PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume XI, Issue 1191, 31 December 1856, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Tuesday, December, 30, 1856. The Council for the Province of Wellington commenced the labours of its fourth and last Session to day. During the interval that has elapsed between the prorogation of the last,, and the commencement of the present Session, the elections have taken place to supply 12 additional members, in accordance with the provisions of the Enlargement of Council Bill. Of these members, nine were 'present,, viz.:—Messrs. Carpenter, Edwards, .Holdsworth, Plimmer, and Skey, for the city of Wellington; Messrs. McManaway and Reading, lor the Wellington Country District; ’and Messrs. Blythe and Handley, for the t Wanganui and.Rangitikei District. The three additional members, who were absent, were •Mr. Milne, for the Hutt, and Messrs. Duncan and Russell, for the Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay District. . In addition to the above new members, elections have also taken place to supply vacancies created either by iesignation or demise, the issues of which have been the return of Messrs. W. Allen and W. Dorset for the City of Wellington, the former in the place of Mr. W. Hickson (resigned), and the latter in the place of his brother, Dr. Dorset (deceased); and the return, also, of Mr. Joseph Masters, for Wairara pa. yfee Mr. F. D. Bell (resigned), and of Mr.^w^S-Wilson, for Wanganui, vice Mr. John . Gibson (resigned). Of these last four 'new members, only : Mr. Wilson was absent. The only other absentee was Mr. W. Watt, who has sat for Wanganui s ; nce the first elec tion of members to the Council.

The Council, when fully attended, now comprises 30 members, out of which 16 are altogether new and untried. Besides -the. above elections, changes have also taken place in some of the official departments since 'the" termination of the last Session, Mr. Woodward having accepted the office of Provincial Treasurer, in the place of Mr. Fox, who resigned the appointment prior to attending the last Session of the General Assembly at Auckland, in April last; and Mr. Fox having recently proceeded to .the depart* mental office of Chief Crown Lands’ Commissioner for this Province, vacated by the retirement of Mr. Dillon Bell.

The building now occupied for the Sessions of the Council, as well as for the different Government offices, is that formerly known by the name of the Wellington Hotel, the billiard room of which has been converted into the Council Chamber. The foom itself, to say the least of it, is extremely inconvenient.for the purpose, the dimensions being altogether too limited for the accommodation required, whether ..for the members themselves or for rhe public generally. The arrangements also, limited cs the space is, are not without fault, and we speak personally as well as feelingly, when we say that the accommodations for the press are extremely inconvenient and bad, so much so, indeed, that some considerable difficulty will be experienced in hearing hon. members when addressing the Council. The summons convening the Council ap pointed 3 o’clock as the hour of assembling,

at which time precisely the hon. the Speaker Clifford, Esqr.) took the chair. The Clerk of the Council having redd the proclaniation appointing the £evasion, the Speaker proceeded to open the Council by reading the usual short form of prayer. At the conclusion of the prayer, his Honor the Superintendent entered the Council Chamber, the members, as .well as most of those present in the gallery, rising to receive him. After the lapse of a very few minutes, his Honor, who had taken a seat placed for him at the right hand of the Speaker, rose and read the following speech : —

