AUCKLAND PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 712, 24 February 1866, Page 5

AUCKLAND PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22. The Speaker took 'he chair at 3 o'clock. Tho Clerk roadtlie miuutss of the previous sitting, which woro confirmed. PETITIONS. Petitions wero received from Mr. David 'White, of Mount Wellington, complaining of the admission of cattle into the Province infected with pleuro-pneu-moiiia, by which his herd of cattle had become infected, and many of them had died also of tho contiguity of the slaughterhouse, where many cattle infected with this disease were killed, by which the contagion was disseminated, and asking tho Council for inquiry and such relief as it might see fit. Petitions were received from Mr. Dewar, schoolteacher of Newton, on behalf of himself and wife. TUB RECENT FIRE IN KAKANGAHAPB ROAD. Mr. Swanson presented a petition from Elizabeth Beer. The petitioner lived in the house that was pulled down to prevent the spread of the fire which broke out in the Karangahape road about a week ago. She stated that she was without shelter; that she had four children; that her husband (who is a carpenter) had gone, in consequence of dearth of work in Auckland, to Hokitika to get work main tain his family; that but for the kindness of his Honor the Superintendent she would not have a roof to cover or tho means of procuring subsistence for herself and children. She begged tho Council to take her case into consideration. Mr. Swanson observed that £50 would put the petitioner about in the same position as she was before the fire. STANDINO ORDERS. •The motion of Captain Cooper, for the suspension of standing orders lapsed, there not being a sufficient number of members present; also several motions for referring petitions to the Private Grievance Committee. MBBSAGE 23— JIRANDIKG OP CATTLE. ThO Superintendent submits to the consideration of the Provincial Council, an Act to provide for the branding of cattla in the Province of Auckland. MESSAGE 24.— THE ERECTION OF TOLL-BAlta. The Superintendent submits for consideration by the Provincial Council, an Act to authorize the erection of toll-bars, and levying of tolls, within the Pro- ! vince of Auckland* message 25.—town board, oneiiunoa. Tho Superintendent submits for the consideraof the Provincial Council, a bill to establish a Town Board for the Town of Unehuuga. superintendent's salary. Mr. Walton laid tho following draft of a bill upon the table:— An Act to Amend tho Superintendent's Salary Act, lbs J. Whereas an Act waß passed by the Provincial Legislature of the Province of Auckland. Session I, No. 6, entitled an "Act to fix the Salary of the Superintendent of the Province of Auckland," and whereas it is expedient to amend the same. Be it therefore enacted by the Superintendent of the Province of Auokland, with the a A vice and consent of thH Cotfncil thereof. I. The first section of'thol said recited Act is hereby ropealed, and in lieu of the tu,id section, be it enacted, 11. That out of tho revenue of the Province of Auckland, there shall bo paid to tho Superintendent thereof, a salary ufter tho rate of " fifteen hundred pounds yearly payment, thereof being computed from the 24tb day of October, 1S 6 5." 111. The Bhort title of this Act shall bo "The Superintendent's Salary Amendment Act." SUPREME COURT. Mr. Robert Graham, in rising to move " That the report of the Select Committee on his Honor's message No. 11, respecting the building of tho Supreme' Court, be taken iiita consideration," said that it would be in tbe recollection of the Council that after numerous representations made to tho General Government of' the disgraceful state of tho old Supreme Court in Queen-street, they decided on disposing of that site, and allowing the proceeds to- go to the building of a new Supreme Court. It was computed that that site would realize about £30,000. Certain comnlissioiiers were appointed to carry out the object in view. Tha Council were anxious to buy the site for the Province, and £12,500 was taken from tHo money loan to tho City Board, and from the fund tor the purchase of native lands. There were enough of members of the City Board in the Council to consent to that arrangement, and they did consent to it, but he (Jlr. Graham) being thm Superintendent, opposed it as far a3 lay in his power consistently with his desire to co-oporate with the Council. Competitive designs were invited and received. Some of the plans sent in were accompanied by estimates to the extent of £35,000 and £<15,000 ; the lowest was £23,000. A reduced contract had been aont in for £23,700; the building to be of brick, with Bath stone facing, but since the commencement of the building £1000 had been expended on the foundation. This contract did not includo fittings, but for this purpose tho commissioners would' have placed in their hands the proceeds from the sale of the site of the old Post office, Princes-street. It fcad since been found that to build the Court of all scoria would give a mnch more durabla edifice, and the select committee had taken evidence on this point, and recommended the additional outlay of £2,850. He (Mr. G-raham) did not press the matter on the Council, but