PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 2423, 31 October 1871, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

THE PUBLIC WOEKS OF AUCKLAND. [pnOST. " HANSAIU)."] (Continued.) Mr. Fabkall said the Colonial Secretary and the Colonial Treasurer did not appear to take the same view of the question, for if Provincial Councils were done away with, eueh proposals as these would constantly be eomine before the House, notwithstanding the Board of Works. Moreover, the Colonial Treasurer did not appear to understand the importance of this district. The population of tho districts north of Auckland amounted to nearly 11,000 souls, according to the last census, exclusive of the Natives; that is, nearly three times as many as the population of the Province of Taranaki, nearly half as many as there are in the whole of the Province of Wellington, twice as many as there are in tho Province of Hawke's Bay, twice as many as there are in the Province of Marlborough, two thousand more than thero are in Southland, and nearly half as many as there are in the Province of Nelson. From the same consus returns he found that, the live stock in those northern districts consisted of 2,886 horses, 33,410 cattle, 51,823 sheep. These returns compared very well with the other Provinces; for instance, there are in those disiricts more than twice as many horses, five timos as many cattle, and more than twice as many sheep as there are in the Province of TaranaUi, half the number of horses and twice as many cattle as there are in the Province of Hawke's Bay, more than half the number of horses and the same number of cattle as there are in Southland ; end with the same number of horses, four times as many cattle and onetenth the sheep there are in the Province of Marlborough. Taking these results into consideration, the Committee must see that tho district was of some importance. His object in making the motion wae to get roads ma.le through the country to the city of Auckland. The course he had taken might have been unusual, but, at the same time, he could not see that he had made any mistake. He should push it to a division, but he wished it to be understood that he had no desire to embarrass the Government, who, he believed, objected to the amount asked for rather than to the spirit of tho motion.

Mr. REYNOLDS would advise the honorable member to adjourn the consideration of the question, and endeavour to make some arrangement with, the Government. If honorable meinbera represonticg Auckland would consult with the Government, he had no doubt tbnt some satisfactory arrangement could be made; but as the ease then btood, honorable members of the Cotnniitteo would bo ia a difficulty if called upon to record their votes. He. himself could not vote for the resolutiou at that moment, but if the oifer made by the Defence Minister were adopted it might be otherwise. Mr. Williamson agreed with the last, speaker. Before he left Auckland, he understood that the Provincial Government and the Superintendent had intended to apply fora million of money to be expended there. When he first heard of it he could hardly believe it, but when he saw the present moderate sum set down, he carno to the conclusion that some arrangement had been made for the introduction of a modified proposal. However, on hearing the Q-overnment plan, and looking at the view they took, he thought it time to recomider the proposal of the honorable member. He could not call this a measure of justice to the north, because that would imply that injustice had been done ; and he thought that out of the revenue of Auckland the north had had a fair share according to its contributions to the rovenue; and he said that on behalf of his predecessors and his

successors. Ho thought the north, owing to what had been referred to, namely, the closing up, the hermetically sealing up, of the Bay of Islands, had been prevented from giving that equivalent which it might otherwise have done. It was only now liberated, and if tin land were properly administered it would contribute largely to the revenues of Auckland ; and, whether provincial institutions were done away with or not, the Bay of Islands would return to its prosperity if the land there was opened up to settlement, lie found that some time ago £+,000 was paid as a bonus to a steamer to connect one cattle station with Auckland, which was a great injustice to the districts lung between it and the Bay, and he got rid of the bonus, so that trunk lines might be made between Auckland and the intervening districts, in order that the whole line of country between Auckland and the Bay should bo open for the conveyance of cattle and produce to Auckland j but the money failed and they were unable to carry out the design. Thia design the Government plan would effectuate. Looking at the motion,

lie saw that the honorable member for Rodney asked the Government to set aside £100,000, £'20,000 of which was to be spent in each year. He could hardly conceive that the House could pass that, for of course the appropriations could only be made For one 3 T ear; and ho thought the honorable member would do well to content himself with asking for a sum for one year, and leave it to tho Minister of Public Works to administer it in the very best way he could. It would be better to let the question stand over until some adjustment could be arrived at with the Government; and, with u view to bring them and the honorable member into accord, he would move that the chairman do report progress.

