PROVINCIAL COUNCIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 313, 12 November 1864, Page 5

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL

FKIDAY, lint NOVKMI3EH. I Tur: Spk.uckk look the chair at .'i o'clock. 1 Then' were Jl> members present. j The minutes of (ho lust .fitting of tlie Council were ' read and confirmed. Mr. G.\Li.ATCiuKit asked tlie lion, member at the i Imad of the Kxeeutive. 14 io comply with tlie answer ! given by the Provincial Secretary to lite question ; asked on the -Sth October standing in his mime," 1 and remarked that the winter win >ettmu r in and that- i nothing had been done to the wharf at Oneluinga \ the Provincial .Secretary had promised to give j an answer on ihe subject. Te trailed (hat the hon. gentleman would take the harbour endowments at ; Onchunga into consideration at once. .Something ! must be d one, and that at once, or it would seriously j elfeet Onehunga and Auckland^iiso. Mr. Carletox said in reply that at first lie was at a loss to understand the meaning of the question, but now that the lion, gentleman had explained it he could give an answer. JI is answer w;u-i that there luid been no time to consider the matt r. Mr. (iAi.i.Ai t; n nit : That is an evasion. Mr. Cauij-;ton called upon the Speaker to order, 'i hf Si'kakkk ruled that the question had been properly answered, and the hon. gentleman must be contented. WATERWORKS AITKOI'IIfATIOX I'ILL. (Reported amendment fr.rlher to be considered.) Mr. Caku:tois t said : The lion, member who is supposed 1o have advised the clauses of this hill, ought to have be n asked io amend them. Jle wns asked "what wns*thc meaning of the Law Oilieer's ad- 1 dilion io Wan-its, in t he \Valerivorks A ppropriation Act. and whether any provision was to lie made for any liabilities incurred under the Waterworks Act of lsi>o. It happens to be the hon. member's own clause, of his own bill, which was taken out of the Waterworks Kill and placed in ihe Appropriation Aet. Any explanation that the Council desired on lhat point, miL>t be made by the parties to the bill. As to the <;U'S|-ion nf the liabilities under t]u: Act 1 SCO, lie learnt that there were .-omesmall liabilities although no claim had been sent up to the present time. /Jc had the correspondence l on subject, bnt. he b;d not laid it on the table. It was however at t he .v tv-ice of any hon. member who wishe 1 to peruse it. i he original Aet was drafted by Mr. Fenton of course, the Law Olllcev finding the Act in his hand would t make use of it. J le beiiitvod th; t the promts? had uei ngiven three timesowrbyconsecutive bupl^i ,, - tend.'nt .• that these expense? which were not paid— i'* any previous work were made use of bv any succeeding ilovermnont, that then and not till then they should reimburse them, and now for the first time adva a;e "m:l been taken of it, and it. was for that pur«' •• t' f. th(! clause was draftvd and putintotbe \\ lit sr.vorl s bill, and the provincial law Ufsii er has traus.o4.Ted «.he words to the Appropriation Act, ax»J

tins was the explanation. He moved that the amendment be agreed to. The amendmeut was carried. Mr. Caulhton nsked the indulgence of the Council l«n- ngam bringing the matter forward. He found that there was not £45,000 at tho disposal of the Council for the waterworks; there was some £500 '° ( V-1 ,i move that the bill be recommitted, so that the preamble and the first, clause mi»lit be reto 0 £44 , 500 ' Uld Ulilt thC ~ 45 ' 000 be reduced by £500 the eh-ib° USC " Cnt " ,to coin,n ' tl:e e—Mr. O'Neill ir. The Chaibjun put the resolution to the committee, and it was earned. VVAT-EJCWOKICS APntOPKIA! ION BILL.— THIHD HEADING. On the motion of -Mr. Cakletox, the reading oi tins bill was postponed. NATIVE LAND PURCHASE EMPOWERING 811.1.. SECOND READING. °n the motion of 3lr. Caiu.ktox, the readii,.'oi thii bill was postponed. 0 VASTB UND.S ACT. 'J he following paper was laid on the table : "The Committee appointed to consider the Waste Land Act, ISuS, with the view of obtaining an amendment thereof by an Aet of the General •Aesi'mbh'. recommend— Ist. Taut forty-acre grants be hereafter tnvuvcieJ only after occupation for a given time, or improvements to a given amount, and that upon suilieientproo ' belore tin; expiration of three years from Uie day ol arrival in the colony/' of such occupation, or such improvement, a grant shall forthwith be made. '• 2nd. Unit the provisions for making large grants of land, " !00 acres and downwards," to naval and military settlers be repealed, and that henceforward naval and military settlers of all ranks be placed on tho tame footing 111 regard to the waste lauds, as other immigrants. '' :lnl - 'J hat 'f during the voyage to tho colony, or before presentation of the laud order to Land Commissioner, any person in respect of whom such land order shall have been granted shall die. th s person who shall oil such death be legallv entitled to the land order, and right of selection