left it in their hands. It might be asked where the money was- to come from. There had been a sum of money voted for the Government house in the Domain, on tho condition that the present Government house and site should be handed over to the Province. Arrangements bad been made with the General Government on this hoad. The original agreement would have to ha cancelled by a bill brought into the next Assombly, but there would be hardly any difficulty arise on that Jhead. He would leave the matter entirely in the hands of the Council. . ... Mr Kowe called the attention of tho Council to tho exact date of the New Supreme Court-house. Tho question was for the committee whether it should be scoria or a material less durable. The committee were of opinion that £2850 would be well spent in the alteration. The result of inquiry made, ob to the whole cost, including fittings, would bo £35,000 at least There was at first £25,000. The foundations had oost as stated, £1000. The inside fittings would cost £6000. Did not think tliero could be made any sensible diminutions. These things considered, that would not bo the last appropriation. It would be at some future time to vote about £8000. Did not think the Council was warranted in making this appropriation There was a matter for general regret that the estimate as to the cost, however careful you might be are no safe guide, and tha cost of this work exceeded by one-third the first estimate. This was a reflection upon the men who undertook these works. Wa3 sorry to see tho hon. gentleman (Mr. Graham) iump at once to Government House. lli«re were thousands of works in the Province more requisite than this. He (Mr. Kowe) could not in conscience vote for this appropriation, and thought that the best use that could be made should be made of the brick. Captain CoorEß said thas considering the estimates the Council was not in a position to make this approJ*. O'Neim, : The Council should keep in mind that by interfering with the contract would only inorease the expenditure. The opinion did not appear to be baaed on the evidence taken by lie Committee. The Committee stated that the buildins ought to be of scoria. One of the witnesses, Mr. Weaver who thought so, was a gentleman who ought to have given the information. Mr. tiumsey was ot the same opinion. Mr. Wrigley, however, and Mr. Hornpath were of opinion that compressed brick would be preferable, because tho wa 1 swould bo brick, seein" this he did nottliink that report was based upon 3 Ltie ' evidence. It was a cruel thing that the capital should be deprive 1 indefinitely of a supply ot water in consequence of the large expenditu.e that had been made. Ho thoueht there was no money for tho purpose, aud that thi-< work, if it could not be stopped, ought to bo kept within the contract. He bowed to move tlie following amendment, That keppin" in view tho present financial posi'ion ofthe Province is not satisfactory, this Council is of opinion that contracts entered into ought not to be disturbed so far as the Supreme Court House building is conMr Carleton said that the hon. gentleman (Mr. O'Neill) had succeeded in involving the question in confusion. Wherein did the question really lie i Whence did the money come ? It was not the Evev Of tho Council. (Oh!) What were the facts ? The General Government handed over a C3rtain property, the proceeds from which were to build this new house. Had the site of the old Court House been Bold it would have realized £30,000 afc th# very

least. It would be impossible for him to vote for an amendment based on a misappreheniiion. (Oh!) They w?re using the proceeds of General Government land. Mr. O Neux : Every additional pound 'w3l'haw' to be refunded. Mr. Cable ton could not accept an amendment which produced hopeless confusion. • ;■ Mr. Gadmajt thought that the Provincial Secre* tary had made " confusion worse confounded." Th» whole of this additional monov would have to be refunded. What guarantee was' there that more extra# would not be called for. The contract for Panmnr©. 3i idgo was £12,500; the amount was nearly £17,000. The cost of this building would reach £33,000 to £38,000, where was the surplus of the original estimate to come from ? A message had been sent down the day btfore which must have caused hon. gentlemen to think more than they had thought for years of their incondition. "Where was the money to com* from ? The hon. member (Air. O'Neill) had represented the case most truly. Mr. Ridings thought that after the consideration of his Honor's message of Wednesday this motion, should not have been brought forward. The finan es of the country did not admit of this expense. It was unjust to the settlers of the Province to spend £3000 on an ornamental building. The existing Supreme Court was a roomy building, and would last for years. It would be more prudent for the Council to refuse this vote and give the money for the construction ot roads opening up thp country. The Chief Justice appeared to be well satisfied with it. Mr. Kibk'wood said that any expenditure that would increasi the difficulty of the Province would meet the resentment of the Council. The Council was in a state of mind after what it had heard to talk of retrenchment and