Provincial Council.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 731, 9 November 1859, Page 3

Provincial Council.

Thtjesday, Npy. 3. The Speaker took the chair at 5 p.m. Present .all the members but Messrs. Cookson, I)obbs ; and Templer. Prayers were read by .the Chaplain and the minutes of,last meeting were read and confirmed. mechanics' institute^ . Mr. Bishop moved " For a copy of the memorial to his Honor the Superintendent from members of the managing committee of the Christchurch Mechanics' Institute, and copies of any correspondence which may have passed relating thereto j" and asked whether the Government intend taking any and. what steps in furtherance of the prayer of the memorialists.' Mr. ;OLiiiViEß said that the,piece of land proposed to be occupied by the Supreme Court buildings, if not used for that purpose, would be given for a Mechanics' Institute site, and if used, the Government would pledge themselves to provide another site for th,e institute. Motion agreed to. baeby's bat ec-ad. Mr. "White moved " That his Honor the Superintendent ,be requested to place upon the estimates a sum not exceeding £1000, for the formation of Barry's Bay line to Akaroa." Last session the sum of £350 had been voted for this work, no part of which sum had been expended, for the alleged reason that the surveys had not been .completed. He believed they had not, but he had the assurance of the Provincial Engineer that,they would be in about two months. If there was any one district whjch had a claim to consideration when money was to be expended, it was pre-eminently Akaroa* Hon. members would not find that any excess of expenditure had been made on that district. There was still out of the amount voted last session the sum of. £1843 10s. unexpended. He had. a right to ask that at least the sum of £1000 should be placed on the estimates forthis special work, a contract for which had been entered in October^ 1857, to be completed in six months from that time. This was the only available line for a cart road from Akaroa to the Plains. Mr. Rhodes seconded the motion pro formti. At the same time he would say that this road could never be available until other extensive operations should,be completed. The people of Akaroa want one cart road, that is all they now ask. The Purau line road is undoubtedly the best and shortest.

Mr. Dayis endorsed the statements of the last speaker. It would cost more probably £4000 than £1000 to complete the Barry Bay line. Mr. Haeman entirely disagreed with the idea that a cart road could be constructed on the Purau line.

Mr. Olliviee said the sum of £500 was already on the estimates for the purpose of connecting Akaroa with Purau. The only reason why the vote of last session was spent, was, that the surveys ; were not completed; nor did he think they would be before three months. No doubt the Barry's Bay line was a desirable one ,to see completed. The Provincial Engineer was favourable, to it. He (Mr. 0.) would however ask hon. members to postpone this and all other motions touching finance till the estimates should be considered, and it should be ascertained what money there was to spare. Mr. White, asked for the sum to be placed on the estimates in order that it might be considered with them. As to the Purau line, as far as he knew, it was only traversable on foot with difficulty, and he did not see howit could be made available for- a cart road. Motion put and lost on division. Ayes—Messrs. Hall, Harman, Higgins, Ross, White, Ward, and Wyatfc—7. Noes—Messrs. Alport, Bishop, Blakiston, Cass, Davis, Duncan, Fooks, Fyfe, Lockharfc, Miln, Qlliyier, Rhodes, and Thomson—l 3. PETITION OF J. DARTNALL. Mr. Thomson moved—" The appointment of a select committee to enquire into the allegations of •Mr. Dartnall, in his petition presented to the Council. To consist of Messrs. Wyat't, Fooks, .Bishop, Duncan, and the mover." Agreed to. On the motion of Mr. Thomson, the Church Property Trust' Amendment Bill was read a third time, passed, and was numbered 6. peacock's jetty. Mr. Hall moved the house into committee on the Peacock Jetty Extension Bill, and moved the adoption of a new clauso as No. 2, empowering the Government in certain cases to resume possession of the site, which was put and agreed to. Mr. Hall said that a difference of opinion existed between the Government and the promoters of the bill, on the subject of compensation to be awarded in case of resumption. The Government were unwilling to allow any compensation for improvements to be made under this bill, while the promoters thought a claim for compensation should be allowed to the amount of outlay. He would submit the question to the Council, and on clause 3 (new) deciding that no further compensation should be awarded, he would move as an amendment, that compensation to the,amount expended, not exceeding £1000, should be awavded, in cas^e of resumption.,

