PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4150, 9 July 1874, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. ■Wednesday, July 8. The Hon. the Speaker took the chair at two o’clock. QUESTIONS. The Hon. Mr. WATERHOUSE asked the Hon. the Colonial Secretary,—“Whether it be true that the Government have agreed, or are about to agree, to lease large tracts of Native land; and, if so, under what authority such leases have been, or are about to be made. The Hon. Dr. POLLEN replied that such leases had been made, preliminary to purchases of the same being concluded, which he hoped would be the case before long. The Hon. Mr. WATERHOUSE said that the matter deserved consideration, and he should bring the general question forward for discussion at some future time. The Hon. Mr. WATERHOUSE asked the Hon. the Colonial Secretary,—“ Whether he has any objection on the part of the Government to laying upon the table of the House copies of all correspondence and telegrams which have passed between the Government and His Honor Mr. Judge Ward, in reference to His Honor Mr. Judge Chapman.” A good deal had been said and printed on the_ subject, and a general feeling of dissatisfaction prevailed at the course of action which was alleged to have been taken. It was desirable that matters of such importance connected with the judicial bench should not be kept back. The Hon. Dr. POLLEN stated that the correspondence referred to was in the hands of the Government, at least so much of it as was of an official nature. He would prefer, however, to have a regular resolution calling for it placed on the Order Paper before laying it on the table. , , The Hon. Mr. WATERHOUSE said that he concurred in the advisability of the course proposed and gave notice of his intention to move, next afternoon, a resolution in the terms of his question for the production of the correspondenco. first readings. The Descent of Real Estate Act Amendment Bill, and the Marriage Law Amendment Bill were rend a first time.

ADDRESS TO HER MAJESTY. The Hon. Dr. POLLEN moved the address of congratulation to Her Majesty (which appears in another column), which was cordially assented to. ADDRESS IN REPLY. The Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL in moving that the address prepared in reply to His Excellency’s Speech should be adopted, said that he had only a few remarks to make, and he would make them on the paragraphs seriatim. _ They had already expressed their congratulations on the Marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh,'em! he could only say that the people of New Zealand were as loyal as those in any other part of the Empire in their desire to express their congratulations to the throne. He thought that in a Colony so peculiarly constituted it was very desirable that the Governor should visit every portion of it. There were so many centres of population that it was utterly impossible for the Governor to become aware of the peculiar resources and laws and constitutions of the various parts of the Colony unless he went through the whole of it. In each of the other Australian Colonies there was one centre from which proceeded all the trade and commerce of the whole Colony ; there was only one system of laud laws, and those "were all framed and took their source from the centre. Here the several Provinces had their different land laws, different local institutions, and different forms of government. He was sure His Excellency’s visit must have impressed him much with the general prosperity of the Colony. He thought the public works had been carried on very well during the current year, but there were a great many lines of railway uncompleted, and it would only require a little extra labor to get them into full working order, and he hoped the Government would see the advisability of doing so before plunging into large new works. He knew the Government had been blamed for the class of immigrants they had brought in, but taken as a whole they were not a bad lot, although there were -some few tainted ones. Still, they had not heard of any great crimes, or any great addition to the gaols, and the Government deserved the greatest credit for the way in which they had immigration scheme. He thought immigration should be increased rather than decreased. At the present moment, the more immigrants that were brought in, the higher seemed to be the rate of wages, and the greater the difficulty to get men. (Hear, hear.) Amongst 15,000 immigrants introduced from July 1, 1873, to the end of March, 1374, the average cost per head had been £lO, and the return, from these paid from 30 to 40 per cent, on the cost of bringing them out. With respect to the population which New Zealand could receive, he believed two or three years would see a million inhabitants in the land. He had always been a very strong supporter of public works, and the effects which might be expected to arise from them ; and he remembered the time when they were first initiated in New Zealand ; there was then no life or enterprise ; people were down in the mouth, and afraid of _ embarking in any enterprise, but the initiation of the public works policy, had in a great measure dispelled all this, and inspired general confidence ; the rise in the price of wool had also caused a feeling