Jfr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Provincial Council, . When I first met you, the duty that devolved upon me,'was, to declare the principles upon which the Government was to be conducted—to sketch out the policy it was intended to pursue—and to specify the most important of the internal improvements it was proposed to execute. In opening the fourth and last session of this Council, I feel that I am entitled to ask you to consider, hov far the general policy then enunciated has already tended to the advancement, or is likely to promote the future progress and prosperity of this Province. The practical test to which I thus propose to submit my administration of the Government may be a severe one, but I court its application in order, by a reference to the past, to justify and explain and gain your assent to the proposals I shall lay before yon. I need scarcely refer to the system of Government which.you wisely adopted at the very outset,—for while in this Province where.alone it has been carried out in all its integrity, there has existed a cordial co-operation between the Executive and.the Legislature, and a stability has thereby been imparted to.the Government, which has enabled it to overcome every difficulty, to mature and carry put all its plans ; every attempt yet made in the other parts of .the Colony to combine an irresponsible Executive with a representative Legislature has so signally failed, has been attended with such an utter obstruction to public business, that the principle of ministerial responsibility has at length been forced bo'h upon the General Government, and upon almost every Province. Still less is it necessary to refer to your legislation of the last three years, for the readiness with which the laws have been brought into operation,—the number of local boards already in existence,—the amount of local taxation levied for local purposes,—the di position manifested on the part of the settlers in every district to avail tin inselves of the machinery of local self-go-vernment, while they sufficiently indicate the character of your legislation, testify alike to the soundness of the principles embodied in your laws, and also to the general acceptance they have met wi.h. .My desire on the present occasion is to call your attention to the expectations which were held out in regard to Finance,—to Public Works,—and to Immigration ; for the Government of a new country will ever be judged in reference to the. manner in which it has discharged its most important function, —by the roads it has made, —the bridges it has built, —the populaticn it has introduced.

You will remember that although up to the period of the inauguration of this Constitution the whole revenues of the Province were barely sufficient to meet the ordinary expenses of its Government, a pledge was given by me that a considerable portion of therevenhe would in future be devoted to public works. Has that promise been redeemed ? By referring to the abstracts of the receipts and expenditures for the last three years you will find, that, the expenditure on public works and undertakings was, in round numbers, in 1854, .£T0,000; in 1855, £15,000; and in the present year, not less than £25,000 ; making a total expenditure on public works of £50.000. out of a revenue for the same period of less than £BO,OOO. Some perhaps may imagine that this expenditure has been defiayed out of loans—that the Province has been already involved deeply in debt; —but your financial position at the end of last quarter (the latest period tn v>hinh the accounts are made up) was this: Your liabilities were—on auiount uf Debentures, £8,200; current expenses, £1.500 ; your assets, were balances in hands of Treasurer and Commissioners, £B,OOO ; balance due on 31st June fro n General Go. vernment, £3 OOOanears of licenses and rates, £3,000; promissory noces, £4,000; your total assets being £17,050; thus leaving a surplus over liabilities of •about £7,000 ; and, though the expenditure on public works has during the present quarter been largely increased, it will still be found that the Province, -after having spent £50,000.0n public works, will commence the ensuing year not only wholly free from debt, but with a balance to its credit.