Mr. Ollivieu objected. This whs contrary to tho arrangement entered into with Mr. Peacock, who had agreed to the terms proposed by tho Government. Ho (Mr. 0.)-objected to giving nny vested rights over public property for bo. long a period. The Government were willing to give a right to build an open pile jetty,but could not agree to any award of compensation. Mr. Alport supported the amendment as only fair to Mr. Peacock. When Mr. Peacock erected the present jetty, lie believed the limit of it'would bring him into jLO feet of water at low water .spring tides. Mr. TnoMsoN thought that if any misunderstanding existed between the promoters of the bill and the Government, tho bill should be withdrawn till it should be settled, if not he Would support the Government. Mr. pASS would have no objection to allowing any number of jetties to be run out in Lyttelton harbour, only with the understanding that they should not stand in the way of .Government works, and that the 'Government should at any moment, if the public service required it, have power to resume possession of the site without any compensation being payable. '"'.-. Mr. Fooks thought provision should be made in the bill that Mr. Peacock should not be interfered with for at least five or seven years. It was unjust and deceptive to give him .{Mr. Peacock) power to build and lay out'money, and'then perhaps six months after to turn him out without refunding his outlay. - Messrs. Habman, Ward, and, Alpobt supported the amendment. ' Mr. Hall said; that though he believed the amendment would be acceptable to a majority of the Council, the promoters felt that with it the bill would not, even if passed, be assented to, and as they would rather have the bill without the. amendment1 than have none at all, he would withdraw the amendment. Amendment withdrawn, and clause put and agreed to. The remaining clauses, with the title and pream- j ble w,ere then severally, .put and agreed to. Mr. \ Ollivier, in reply 'top question by Mr. Ward, having j stated that the leasing of this site would not pie- '• vent vessels anchoring, or the laying down of' moorings on it. The bill was reported, and the House resumed. RACE COXTESE LEASE BILL. : On tjhe motion of Mr. Ollivier the Race Course Lease Bill was read a third time, passed, and numbered 7. THE PIGEON RAT RESERVE LEASE BILL then passed through committee of thie House, aft& the report was adopted. 'The House then, on the motion of Mr. Ollivier, went into committee on :the remaining clauses (from No. 27) of the ' MUNICIPAL COUNCILS BILL. ,Clause ,28.—Mr! Wyatt very strongly .opposed the whole bill, and especially this clause, 'as did also Messrs. Thomson and Bishop> Wr. Wyatt proposed as an amendment that the chairman do report progress, with a view to deferring the bill to that day six months. Put and lost on division. Ayes : Messrs. Bishop, Davis, Harman, Lockhart,. Higgins, Packer, Thomson, and "Vyyatt—9. ' " ■■..■•/;. ;■. .. .;' ;■ Noes: Messrs. Alport, Cass, Duncan, Fooks, Fyfe, Hall, Miln,' "Ollivier, Rhodes, Potts, jind Ward—ll. - • : After discussion the entire clause was struck out by Mr. Ollivier, with consent, as superfluous. ; Clauses 29, 30, and 31 were putan<3[ agreed to. Clauses 38, 39 and 40, werehere brbughtin as clauses 32, 33 and 34, and were put severally and , agreed to. „ , ,;. „,... ;' On clause 35 (formerly 32), €bme discussion, ensued; objection being taken to the system of sewerage into rivers; when Mr. Ollivier explained that no drainage,could be carried into the rivers Avon and Heathcote, the country lying too low to afford any fall for the water. The clause was ultimately put and agreed to. Clauses (new nqs.) 36, 37,38, 39 and 40 were put separately and agreed to. The chairman reported progress, COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. Mr. Ollivier moved that the House do go into committee for the consideration of-the estimates. Mr. Harman, before .this question was put, would.ask the Provincial Secretary whether the return of the expenditure in October, asked for on Tuesday evening by Mr, White, were ready to he laid before the house ? Mr. Ollivier replied that the return was not. ready, nor could it be prepared for another fortnight. The making up of this return involved as much labor as the compilation of the year's estimates. ■■■■■■„ Mr. Harman, in that case, could not consent to go into the consideration of the estimates, &c, at all. At the end of. September there was a debt to the Union Bank of! £6000, and there wiere now reports that this had greatly increased* It was of no use to go into consideration of the estimates in the dark. He would move as an amendment that the estimates be deferred until after the production ,of the return. Mr. Ross agreed withthe last.speaker as to the difficulty of dealing with the estimates till the position of the account with the Union Bank be known. He would support the amendment. He had no wish for a delay in the business of the Council for a fortnight; he had hoped the session would be ended before that time. However, it was evident the Government did not intend to furnish the return at all. It was to share the same fate as the return of contracts asked for by Mr. Harman, which had never been produced.^ The Council should not proceed to the consideration of the estimates the same as though no return had been demanded. Mr. Haeman was willing, if the Government would afford information equivalent to that sought in the return, to withdraw the amendment. Mr. Thomson opposed the amendment; He could not see what the return had to do with the estimates.