nothing else. Mr Bali, said that tbe Council ought not to have been asked for this money. It was a question with him whether the brick or tha stone were preferable, and the same question was not fully determined by the evidence. The building had been begun too soon or too late. It could have been built much cheaper at a future time, or ought to have bean built long ago when the Province was in a different state. Ho w. uld vote against tbe motion. Mr. Swan'son wondered that something more had not been made of one point started by Mr. Rotre, viz., " that when commencing these works the estimate* never were a guide to the actual cost." There had been an additional £1000 for the foundation, wherea» for only a few shillings the character of the ground could bo discovared. There were several hundred yards of stuff lying about, every yard of which would have to be made i p wilh concrete that would not be a bit better than the clay. "What would be the effect of throwing back all the brick prepared for this work upon tlio market. It would be a gross injustice to the working man. He (Mr. Swanson) would oppose the motion. Mr. Huntek said he had no faith in Government officials. He had refused to tender because he knew that those in power had a tendency to keep their friends in and others out. The other day, it was desired by the public that Mr. Wrigg should make one of a commission, hut that was distasteful I to some gentlemen. He could prove that in that h.ll outside the .further they went down the worse t would be the foundation. The thing was an injury | to the place, considering the communications that had bosn projected between Purnell and Auckland. He begged lo support the amendment. Mr. Dignan eaid he di I nit like to give a silent vote on the question. T.ie building was not constructed nut of the general money oi' the Province. It was the result of an arrangement. The General Government gave land for ihe purpose, which the Province had bought. The G-eneral Goveinmenfe said if that money ko pa : d f it that land were not sufficient, the site of the old post-office would be at the di.-p )-al of the Commissioners. Although he would vote against the ropori; of the Select Committee, he could not go with the hon. gentleman (Mr. O'iVeiU), for the building c irae from resources entirely independent of tin Province. But he (Mr. Dignan) would not vote for the amendment. If the contract wero disturbed, it would ent lil three timos the expense estimated. The finishing of the work was not wirhin the present contract. Mr. SiiEEiiiX said that the committee was not composed of the right class of men. Its members were not judges of stone or brick. The men who should have been invited to decide were the members of the Auckland Trades' Union. And the Wangarei stone selected, money would be kept in the Province, no matter what the material might coat. Colonel Pkacocke said ho preferred brick. He had not heard any reason given why brick should not stand hero as well as in England. Seeing that there was no calculating the additional cost, and he thought the additional contract should be adhered to. Mr. HONTEB agreed with Mr. Swanson, that it wa« perfectly easy for the architect or the engineer to have discovered the nature of the ground and the character of the foundation before a stone had been laid. That had not been dono, and the consequence was that more expense would have to be incurred than, was necessary. He (Mr. Hunter) had experience as a builder, and he knew that the further they ' dug down the worse the foundations would become. He had never taken a contract for any Government in New Zealand, because he had no confidence in tha Government officials. He was, therefore, independent in his opinion on the subject before the Council. It was well known that a road had been projected aerosg Mechanics' Bay. He (Mr. Hunter) wa» interested in that road. It had been determined to. change that road by the Council Chambers, with the view to facilitate the communication between Auckland and Parnell. This road had been effectually stopped by the building being placed on this site. He thought it would be improper to disturb the contract, that cnmpres«ed brick c>uld bo had in the colony in sufficient quantity and of good quality. He would record his vote in favor of the amendment of the hon. geniloman, the member for the City West. Mr Graham said ic was the duty of the Commissioners to have submitted this matter to the Council* The Eugineer-in-Chief had never been consulted, for thero was an architect. If the money were not expended in the Supreme Court, it would have gone into the coffers of the General Government and heen spent in Wellington. To the want of suitable buildings for the discharge of public business it was owing that the seat of Government had been removed: The Commissioners would not have done their duty had not they asked the Council whether the Council were disposed to have what was deemed to be two superior buildir.es at an extra trifling cost: The original motion was put and negatived: The amendment was about to be put, when Mr. Williamson rose and said that he had travelled through all the Provinces of the colony, and he often felt a eeupe of shame for the inferior buildings