Of the public works proposed, both in my first and subsequent addresses, there are few of which a satisfactory account may not be given. I have to congratulate you after.many disappointments —after hopes often deferred—upon the Rimutaka Road being at length so far completed as to render it available for all purposes of present traffic. Whilst I readily admit that the credit of conceiving and of having had the boldness to commence this great work—a work of which any country might well be proud—fairly belongs to Sir George Grey, yet the merit of having finally achieved the passage over this mountain barrier, thus connecting the capital with the most fertile and extensive districts of this Province may justly be claimed by you, who, with apparently very inadequate means have never flagged in your determination to prosecute the undei taking to its present completion. The works on the line between Rangitikei and Wanganui are already so far advanced that it will be open for drays from Turakina next month, nnd the whole way from Rangitikei during the summer ; ihus enabling the valuable produce of those flourishing districts to be transported to Wanganui, and thence shipped direct to the neighbouring colonies. As to prevent interruption to this traffic it is absolutely essential that bridges should be made over the Turakina and Wangaehu rivers, I have not hesitated to call for tenders, in the full assurance that you will be prepared to vote the necessary sums. When these bridges are erected, —punts having already been established over the Manawatu, Rangitikei, and Wanganui rivers,— there will exist an uninterrupted communi.ation between Wellington and Wanganui (a distance of one hundred and twenty miles ) Nor is the progress made on the Makara, the Ohariu, and the Ngahauranga roads, less satisfactory. The two former will be finished within six months, thus opening up for settlement many thousand acres within six or seven miles from Wellington The bridle path will be cut through the Ngahauranga Valley in a day or two, and it is confidently anticipated that the road will be open for carts in ten or twelve months. The parties who have taken the contract for cutting through the three— or rather—five-milebusb atGreytown have prosecuted the work with so much vigour that very few weeks will elapse before drays will be passing from Wellington through Featherston and Greytown to Masterton, a distance of 60 miles. On the Te Kopi line the difficulties have been so far overcome that the greater portion of the wool from the eastern side of the Ruamahanga will be brought this season to Wellington over the Rimutaka. Of the public buildings authorised by you, viz., the Police Courts, at Wanganui and Napier, the Warden’s House at the gaol, and the wing to the Lunatic Asylum at Karori, —all have already been or aie all but completed. The bridge over the Ngahauranga has been erected; and contracts have within the last few days b£en entered into for bridging the Kai-Warra stieam, and the Waiwetu river,—thus p. rfeefing the communication between theWai nui-o mata district and this town. Towards the last bridge the enterprising settlers of Wai-nui o mata have promised to contribute £150; but having regard to the very considerable sums they have already contributed towards the Wai-nui-o-mata road, which, when carried out to the coast, will, to all intents, be a trunk line, I would recommend either that their promised contribution (the greater part of which is already paid) should be remitted, or applied, together with a grant in aid, to widening and lengthening their present road. In proportion to the satisfaction with which I refer to the works just specified, is my regret, that the expectations held out in regard to the road through the 40 Mile Bush, and thence through the Ruataniwha Plains to Napier should not have been realized, and that the settlci s of the Ahuriri should have such just cause for complaining that little or nothing has been done to aid them, in developing the resources of that important district. . But for this neglect the Provincial Government cannot in any way be held responsible, Mr. Roy,'

eighteen months ago, laid off a line of road from Waipukerau to Napier, and was .then prepared either to let it out by contract or to execute ii by day labour. beginning of this year explored the 40 Mile Bush, and in his valuable report Viewed, that there existed not the slightest difficulty in makings tram-road throughout its whole extent. Ample funds for the work have all along been at the disposal of the Proxinrial GovernmcU; but it has been prevented commencing operations partly by the opposition of the Natives, but chiefly by the refusal of the General Government, either themselves to purchase the lands which the Natives were anxious to sell, or to permit the Provinciel Government to do so; nor has it, as far as lam aware, made the slightest effort to overcome the opposition of the natives. Although the whole correspondence wiil be laid before you, it is perhaps right, that I should briefly state the steps I have taken in the matter. Having ascertained when in Auckland from Mr M'Lean, that the negotiations were so far advanced, that the purchase of the Forty-mile Bush coull be effected whenever the monej was ready, 1 at once offered to advance the amount. Since my return I have repeated the offer to provide funds for the purchase not only of the Forty-mile Bush but of . all other districts by every mail. I have pointed out the importance of this acquisition, and the willingness of the natives to sell. I have explained that we have been introducing labour, and raising loans, for the express purpose of forming this great trunk road, and that unless the purchase was at once completed we should be obliged to employ our funds and labour on other works of minor importance; but to all these considerations his Excellency's Government appear wholly indifferent. I am told at one time that hie Excellency’s Goverement sees the importance of thi* purchase, at another that it involves questions of grave policy, then that it is under serious consideration, then again I am assured tnat a comhussiouer’.'will be despatched forthwith to complete purchase, and lastly my remonstrances are met with a simple acknowledgment of their receipt. In order to remove every possible excuse for thus sacrificing the interests of this Province, 1 have, by the’last mail, urged his Excellency to appoint the late Surveyor General of this Colony (a gentleman eminently qualified for the office) Land Purchase Commissioner for this Province,, and have guaranteed on your behalf all the expenses of this Department. Should this request be complied with, I am satisfied, from information 1 have received, that almost any district which is required for the purposes of settlement could be purchased within the next few months. But whatever may be the.- result of this last appeal, I submit whether with the knowledge you possess, that his Excellency is guided in his administration of native affairs not by his ministers but by irresponsible advisers, you are not bound to memorialize the Hume Government, praying that her Majesty may be pleased in accordance with the 73rd clause of the Constitution Act, to delegate to Superintendents of Provinces ths power of extinguishing thn Native title. ‘ '

