PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARLIAMENT AT WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 892, 22 September 1866, Page 4

PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARLIAMENT AT WELLINGTON.

In consequence of the conjoint arrival of the ; English and Southern mails, « are compelled to hold over the full reports of the parliamentaryproceedings which, have: taken place since the date of our last advices from Wellington. Our . readers: will remember that on. the 7tli insfc. tliere was A count 'out in the House/ of .Representatives. The next day of meeting was the 10th.. Amongst the riotices of motion was one : tabled by Mr. McLean, for the annexation of a portion of the East Coast of the Province of Auckland to Haw&e's Bay. The House quicjtly passed to the question of taxation. ..." '' ; l! . Mr, Stafford, in. moving that the liouse go intd Committee of Ways and Means, explained that after the stamp duties had been, some little 411116 levied, .; people would see that they were most unobjectionable, and,thai tjiey would enable .the Government to reduce taxation qji many necessaries now heavily taxed. They had, he said, been imposed|n England : nearly 100 years, and. the peopio. : th'ere had' oyery; caiise to like them.. .They might be unpopular'in Duneiio, hut they were not unp6pulariri France, ; and other, colonies, including New Bbiitil Wales,' Canada, Tasmania, and 'other colonies! It waSj ho\vever, possible, by moans of tho 'telegraphic - Wires, to make siriy.p^ o posj unpopular.' An'lnge* nious attempt had beep made to ipake it appear ihafc ; this tax would press heavily on the industrial classed,' while the contrary was \ho case, for the larger part, of tho duties would be legacy and succession, and' those obtained from/banks. He concluded by pointing out, in. answer to .an objection, made bj Mr. : Moorhouse, that:, the impoaition of this duty would rather raise our credit, than otherwise, in England. Mr, Cabi-etos next addressed the . House. The : mpmbere of the Middle Island, he said, practically ruled the. affairs of, th? colony, arid for part.hq believed, although they had apt -yet gaid so, that .they dui Hot want the three-eightKs for tl)ie j)rQ». vinces, beqauae through having a magpificeijt tWlt torial revenue they could make iip any deficiency iii the eurpluß revenue's by means of local taxation ; but tho position of the provinces of the .North, he referred more particularly to Auckland, was Bueh that they eould not .do ' "without the. tlirec-eiglitllP, 1 and if they did not; hayfe it' he would. he prepared to leave off tftking any part in the Government of that 'province,' fop ;Goverh= : ment cdui4 P&P carrjdd pa without means, Ho furthermore gave as his opinion that thp question of the one Government, either General, op ProTincial, depending on tha leavings of tho oilier, was prejudicial, and considered that the remedy could ' be best found aa follows :—" That the whole of the : indirect taxation of tho Colony should go to tho ■ General UoyernDjent, and while tho land revenue should be spent;-where, it jvap raised', the .Provinces . should, supply their -remaining wahfs by 'direct taxes to be imposed by the General Asiembly,; so '■&» W ■i prevent undue influences, from being brought to.boar on those legislating." He believed that by'the adoption of tho system ho had proposed; the government of the Provinces would be carried on with much : greater economy,', for when the inhabitants jjeard tjje tax-gatherer knocking at their' door, they teould spoil see the necessity;. 1 - of having economicaliGo'vernlments. "* ' " " *' 1 " "■ Mr, Cbacroyr Wilson would far rather see the sum of £50,000, if required Ijy the Goyeroinent] taken fropi the Provincial three-e)ght{u thaii raiaejj by a Stanjp Act. The Houso tbon went into Committee ofWaysnncj Means. Mr.. FitzGkka r.o commenced with an attack npoil • the remarks liotK of Mr. and Mi*. Curietotl, and .finally concluded by proposing to remedy, the' prevention of continual conflicts between the Provincial pnd Gnneral Governments, first by the plan proposed bv JMr. Carleton ; or secondly, by allotting to tho provinces certain duties; or thirdly, by lower* ing the Customs, arid aUomng the provinces each to put an increase ori them for its own.provision. Tho hon.. member concluded .by saying : that he'did nbt take such a sanguine vieyy of the circumstances'' of the country as to agree with the hon. irienjbor fijj Weetland, or agree with the Government in its present proposal. Mr. Eitzheßiiebt having spoken in favoQr of the Stamp Bill, was followed by Mr. MooBHOtr.BE. who made light of the burden of taxation enjoyed by tha colony. Wo might, ho said, be lietivily burdened now, but population, was increasing so fast, and the country was progressing so much, that the debt of the colony would soon be very lightly felt. He thought it would be. much, more advisable :to issue Treasury Bills than increase the taxes . of-thtn courttry. ikjr. Moorhouj'a then said ho was prepared sto accept the alternative hinted at by the Colonial Treasurer of abandoning the Stamp Duties, 1 and; giving up £00,000 out ; oJ :tae threWeightiis, ' ' TUESDAY, September 11th. Mr. BraiiiijCx put a question to the Governipaent