The New-Zealander. Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's. AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1862. THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1670, 19 April 1862, Page 2

The New-Zealander. Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's. AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1862. THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

REPUDIATION. The course which the Council has taken during the session has most certainly not had the effect of exalting it very much in public opinion; not content Avith proving that they were factious, the majority have recklessly proclaimed themselves faithless also, and, with supreme unconsciousness of the dishonour involved in the act, have given notice that their " votes of credit" are not to be depended upon, and that contractors who rely upon mere " resolutions" of the Council may find themselves at " great inconvenience" if a throwing out of the Appropriation Bill should be found to be necessary for party purposes. In the early part of the present session preceding the passing of the Appropriation Act, votes of credit for the maintenance of the establishments of the Provincial Government for three months, for road repairs, and for works on the Great South Road, were asked of the Council and granted. Contracts for the latter works have been taken, and up to the 31st March the salaries of the officers and certain other expenses have been paid as usual. On Tuesday last, however, the Council adopted a resolution, the purport of Avhich was, if it means anything at all, that the majority held themselves at liberty to repudiate these votes. In face of such an intimation wfe need not wonder to learn that the Provincial Treasurer thought it to be his duty to inform the Superintendent that he, the Treasurer, could not and would not be a party to the making of further payments until the Appropriation Act for the year had absolutely passed. The Superintendent concurring, as we learn, in the view of the matter taken by the Treasurer, a notification in accordance was immediately posted at the Treasury. It chanced that it was the pay day when the accounts of contractors for public works and for supplies ought to be discharged, and we fear that inconvenience to many individuals must have resulted in consequence, but the effect of that proceeding was prompt and salutary. For three months the prisoners iu Mount Eden Stockade have been kept almost without clothes; one-half their labour lost, because men could not be put to work half naked or shoeless; a littlo longer aad the inmate* of G-aol and Uoipitsd

might have gone without food also, unless the General Government had stepped in to the rescue, or the Superintendent or the Treasurer could continue to do what has been done more than once within the last few days, —pay public debts out of private means. The operation of locking the door of the Treasury was salutary as we have said; such a storm of indignation was raised out of doors against the factious opposition that they began to be alarmed for their seats, and on Thursday, with many grimaces, with much abusiveness, with great violence of language towards the Executive, the Appropriation Act was passed. ORDER. If the " Stranger in the Gallery"—the&ete noire of the Council—was at all curious in the matter, or had a taste for the study of Parliamentary practice, he might pick up some curious " precedents" from the rulinoof the Speaker, which, being recorded, would astonish some future Antipodean Hatsell, or amuse some student of the history of "party." In theory there are Standing Rules and Orders, and there are besides established and well known modes of managing the incidents of debates which are recognized in every deliberative assembly. In practice, however, nous avons change tout cela. The exigencies of the moment make the rule, and it is only another proof, of course, of the general delinqueucy of the executive, that their provoking efforts to carry on the public business require to be frustrated by strange expedients. It was proposed in the early part of the session to amend the standing Rules and Orders of the Council by the introduction of a clause enacting that the practice of the House of Commons should be adopted as the rule in all case not specially provided for in such standing rules and orders. The objection to the proposed amendment was that Mr. Carleton who is " up" in parliamentary practice must, in such case, bo the interpreter of the rules. The danger of such a state of affairs caused the almost unanimous rejection of the report of the Committee which recommended the alteration.

After the experience of this session we think that of two evils the lesser should be chosen. Wliat tb.e practice of the House of Commons is can always be ascertained; it is well to have something to which you can appeal so as to be able to show, for instance, that an amendment to a motion is an amendment and nothing else, and that it cannot be adopted without negativing, ipso facto, the original. An element of certainty or rather of fixity in such matters is a great gain; in local politics the sea of debate is stormy and wide, an occasional land mark the latitude and longitude of which are determined is a comfort for timid voyagers even though the most Ancient of Mariners be at the helm. We ourselves would undoubtedly prefer the practice of the House of Commons even with Mr. Carleton for interpreter, to the abnegation of all established rules with Mr. towditch as "prophet." THE IMPEACHMENT. As every one believed that he must do, the Governor has declined to remove the Superintendent from his office because Mr. Carleton, and Messrs. Daldy, Busby, and some young gentlemen in the Council have a personal dislike to him. The rocket was sent up with great noise and shouting; this is the " stick." Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, April 14th, 1862. To Hugh Carleton, Esq., M.P.C. Sir, —I have the honor to* inform you that the Petition signed by eighteen members of the Provincial Council of Auckland, praying for the removal of the Superintendent, which was forwarded by you to His Excellency Sir George Grey, has been referred by him to his ministers for their advice as to the course which he ought to pursue in the matter; and I am commanded to convey to you, on behalf of yourself and the other gentlemen who" signed the Petition, the conclusion arrived at by His Excelelncy, which is, that the circumstances disclosed by the petitioners do not constitute one of those extreme cases which would alone justify His Excellency in exercising the power vested in him by the Constitution Act.—l have, &c, William Eox, Colonial Secretary. Hobson-street Wesleyan Chapel.—On Easter Monday, we perceive, that the Ladies of the Needlework Association have invited the attendance of their friends to a sale, to be held on the grounds of the above Chapel at 12 o'clock, and that in the evening a tea meeting, in connection with the same association, will be held in the Chapel. We trust that the present fine weather will continue, and that our holiday friends on Easter Monday may satisfactorily enjoy the very useful amusement which has been designed for the occasion, the pecuniary success of which deserves the general good wishes of our citizens. Eemueka School.—We beg to draw the attention of our readers to the fact that on Tuesday evening next a Soiree and Musical Entertainment will be held in the schoolhouse at Mount Hobson, when it is purposed to dispose of those articles which were not sold at the Bazaar which was lately held in aid of the funds of this institution.