But while it is gratifying to me to be able to make so favorable a report of the progress of the public works (with the single exception just alluded to), and to congratulate you upon having accomplished so much with that portion of the revenue which has not been absorbed by the General Government, and with the limited supply of labour hitherto at your command, it is still most gratifying to me to announce that yeur wishes with regard to the Immigration and to raising loans have been fully accomplished, and that with the means now at your disposal, you may hope to realize your most sanguine expectations.

Having on previous occasions explained the steps taken to procure a steady supply of labour both from Australia and England, I need not now advert to them, more especially as the results are fairly before you. By the returns it will be shewn that the excess of immigration over emigration was, in the year ending 30th September, 1804, 486; in 1855, 890; and in 1856, 1,002; making an excess of immigration over emigration, if the present quarter be included, of nearly 3,000 souls. And I have every reason to believe that within the next three months another 1,000 or 1,500 souls will be added to your population. If to this be added the natural increase—the excess of births over deaths—the population of this Province will, before your tenure of uffivo expires, have been well nigh doubled. It speaks well for the credit of this Province that the loan sanctioned by you during your first Session has not only been negotiated twice over, but that offers Jo raise it have been imide by various other parties. The Commercial Bank of London sent out in July last debentures fur the whole amount, engraved and ready for signature, with authority to draw against them to the extent of £20,000 ; but the terms were too vague and indefinite to justify me in availing myself of their proposal. The Union Bank of Australia having at the same time offered their services, I entered into an agreement, subject to your sanction, with the Inspector, thdttheßank undertook the negotiation of a loan of £50,000, bearing interest at the rate of 8 per cent, interest, and redeemable in ten years, the main conditions of which were that the debentures were not to be sold under par; thatthe Province was to be entitled to any premium they might realize in the London market, and that the Bank was to advance upon the debentures being handed to them for transmission home, whatever sums I might from time to time require. It was for the purpose of laying this agreement before you that I convened you for the2Bth of Oct. Early, however, in that mouth, advices reached me that Messrs. Gladstone & Co. had negotiated the whole loan upon the terms of-the Loan Act, in virtue of the authority given by me to Mr. James Smith, to whose exertions in this matter, and especially in promoting immigration, this Province is deeply indebted. Although not bound to accept more than £20,000, yet as Messrs. Gladstone & Co. at once remitted a considerable sum, and authorised their agent to draw for the remainder whenever it was required by the Government, I felt that I would not be justified in disturbing their arrangemeuls, and have accordingly intimated my acceptance of the whole £50,006 less the debentures already issued, which amount to £4,000. At the same time, far from the Government having any intention to abandon the agreement with the Union Bank, they would urge you to cany it out, satisfied, as they are, that the whole amount can not only be beneficially employed, ■ but that the operations, as J shall show, at present go ingun, will absolutely require it. It may be, that some of those who formerly blamed the Government for having placed the credit of the Province at too high a standard—for not having sold, the Debentures for what’they wou’d fetch in the market, may object to the largeness of the amount; but when it is considered, that the Loan is little more than the debt already imposed upon each of the . Provinces in the Middle Island—that it only represents the value of 200,000 acres of rural land, of which there are millions in this Province, or the upset price of two or three ' Townships, of which I trust there will be many in the course of the next few years,—that you. have during the last three years had on the average a surplus of £17,0i.0 a year, equal to the interest on a loan of above £200,000 —that the whole amount is to be‘devoted to works creative of revenue—that every adult introduced adds from £2 to £3 a year to your Customs receipts, besides increasing in a still greater degreeyour territorial revenue, I submit that we should be justified in borrowing a much larger sum, had we the means of expending it within a reasonable time. What we propose then is, to open up all the trunk, roads, and to complete all other works at present ip progress or in contemplation within the next two years instead of extending their execution over au indefinite period.

