THE COMING SESSION AND AUCKLAND MEMBERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9229, 17 June 1893, Page 3

THE COMING SESSION AND AUCKLAND MEMBERS.

A meeting of the members of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce was held in their rooms, Insurance Buildings, yesterday, for the purpose of bringing under the notice of the members of the House (who were invited to attend) the requirements of the Auckland Provincial District. The members of the City Council, Trade aud Labour Council, Harbour Board, Railway League, Knights of Labour, National and Liberal Associations, and all others interested were also invited to attend. Mr. A. Porter presided, and amongst those present were the lions. McCullough and Mitchelaon, Messrs. Thompson, J. M. 8 her a, Jackson Palmer, Lawry, Colonel Eraser, J no. Reid, A. Kidd, C. C. McMillan, N. A. Nathan, A. H. Nathan, Seegner, M. A. Clark, M. Niccoll, Treuwith, Crowther, Boardman, E. Withy, Courtney, Barber, Weymouth, McCorquodale, Abbott, etc. The Chairman*, in opening the proceedings, commented upon the fact that the Chamber of Commerce had deemed it advisable to invito all local bodies and labour organisations to join with them in conferring with the members for the district. During the past week or two meetings had been held in the South, and there it had been decided to press for work to be done. One gentleman had boldly advocated going into the market and borrowing one and a-half millions, and had gone so far as to appropriate it. He (the Chairman) need hardly say very little had been left for the Auckland Provincial District. Mr. Kidd then moved, "That this meeting wishes to impress upon the representatives of the Auckland Provincial District the importance of united action during the next session, in order to attain tho following objects :—l, Tho construction of a dray road, connecting the Taranaki distriot with the Upper Waikato country. 2. The construction during next summer of the Mokau and Poro-o-tarao tuunel sections" of the Northern Main Trunk line, these sections being common to both the Central and West Coast routes. 3. That the report giving the result of the further exploration and survey necessary to locate the best route be brought down at the very earliest moment, and that additional assistance be emEloyed by Government if necessary." n regard to the first part of the resolution, all that was needed was to push the matter forward, and the second did not affect the question of route. As to the report mentioned in the last part of the resolution, he feared there had been unnecessary delay in starting tho work. Mr. McMillan seconded. He thought the Government had acted very wrongly towards Auckland, aud he could not altogether acquit the local members of apathy. The Government had been for seven months permitted to do nothing. Mr. Seddon had told them the delay had arisen through changes in the surveying "staff. There were very large numbers of surveyors in the colony, and if the Government had been in earnest, they would easily have got plenty of engineers. A survey party had now been sent out; the report might be brought in at the end of the session, and it would be put off till the next year. That object would be defeated if the Auckland members acted as one body, and insisted upon the route being determined at once. Passing on, Mr. McMillan said, when on the deputation to the Premier, he had not advocated borrowing. But he had said the route should be settled at once, so that, if borrowing were decided upon, sufficient money could be set aside for the purpose of the line via Stratford. Mr. Adam Kelly and the Mayor (Mr. Crowthkr) having briefly spoken. Mr. SHEKA said, m regard to the road mentioned in the resolution, he had been in communication with the Survey Department. He had thought little or nothing was being done, so he had written a very strong letter about it. He had received a reply stating that the work was being pushed on at both ends as fast as time and the means at the disposal of tho Government would permit. Passing on, Mr. Shera said it was his intention to show how the whole line could be constructed without allocating a single acre of land, without adding to the gross funded debt of the colony, and without issuing a Treasury bill. It might be 3aid that it was borrowing on the sly. No doubt, notwithstanding all the cry out that there was to be no more borrowing, loans were being raised in various ways. Now, iu the year 1870 the British Government guaranteed a loan of £1,000,000 at four per cent. Of this £200,000 had been floated. The balance, 1800,000, had not, and this, if placed on the London market, would no bring considerably above par. The Chairman, who spoke with warmth, said no greater condemnation of those in Parliament could bo found than the letter Mr. Shera had read. If there had been earnest desire to do the work did anyone doubt but that the road could havo been made? The thing was absurd. He considered the excuse was a very lame one, and a disgrace to those who sent it and an insult to those who wanted to see the work progress. Mr. SIIEKA then drew the attention of the chairman to the fact that the portion referred to in tho letter from the Minister of Lands was in addition to that which had been previously stated as under construction. The proposition was then unanimously agreed to. Mr. A. BOARDMAN moved, " That in the opinion of this meeting the interests of this provincial district and the colony at large urgently require the completion as early as possible of the purchase of the 5,455,457 acres of native lauds, negotiations for, the purchase of which are completed at a cost of £1,248,875, and thrown open without delay to, European settlement: (2) that the large area of lands at present in the possession of the Government amounting in this Auckland land district, in which the East Cape district is not included, to 1,500,000 acres, should also be opened'for settlement as fast as possible." ~ , ~ The Mayor seconded, and this was unanimously agreed to. ~-..--,■, . , The Chairman then moved, u That in the opinion of this meeting it is advisable that some arrangements be made for subsidising road works other than the payment in rates received more particularly in districts in which large areas of Government and native lands are held, and on which no local rates are paid, and that the members .of this district be requested to move in the matter." Mr. A. Nathan seconded. Mr. Jaokson Palmer said he thought this was not second even to the railway. Ho advocated the formation of a metalled road from Auckland to the North Cape. This would do more towards settling the North than anything else. He' advocated that local bodies as well as the members should press this upon the Government. This proposition was agreed to. '' Mr. Nathan reminded the members that the fishery bonus , expired at tho end of this year, and • Mr. McMillan urged the members to stand together in the coming session. Mr. Thompson said he would; try to give effect to the resolutions so far as he considered them to be in the interests of the colony. The proceedings then terminated.