of security both in the Colony and out of it. As an instance of prosperity, he had been told that the Customs Revenue would be £300,000 over the estimated revenue from that branch, which all went to the good to pay for their expenditure on Immigration and Public Works. He hailed the prospect of telegraphic communication with the rest of the world as a great boon. The benefits which would be derived would pay a great part of the interest on the guarantee, and. in time would largely repay any deficiency. New Zealand could not afford to be behind the rest of the world. The peace prevailing amongst the Natives was no doubt as gratifying to themselves as it was to us. It should be kept clearly before them that the Europeans must be the governors of the land. With regard to the proposal about life assurances he thought that before any bonus was given the accounts should be sent home for inspection by a first-class actuary, and they would then be able to ascertain the real state of the Department. Twenty-five years were required to test such a scheme as the Government Life Annuities scheme, and they had as yet had only three years experience. The proposal about the Polynesian trade met with his approval. Ho believed New Zealand would be a great manufacturing country, though it was premature to speak on the subject, and that the groat future, which was in his opinion before the Polynesian islands should be linked to that of New Zealand by the establishment of trade and commerce between them and this Colony. The last question touched upon in the speech was one relative to the Constitution. Since ho had had the honor of a seat in the Council, he was not aware of any serious difference having occurred between the two Houses. The Council had sometimes thrown out Bills which had been passed by the House of Representatives, but they had always had good grounds for doing so. The chief difference had been that of last session with regard to the Provincial Loans Bills, and he was certain that the good sense of the country was in favor of the Council, for they had, by the firm position they took up, saved £1,100,000 to the Colony ; and for his own part he had never given any vote with so much pleasure as that which ho gave in support of the motion that those Bills should be read a second time that day six months. They saw in other Colonies, such as Victoria and New South Wales, dead locks occurring, but here they had got on very well, and he did not see why they should not continue to -do so. The Council occupied the position of one of the parties of the Constitution, and what they said should have duo weight. New was too apt to take up the policy of Victoria in these matters. Ho thought the Government of New Zealand would compare favorably with the Governments of other countries, and might bo able to teach them good government. He himself believed that Now Zealand would occupy the premier position amongst the Australasian Colonies, He would move the adoption of the report.

The Hon. Mr. MILLER, in seconding the motion, said His Excellency had visited the Provinces just at the time when the agricultural and pastoral interests were both looking their ■best, and it was no wonder he had expressed satisfaction. With regard to public works, the country was looking anxiously to see some of the lines of railway completed, in return for the large expenditure they had entailed. Hewas sure the country felt with the Government that questions of minor importance should be left in abeyance, and that the Government should give their whole attention to the important question of the administration of public works. He did not approve of Provincial Governments having anything to do with the railways. It would be much better to have'-them all under one central control. He believed that all the railways now being constructed would not only pay their working expenses, but also a portion of the interest on the loans. Our coal mines should be more developed, and coal for domestic purposes supplied from our own resources, instead of costing three or four hundred thousand pounds per year to obtain from Newcastle. Then these public works could not go on for ever, and it was of great importance that manufactures should be introduced and encouraged, in order that those who fell out of employment as the public works were completed, might be prevented from leaving us. The immigration scheme had worked well as a whole, and employment at remunerative wages was open to the immigrant immediately on his arrival. New Zealand was perfectly justified in making an attempt to take advantage of her geographical position with regard to the Polynesian Islands, before the resources of which her’ own sank into insignificance. If she had gold and wool, and grain and timber, these islands had rice and sugar, and cotton and coffee, and the cocoanut. The establishment of commerce with them would create a trade in these articles to New Zealand, which could not but be productive of great benefit to the Colony. The only other question was that of the difference of opinion between the two Houses. They had not the principles of the Bill before them, and could therefore only guess at its probable nature ; but there seemed to be no generally expressed desire that their relations should be altered.