From the estimates of the Provincial Engineer, it appears that to finish the portion of the Wauaxapa road between the Mungaroa and Burling's, £&000 will be required; to carry it on- through Greytowu to Masterton will cost a similar sum—the expense-of cutting a line two chains wide, nnd of forming a practicable’ dray road (metalling such parts as.may be absolutely necessary) through the 70-mile Bush, will not be less, than £20,000; —to continue a similar road, (including; sundry bridges) to Napier will require £3i)CO; about £4odo will still have to be expended on the Ngahuranga —£4ooo on the Makara and Ohariu, including a division of the Karorito metal the llangitikei-Wan-ganiri road, and to build bridges over the Turakina to Wangaehu, will involvcjan outlay of £20,000. Add ta. these amounts £3 00 for widening the Petoni road, •rendered necessary by the increasing traffic—£2ooo* for the TiKope Line—£lo,oo6 for Public. Buildings including the House of General Assembly; Grants for district roads and in aid of local assessment, £5,000; and the total sum required for these several works will, iu round numbers, be £83,00 )• - ' ' To execute these works within a period of two years as now proposed will necessitate the constant employment of a force upon them of not less than 000 men. To' eefiure this force will again require a much larger stream of immigration than hits yet been dqced, Judging from the difficulties hitherto

periericeri in keeping up the road panics to 150 or 200, anti bearing in niitnl that by thus - opening up the whole Province, capital will be attracted, and numerous sources of employment will erise which do not now exist, it may safely be estimated that to enable the Go vemment to keep .tip the strength of the road parlies to s<o, the immigration should not be lesa than 2000 adults a year. * It is essential therefore to the success of the present scheme that at. least j£5O,OOQ, should be invested in Immigration. Of this, amount 1 would recommend that £40.000 should be spent during the ensuing year; for as under, the Loan system at present in force, one half of this amount would be refunded in 12 months, you would still have £30,000 available for Immigration in 1858.

Further, as our object is not to prevent, but rather to assist, the labourer becoming a land-owner, we propose,—encouraged by the success which has already attended the Small Farm Settlements—to have lands prepared for settlement on every Ijne of road in process of formalin. ■ Thus, in the Wairarapa, there are already some 3(W00 acres surveyed, open to purchase in small allotments; in Ahuriri, two townships of about 5000 acres each are being su. veyed; and in theßangitikei, some 20,000 acres will Ge ready in the course of the present summer. The advantages of thus forming Township! and agricultural Settlements in the immediate vicinity of each road are sufficiently manifest. The acquisition of his own freehold is rendered easy to every man employed on them, —the strongest possible inducement to habits of temperance and industry is held out,— all the difficulties attendant upon a first settlement are removed; for while those who already have accumulated sufficient capital, may occupy themselves exclusively on their farms, in raising produce for which the road paities will afford them a ready market ; others will find employment on the public works just aa many days as their want of means may render necessary. r The employment will be rendered attractive ; jand the ' y’U he, that no trunk line will ever be completed wjthout villages springing up at a distance of every few iniles, and the population which you have been the means of introducing will be fixed to the soil. With respect to the practicability of the scheme now submitted, no question can possibly arise ;—for the funds are already provided,—the Immigrants arealready on their way,—the lands for their location are already prepared ; and on the public works in progress and in contemplation a far greater number of men than I have ■specified can be beneficially employed for the next two years. In asking your assent to it, lam simply asking you lo reap, and gather in, the fruits of the policy, which you sanctioned at your first Session You are aware that.the administ jkion of the Waste Landa has been handed oyer to the Provincial Governpiont by act of the General Assembly. I have organized the Department by placing it under the control of a Chief Land Commissioner (Mr. Fox), who is a anember of the Executive Government, and responsible in that capacity for the efficient performance of the du ties of his office, which will include the general direction of the surveys, tbe sale of the Waste Lands of the Province, and the preparation of the grants necessary to complete past and future sales. Under the general superintendence of such Commissioner the surveys will be conducted by the Chief Surveyor (Mr. Park), who will have the practical control of the entire details of the Survey Department; aided by District and Assistant-Surveyors in each separate locality. The District. Surveyors will receive applications for land in their respective districts,—point them out to intending purchasers, and, with the aid of the'r assistants, execute the surveys of the lands sold. At Ahuriri and W anganui I propose to appoint Sub Treasurers, in order that payments for land may be made on the spot when preferred ; and these officers will also be charged with other financial duties connected with the localities for which they are to be appointed. There is, I regret to say, a very heavy arrear of business in this department handed over to the Province