Mr. SwANSON thought, if tho Government proposed to spend £10,000 in four years it was just as much voting money for a term of years, and could bo as much objected to on that ground, as a vote of £100,000 to be paid at the rate of £20,000 a year in five years. Perhaps it was convenient to adjourn the debate, but it could not be for the reason stated by tho last speaker. Mr. WAKEFfELD would deem it his duty to vote for the motion unless the honorable member for Kodney would come to some satisfactory arrangement with tho Government. He had voted for the Otago Waste Lands Bill, because it involved a principle applicable to the whole colony, which he thought it his duty to support; and he now thought it his duty to interfere in what might be called the Auckland " free fight." There was a special reason, however, w!iy he supported this vote ; and that was on account of the large number of natives in the districts coucerne.l, who had maintained so friondly an attitude towards the white population at the time when, had they not done so, the consequences of so numerous and warlike a population on one side when they were contending against other tribes in rebellion on the south, must have been a very serious evil; and hence soma special indulgence ought to be shown to them. He would certainly record his vote for the motion of the honorable member Tor Rodney, ehould no arrangement be made with the Government, another reason he had for doing so was, that he thought it very desirable that the coal fiolds in the North Islands ehould be developed ; and he would like to see the coalfield at Eawakawa, and other possibe seams in r.hat neighbourhood, fully developed by land communication as well as by sea; juafc as he desired a railway for the development of the Malvera Hills coalfields in the South Island. He should not enter upon the disagreement in some matters between Auckland members ; but he desired to record the reasons he had given for the vote he intended to give in favour of the motion proposed by the honorable member for Rodney.

Mr. Wiiaiamson' thought the honorable member who had just Eiit down had, without reason, introduced an expression that might be applicable to Otago, but the the term " free fight" could not be upplied to the Auckland members on this question. They believed that the great works to be executed would be calculated to benefit boih races, and would be of mutual advantage to both, and he though it would be the policy of the Government to curry out the plans which his honorable friend had proposed ; but he did not think that u eingle member of t|hat House representing an Auckland district would desire to throw any difficulty in the way of the Government, and he was euro his honorable friend who moved the motion had no such desire. He only wished due

proportion of the money raised by loan should be spent in that district. He would say that the large province of Auckland, having regard to its commercial prosperity, increasing goldfields revenue, and Customs duties, would be called upon to pay a very large proportion of interest on the loans about to be raised. But,

at the eame time, he would eay that he did not think a single member from Auckland was inclined to take undue advantage of the present position of affairs; and he thought Borne reasonable adjustment might be come to. It was unusual to move the adjournment of a debate in committee, but this had been done in order that they might come to some understanding concerning the motion, and not behave in such a way as might give even the appearance of a free fight among the Auckland members. They were, in fact, all agreed upon the question, but did not wish to proceed in any way that would be likely to cause embarrassment to the Government. Mr. Katese : Sir, in my opinion the roads in this district canaot be made for £40,000. I do not wish that the money should be squandered, but that it should be" spent to the best advantage in the districts where road* are desired to be opened. Ido not say it will take £100,000 to make these roads; it may take less. The G-overnment say it ie for them to say what moneys arc to be expended, but that is not clear to me. lily thoughts are not confined to Mongonui, Hokianga, and the Bay of Islands, but extend to jtfahurangi, Eaipara, Wangarei, and Waitemata. If I were a European, I would know how much money id collected in these districts from the Customs. There are many Custom-houses : there are at

Mongonui onv, tt tho Bay of Tslaads one, at Wangarei one, r 1 Hokianga one, and one at Eaipara. As it i this application we nre now making, if it were umorig our people it would be considered that, on accouut perhaps of the low degree of the persons making the application, it is nut granted. If I knew how much money was collected through the Customs during each year, and also what was expended iu paying the salaries of the magistrates in these districts, and the balance—if, sir, I knew what that balance was, whether great or small, —perhaps I might consider it would be sufficient to provide for roads within these districts. lam not clear as to tho merits of the discussion between the Government and the Hon. the Superintendent of Auckland. If tho Provincial Council of Auckland are willing to vote £25,000 for Kaipara, Wangarei, ilaliu" rangi, and Waitemata, I shall be glad; on tho other haud, if the General Government are willing to 6et apart this money, without application to the Provincial Council of Auckland, I am qeite williug that that course should be pursued. It is not clear to me thut this money ie to be spent on roads in the district, between the Bay and Wangarei, but it eeems to me to bo 3Ct ajaL-i, for tho Bay of Islands I district alone.