The Hon. Mr. WATERHOUSE said he had listened with very great interest to the remarks that had fallen from the mover and seconder of the address, though he could not say he agreed with them. He could not help thinking, while the Hon. Mr. Campbell was lauding the institutions of the country, of a recent author who had given some account of the inhabitants of the Australian Colonies, and had dwelt upon their characteristic of “blowing,” Mr. Campbell would most certainly have been awarded the prize for it, if the distinguished author had only heard his speech. The speech of His Excellency himself w T as not at all satisfactory. The more it was looked into, the less one could detect in it. He had expected to see matters of great importance brought forward, and measures of great importance announced. The last recess had been in many respects a peculiar one. There had been a stream of ministerial feting and ministerial speaking altogether unprecedented. The Premier had been making his tour throughout the length and breadth of the Colony, and indulging in public speaking and public eating to a large extent. The first entrance into this sphere was made at Otago. There had been many interviews there between the Superintendent and the Premier, which excited the curiosity of all politicians, and was believed to have resulted in the promise of a loan of half a million. Then the Premier went to Nelson, and effectually roused up its somnolency. More long interviews with the Provincial authorities followed; public spirit rose ; £20,000 down was offered in aid of the public works, but refused for the promise of getting £250,000 during the session if they persevered. Then the Premier went to Auckland, and there his former opponent the Superintendent buried the tomahawk, and was promised an advance of £40,000 to meet current expenses. The Premier could not go to Hawke’s Bay and Napier, but they each received some substantial recognition of his favor instead, in the shape of promises of money for harbor works and other undertakings. All these negotiations with the Provinces were of great interest, but no mention of them was made in the speech. Still they all knew there would be a great fight about provincial borrowing this session. The administration of public works was satisfactory, and he believed this was all owing to the gentleman at the head of the Department, than whom no better could possibly be found. He condemned the immigration management, as a breach of constitutional principle and of public policy. The immigration policy originally sanctioned the introduction of 12,500 immigrants, at_ a cost of £250,000 for the whole year of 1874, but instead of that 35,000 had been ordered within the first six months, at a cost of £70,000. He looked upon the present prosperity of the country as entirely deceptive, and before long there would come- a great crash, and he quoted the Bank returns, which showed the average indebtedness to be £lO per head as compared with £2 in Victoria. A great tightness of the money market was certain to ensue before long, and private enterprise would be unable to bear up against it. The Hon. Dr. POLLEN defended the immigration policy of the Government. The demand for labor had been so great that the Government felt themselves bound to go beyond the limits originally assigned by the vote. He believed that if they had not done so they would have incurred the censure of Parliament, so imperative was the necessity. He upheld the soundness of the present prosperity of the Colony, and pointed out the state of the money market as it was now, compared with some years ago, as a refutation of his hon. friend’s arguments. The Hon, Colonel Kenny, the Hon. Captain Euaseb, and the Hon. Colonel Brett (who characterised the volunteers as utterly useless when speaking on the defences of the Colony), having spoken to the various paragraphs of the The Hon. Mr. CAMPBELL briefly replied, defending his own arguments, in favor of immigration more especially, against the assertions of the Hon. Mr. Waterhouse.

The address was then adopted. ' The Council adjourned at a quarter to five o’clock p.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wednesday, Judy 8. The Speaker took the chair at 2.30 p.m. PETITION. Mr. CURTIS was understood to present a petition from the firemen of Nelson, requesting to be exempted from service as jurors. EXPLANATION. The SPEAKER apologised for not having yet made his report as arbitrator on certain claims made on the Colony by the Province of Wellington. Owing to a long and dangerous illness in his family he had not been able to come to Wellington as early as he had expected, but he hoped to complete his report in a few days, and would lay it upon the table at the earliest possible moment. In effect, it would be exactly the same as what was announced by him just before tlio House rose last year. TELEGRAMS BETWEEN JUDGE WARD AND THE PREMIER. Mr. 3.1 a. GILLIES, in asking,—“l. Whether the Government have taken any, and what stops to investigate the charges made against Judge Chapman, contained in certain telegrams published in the Otago Daily Times of the 22nd of May last, and purporting to bo copies of telegrams sent by Judge Ward to the Honorable the Premier. 2. Whether the Government have any objections to lay upon the table of the House copies of all correspondence, telegraphic or otherwise (if any) in relation to the subject matter of the foregoing question. ” —said he thought it due to the House, to the Government, and to himself, that ho should make some explanation of his reasons for asking the questions, and in offering a few observations he wished to make them entirely of an explanatory character. Notice of a similar question had been given in another place; but he might remark that ho was not aware that such a question would have been proposed in that place, or he would have