by the General Government. About 300 grants, which had been partially drafted by the late Commissioner, require plans to be endorsed, aud descriptions to be inserted, before they can be executed by the Governor, an operation in many instances requiring considerable office labour, and in others necessarily deferred till the completion of the actual survey of the lands included in them. About 1000 more grants. I am advised, will have to be prepared, and issued for lands sold by the New Zealand Company and the General Governmentdown to this date. Every exertion will be used tbfjress forward the completion of these arrears; and I hope that within a year they will be entirely extinguished, and that the surveys (of the state of which am. pie information will, be found in Mr. Park’s report) will be brought up to the current sales, till which time the depat tment cannot be considered in efficient order. These arrears will necessarily entail a very heavy ex - pense upon the Province, which ought more properly to fall ou the General Government, by the fulfilment of whose contracts it is caused. I have addressed his Excellency’s Government on the subject, requesting that some provision may be made to compensate the Province for the expense. In addition to these openations, Captain Smith is at present employed on a trigonometrical survey of the Wairarapa ami East Coast • a work of the utmost importance, and which ought not to be discontinued till the entire Province has been triangulated ; the only safe basis for the accuracy of the •urveys of the several districts and portions of districts of which it is composed. The administration of justice in this Province is a subject that demands your serious consideration. It is evident that the inconvenience, the delay and expense, entailed upon the settlers in distant parts of the Province, by compelling them to seek redress in a Supreme Court holding its sessions in Wellington only, amount to a practical denial of all justice. It cannot therefore be a matter of surprise that an urgent appeal should recently have been made by the inhabitants of Hawke 8 Bay for some alteration in or substitute for the present system. The “District Courts Bill,” which had been framed with a view to provide for ths wants and requirements of districts placed, as it were, out of the reach of the Supreme Court, not having become law, the only remedy at present in our power to apply to the evils in question appears to be; —to combine the civil jurisdiction created by the Resident Magistrates Courts Extension Act, passed in the last session of the General Assembly, with the criminal jurisdiction created by the Sessions of the Peace Ordinance, and to unite in one person the office ofjpresiding Justice created by the former, and that of Chairman of the Sessions created by the latter. I have accordingly recommended his Excellency to bring the Resident Magistrates Courts Extension Act into operation throughout the whole Province, and the Sessions of the Peace Ordinance into operation within the districts of Wanganui arid Hawke's Bay; and also to make the necessary appointments. Should you sanction the establishment Courts by providing for their expenses, Sessions will be held at Wanganui every quarter, and at Napier every six months. Under the “ Local p osts Act” of tbe General Assembly you are empowered to fix the maximum of the rate of postage for letters transmitted by local mails;—-but I ahi inclined to believe that the revenue thus raised would, scarcely be equal to the cost of collection—at any rate, that it would not in any degree compensate for'the trouble and annoyance it would cause to the settlers; and I would therefore suggest whether it would not be better to defray the expense of all local pouts for the present out of the General Revenue of the Province, more especially as I propose that in all cases tbe mails should be carried by policemen stationed in each district. A weekly mail has already been established between Wellington and Greytown, and this will. be continued, as soon as • ever the bridlepath through the..4o-mile Bush is cut, through Masterton on to. Napier. In the mean time, the Bernimonthly mail already established by the settlers between Waipukerau and Napier will be in future undertaken by the Government; and a weekly post will also be established between the ferry-house at Rangitikei and the upper pait of the district. The regularity with which the mail'between Wellington and Wanganui has been carried during tbe last three years renders any change in that service unnecessary, with the exception of substituting (whenever the communication between Rangitikei and Wanganui will permit) dog carts for horses, so as to enable papers to be transmitted as well as letters. The necessity thus imposed upon the police of constantly moving through their respective districts, instead of interfering with the performance of their ordinary 4titles, will, I believe, materially increase the efficienpy of the force ip every respect. I am glad that the appeal made to the community last year on. the subject of Education has been met in A spirit which exhibits a sincere desire to meet the tfjfficqltipg of the question, and which I hope results ffOW tlje pf those differences which