Mr. White supported the amendment. The Council should not vote money before they knew what they have to spend. The length of time stated to be necessary for the production of this return only the more showed its importance. What the Council wanted to know was the absolute financial state of the province as nearly as possible up to the present moment. Mr. ]?YFE also supported the amendment. Mr. OliLlviEii said'that hon. members seemed to have no idea of the time which-this return would take to prepare. He would furnish no return which might bo said by any hon. member to be cooked up for the occasion. All returns furnished by him should be faithful and correct in every item. Before this return could be compiled full information would have to be received from all parts cf the province; the return would further liave to be audited. He would again ask what was the object of the Council in asking for this return ? How could it affect the voting of supplies ? He considered the persisting in this demand as an unjustifiable impediment offered to the Govornmont, "who, ho had said, were willing to givo^ privately every information to hon. members, but it was not politic that the statement demanded should go forth to the world. Ho said again mid again that there was nothing to withhold. He had hoped the Council would have been spared further delay, and he was still at a loss to divine the object of insisting on the production, Of this return. (The hon. go.nt. hero instanced several works which m consequence

of tho unusual dryness of the season had been com- I ploted much sooner than had been expected, and ' having to bo paid for on completion, had occasioned an unusual drain on the chest during tho past month). Ho hoped tho amendment would not be pressed. Mr. Packer supported the amendment. He had no wish to impede the Government, but at least information equivalent to that expected in the return should bo furnished. It was essential after what ho might call the " breach of contract" which had taken place, that some information of our present position should be afforded. Mr. Harman's object was only to gain information. What had been just said by the Provincial Secretary indicated that such information could be given. He would again ask the Provincial Secretary whether it could not be afforded ? There was : no reason why it should not be the public property of all hon. members. All should; be openly furnished. Could not the Provincial Secretary state, even verbally, (the Council was willing to take his word for it) what was the present condition of the account with the Union Bank. Mr. Ollivier here moved the adjournment of I the House. And after notices of motion the; Council-accordingly adjourned to the next day (Friday) at the usual hour. Friday, Nov. 4 The Speaker took the chair shortly after 5 p.m. Present: Messrs. Bishop,Blakiston,Cass, Davis, Duncan, Fooks, Fyfe, Harman, Lockhart, Ollivier, Packer, Rhodes, Ross, Thomson, and White. Mr. Ollivier moved that the other notices on the board do take precedence of the adjourned debate on Mr. Harman's motion of last night. Agreed to. On the motion of Mr. Oliivibr the Pigeon Bay Reserve Lease Bill was read a third time, passed and numbered 8. Mr. Thomson moved that the Sheep Ordinance Amendment Bill be referred to- a select committee, to consist of Messrs. Ross, Rhodes, White, Harman, Wyatt, Ollivier, Hall, Ward, and the mover. Seconded by Mr. Bishop and agreed to. ■■•■" . MESSAGE. Mr. Ollivier here presented the following message from his Honor the Superintendent:— "The Superintendent acquaints the Provincial Council that he has assented in the name and on behalf of his Excellency the Governor to the following ordinances, transmitted to him by the Provincial .Council, — The Loan Amendment Ordinance, Session XI, No. 1. The Lunatic Asylum and Gravel Pit Reserves Sale Ordinance, Session XI, No. 2. The Diversion of Roads Ordinance, Session XI, No. 3. The Cathedral Square Amendment Ordinance, Session XI, No. 4. The Public Hospital Ordinance, Session XI, No. 5.

The Church Property Trust Amendment Ordinance, Session XI, No. 6. The Race Course Lease Ordinance, Session XI, No. 7. The Ship-building Reserve Lease Ordinance, Session XL, No. 8. The Superintendent will transmit to his Excellency the Governor the Waste Lands Amended Regulations, with an earnest request that his Excellency will cause the same to be immediately proclaimed in the ■' Government Gazette' of the colony."

