PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 441, 26 September 1877, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

(l!Y TELKUUAPiI.)

Wellington, September 26. In the I egi l.itivc Council yesterday atternoon, on the mo.ion of the Hon Mr. Hall. it w;°s resolved, 'That it i- de-ir ible that the attention of the '■overnment be .'iiceted to lotteries advertised to l,e held in cmnection with horse-races at vatijus hotels in the Colony."

In the House of Representatives yesterday ai'tjrnoon.

Tiie Di qualification Committee reported that, in their opinion Mr. Fisher, member up- Heathcote, wa- not disqu lilied by having b. cu a member of tin; Waimakarui River Board ; but a< the Legislative Council lias arr.ved at a different conclusion in Mr. Peacock's case, and as some members had doubts, tli v recommended toe immediate passing of a Bill to set all doubts at rest.

Mr. Whitaker said he mended to intro duce a Bill.

Replying to Mr. Macamlrew, Mr. M'Lean said tlt.it experiments were being made at the Muiukau with the view o: checking the sand drifts which were operating injui lously upon the various h.irb >ur<. Tiie ijovernnieiifc would not lose sight of so important a matter.

1!.-pi vine to Mr. Stafford, Mr. Ormond said the Government would take steps to oliviate the danger and inconvenience to which persons were now riibjected at the Tin.am Railway Station, owing to the manner in which the line had been constructed, and insufficient a< c mmo lation. hi Committee on tne District Railways BiM, Mr. P\ke*s new clauses allowing a comity or counties to construct; railway* under the Act were agree I to with slight alteration, and the Hill was repor ed as amended. The Provincial Laws of Residence Bill was read a third time

The debate was resumed on the Settlement of Works Advances Hill. Mr Sheelian nv-ved that the Bill be read a second time that day s x months. If the Government were to have the powers proposed by the Hill the House might as well hand over a'l its powers to the (Governor in Council, for it \vuld have relinquish :d the mo.-t imp-irtaiu power—that «'f control iug tiie public cx| eudkurc. H was redly a duty of the Hou-e to protect the Mini-try from importunities to which they would be exposed from its supporters if the Mill parsed. If they would i dicate to the House what w oVks were required to open up the country, no doubt the would vote thd money readily for such desirable works.

Mr. St.-iffnrd sympathised with the ob- ] -cti ns to the sy.-te-m of giving the Governor in Council p-wer to expend pub io money. Ho thought the Hou-e should consider the opening up ot the country by roads and bridges He approved of t.-e country being opened up, but objected to a Luge lump sum being left at the di posal of the Government. Liind had been sold for as many shillings as it would have been worth pounds, bad it been first opened up by roads The Piako swamp was a case in point; and there were swamp and forest lands fitted to- settlement it only firxt opened up. Tne Bill, by bjing oou-.-iderably al ered in Committee, might be made a g->o I one. an.l th-ref >re lie would Ije sorry to see it rejected .-dtogether. Mr. Kelly support d tlie Bill. The Taranaki I'rovinei.d Government used to pursue the same principle of openintr up laml prinr to the sale, and since the Abolition fuuud the evils (,f not being able to do so. Mr. Eol'estou was astounded at the Government which so recently owned Sir Julius Vogel as its c!ii;f bringing down a Bill to enti ely reverse bis policy by taking tie powers of local self-government and administration out of the bands or the people, ami transferring them from local governing bodies to the Governor in Council. He quoted Sir Julius V..gel's words to show how he had urg-nl Abolition,. j-s calculated to obviate the necessity f >r Parliament's intervention in local works. The Bid was a complete reversal of that policy, if local se.'fgovernment had really been the policy of the Ministry last session.

Mr. Reid said if the members regretted j abolition, let them take steps to re-establish ; provinces, instead of merely reg et.ing the ' past. Even the provinces, however, hid not to attend to ca-e3 uch as those the Mill j proposed to deal with. A statement made j by Mr. llees that the Bill was one to buy votes, was humiliating to the House, for it ass red the readiness of members to Fell themselves. As money under the Hill was proposed to bo expend d i i unsettled local it es, it could not lie us.-d 10 obtain support. H" admitted the powers proposed to be given to the Gove, nor were very large, but s ill it ws impos-ible to keen lands unsold till every case should be broug'it before Parliament. Lauds taken from time to time under the Tinnrgrati n and Public Works Acts, and for the defer.-ed payments could not be kept tied up uut 1 the consent of Parliament could beobtiin;d to make roads in them. The whole sum intended to bj taken was L-50.000, which woul I from time to time be recouped by the land being sold and advances repaid. If the present (Jove nment could not be trusted to expend such a vote, it would be better to get a overninent the House could trust rathe.- thai throw out a us' ful P. 11.

Mr. Bee--, rep'y'ng to Mr. Beid. quoted from the Litter's speeches lo?t session, and said Mr. Re d's defection from hi-> party had shaken all pub ic conli fence in his integrity. Mr. De Lautnur thoug it it would embarrass ill; country moie thai any oth r Bill, as at present Ministers could not foresee wh.-t blocks of land the Waste Lands Bo.nds of tin: t'o!ony might choose to open for sale during tic year Too nio-e the Hims-3 tried to hedge its honour round, the less h >n unit would have to protect. The time would com" \i Inn the honour «.f the House would be above suspicion. If the works required could be pla ed m the schedule, the Hill woui'l nor, te wanted at ah. He thought all reasonable restriction could be insetted in Committee. Dr. Hodgkinsnn thought the Bdl would tend to corruption, by placing I 50,000 at the disposal of the Government as a secret !-erv;cj money for the corruption of members of ihe House. Mr Wason condemnel the system of publisid"g th s charge.:, of corruption which were bandied about. Mr. Gisborne saw no dillioulty in a schedule of the works being attached to the 3,11. He co'.ld not agree to place a large sum ;.t the unfettered di-po al of ilie Ministry. Sir 801-ert Douglas con i lered the charges of tin Government buying support, were | pure nonsense and should be t eatcd with con empt 'I he country required opening up. and he sh-'iUd therefore su:ipo t the 1> 11, but he dented to >e* a schedule of wo ks attached. He wmll 1-e wi li >g to a'tcr the Bi'l. so that the Govern <v i.i Cou cil could only expend monev on the recommendation of a Waste I amis P.oaid of the di-triet. This would do away with all suspicion of buving pol tical support. Mr. Carr ngton su.- p r'e.l the Bill. On a division being taken on the amendment moved by Mr. Hicehan, the votes wore- Aves. -%': noes, 3D. Tlie Sp aker said that, the votes being equal, i r - was his duty to give Ins casting vote. He f«-lt a greit dilliculty in doing this, as he disapproved of the Bid as it stood. At the same time he felc it Irs duty to vote aca'n-t the amendment. He hop..J that the Bid would be amended in Committee. The amendment was lost, and another discussion took place on the second reading resulting in a other tie, the numbers, however, being 37 on each side. The Bill was real a seeon.l time. At the evening i-i'ting the Kducation Reserves Bill wa- read a second time. It proposes to a portion one-fourth of ad reserves for the punio=e of secondary education, and vesting id' the res rves in trustees, who would distribute the vrnceds between the eduea'ion di triets within the ''rovincial districts in which thev are situated. On the mot-n'i for the t'drd read'ng of the Fducation Pill. Mo srs. Bn-iT, Wakefield, Gisborne, and Sir George Grev strongly protested against the Bill on virions grounds. After a very hn.g discussion, the third reading was carried by 43 to I<>. Provision unti' the end of Ihe present vear i- to be marie for the school already in Nelson, Hawke's Bay, and Westlaml.