblo resumed the debate, arguing, that instead of £102,000, which had .been offered, the value of the line was more properly £74,000. The construction value might, (is the engineer said, be ninety odd thousand, but ho (Colonel Trimble) denied that the commercial value of the line was so high, and quoted figures as to the income, &c, from which he inferred that, if they considered them alone, the valuo would only be about £34,000. All the line returned at present was .it the most H per cent. Colonel Trimble proceeded to criticise the proposed purchase from every point of viow, and after speaking for an hour concluded with a strong condemnation of the Agricultural Company, which was principally interested in getting the railway rates remitted. Mr Dargaville suggested a compromise in the amount to be paid. Mr Lake strongly condemned the whole business, and referred incidentally to the share Mr Cowan, tlio member for Hokonui, had in it. Mr Cowan made a personal explanation, saying that Mr Lake had called him a disappointed middle man. Ho (Mr Cowan) asserted that he was in no way pecuniarily interested in the matter, and all lie had done was strictly in the interests of his constituents. Mr Lake said that he had only spoken of Mr Cowan as too enthusiastically prosecuting the views of his constituents. Mr D. Stewart said that there was no doubt the line would at some time or other have to be acquired, and if they could get it at a fair price the colony had better do it now. He defended Mr Cowau. Mr Fergus said that it was merely a squabble about a few thousands. If the colony did not intend to purchase the line then the expenditure or money on the Government branch from it towards Switeers, initiated by Mr Rolleston's Government, was most unjustifiable. The rate 3 would never be paid, and it would be an act of justice to release the settlers from a most iniquitous tax. ■ Mr Wakefield opposed the recommittal of the bill. He said the Waimea Railway Company had been so eager to make the line, and with it the fortunes of the landowners) that they jumped the Government claim, and built a line which the Government ought to have constructed. If anyone was to make concessions it ought to be the company, not the Government. Every-thing-went to show that the company would have to sell the line, as they could not collect the rates. Mr Brown strongly supported., the proposal. Mr Kerr blamed the Opposition for wasting time. Mr Homlin said that when the Treasury could not iind money for necessary works they ought not to ask the Houso to give away £8000. He opposed the proposal. After Mr Richardson had briefly replied, the motion for the re-committal of the bill was carried on the voices. In clause 4 Mr Richardson moved to strike ont the figures' £27,000.— Carried by 27 to 25. Mr Dargaville moved to insert £31,000. — Carried on the voices. In answer to Colonel Trimble, the Minister for Public "Works said ho did not intend to drop the Bill in consequence of this voto. ■ What he had said was that ho would drop the bill if the £27,000 were retained. • The bill was reported with amendments. On the motion for its third reading Mr .AVakefield said that it ought to go out to tho world that by a majority of two, at the. instigation of the Government, £4000 . had been presented to one of these great companies. This_ was a fact which would be useful at meetings of unemployed, &c. Sir George Grey urged the Premier to drop tho bill, because there were several members of the Government interested in the matter. Sir Robert Stout said that Sir George Grey himself, during the recess, had pledged his word to help the ratepayers at Gore to get rid of their burdens. Some of them had had to mortgage their furniture topny_ calls. None of the Ministers interested in the' matter had taken part in the discussion. They had purposely abstained. Sir George Grey explained that it was only the poor men he was in favor of relieving. Colonel Trimble, Mr AVhy te, Mr Reese, and Mr Richardson having made a few remarks, the billwas read a third time by 9 to. 18. . . Sir George Grey made a last appeal to the Government not to go on with the Another discussion followed, during which Mr Wakefield alluded to the Stark purchase at Auckland as a caso where a man had' got five or six ..times the value of his property out of the Government by alleged refusals to take various sums successively offered him. Mr Richardson said that tho statemene was a deliberate attempt to mislead tlit House. The bill was then passed. REMOVAL OF PARLIAMENT FROM - ' " WELLINGTON. On the motion for going into Committee of Supply Mr Kerr moved that the next session of Parliament be held at Nelson. Mr O'Conor wanted to move another amendment, hut the Speaker ruled him ont of order. MrKerr's amendment was lost, and the House went into Commmittee of Supply. PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES. The public works estimates were further considered. Class 8, public buildings.— Captain Russell said that the vote for school Wildings, £55,000, was totally inadequate. — Sir Robert Stout recognised this, but said they had to -provide according to their means. Some of the Boards were considerably in credit.— Considerable discus-, sion ensued.— MrGuinness took exception to the vote for the New Plymouth High School-and the Waitaki girls' school, and moved that these be struck out, which was lost on the voices.— The total vote, £112,000, then passed. ' . Class 9. — On the item for lighthouses, £7700, Mr Kerr and Mr Seddon protested against the lowness of tho -charges to shipping for the conveniences afforded.— Mr Larnach said he was collecting information from other colonies, and would consider the matted during the recess. — The total vote of the class,. £127,800, was then passed. , Class 3, railways.— On -the item for doubling the Auckland line, £5000, a disoussion took place, in the 1 course of which Mr Richardson said that enquiries made pointed to the advisability of doubling the present lino rather than building a loop. The cost would be little different. The difficulty in the way of the present traffic was a tunnel 'with a steep incline. — Mr Hursthouse and Mr O'Callaghan protested against tho vote as, an unnecessary expense. — Mr Peacock, Mr Dargavillo, and Mr Moss defended it. — Mr Hursthoutic moved to strike the item out, which was lost by 43 to 9. The committee was left sitting at 1.30 a.m.