PARLIAMENTARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 3955, 16 July 1874, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

[By Electric TKWK.i?n.]

legislative council. PE K ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN TELEGRAM CO.M-TA-SY.] WELLINGTON, Wednesday. HILI.S. Keal Estate Dissent Bill, postponed. Offences against Person Act Amendment Bill, and Justice of Peace Act Amendment Bill Were passed in committee. .marriage law amendment hill. Mr. Waterhouse made a statement on this lijl.l. He said it was absurd, the different legislation in different countries on the subject of marriage. Marriage which is performed legally in one part of Her Majesty's dominions ought to be legal in all others. This bill had nothing to do with Deceased Wife's Sisters Bill, nor did it contemplate it. Dr. Tolleu said the arguments were unstable, and the bill would lead to other bad results. Mr. Man tell moved the postponement of the discission for and called for a division. The ay en( ?hd noes being equal, the Speaker voted' .vith the ayes, to give the Council an opportunity to deal v ith the subject alter the call of Council. Council adjourned till to-morrow. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. [ff.i; anglo-australiax telegram comI'iSY.] WELLINGTON, Wednesday. STATE FORESTS r.ILL. Mr. Vogel moved tho second reading of the State Forests Hill. lie said members recollected last session the industries Committee recommended the Government obtaining from the Provincial Governments all the information obtainable regarding forest 1.-Tnt-. 11l obedience to that, some Superintendents had furnished interesting ■'•lformation. which had been laid upon the table of the House. lie was aware that tile proposal tD establish a syst-nn of State forests was a step in advance. During visits South his attention was lirst called to the matter, when he w;is forcibly struck by the large demand which had arisen for timber for railway and telegraphic purposes, shewing that the subject was one of vast importt:ohv to the next generation—in fact, the question of questions for the colonies. In the first instance, it seemed to him desirable to keep distinct the question of the planting of new forests from the conservation of old ones, but he soon found that to be a fallacy. Mr. Vogel then laid upon the table a paper which he said contained all the information 011 the subject to be found available, both as regarded this country and other countries. It was not right to suppose that the subject had not attracted attention before in the New Zealand Assembly, as Messrs. O'Neil, Stafford, Travers, and Potts had taken a great interest in it, and luul spoken upon the effect of the destruction of forests upon the climate and creation of floods. The Legislature had also done something by giving bonuses for private planting. That system had not much weight with him, because if the State was to pay for the planting, the result should belong "to the State. The bill, however, would not interfere with previous legislation. The Press of New Zealand, and notably the Otago JJaihj Tim?*, had also shewn'deep interest in the question, and had directed members" attention to the importance of the effects of the preservation of forests, and the injurious effects of destroying them—effects very serious as affecting rainfall. There were no end of authorities to jjrove that it caused tloods or washed away soil, and destroyed original watercourses. It was a matter of history that old countries had been rendered unlit for occupation through the destruction of their forests. The lion, gentleman then read extracts from an otlk-ial rejKirt on agriculture, and from 1 roveruor Gregory upon tho destruction of t ini irin Ceylon, Dr. Hcoker's report oil sisubject, from the annual report of the American Association for the Advancementof Science, on the effects of the destruction of timber upon climate ; 0:1 rainfall aud iloods, from Professor Marrell, who was a hidi authority on thw subject. The next branch he would call members" attention to was the fallacy to suppose that the forests of the world wc-re inexhaustible. lie- then read an approximate calculation of the extent of forest land in the different countries of the world, and interesting statis-

