Friday, 13th August. bills passed.

Otago Witness, Issue 1501, 21 August 1880, Page 12

Friday, 13th August. bills passed.

1 The following bills were paes^d through j Committee, reported without amendments, j read a third time, and passed :— New Zealand University Reserve, Canterbury Rivers Act Amendment, Dogs Registration, Brands aud Branding, High Schools Reserves, and Rabbit Nuisance. ADJOUBNED DEBATE. The adjourned debate on the motion for going into Committee of Suppiy, and Mr Pyke'a amendment re the Railway Commission, was resumed by Mr WRIGHT, who said he was perfectly well aware that he would have a very j heavy task indeed if he undertook to convince ' all disappointed members that the labours of the Commissioners were fair and impartial Referring to the Otago Central railway, h« said the most of the members of Jthe Commission were disappointed in finding how very lit Lie the interior of Otago had to justify railway construction. All tha recommendations of the Commission had been unanimous both in_ that and every ether infltatice. Tha Commission condemned a Bcheme strongly advocated by the late Premier, as well as one advocated by the present Premier. Then, again, they condemned a project in which the Chairman of the Commission himself had long taken an interestone of the proposed Nelson lines. He had heard of rotten boroughs, but in Westlandhe had seen such boroughs for the first time, ai:d these were places which had complained agaiaßt the Commission for not having recommended l ail way communication. The proposal to make a railway to Whangarei was about one of the maddest projects ever heardlof, as the district was supplied with splendid water-cavriage. In fact they had seen qnite enough to justify the conclusions at which they had arrived. Mr Sheehan had complained that tho report was calculated to revolutionise the Public Works policy. He looked upon that as one of the highest compliments that could be paid to their labours. It was that Public Works policy which required revolutionising, and unless it was revolutionised it would be a bad thing for the Colony. Certain members had condemned the work in anticipation, particularly the member for the Dunstan. Bsfore the report came down he and others had condemned it. He (Mr Pyke) had charged them with ruralising wheu they were in his district. He could recall the fact of some travelling theatrical company being in the district at the time, and when they inquired as to the whereabouts of that hon. gentleman they found he was starring the Vincent County with the prima donna of the troupe. Charity, it is said, Degins at home, and he would leave the Houso to judge how far charitable intentions had to do with the proceedings of the hon. gentleman I and the prima donna. The Commissioners had 1 gone through the Hindon Gorge, a portion of the route proposed for tbe Olago Central line, and yet fact was the Engineer in-chief had never been through that gorge himself. He mentioned that to show that they had done thoir best to do every possible justice to the work. After making every possible inquiry he had come to the conclusion that it would be better for tbe Colony to make a present of the whole district to any company that would undertake to make tho line rather than that the Colony should go to the cost of the work iisclf. Had the report been adopted | in its entirety it would have been much better. He was afraid the Minister for Public Works laid too much atreßß on tbe cnal measures of the country, and too little on the agricultural intfresß Tbe Statement, to his mind, showed the overruling influence of tho Engineer for tbe Middle Islaud. In Hupport of thai viewhemeniionedthe Otautau and Nightcaps line, and Lumsden to Mar&r.)a. Both were worthless works compared to others in the dis trict recommended by the Commissioners. Tue secret was that these two lines were favourite projects with the Enßi lie ? r -i n - c hief for the Middle Island. The two lines which ought to have been done were the Riverton-Orepuki.aod Edendale-Fortrose. These were lines which would have paid ; wherea3 the payable prospects of thoae provided for wera very doubtful. He again referred to the Central Otago line. The first estimate of tho cost of that line to Cromwell was L 600.000. Next year they got an estimate for the same work, carrying it on to Albert Town— lß (?35) miles farther— Ll 100,000 His estimate, however, was that it would not be short of L 1,500,000. Now he contended that they would not be justified in incurring such an expense pimply to open up 212,000 acres of land, for that in reality wai the main contention in its favour. Again, there were wharves at Wellington, Bluff, and Foxton, which again were iv excess oi the requiromenla of those places. It was high lime that this recklesßnesJ should be checked. _ The Commissioners recoauceuded that the railways should boremovedf com political influence. They had utrong pvideuce of the necen^ity of that. He suggested that ii no better f cheme conld be dovfseii he was in favour of allowing all emplovea to share in tho profits over four per csnt. Mr BARRON quoted from the report to the Select Committee re the Otago Central railway, to Bhow that tbe report oi the Comniisaioner3 waa in error. A few weeka aero some of the poorest land in tho di*trict, mera hill-tops, had been Rnld for 20d per acre. Mr MAO ANDREW naid f,bat they had as much of their loan available jufit now as would enable them to go oh with all the lines umlortalwn an>J carry thorn on to 1882. He did not consider tho opinion of the Commiaßioners iv any respect bolter thau that of any other mem b<u\ His own opinion, so far &a Otago was concerned, ought to bo of greater importance than that ot gentlemen who wimply made a hurried run through the district. The misUkemade by the Commission was that they wern guida'l by <he cxisiing population. His contention war., if the country was fit for seiUtmenl it was iil. i f r,r r.-iltva'yH, vnd i<opi.Utiou u-u > bound to uo'.si<?. Tho fclha 1 ? Tuh\l line wtrs mentioned us an unproductive lino, for which tho Government had paid L 17,000. Thft& waa altogether