have hitherto prevented the full development of the system initiated by the Act you passed two years ago. After much public discussion, it has been intimated to me by a Committee delegated by a public meeting held in Wellington, that the introduction of the k acred Scriptures into the schools, when desired by any committee, but without sectarian'or denominational teaching,, and without the interposition of the ministers ofreligion, would meet the wishes of a very large majority of the community. And though the Government Is not prepared to initiate on its collective responsibility, a measure for the purpose of importing such an amendment into the existing Act, yet a bill will be laid before you by. a member of my Executive Council, and if passed by you, will receive my most cordial sanction. It will however be an open question among the members' of the Government. I will only add, that it will be a source of sincere satisfaction to me if the course proposed should lead to the more general adoption of government aid by ex isting and the establishment of numerous new ones, on that basis. ’ * 1

Of the Bills that will be laid before you, there art none requiring any lengthened notice from me. A» it appears that under the “Scrip Act ” of the General Assembly, an injustice might be done to parties whose claims, though preferred, had not been adjudicated on previous to the passing of the Act, a Bill to remedy this hardship has been prepared ; its object being to permit all such claims to be decided by the Chief Land Commissioner, and the awards of that officer to be satisfied by the issue to the claimants of Land Scrip available in the purchase of rural lands. A Bill will also be submitted to you, authorizing the issue of land scrip to the parties declared entitled to compensation by the Commissioners appointed under Act Session 2, No. 12.

Scrip-Act having empowered you to restrict the operation of the Scrip within certain districts, a Bill specifying the townships and reserves within which such restrictions will be enforced, will be submitted to your consideration.

Yon will perceive that the Bill for Dividing Elec toral Districts, only provides for the separation of Hawke’s Bay from the Wairarapa, and Rangitikei from Wanganui; but the Government will be quite prepared to consider any other divisions that may be desired by tbe settlers. Looking, however, to the evils inseparable from a small constituency—to tlie increase of influence given to property by these subdivisions—to the large influx of population that is taking place, and to the consequent necessity that must arise within in a year or two for an entire re-distribution of the representation, and re-arrangement of the electoral districts, I myself doubt the wisdom or expediency of nt present effecting any further changes than those made by the present Bill.

However great may be your disappointment that the decision of the House of Representatives, that the next meeting of the Assembly should be held at Wellington, should have been reversed nfter several members had left in the full persuasion that the question had been definitively settled, —whatever may be your opinion of the pretext, under colour of which that breach of faith was perpetrated,—l am unwilling to make any comment upon the transaction, and shall simply ask you to redeem the pledge which, as Superintendent, I was calle# upon by the head of the Ministry to give to the House, —by voting whatever sum may be requisite for the erection of the House of Assembly, for which tenders have already been called.

Without specifying further than I have already done, the appropriations which will be proposed, I yet cannot refrain from expressing a hope that you will provide whatever sum may be necessary to carry out the recommendations of the Select Committee of last Session, in regard to the classification of prisoners, and the separation of the sexes at the Gaol. I also trust that you will not refuse to sanction a further expenditure on the Lunatic Asylum, with the view of placing it under the charge of a medical resident, and thus rendering the institution efficient for the objects for which it was established. In order that no portion of the Joan may remain idle and unproductive, I shall ask you to authorize advances being made for the purchase of Native Lands, aud also for reclaiming the land in this harbour below high-water murk, upon the phn proposed by Mr. Park.