thereunder, shall, if the other conditions have been djily fulfilled, be entitled to select- and obtain a grant of the land, notwithstanding such death belore such presentation. " -Ith. That with tho view of avoiding tho necessity of each immigrant coming to town, land orders m "v bo presented " for indorsation" by an agent, and may be indoised as required by tec. 7 i of the Waste Land Act, on tho Commissioner or his deputy beiii" tali.,lied that the person named in such "land order is actually in the province, or has died on tho voyage. " oth. That it shall be lawful for persons actually in the province, holding land orders for not less than four thousand acres in the aggregale, and who have not previously exercised tin: right of selection under such land orders, to lorm themselves into a special sett lenient, to present to the Superintendent a petition signed bv all such persons, requesting him to appropnticular block of land, and make such other arrangements as may he required. And on the Super. ntendent signifying his concurrence in the prayer of such petitii.n, that the petitioners shall thereupon lie treated as provided in sections 5S and •i!) of t he " Waste Land Aet, 1855." " (li)i. That, a commission be appointed to hear and determine all claims for land orders, or for "runts of land, and all questions regarding the administration ot the Waste Land laws of the province ; and that no petition to the Piovincial Council on these subjects lie entertained, until the ground of complaint has been submitted to and reported upon by such commission. "7th. 1 hat in case of land selected under any land order, the right to which land has become forfeited by the non-fulfilment of any ot the conditions prescribed by the Waste J.and laws of the Province it shall be lawful for the Commissioner of Waste Lands lo notify such forfeiture in the 'Provincial Government Gazette,' ami such lands shall thereupon be again open lor tale at the upset price of 10s. an acre. " Stli. Tu the case of Public Reserves, for which grants have i:sucd to the Superintendent, power should be given by Act of the Provincial Council to utilize these by lease for 7, 14, or 'JI years, in the same manner as the harbour endowments are now leased. " In case of Public Reserves, for which no Crown grants have issued, an Act of the General Assembly should be procured to vest these in the buperiiilencient, and to enable him to lease them as might be found advisable, for 7. Li, or 21 years. " And that, having taken into consideration the additional returns furnished by the Deputy Waste Lands Commissioner, is of opinion that the present system of issuing land orders may be safely continued until March, ISGG, provided that the loregoing resolutions be adopted by the Council. " JLlugii Cahlktox, " Chairman." AI'PHoriItATION I)II.I.—SECOND HEADING. A liill to make further provision for the year 18(! 1. Postponed. ESTIMATES IN COMMITTEE. | Mr. Cauletox moved for the Engineer-in-j Chief, at that rate for the next four months. j The question of progress was reported for the purj pose of aseei taining the opinion ot JI v. Speaker as to whether the second reading could be proceeded with before considering the items for liStil. Mr. ll.UiKor spoke on the advisability of the items for ifitio being completely done with he;ore touching on those of the residue of ISGI. -Mr. C.\i:i.i:ton replied, but hoped there would be no objection to this Li! 1 being read a second time. These were nieiely the items r.pper.aining to IS6-1. ilr. WI'.NX moved the House into Committee again on the estimates. -Mr. Caiu.liTON said it appeared there was one item in the ISGi estimates which being struck out it was nuw their wish to restore, 'lliis item was tile sum of £(><) for horse for Commissioner of Police. Mr. Caki.kton moved, 'Hint the item of CGO be placed oil estimates for forage for the horse of Commissioner of Police. Carried without any debate. Mr. Xewmax hoped that the Council would not oiler any objections to tlie items on the estimates for lSli 1., as they had been reduced as much as could be desired. 'The Si'KAKEi: here again took his seat; the Committee to luive leave to sit again directly. Mr. •Speaker here received and read some Messages from the Superintendent, among which was one at great length on the Address lately received from the Provincial Council with roicrence to the appointment, of Mr. ])aldy. MESSAGES. The iSuperintendent recommends that an appropriation Le made by the Provincial Council as follows, vi/. :— Commissioner of Police (forage for a horse) £"GO. HoliEltT Gkaiiam, •Superintendent. MESSAGE NO. S2 Tho Superintendent invites the Provincial Council to make provision for the puymeut of the undermentioned items, viz : — iiridge over the Mangnmangaroa river (in accordance with resolution of Council) .