relative to the alleged interference of Mr. I*arris -with Major McDonnell's forces. Mr. Stafford said tho Government was indebted to the hon. member for putting tho question on the paper, because it gava the Go vernmcnf an opportunity of dispelling donbts. Pr rather inisapprehenßions, that existed with regard to of He would conjure the hori. member never to belies anything he should see in the press. He (Mr. St-af. ford) had never yet—and that was a sweeping asgflrtion—known the actions of the Government to be commented upon strictly in accordance wi th facts; Sometimes there was. some truth in these oomments, and at other, times there was- none whatever. With regard to the report iii ; question, he. would remark: that, there w.as no foundation whatever fiw. it. Mr. Parris- had not been sent with, any inatractions i-e----lating to tho' operations of Major /McDonnell"; he had gone home to his usual place of residence, New-Ply-mouth. >,• . After some minor business; had Ijeen. disposed of, the House again ..resolved itself: into Committee ,6f Way's and Me'uns, when • Mr. Cbosiiib \V"abd rose to move the following resolutions: " '■■ ■:■ ■ •• "*>y* " I That, regard being had to . the existing burdens on tho people pf this .-colony,■'it is not advisable to impose any additional taxation which 'can be avoided. " 2. That, in the opinion of this Committee, the preseut financia.l condition of the Colony 1 does .not \varrant a resort to extraordinary Vi -taxation in order to prpyide for the necessary expenditure'' of thp ■' '' 3. That, in the. v opinion of. ; ttis committee; taxation in any form must operate- more or less^'injuriously 0U the future: 'of the colony, and un der np circumstances ought to be adopted, except for thp purpose of relieving undue pressure from existing, methods of collooting revenue^ " 4. That, accordingly, until such a revised tariff of Customs Duties as the Legislature may in th is session think fit to adopt, shall have befen for a sUffir ::iont period in it is inexpedient;to make the aupply to Her Majeaty by mearia of stamp intiea." ' '

Mr. "Ward concluded a. long speech by moving tho fourth of these resolutions _ Mr. FrrzHEßitEitT twisted the mover of the resolution just made as " bidding for olTico." Mr. Vogexi, in movin u. the adjournment of the •debate, Baid that ho won Id bring forward a motion iSor Insular Separation. WEDNESDAY, September 12th. Ur. Oricqnp asked the Colonial Secretary,— " Whether or not the la nds of the natives lately in rebellion on the ISast Co: Ist of th* Northern Island, in the district Bitu&te 1 jetween tho East Cape and Mahia Peninsula, are int onded to be made liable for the expenditure incurrt id by tho colony in suppressing the insurrection ' within that district. Also, ■whether it is proposed to acknowledge the services of ;the native allies of tb.nt district by giving them ' substantial rewards ' for the numerous and signal services they have rend ered to the colony during tho disturbances that have- taken place in that district; and whother such row:ird is proposed to be made by the payment to them of a sum of money, and if so, whether the same is intended to ba made a charge tipon the district in. question, or bo borne as a general charge upon the colony.'' The Hon. E._ "W. Stafford said that lie would have preferred if this question had been put on the paper in the form of a notice of motion. Tho present Government, and, indeed, every Government, -were of opinion that where native disturbances arose, that some endeavours should he made to recoup ar.y consequent expense from tho property of the, hostile natives, but the Government could not hold out any hope of any early or substantial return from tho lands on the East Coast. The Government were also of opinion that friendly natives should be rewarded from the same source. Mr. Macanduew moved, " That in the opinion of thi* House, it is inexpedient to continue the subsidies for steam postal services, after the expiration of existing contracts, excepting in respect of the conveyance of the English mails." The colony, ho said could save £6000, if Auckland could wait one day longer for the English mail, by having it brought byway of Otago. The Hon. Postmastkr-G-ekekai, moved as an amendment, " That excepting in respect of tho conveyance of the English mail it will be inexpedient to continue subsidise for steam postal services after expiration of the present eontiack, if equal accommodation cannot be obtained without seriously increasing the present rate of subsidy. ajr. Diixok Bell objected to the amendment, jfr! Gael; 11l epoks in favour of tho original Jfji O'Neill suggested that both the resolution and amendment should bo withdrawn, as the report of the postal committee would be shortly hefore the House, making this, among other recommendations, that thQ Napier and Taranaki boats should bo discontinued. A few unimportant members having spoken, Mr. Staifouii said that, before the motion was Withdrawn, he wished to say a few words. He then proceeded to reply to'some'of tho remarks of air. Bilrhs,'stating that it was rather extraordinary if there were' boats ready to undertake the carrying of inails, without subsidies, they had not tendered to carry them when tenders were invited a short time figO. . , ~ Tho motion and amendment were wi£hjjrawn. 