As the Estimates for the ensuing year will be laid on your table on au early day, I will merely state that I estimate the receipts as follows:—s of the gross Customs, at £12,000; Licenses, £1,800; Resident Magistrates’ Fees and Fines, £800; Incidental Receipts, including Post Office, &c., £BOO ; Pasture Licenses and Kates, £2,500; Land Sales. 20,000 • Promissory Notes, £•1000 ;— making the total receipts £41,90'). Taking the expenses of the Government establishments nt £12,000, and, the Interest and Commission on the Loan at £6OOO, there will remain a balance available for public works and undertakings (including Surveys) of £23,00:1. You may safely assume that your surplus revenue for the next two years will be £5 »,OCO, thus giving you (with the Loan) a sum of £150,000 for public works and immigration. Leaving other matters to be brought before you by members of my Government, I will simply, while again congratulating yon upon the advance the Province has already made in all the elements of wealth, add the expression of my own conviction that, if the proposals now submitted receive your sanction; if the ample funds now placed at your disposal be appropriated to the purposes I have suggested,—such a stimulus will be given, that the future progress of the Province will far exceed our most sanguine hopes, and thus the first Provincial Council will have justly earned the gratitude, not only of the present inhabitants, but of that far larger population which it will have been the means of introducing, and for whose future success and welfare it will have made such ample provision. His Honor then withdrew, the members and the greater part of those in the gallery rising as before. On the motion of the Provincial Secretary his Honor’s speech was ordered to be Notices of Motion. Several notices of motion were then given for the next sitting day, viz , two by Mr. Revans, one by Mr. Macmanaway, and three as follows:—

Mr. Wakefield gave notice of motions for the next sitting-dny (to-day) for Returns relating to the occupation of land by license, from the Natives and from Government. Mr. Wakefield also gave notice that, on Tuesday next, 6th January, he would move— That the Council resolve itself into a Committee, in order to consider the expediency of amending the Regulations for the licensed occupation of the public pasture lands. Mr. Wakefield also gave notice that he would move, on Tuesday, 6th January, in Committee on the Pasturage Regulations, the following resolutions :— 1. That, under the existing regulations for licensing the occupation of public land by stockowners, the occupiers do not contribute to the public burdens in proportion to the advantages conferred on them. 2. That several of the existing Provincial laws either exempt, or authorize the Superintendent to exempt, pastoral occupiers from burdens and duties imposed on the purchasers of public land in the same district; and that these exemptions have restricted the sale of land in such exempted districts, except to the licensed occupier of the surrounding country. 3. That the exclusive privileges thus conferred on a small, but wealthy and influential, class of the inhabitants, tend materially to discourage the acquirement and cultivation of freeholds, and especially of small freeholds, and the increase which would thereby accrue to the population and progress of tbe Province. 4. That the licensed occupier ought to be made to pay such an increased contribution to the public revenue ns will, without disabling him from profitable production, more justly meet the requirements of the public welfare; and that the laws, which exempt the pastoral occupier from the due fulfilment of his relations towards any adjoining freeholder, ought to be repealed. On the motion of the Provincial Secretary, the Council, after a few words from Messrs. Renall, Revans, Fox, and the Provincial Secretary in reply, as to the nature of the business to occupy the attention of the House, adjourned until to- morrow at 5 o’clock. In our preliminary remarks we have omitted to observe that Messrs. Carpenter and Skey, on inking their seals, were received with a slight burst of applause from the Gallery; and

also that the g tilery was densely crowded on the occasion, so much so that ingress or egress was scarcely practicable, and those who could not find room in the Gallery found their way round to the Members’ entrance, the door of which was completely blocked up. The Council Chamber was also graced with the presence of several ladies.