EESIGNATION OF THE EXECUTIVE. Mr. Olmtiee then rose and said—Sir, t have to make a: statement to the Council prior to proceeding with the business on the order of the day. The events of the last week have made it manifest that a change in the Executive Government of the Province has become necessary. I would desire to review the proceedings of the session. From its Commencement there has been an indication of a desire to retard and frustrate the objects the Government had in view. First, on the reply to the opening address of his Honor the Superintendent; next, on the simple but usual sanction^ to the JReserves which we had advised the Superintendent to make? next, to the Hospital Bill; then to the Eace Courseßill; and lastly to the Finance arrangements. While I am not prepared to go so far as to say that I believe this opposition to have been factious, X do believe that it has been the result of a combination, .for the purpose of at least harassing if not of ultimately driving us-from office. Sir, the course we have pursued in regard to the unauthorised votes was plain and open; we asked to be allowed to proceed with these votes, to explain them as they arose; and if that explanation was not satisfactory then it was competent for any hon. member to have proposed a vote of want of confidence, or a vote of censure. But the House thought otherwise 5 it prefered to censure first and approve afterwards, and then only—when thwarted in its desire to effect its object in regard to the censure—like a spoiled child it pouted and refused to listen to our tale or receive our explanation. Two nights have been occupied with this discussion—the first a fair and honourable contest,onwhich, sir, I look back with pride; but sir, on the second occasion it was evident from the tone of the debate that there was a deeper and more serious matter rankling at the bottom. I hoped that with the painful scene, of a nature seldom witnessed, which.ensued on the motion of the hon. member (Mr. Fyfe)—and which Ido sincerely believe was not intended by that hon. member as a vote of censure, but which, sir, was taken out of his hands—l hoped, I say, that the subject would have been buried in oblivion; but ifchas been again renewed upon the motion of an hon. member that the Council should not proceed to vote supplies untircertainpapersareproduced^paperswhichonthe one hand I have said are most difficult; and inconvenient to prepare, and which, when prepared, are comparatively useless for the purpose for which they are alleged to be required; and on the other hand, whose production and publication I do not deemto be advantageous to the province. I recognise the right of this Council to every information it may stand in need of. Look at the papers on the table—do they indicate a desire to wifchold it? I say, sir, that the table groans, literally groans under the amount of documentary information which we have laid upon it, to an extent never before produced in any one session. Nay, more, I say that as much information has been laid on the table this session as has ever before, in all the previous sessions of the Council together, been produced. But, sir, we have already told the House that there were reasons for our departure from the strict line of constitutional procedure—and there are times when the witholding of unusual information, even from a Council, is also justifiable. The position I am standing in is this:—The Council proposes to withold supplies until this document is produced, andits production at this moment is undesirable—l have said,snvMo.<tf undesirable—at leastin my estimation. lam therefore in a position of painful personal collision with the Council, .and one only means of extrication from that position exists—one of us must give way. It may not be, sir, Ido not believe it would bo dignified for the. Council not to insist on its rights. On tho othor hand, I have deliberately come to the beliof that I ought not to comply with its demand. Tho question then arises who is to give way. Ido not hesitate as to my course. I have endeavoured, during the term of mv office, faithfnlly to discharge its duties. I havo had but one object before mo—the progress and tho improvement of tho pvovinoo; and those at least have been to. some, extent effected. Personally tho retention 0? o,fnoa ln\s proved a sacrifice of no ordinary k.ind j.and I shrink not from avowing that

although it is Humxumled with serious trials and responsibilities, there have been many agreeable recollections* in connection with it. I should hare been glad to have gonem in spite of these things —endeavouring to aid in the development of the vast resources of this province; bnt, sir, I feel that it is for its interest now that I »!u)uld. retire from, office. It is unseemly that these contests should continue. They afford either an evidence of weakness on my part, or of a desire on the part of the Council to question my fitness to administer their affairs. Under these circumstances, it becomes my duty to inform you that I have this evening placed my resignation in the hands of his Honor, and that; I now only hold office until my successor shall have been appointed. The Speaker then put the amendment of Mr. Harmnn, adjourned from last night,—" That this Council do defer going into committee of supply until the returns (moved for by Mr. White) shewing the Government receipts and expenditure front Ist to the 31st October; also the actual liabilities of the Government of the latter date be furnished to this Council."—Carried on division :— Ayes—Messrs. Bishop, Blakiston, Pyfe, Harman, Lockhart, Packer, Ross, and White.—B. Noes—Messrs. Davis,Fooks, Rhodes, and Thomson. —4. The Members of the Government nob voting. On the motion of Mr. Ollivieb, the House then adjourned to Tuesday, Bth inst., at the usual hour.