Mr. Cbeiohton- trusted that the honorable member for Uodney would not postpone the further consideration of the measure. It had been a long time before tho House. If the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer referred to the Order Paper, he would find that the honorable member for Itodney gave notice of his intention to move tbis motion on the 3(hh of August, and it was now the 4th of October. The matter had been discussed in the House several times, and now, ia committee, when it was brought almost to an issue, the Government Btepped iu and suggested that further time should be given for its consideration. The consequence of an adjournment would be that his honorable friend would lose the chance of taking a vote on the question, and he hoped he would not submit to bo the victim of the finesse that had been practised that evening. If he did not take a vote then, he might not have another opportunity during the sessiou. Hie honorable iriend the member for Auckland City West (Jlr. Williamson) proposed the adjournment in all sincerity, to enable an arrangement to be come to with the Government; but he (Mr. Creighton) believed no such arrangement could be effected—for, if it could, it would have been made long ago. The honsrable member for Rodney had had interviews with the Government, but it was found that no arrangement could possibly be made except on the basia of the withdrawal by the honorable member from the position he had properly taken up at an oarly period of tbe session, and which he beliured the House would sustain him iu. It was not a local matter; it was an entire mistake to suppose so. As had been pointed out by tho lionoi-able member for City West (Mr. V7illiamson), in answer to the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, there had been no injustice done to the northern district of Auckland. He maintained that the assertion wa3 a ealumtiv upon the Provincial Government of Auckland to say that injustice had been done to that section of the province. Tho Hon. the Colonial Treasurer founded his opposition to the motion on the ground that injustice had been done. He (Mr. Creighton) had carefully gone over all the appropriations nude by tho Provincial Council of Auckland from the first, and he held that the northern district had had a liberal proportion from the money derivable from the revenues of the province expended on public works. The question before them was a colonial matter. They had the native population in the northern portiou of the province of Auckland so powerful that the Government dare not proclaim militia districts there. If they did so, and armed the European inhabitants, it would be tho immediate signal for war. The natives were content to remain as they were, but the arming and training of the Europeans would be regarded by them as a challenge to fight. No one knew that better than the Native Minister. There was no Militia or Volunteer district in tho northern part of the province—the Europeans were Bimply living on the sufferance of the natives; and they came to the House to ask that a portion of the money provided by the bounty of the Parliament should be set apart for the purpose of consiructiug roads through the district, both for defensive and colonising purposes. They were met, however, by the imputation of improper conduct on the part of tho Provincial Council of Auckland, the objections to give the money as suggested in tho motion, being grounded upon reasons which had no foundation in fact. Ho would appeal to honorable members' eenae of justice and fair play, and to their love of peace and good order in the colony, to sustain the motion of the honorable member for Rodney.

Sir. D. McLean thought the remarks of the honorable member were calculated to cast an unjust imputation upon a tribe which for many years had proved themselves most loyal, devoted, and distinguished by their fidelity, and amongst whom the Militia law could at any .time be brought into operation. If such were done, those very natives would themselves form the Militia. He thought it unjust to make use of threats, merely with a view to gaining a political object. Mr. Cebishton stated that he had not made use of any threats. He had simply stated facts which must be within tho knowledge of the honorable member himself, and was well known to every member from the north of Auckland. Mr. I). McLean happened to have some knowledge of the district referred to, and he could say that the contrary to what had been stated by the honorable member was the case. Hβ had abundant evidence to show that such was so. So far from the re being any difficulty in forming Militia districts, he might eay there was no tribe more willing to co-operate with the Government than those represented as having hostile feelings to the Government. Mr. Cbeighton said he had alluded to the Europeans in the district. Mr. D. MoLeax apprehended that there would be no difficulty in introducing a law for the purpose, if necessary; but it was going too fur to say, that if the feelings of loyalty of British subjects were appealed to, and if their services were required, they would not Oe ready, as was their duty, to enrol themselves all Militia. He did not think any argument Imd been used to forward the views of those honorable members who held that the Government were giving opposition to the measure. The Government were prepared to enter into an arrangement with the Provincial Council of Auckland, under certain conditions, namely, that they would take over the railway, provided the Provincial Coencil spent £25,000 in the district i.^^i

ilr. U-ILUK3 said that tlie pru-tusal of the honorable member for Rodney wiis to spend tins money on the JVorthern District out of the moneys borrowed and appropriated for roads in the Uorlh Island. (To be continued.)