1 . On the question of the Registration Bill, introduced by Mr. Moobhodsb, for the purpose of increasing the representation of that district, Afr KWiIA>~ suggested as an amendment that the Bill should be for the purpose of adjusting the representation of the colony. The province of Auckland, and particularly his district, wanted more members. The amendment, however, was over-rulod by tlio O'Neill asked whether the substitution of the word' " Middle Island " for '• Colony " would be agreed to. He then went on to say that he believed the motion had bean brought forward by the member for Westland, so that he might get a cheer from his constituents. He then went on to say that he thought that it was most unfair that the Middle Island should have more members than the Northern Island. ~ , ;'The Hon. E. W. Stafford said that on a question pf this kind he thought the opinion of the Government should be taken beforehand. There were no doubt great inequalities in the representation, ana ■when the Bepresentation Bill was going through the House last session, he had offered to make some alterations in it, and had himself proposed to have two members for WesUand, but the House was desirous of passing the bill as it then was. question, however, should not be brought forward in this fragmentary manner, but as a whole Under the sanction and authority of the. Government. It was a ♦natter for argument on .what representation shou'd be based: whether on numbers, interests, property, br revenue, or all or any of these things, una the question required much consideration. ■ It would aiatiirb the representation of the wholo colony if any district had : another member given to it, and nothing bf the kind' Should be done-except on the ev? of a aeneral election. Ho would prefer a resolution to the Ij&ct that the whole question should be considered by the Government during the recesj. -lift John Williamson- eald that he would certainly oppose the motion, as he thought the question of representation should be reconsidered as a whole. The proper course would have been to bring forward « resolution, so thu hon. members might have mado amendments in ic. , . Leave was given to introduce the bill, and it was read a second time. . , . ... ~ .differ a discussion on the Districts Koads Bill, the HoWo again want into Comiiiittee of Ways and Jlßans. and to'the consideration cif stamp duties. 'Mr. Vosel thought the Government might properly postpone the matter till the next session. Colonel HATH/TAKf spoke at some length relative to the Defence Estimates and disposition of local torces. Mr. Steven spoke in favour of stamp duties, And Mr. C. W ilsoh against them. Mr. Moorhouse asked whether the £100,000 adTanced to Auckland would be repaid in December, and whether a farther loan would be proposed. The hon. John Hall said that the Government calculated on receiving it, and Had further proposals which -would be made in due time. Tho hon. member tiieh proceeded to argue in favour Of the imposition of Stamp Duties, as being necessary at the present '' The Speaker asked whether the Government would reduce £he Tariff by £50 000, if the provinces wers willing to take so much lesa than the three:eighths t The hon. John Hall said that the Governmenl

would do so. , , , , Mr. Mookhousb said that that was not what he -wanted. He wanted the Stamp Duties not to be impoaed. THUHSDAY, SEPrKirnßit 18TH. POVERTY BAY DISTRICT. -MV JfcLIAK brought forward his motion in favour pf annexing a portion of this province to Hawke's W Jli^akk r*s amendment —" To strike out all th? words after ' bill,' and insert in lieu thereof the words !to divide the Northern Island of New Zeainto two provinces," was ruled by the Speaker to.be out of order. . , ~ \f r "Whitazeb spoke a,t some length against the measure, as did also Mr. Newman. It was supported J,t Messrs. FITZGKRAT.D, and Obhomd, and further djscuasion was adjourned. T The' House then after disposing of a few minor mfrtteri, again proceeded to the discussion of the stamp duties. This discussion was again resumed on the following day, Friday, when Mr. \Y hitakbk and other Auckland members spoke at some length on the subject- The following, is the division list, giving a majority of 2(J in favor of the Treasure; r Ayes, 41—itessrs, AtkiiieOT,, Ball, Bell, Borlasa, Briidshawi Brtadon, Bryde, Bunny, Campbell, tlar- - Clark, Cox, Curtis, Do Quincey, Kyes, i ltzliierbert. G. Graham, E.' Graham, Hall, Hankinson, Htoußhton, Haultain, Henderson, Hull, Ludlam, ijTgw&i'an, Oliver, J. O'Neiit, Ori/wnd, O'Korke, barker, Richardson", .C. Richmond, Sfaflbrd, Stevens, Watt, Wells, WJntaker, James Williamson, John Williamson, Wood. " Jsfotss, 21 —Messrs. Armstrong, Baldwin, Beauphiwpp,' Beswick, Burns, KitzGeriild, Hargreaves, Pppburn, Moorhouee, Murigon, O'Neill, C. Pptts, Keid, Revnqldd. Kiphmond. >' /; fogel. Walker. Ward. WnL~ ' Pairs—For, Mr. Waring Taylor; againßt, Mr. Dick. 'The above is a mere synopsis of the proceedings in the Assembly during the preceding week. In future issues we shall give the debates as fully as they appear in the Wellington -papers, together with, some of the speeches furnished, to ua in manuscript by the speakers.