tics regarding the (ierman forests, and the maiuL'omeut of the State forests in Hanover, from which the annual receipt was £300,000, and the expenditure, £102,000, of which ]ittit* more than half went for working expenses. The receipts from the Bavarian Stat.; forests were £'i,071,000, and the ordinary expenditure for the establishment, working charges, planting, and construction of roads, £440,000; extending buying up ri-jhts. £47,000, or profits £5!H>,000: to which was to be added the value of rights, making total profits £785,000 per year. In IS7I the j Suite forests in Prussia yielded '214.700,000 cubic feet; income, £2,100,000; disburse- ! ments, £1,200,000, and profit little less than a million pounds. In ISG9 Great Britain required as annually forty million cubic feet of timber for mining operations, which was significant to New Zealand, which must eventually become a great mining country. It was also estimated that Great Britain required twenty milliou cubic feet for railway purposes. The hon. member read extracts to shew the growing feeling throughout the world of the necessity o: dealing comprehensively with these matters, in Austria, the management of the forests had been transferred from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Agriculture. Switzerland was considering the advisability of remodelling its Constitution, with a view to the Federal Government assuming the control of the forests. In Sweden, the laws were the most stringent for the protection of forests, private owners being compelled to plant two trees for every one cut down. Canada was legislating for restriction upon cutting limber. Victoria was recognising the question ; —South Australia had done so. In Mr. Calcutt's opinion, £10,000 spent in planting trees would in thirty years shew a market value of a million sterling. Mr. Vogel then read a statement of approximate i figures regarding New Zealand forests by Dr. Hector, shewing the per-centage of destruction of forests in this country between 1830 and 18(58, and the per centage in the next five years. The figures were suggestive, and the per-ccr.tage of destruction was largely on the increase. In Germany a person would as soon think of setting tire to a forest as of setting fire to a neighbour's house ; but here many persons did it with no other object than to light a pipe or boil a pot. Upon proceeding to discuss the merits of the bill, Mr. Vogel dwelt upon the fact that several provinces had shewn a readiness to deal with the subject of forestry. Previously, when discussing the question of New Zealand loans, it was customary to talk of a sinking fund ; but if that were put into the shape of State forests, it would be a much more profitable way of providing against the colonial indebtedness, and the full benefit of which would not be felt until the land was covered with railways through the country. No country in the world offered such facilities for carrying out the system of State forests, llis idea was to select land, so that,'it would be useful to bodies of settlers also to make selections of timber in situations suitable for general traffic and for purposes of forest settlements, many of which had been so successfully established in Europe. It was proposed "to take 3 per cent, of the land for forest settlements, and set apart an annual sum of £10,000 out of the Consolidated Fund, to special fund iu called State forests account. . . receipts from State forests to be ?scn t0 t!le saicl ae count. After December, 1000, any excess of receipts over expenditure to be aunnally applied in repayment to tha Consolidated Fund of moneys paid therein or interest in the cost of the construction of co onial railways, and next in the reduction ot public debts contracted np te the year 1904. e had paid careful attention to the subject, ■■M'qtttty bad shewn him the possibility ot -New Zealand, in its wild state, being

more valuable than New Zealand covered with the works of man, and though the Assembly might deem the question too premature to deal with this session, they could not long delay recognising the vast importance of the question, whether as regards the State or the individual. At any rate, no harm coukl be done by the subject being well ventilated, and however short the session might be, ho trusted that a large amount of attention would be given to this question of questions. Food was the great essential of life. The analogy held good in regard to the forests of a country. (Applause.) Mr. Sheehan moved the adjournment of the debate to Friday. CIVIL SERVICE ACT. The debate on the Civil Ser\ Ice j* nendment Act was resumed. Mr. Swanson severely criticised the several clauses of the bill, objecting to anything in the shape of pensions or a fund being established for Civil servants. If they wanted {tensions let them get them out of the Annuities Oiliee by paying regular premiums tho same as other people. Mr. Vogel defended the bill, which was ordered to be committed on Friday. THAMES AMI WAIKATO RAILWAY. Mr. O'Neill gave notice of his intention to move whether the Government should consider the advisability of constructing a railway from the Thames to the Waikato. I'LAN Of-' TOWNS. The IUII to Regulate Plan of Towns was] read a lirst time. A REQUEST. Mr. Murray moved that telegrams sent to members of the Legislative Assembly when attending Parliament should be forwarded at Press rates. The Preir'er refused, aud the motion was negatived. RE IMMIGRANTS. Mr. Murray moved that the Crown lands should be reserved in suitable localities on which to locate married immigrants, and. if possible, have cottages attached. Mr. \ ogel hoped the hou. member Would withdraw his motion, and thought the matter aught to be left in the hands of the Immi'Tation Department. It was better to work harmoniously with all provinces than to get into collision with them by passing an enactment so as to interfere -with one province one w-y and another in some other direction. All their land laws differing more or less, an abstract resolution like that could be 110 good. Itwas withdrawn. TIIE MAORI COMPLAINT OF l"N FULFILLED PROMISES. On the motion of Tairoa, that a select committee be appointed to report on nilfulfilled promises to Middle Island natives, the Government would not oppose the motion, but would ask that other natives be added. Mr. Thomson said that Otago was largely interested in this question and was not fairly represented 011 the committee. He ditl not think that Tairoa, the most directly interested, should be 110 the committee; it was like a man being judge in his own case. Mr. T. L. Shepherd thought a claim so important, involving the tenth part of Otago, should be referred to a special committee. In any ease the North Island was too in terestcd. The debate was adjourned to Wednesday. JUDGE WARLVS TELEGRAMS. Oil a motion for a committee to inquire into questions arising out of charges contained in certain telegraphic correspondence between Judge Ward aud the Premier, also to enquire into complaints that have been or may be made in regard to publication in the <Dail'j Tinux of what professed to be copies of the said telegrams, Mr. Vogel opposed it 011 the ground that Judge Ward did not send the telegrams in his official capacity, but as a private citizen complaining of something which affected him personally. They had nothing to do with his position as Judge of the District Court. The subject should not be made one for enquiry into. The Government considered the matter three days, and thought the charges so vague that they did not feel justified in going further. He did not think any good result would come of enquiring how the I 'I'i/iicti became possessed of the information. There were various ways in which they ' might do to. Mr. Luckie opposed the motion. Mr. Atkinson was surprised to hear that one judge could make serious charges aga ; '.ist another judge in his private capacity. Surely one judge could not steal ill his private capacity. The charges made must be true or false, and