refrained from putting the questions appearing in his name. One of his principal reasons for putting it on the Order Paper was, that during the last session of the Otago Provincial Council, the matter was brought under his notice by a number of members of that body, and the question was asked him in his official.position of Speaker, whether it would be proper that such a question should be raised m the Provincial Council. To that he replied that it would be much better to leave the matter until the Assembly met, seeing that the House of Representatives and Legislative Council were the proper places where it should up. With reference to the question itself, he had no doubt that hon. members were aware that some time ago "there appeared in one of the Otago papers what purported to be copies of telegrams which had passed between one of the judges and the Premier. The publication of those telegrams, whether correct or otherwise, gave rise to a very strong feeling of dissatisfaction, uncertainty, and distrust, as to the manner in which the judicial part of the Government was carried out. He thought the Premier would agree with him, when he said that any such feeling of distrust as to the manner in which the duties of the Supreme Court were earned out, should be removed as early as possible. He did not anticipate that the Government would offer any objection to his request. In putting his request into its present form, he had been desirous of leaving the matter in the hands of the Go- > vernment rather than appealing to take any action that would have the effect of asking them to produce copies of telegrams or correspondence which they did not feel justified or warranted in doing ; in fact, the question was merely put to give the Government an opportunity of making explanations on the matter—■ explanations which he (Mr. Gillies) could assure the Premier were anxiously looked for by the people of the Province of Otago. The matter was one of a very extraordinary character, especially the manner in which the telegrams had been got hold of. Whether they were correct copies or otherwise, he was not in a position to say ; but he was in a position to say that there was a strong feeling of distrust, if he might so call it, in the minds of the people-of Otago, and unless some satisfactory explanation was given that feeling would continue to be entertained. He did not expect the Government would offer any opposition to his request, and would say nothing further at present. Mr, VOGEL stated, in reply to the first question, that the Government had taken no steps to investigate the charges made against Judge Chapman, The Government were of opinion that the charges did not call for any representations on their part to His Excellency the Governor, and Judge Chapman and Judge Ward had been informed to that effect. How the telegrams got into the papers he was unable to say. He had the assurance of Judge Chapman and of Judge Ward that they were not responsible for their appearance ; certainly he (Mr. Vogel) was not, and he did not believe they came through the Telegraph Department. The whole circumstance was one of those mysteries which must be placed in the same category as the writer of Junius's letters and the identity of the Man with the Iron Mask. Whether time would unravel this mystery he was unable to say. As to the question whether the Government had any objections to lay on the table copies of all correspondence, telegraphic or otherwise, on the subject, he might say that the telegrams as they appeared were not correct, although they were nearly so, and showed pretty well that the newspaper was very largely in the knowledge of the actual telegrams. And as to whether the Government would lay the telegrams upon the table of the House, he had only to say that they would not do so on their own motion, but they recognised the right of the House to ask for their production, and would offer no opposition if the hon. member for Waikouaiti or any other hon. member made a motion for their production. (Hear). But so far as the Government were concerned, they saw no reason for volunteering to place them on the table. The hon. gentleman was understood to say in conclusion that the whole business was to be very much regretted. LIGHTHOUSE AT THE THREE KINGS. Mr. O’NEILL asked,—“Whether the Government, during the recess, have had The Three Kings inspected, "with the view of establishing a lighthouse on one of the islands.” Mr. REYNOLDS saw the Government had taken action in settling not only The Three Kings, but other lighthouse sites. The head of the Department had reported that the Three Kings would not be a suitable place, but that Cape Maria Van Diemen was considered a better site. He thought that would be a sufficient answer for the hon. gentleman. (Mr. Kelly : Hear.) PROPERTY OR INCOME TAX. Hr. WAKEFIELD asked,— 1 “ Whether the Government contemplated the institution of any inquiry into the expediency of taxes on land, other property, or income, above a certain maximum, with a view to the reduction or abolition of Customs duties on articles of food and clothing, building materials, and other articles for which the demand is being so greatly increased by the large amount of immigration going on. ” Mr. VOGEL replied that he was not aware that it was the intention of the Government to institute the inquiry referred to by the hon. member, and if it had been intended to reduce the Customs duties the Government would not have informed the House of that intention, because to do so would have led to undue speculation. THE NATIVE CENSUS.