£'2so. Public works at, Oiiehuuga to be met by equal contribution (as per resolution of Council) X"o50. Public works at, .Newton, £200. l'ocomplete the erection of the Citi" Lockup,,6looo. lioBKUT Graham, fchtperintendent. message so. S3. i The Superintendent lays before the Pro- j vincial Council copy of a li tter received from the , Chairman of the City Hoard of Commissioners and i the accompanying Koport by 11. Wrigg Hsq., C.E., relative to tho site of the proposed Market House, also the plans (in original) furnished therewith. Koiseut Gkaiiam. ■Superintendent. MESSAGE NO. SI. The Superintendent has received an address (No. 40) lr<m tho Provim iil Council, commenting upon t u: appointm -nt of iV -. I)a!dy to the office of special .•migration agent, lit t .vithslanding that tho creation of such otlice h id lon rejoinmended by re.-o'ution of the Council. 'Do Superintenden", infers with reluctance int "> a question t nit ought not, in his <•:>•:■-ion, to have hecm entertained by the C< n leil, seeing that i' is the duty of the Executive hi nah ot the Prov lie al Lcgisl; t ire to make tho at i» /intments for the public service, as exclusively as it is tho piivilegc ot the Council to make or to refuse t i.j provision recommit n led for that seivice. Put the wording ol the aldress is mi that the Huperiiitm--1 dent departing on this occasion from tho ordin^iv

coutsp, feels it dun to Mr. Daldy, the Council, and himself, to review the circumstances which: led to this appointment On the 28th January, 1864, Mr. Cliseseman. brought tip a report from the Kidgwny Committee, and the same was received and re id as follows:— " The select committee appoipf"d to erquiro into' and report upon the financial ai d other matters relating to Messrs. Ridpwuy and Son us the London' agents of the province, having examined Messrs. Daldy, Newman, Lusk, and others, together with a large quantity of do umentary evidence, have the honor to report as fol'o v.- :— ". 7.' 1 1,; present system of agency in the United Kingdom thould he discontinued : and your Committee recommend the appointment of a gentleman connected with this province, tliro ighly acquainted with its character and capabilities, and '■v 1 [ o><■ duty it should be to carrv cut the instructions i-'sued t > him from time.to tinie hy the Provincial Government. " {'>.) Your Committee are further of opinion that it would ho a more judicious eourto to allow such agent a fixed salary not exceeding £<300 a-year, with travelling expenses, instead of )os. for each land •--■ dor as ;it pre.-ent: the fee of 10s. to be carried to tli2 credit of the pro vine?. (3.) Your Committee highly disapprove of the present extern-ire transactions carried on by Messrs. Ridgway ;ind Son in tiansmitting money to this province for the convenience of emigrants, and strongly recoiiimend its discontinuance." Subsequently, Mr. Foley Hsked " In what capacity the hon. member, Captain Daldy, is to represent tho province on Jii.s approaching visit to England ?" " Mr. Daldy answered that be was not aware of there boine- any arrangement made for hiß representing the province during his visit to England, and that whilst he was a member of tho Government he would not be a party to such an arrangement. He was going hojne in a private capacity.'^ When thi-J statement was made in the Coiuieil the Superintendent had in no way suggested to Mr. Daidv acceptance of the appointment. In coiisrmience of Dr. Pollen having, moved on 28th January— "Thai tin- third reading of tho Empowering Bill, IS(i), was had and the Billpassed atthe instaneeofthe.Executive, at a late hour, in a thin house, and in no contravention ol' a distinct and understood arrangement between the Executive and this Council." And also— " That unless a full and satisfactory statement of the manner in which the sum of £44,332 14s. 3d. authorised by the Empowering Act, 1864, to be applied to 'Immigration' be immediately made to this Council, either by Message from his Honor the Superintendent, or otherwise, this Council, in discharge of iis duty as guardian to the public interest, will petition his Excellency the Governor to disallow the limpmvering Act, 18(54." The Superintendent. furnished the information required in the following Message (on ITebruray, 2nd), "The Superintendent lays before the Provincial Council t'ie following'plan which ho proposes to> adepi for procuring a continuous stream of Immigration into this Province in addition to the population which ;!