one judge or another ought to retire from the s-.'rviee. The country suggested the appointment of a Itoval Commission. Mr. Gillies remarked that the real question was that an imputation had been made against the -Judge of a Supreme Court by an inferior .ludge. The charge of partiality coming from sueh a quarter shewed the gravity of the charge. The fact that the telegrams were not paid for shewed that they were •sent as public telegrams, and frauked through as such. The charge imputed partiality of such a nature that he actually recommended the suspension of Judge Chapman. He had a high opinion of the mental power and legal ability of both Judges, and believed them honourable men. Still it was not right that a judge should be allowed to make such charges unjustifiably without being shewn that he was unlit to hold the judicial bidanee. "With an accusation of that kind hanging over a man, it was impossible for suitors to have confidence in him. In justice to the gcntlemeu themselves, to the people of Otogo, and the administration of justice among them, it was necessary that an investigation should take place.—Mr. Gibbs supported the motion.—Mr. Stewart said that after the publication of these telegrams all over the colony, it was clear the public mind would not be satisfied until the public knew whether the charges were made freely or not. He thought it was also desirable to get a little light thrown upon the mode by which the contents of the telegrams became known to the Press. The House could not shirk the position in which it was placed iu the matter, and he could not see how telegrams could be considered anything but judicial.—Mr. "Fox thought the House was exceeding its Constitutional powers in appointing a Select Committee in such a case. No prima Jack case had been made out against Judge Chapman. The letter was a gioss error of judgment no doubt, but not sufficient to cause Her Majesty to be moved. Let members compare the telegrams printed in the Thiica with those laid before the House, and they would see they were impudent forgeries. One publication was about thirty lines, while the real ones were seventy pages. Yet the editor of the Times said he transcribed them. Certain features in the telegram led him to believe that somebody betrayed the secrecy of the Telegraphoiiice. Certain expressions were put into Judge Ward's mouth which he never used, and in one the expression was used, " I am going to Wellington in a few days, and will see you. 7 ' This was not in the telegrams at all, and it certainly looked as if the operator or some one else had, in divulging the contents of Judge Ward's telegram, jumbled them up. >Ir. J. L. Gillies thought that after the first action of the Premier in the matter, his opposition to an enquiry now was singular, and he was also surprised at the conduct of the member for Bangitikei, who at first was favourable to such a motion, and was anxious to find out how the Daily \ Time* became possessed of these concocted telegrams, for he agreed they were concoctions, and not copies of the real ones. He was certain the House would not have heard of the matter had it not been for the T'nnts. Still he maintained that Judge Chapman had been placed in sueh an invidious position that the House was bound to enquire into the matter. | Motion agreed to. RAILWAY MATTERS.

In replying to Mr. J. E. Brown, Mr. James Richardson said that owing to the scarcity of engineers, and other difficulties, the Government had not been able to ascertain the best course for the railway to connect the West Coast of the Middle Island with the northern part of the province of Canterbury, but intended to do so as soon as ever the services of competent persons were available.

In reply to Mr. Reader Wood, Mr. Richardson said that a similar difficulty had prevented the opening of the unfinished portion of the Auckland and Waikato Railway. Mr. Murray asked for a return of the cost of goods obtained by the General Government from Europe. Mr. Richardson said the motion was too He hoped he would put his wish in a more specific form. WEBB CONTRACT. Mr.-Murray asked if the penalties fornonfultilment of the Webb-Californian contract had been recovered ? The Premier replied, no. The application had been made for them. Mr. Webb refused to pay, and the person who took over \*he liabilities of the lirm said he was not able. He could not eay positively what steps would be taken next towards recovery. He would ascertain from Mr. Kussell what course would be most advisable with any reasonable probability of being successful. OTAOO RAT I.WAYS. Mr. Richardson, in reply to a question by Mr. Murray, said that the Tokomairiro to Lawrence portion of the Clutha railway would be open 011 the Ist of June, 1575, :rid from l>u!K-dui to Clutha on tho Ist September, 1875. MISCELLANEOUS. Mr. Murray's motion, "That members should be allowed to send telegrams during the session at Tress rates," was negatived. His motion, " That Crown lands should be reserved in suitable localities for locations for married immigrants was negatived, being opposed by the Premier on the ground that it would cause contliet with provincial authorities, owing to the diversity of land laws. Mr. J. L. Gillies and Mr. O'Conor were added to the committee lor the reporting of debates. Mr. Speaker announced that the Reporting Committee had made a request that he should resume the control of the reporters'