Mr, WAKEFIELD asked,—“ Whether any approximate census of the whole Native population has been taken this year ; and, if so, when the House may expect to be put in possession of the results.” Mr. VOGEL replied that the census had been taken. The papers were in the hands of the printer, and would be laid on the table in a few days. OTAGO WASTE LAND BILL. Hr. T. L. SHEPHERD asked leave to introduce a Bill to amend the Otago Waste Land Zi, GILLIES informed the House that during the last session of the Otago Provincial Council certain resolutions were arrived at, and transmitted to the Provincial Government for the purpose of preparing an Amending Act to be laid before the General Assembly, lie was aware that from circumstances over which the Superintendent, and Mr. Reid, the Provincial Secretary of Otago, had no control, they had been able up to the present time to be in their places in that House, and in consequence the measure passed by the Provincial Council of Otago had not been placed before the House. He might state for the information of hon. members that ho had to-day received a telegram from Mr. Reid, to the effect that the Provincial Solicitor of Otago was busy preparing a Bill to amend the Otago Land Act of 1872, He would submit to tho hon. member for Dunstan that it would be wise for him to delay asking for leave to introduce this Bill until the measure prepared by the Provincial Government of Otago was before him, so that he might consult the Otago Government in regard to any amendments he might himself wish to introduce into that measure. It would be very inconvenient that any member should obtain leave to introduce a Bill to amend the Otago Land Act, and that that Bill should bo rejected, and so prevent the Government of Otago introducing a measure which was in course of preparation. These considerations ought to induce the hon. member to withdraw in the meantime his motion for leave to introduce his Bill. On several occasions the_ House had declared its opinion that no alteration of a land law should take place unless those alterations were prepared and had been considered in tho local legislature, and were brought in under the auspices of the local Government. Ho trusted tho hon. member for the Dunstan would see it to be his duty in the meantime to refrain from pressing his request. Mr. SHEPHERD said the hon. member for Waikouaiti assumed a very unusual course on a motion for leave to introduce a Bill of making the remarks he did, which forced from him (Mr. Shepherd) an explanation which he did not intend to give, and which was unnecessary. Ho had been induced to move in this matter, knowing tho session was likely to be a very

short one,'and lie spoke to the head of the Provincial Executive of Otago before he left Dunedin, intimating his intention of taking the steps he was then taking. He intended to place the Bill in such a position, as regarded that House, that the hon. member for the Taieri could take it up on his arrival, which he informed him (Hr. Shepherd) would be in fourteen days from that time. He had forwarded a communication to the Provincial Secretary of Otago in these terms : “Do you intend to introduce an amended Band Bill beyond that mentioned in the Provincial Council. I shall delay first reading until hearing from you.” ' So’that his hon. friend would see his (Mr. Shepherd’s) sagacity, even in this respect," was equal to his own. The time had not yet arrived for that hon. member to teach him his position in a matter like this. The amendment proposed by the Provincial Council of Otago was a trivial one ; it simply removed the limit placed on the area which might be thrown open under tlie deferred payment system. It did not require a solicitor to prepare a Bill of that sort; he believed he was quite competent to prepare such a Bill. (Laughter.) The hon. member for Waikouaiti was not so much actuated by a desire to watch the interests of Otago, as by a desire to snub him (Mr. Shepherd). (Laughter.) He would give the hon. member the benefit of the doubt, and try to believe that he only exercised a sort of parental guard over his (Mr. Shepherd’s) political career. (Renewed laughter.) He trusted the hon. member would pursue that course in the same manner for which he was so famous in the Province of Otago. He could assure the hon. member he would do nothing to endanger the Bill. A division was called for but not pressed, and leave given to introduce the Bill, the second reading of which was fixed for Thursday week.

Sir J. 0. WILSON inquired what would be the position of another Land Bill, one Bill having been already introduced and printed. Something similar was done last session, and members did not know which Bill was being debated, or what was going on. He supposed this Bill was something tangible, and not,a myth. The SPEAKER explained that it was competent for any hon. member to introduce a Bill upon the subject. The first Bill would stand as No. 1 Bill on the Order Paper; the other as No. 2, and so on, as was the case last session. The hon. member for the Duristan would require to furnish the Clerk with a copy of the Bill itself, because he (the Speaker) would not permit the hon. member to bring it forward for second reading without seeing it. Last session there was some difficulty owing to something of the kind happening. BILLS. The Hon. Mr. Richardson obtained leave to introduce The Regulation of Mines Bill, the second reading of which was fixed for Tuesday ; the Hon. Mr. Reynolds, . The Qualification of Electors Bill, and The Municipal Reserves Bill, the second readings of which were fixed for Friday. Mr. Vogel obtained leave to introduce The Post-office Savings Bank Amendment Bill and the' Electric Telegraph Act Amendment Bill. He intimated that The Westland Loan Act Amendment Bill, The Civil Service Act Amendment Bill, and The New.' Zealand University Bill would probably be sent down by message. Mr. Bunny obtained leave to introduce The Wellington Hospital Reserves Bill, the second reading of which was fixed for this day (Thursday) week. ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN. Mr. VOGEL moved the Address to the Queen on the Duke of Edinburgh’s marriage, which was agreed to without discussion. NELSON LOAN BILL. Mr. CURTIS moved,—“That this House will to-morrow, resolve itself into committee, to consider of giving leave to introduce a Bill intituled an Act to authorise the raising of a loan of £250,000 for the purpose of constructing certain works of public utility in the Province of Nelson, and for charging the sums so borrowed against the said Province.” He did not think it necessary, at the present stage, to say any more than that the works which it was proposed to execute, had been carefully considered, and unanimously determined upon, by the Provincial Council of Nelson, and that the security which it was proposed to give the Colony was 400,000 acres of land in various parts of the Province. Mr. VOGEL took the earliest opportunity of saying that it would be the duty of the Government to state very decidedly its opinion upon matters of this kind (hear.), and that would be done when the Financial Statement was made, which he hoped would be in not more than ten days hence. It was the desire of the Government to bring it down as early as possible, and he asked the House to support the Government in resisting the second readings of such Bills until after the Financial Statement was delivered, when the Government would state fully its opinion upon the whole subject. Mr. CURTIS ; With reference to what has fallen from the gentlemen at the head of the Government, I had no intention whatever of pressing forward the second reading of the Bill. I should prefer to adopt his proposal that the" second reading of the Bill should be posponed until after the delivery of his Financial Statement. The motidfi was agreed to. PURCHASE OP NATIVE LANDS. Mr. T. B. GILLIES moved, —“ For a return in detail of the expenditure to 30th June last, out of the sums of £200,000 and £500,000 devoted to the purchase of Native lands in the North Island, allowing the several blocks of which the purchases have been completed; these on which partial payments have been made, and the charges and expenses connected with the purchases.” Agreed to. ROADS IN THE NORTH ISLAND. Mr. T. B. GILLIES moved, —“For a return showing in detail the expenditure to 30th June last of the appropriation by the Immigration and Public \Vorks Act, 1870, of £400,000 for roads in the North Island, in continuation of previous returns.” Mr. RICHARDSON said, the return asked for was in course of publication, and would be laid on the table presently. Motion withdrawn. RETURN OP LAND SOLD. Mr. MERVYN moved, —“ That a return be laid upon the table of the quantity of land sold or otherwise disposed of during a period of twelve months ending 31st March, 1874, in the various provinces of New Zealand; such return to specify, if possible, the number of new settlers who have purchased land during that period, and the quantity of land so purchased by them.” Hie object was to ascertain how far the colonizing policy of the Government had been successful in settling upon the land the immigrants introduced into the country by its means. _ Mr. O’RORKE said there was no objection to the return, which was almost similar to one sanctioned last year. Sir J. C. WILSON could not see how the Government were to find out who were “ new settlersneither did he know the definition of the term. He reminded the hon. member for Mount Ida that it used to be considered a man was not a “settler” in New Zealand unless he had eaten a quantity of that noxious plant called tutu. Was a dose of tutu to be taken as a test of a person being a new settler or not ? The Government would find furnishing the return asked for a more difficult task than they anticipated. Mr. THOMSON thought the motion very plain and intelligible. It referred to those who had recently purchased land and occupied it. He had no doubt the Government would do all they could do all they could to provide the return; at the same time he was of opinion it would be a difficult one to make, because the greater part of the land purchased for years past had been purchased by persons who hold land previously—old settlers or old occupiers of land. If the return came up, showing that a thousand acres had been purchased during the time referred'to, he did not think the House would be justified in drawing from it the conclusion that a thousand persons had settled upon the lands, because it would be found that a largo proportion of those persona were already occupiers of the land.

Mr. SHEPHARD pointed out that many persons, after purchasing in one Province, left it and went to other places. A return such as that asked for, if used as an argument for or against the success of the immigration scheme, was calculated to mislead, and consequently to do a certain amount of injury. After some remarks by Messrs. Sheehan, Wakefield, and G. B. Paekeb, the motion was agreed to. return. Mr. MERVYN allowed his motion—for a return of all liabilities incurred by the Government in connexion with the supply of water to the goldfields—to lapse, as the Government promised to lay the return on the table. SUPPLY. In giving notice of his intention to bring down to-morrow, an Imprest Supply Bill, Mr. Vogel said, he did not know who was leader of the Opposition; but he hoped the Bill would not be opposed, as it was desirable it should pass through this week. The House then adjourned till this afternoon, at the usual hour.