■ :iv he drawn hithcrwardsby the inducements lie'd oi 1 under the present .land regulations." Tiie C juncil has voted the sum of £44,332 14s. 3d. f r r immigration purposes, of which sum about £IS,OOO has already been authorised to be expended on the Assisted Passage system; particulars of the classes oi immigrants sent for and other information connected therewith will be found in the enclosed letters addressed to Messrs. Kid.'way and Sons. Mr. Dahly being about to proceed to England) shortly, the Superintendent, proposes to take advantMao of his services while there, and intends to authorize him to s"nd out immigrants, and to make the 1 o-t arrangements which perfonal investigation ott the spot may lead him to adopt for selecting and forwarding them. The Superintendent purposes •living Mr. Daley discretionary power to make such, arrangements with the emigrants as he ma}' see best in each case as to the proportion of the pnsstge money which the Government will advance by way of loan on their behalf. Mr. Daldy will also be 1 authorized to airange with societies in Great Britain who may bo willing to assist emigrants in proceeding: to Auckland. And it appears to the Superintendent that arrangements can be made most beneficially by a person familiar (as Mr. Daldy is) with the class of immigrants required and the resources of this Province. lie will also be empowered to issue lan<£ friers. with a view more particularly to special Settlement Immigration. The Victoria Valley isparticularly well adapted for the location of a Special Settlement., and it is desirable, in the event of a partv being foimcd for settlement there, that-arrangements should be made for the vessel conveying the immigrants to proceed to Mongonui direct, so that they may not be subjected to the inconvenience and expense of transhipment at Auckland. There are ahogreat inducements for the establishment of settlements at Hohianga and the Buy of Islands, and it would be desirable that they should proceed to the Bay of Islands direct. A large number of persons proposing to emigrate from Ireland have expressed a, desire to c ome out to this Province, and the fine district of Ivawa Kawa has been chosen by their pioneer agent. There is therefore every prospect of an important and prosperous settlement being founded in that part of the Proviree. While Mr. Daldy will give his attention chiefly to emigration, tho Superintendent also looks forward to receive from him valuable information respecting the construction of water works, bridges, wharves 7 tramwnvs, and other works of a similar character, winch the pupeiinteiideut will lay before the Council during its next session." Ou 4th February, the following resolutions were adopted by the Council, and ionvarded in an address to tiie Superintendent, namely : — 'That, with a view to a judicious and satisfactory expenditure of the funds appropriated to the purposes of Immigration by the Empowering Act, iStil, this Council is of opinion— " Ist. That inasmuch as the province of Auckland has been chiefly colonised by subjects of her Majesty, immigrants from the United Kingdom, the sum of £11 000 now proposed to be appropriated to immigration ought to be to divided as that the amounts devoted to expenditure in the introduction of immigrants from England, from Ireland, and from Scotland respectively should bear the same proportion to the whole sum, as persons of the English, Irish, and Scottish races settled in this province respectively hear to the whole European population of the province, as shown in the latest census. " 2nd. That if it be finally determined, as intimated in the Message Xo. 65 of his Honor the Superintendent, that a paid agency shall lie established in tireat Britain, this Council is of opinion that there ought to be a resident agent for England, for Ireland, an.i for Scotland respectively, and that to such agents authority to conduct tho Auckland immigration, in conformity with the foregoing resolution, ought to be confided." On the same day Mr. May, a member of the Executive, moved as follows: —" That having referenco to tho views expressed in His Honor's Message, No. (55, this Council is of opinion that the services of Mr. I aldv, (who has stated his intention of visiting the United Kingdom) should be obtained for the purpose of selecting immigrants." This motion was made without the knowledge or consent oT the Superintendent, he being of opinion that so long as he is responsible for tho appointments he ought to make them at his own discretion, tempered with due regard to the advice of his Executive Council. Mr. Daldy is reported to have said tliathe was g'oing home on his own private business, and would not accept- any otibial appointment without the sanction of the Council, he then, not choosing to discuss a matter personal to himself, left-the Council Chamber, after a debate a i amendment was moved, viz:—"That this Council declines expressing an opinion relative to the -proposed appointment of Captain Daldy as Iwnuigiutum Agent, considering that the responsibility of appointing agents for this Province ought to rest solely with his Honor the Superintendent." The Superintendent thinks it is much to be regretted that this amendment, which placed on its true basis tho question between the Council and himself, and which would have obviated all difficulty, = hould have lapsed through adjournment tor want of a quorum. Kotiee being taken that the one-third of the members was not present, Mr. Speaker counted the Council; and oue-third of the members not being , present, then adjourned the Council at 5 minutes to 'J o'clock p.m. Members present: Mr. Cacbnan Mr. Gall a usher, Mr. Iverr, Mr. Mav, Mr. A. O'Neill, Mr. J. O JSeill, Dr. Pollen, Mr. Kowe, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Swanson. It thus appears that one section of too Councd desired to auction the appointment of Mr. Daldy, and tlia h the other section declined to sanction any nomination whatever, beiog of opinion that the re