of the capital of the colony. The old Supreme Court was a disgrace. He would move an amendment to Mr. O'Neill's proposition, viz., "That until after hi 3 Honor's mes:age, No. 20, has been considered this Council cannot undertake to pledge itself to any further expenditure for the Supreme Court building, a3 recommended b v the select committee appointed to consider his Honor's message, No. H." He thought it might be the most prudent of dealing with the matter to postpone the consideration of it until the est mates were gone into. Mr. O'Neill's amendment now became the substantive motion, and question being put the motion was lost. • . Captain COOFEB said notwithstanding the tact displayed by the hon. gentleman (Sir. Williamson) .he must adhei e to his opinions that the additional expense ought not to be incurred, Mr. U'NeilX, said that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Williamson) had succeeded in throwing dust in the eyes of the Council. It wou'd have been a fairer and more straightforward mode of effecting tho postponement of the subject to have moved at an early stage tho adjournment of the debate. Mr. Williamson said the hon. gentleman (Mr# O'Neill) hat been requested to with-J raw his motion, and he refund. Had tha hou. gentleman (Mr. Graham) cune to the Council when hi was expending hT"o sums of money in the same manner as he did then for a small su-n, he would that day be more respected. Mr. Cabt/ETOX said this was notm any marnsr & Government question. Mr. Graham protested against the eha>,g> m&de awainßt his aJmi.. ; ,3trati )n by J he hon. t'ent'.emin (Air. w'Neill.) The time to discuss was when the estimates came down, He (Mr. G-raham) would be prepared to defend his conduct at the proper time. After what had passed, he hop d the Council would allow him to move that the minutes of evidence should be printed. . Mr. Rowb expressed his opini'inthvtthe report ot the committee was in accordance wta the e ndtnee, notwithstanding that he had voted, against the iecommendation. • Mr. Swanson- said there, was a very s g - preesion on the public mind that th?re was <K»

hidden reason for the estimates never being a guide to the a tual cost ot any undertaking, which should be examined into and laid bars. After a few words from Mr. Coolahan and Mr. SUSTEB, Mr. GBAHAM moved that the minutes of evidence ktken before the select oommittee be printed. (The motion was agreed to. OBDEBB OP THE DAT. The Land Commissioner in moving "that hia Honor'* message relating to the alteration in tho Waste Lands Act be considered," said it had been intimated that his Honor the Superintendent m tended to tale advice of the Council, and ask the consent to the proposals for altering the 'ct of looS. The time, it is believed, has come that a different mode of administration of the balance of tho land needs alteration, and tho Superintendent must go to the General Assembly. The present state ot land affairs was known. A return of the lands had been laid before the Council. It was hopeless to expect that the Provincial Government could go on adding to their lands. It could not be expe ted that any more land would ba handed over to tho Province. It would be seen that after the satisfaction of all orders and claims, there would be a very large surplus. It might be thought unnecessary to do this, inasmuch as 18 months must elapse before any Act could come into operation. The only means was to request his Honor to bring the Bill into the Assembly, and that Act would have to receive her Majesty's assent. The new system was described in his Honor's message. Intimation had been given to the agents at home to restrict the land orders to thoso who had a dona Jide intent to settle, and that they had some capital. It was not however intended to interfere with special settlements, because the of these schemes were less dependent on the possession of capital than those individuals who came out isolated. Mr. Ball moved the adjournment of the debate until Wednesday next. The motion was agreed to. WEEDS AXD WATES COURSES BILL. The Land Commissioner said that it had bean his intention to move the re-committal of the bill to consider tho clauses as affecting absentees, but the whole question was surrounded with difficulties, and he did not feel prepared to make any alteration. The hon gentleman moved the third reading of the bill. It would then go up to the Superintendent, and would possibly be sent down to the Council again with some amendments and suggestions made by the Superintendent. After a few words from Mr. Ball, the bill was read a third time. ADDRESSES UNAS'SWEIIED. Mr. Ball moved " That a respectful address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to send down to this Council a rsDort of all address's presentsd during its 17th and 18th session, to which replies have not been received." Agreed to. KAIPA.UA TRAMWAY. Mr. Cad maw for Mr. Creighton moved, " That au address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to send down to the Council tracing of the survey for the tramway from the head of the Waitemata to Kaipara, as suiveyed by Mr. Harding, together with Mr. Harding's report there on if any." Agreed to. The Council adjourned at quarter-past 6 o'clock.