«ponsibilifcy for appointing agents "for tliis IVotinco | nought to rest solely -with, the Superintendent- Mr%' DaJdy was thus reliovod from any engagemout Implied or expressed with tho Council, nnd tho Appointment was left by the Council, unquestioned, in the lands of tho Superintendent. On the 26th March, Mr. Dftldy Tcsignedliis scat in .too Executive Council. Subsequently to this resignation the Superintendent held a meeting, composed of Messrs. Newman and May, the remaining mombers of the Executive Council; tho Superintendent submitted for consideration tho subject of emigration, \vl\rn tho of appointing a Special Agent was fully discussed. Tho Superintendent being of opinion that no ono>could perform the duties required, with such advantage to the Province, as Mr. Duldy, resolved upon endeavouring to obtain his services at a fixed salary (in accordance with a resolution of the Council), naming four hundred pounds (£100) for one year on the condition of tho customary fees being paid into the Treasury. Had tho Superintendent in opposition to the Kidgway Committee allowed Mr. Daldy to retain tho fees which wero expected to bo lodged, in lieu of a fixed salary, not a pretext for objection could have been raised. It was only at the personal request of the Superintendent that Mr. Daldy consented to accept the appointment. Tho Superintendent is still of opinion that the appointment was tho most judicious that could have been made, and on the most advantageous .terms to tho Province. Kohekt Gkauam, Superintendent. Superintendent's Oflicc, Auckland, 11th Nov., 1864. Mr. Wynx strongly objected to any future consideration of tho subject, .The Superintendent must have been aware of all motions made at this House, as the orders of tho day are always laid on his table every morning. Ho (Mr. Wynn) did not attach any blame to the Superintendent for this appointment, hut to the deviation from his promise by Capt. Daldy. Ho objected ,to its being printed. Dr. Pollen moved that Message No. SI from the •'Superintendent be considered sis soon as the committee sat, as it was of tho greatest importance that its contents should be strictly enquired into before it got out of doors otherwise. Mr. Wvkx was of opinion that the message should be immediately considered. Mr. Cheesemax expressd his sorrow that this message had ever been sent down by bis Honor, but he did not think the Council ought to consider it before being printed. Mr. Caklktox moved by way of amendment that this message do not be considered before giving the members an opportunity of looking into it, or until it be printed. Mr. Wm and Dr. Pollen spoke in favour of the message being immediately considered. This was a znere attempt to shelve this subject, as no other opportunity might occur for bringing it on again. Mr. CiikeskmAN said he saw nothing to rellect upon his Honor in the resolution proposed. It was since July be disapproved of Captaiu Daldy'sconduct. Dr. Pollen said that the mover had expressed bis regret. It had lapsed owing to there not being a house. The fact was that there was no opinion •upon the matter. The truth was that the Exeeut ive bad made an attempt to get the sanction of the Council to what they considered ought to have been done. Their sanction was asked to the appointment of Captain Daldy, but the Executive failed to obtain that sanction. It was a house counted out, and it was now said that Captain Daldy was released from his promise to the Council. He had seen that thing before but not of late. Mr. Wynn moved, "That this Council, in forwarding address No. 49 to his Honor the Superintendent, did not in any manner intend to interfere with his Honor's undoubted right to make public appointments without- the interference of this Council. They merely wished to express their disapproval of Captain Daldy's conduct in accepting a public appointment in direct violation of his promise made in i his place in the Council. And this Council fiijd in I his Honor's message No. 84, no explanation which can be considered satisfactory of Captain Daldy's | conduct, which, alone tliia Council desired to com.ment on." Dr. Pollen' seconded the motion, which was carried. I The resolution having been put, was carried unanimously. It was observed by several members that there was no member of the Executive present, and the adjournment of the House to Monday was moved by Mr. Wtnx. Mr. Ross moved, as an amendment, " That the House do adjourn for one hour." The amendment was put and lost. The orginal motion was then put, and carried. The Council adjourned to Monday next, at three o'clock.