wrong. The cost waß LB2OO, and the money was paid not by the Government, but by tne Coal-mine Company. That line had P»MW well. Orer 150 tonß of coal went over it daily, and it had saved the Government thousands ol pounds per annum in the supply of coal for locomotive purposes. The evidence of the Civil Service Commission was, when looked into, oi very little worth. It was given in many instances by discharged servants and others, who had a personal or perhaps a political bias, and he for ore was quite prepared to bear such contumely. Reverting to the Otago Centralhne, he said that they had abundance of evidence in favour of the line— far more than would # overtop that obtained by the Railway Commission. He ngreed with the resolution, and he could not well see how any hon. member could dissent from it. The invidious comparisons that natt been made between the working of the -Dunedin and Christchurch stations were but very small affairs, The reference to the railwayguards he did not quite understand, but he supposed it must have been a mistake on the part of the officer who furnished the data. Mr WRIGHT explained that the Government had furnished the Commission with particulars of all proposals for railways before . commencing its duties. , . , The Hon. Mr HALL moved that the debate be adjourned. The motion for the adjournment of the debate was carried on a division of 21 to 34. HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS BILL. The House went into Committee on the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill. After the reading of the first two clauses, ; The Hon. Mr HALL moved that progress ' be reported, and at 12.20 the House adjourned. Monday, 16th August. The House met at 11 a.m. THE LATE MB IRELAND. 1 Immediately after prayers, 1 The PREMIER said that hon, members 1 were no doubt aware that since they met on the last occasion death had removed from their i midst one of their number in the person of the member for Waikaia (Mr Ireland). Of the i deceased he felt himself in many respects incompetent to do his many virtues justice on 1 that occasion. They all knew the quiet, an1 assuming, conscientious manner in which he discharged his duty. The Government under- ! stood it was the desire of his friends that his 1 remains should be interred amongst them. Under tho peculiar circumstances of the case, 1 the Government thought they would be giving I effect to the wishes of the House, as well as to the wishes of the country at large, by facilitating that desire to the best of their ability. They had therefore made arrangements for the remains to be forwarded by the Government steamer direot toLyttelton, whence they would be conveyed by rail to the part of the country to which the deceased < belonged. The remains would leave the lodging occupied by the deceaßed at 2 o'clock, so that after embarkation the steamer might take its departure at 2 30. To enable hon. gentlemen to pay » las* tribute to the memory of the deoeased, he moved the adjournment of the House till 7.30 p.m. Mr MACANDREW seconded the motion for adjournment in a few remarks complimentary to the character and oonduot of the de« ceased. Sir GEORGE GREY said members on hia side of the Houaa felt very grateful to the Government for the prompt arrangements they had made for givine effect to the wishes of deceased's friends. He quite agreed with what had fallen from the Premier with regard to the deceased. The circumstances of his death were such as to inspire them with feelings of the utmost respect for his memory. His career had been brought to a close while he was engaged in the public Bervice of his country, and in the Legislature of his country his name would bo held in remembrance as a good man— a man who had done his duty conscientiously and well. Mr J. C. BROWN also made a few remarks in praise of the deceased. Mr PULTON said he was an intimate friend of the deceased, and spoke of tho high estimation in which he waa held amongst the constituents whom he represented. They had eleoted him not for his peculiar talents or abilities, but bocaase he was an honest, upright man— a man who nevftr did anything against his convictions. They had taken him from his claim as a working miner, and paid the expenses of his election. He waa a mam who was consciontiou-i to a fault, and in that House he had earned the respect of everyone with whom he waa brought into contact. He was an honour to the constituency by whom ho was elected ; he was an homur to ths House, and an honour to all thoae who called him their friend. He felt that he could not say lees, and it was not for him to say more. The motion was then put and oa^ried without dissent, and the House adjourned. Evening Sitmng. The Houso reaumtdat 7.30. ADJOURNED DEBATE. Mr SHEPHARD resumed the debate on the motion re the Ktilway Commission report. He Bpoke against tho report of the Railway Commisßionprs and criticised its recommendations, Mr THOMSON said the appointment of this and other Commissions was & mistake. The BuggeßtioD by the Commissioners that there should nob be a uniform tariff waa one he expected the Government to Bay something about. Then again, he expected that the suggeetion about a Board of Management would be referred to in the Public Works Statement. He referred at some length to the injusj^e being done to the Clutha district of Otagdw not completing the line from Balclutba W Catlin'e River. He went on to show that a sum of L 33.000 had been spont on railways in Tarauaki, over and above what was authorised. Then again, a sum of L 31,000 had been spent within the laat 12 months in the same Provincial District. Had the lute Government done a thing of that kind there would have been no end to theoutoy. It was a Tapanui job on a large scale. Then again, there waa a harbour work goincf on, which was so much money thrown into the aea. Then there was an Armed Constabulary kept up f»r the benefit of Tarauaki, at a cost of L4OO per day. With a state of things like this in their midst it was quite impossible that the Colony, could be prosperous. . Then again, it was gproprsed to spend during the current; y<w-, on roads in that province, a sum of L 26,800. It was not at all wonderful that there was nothing left for the bouth , Island when so much was swallowed up by Taranaki. If the Government had not money to Hpand ii. would be a different thing, but haviug money, he had good reason to com- ; PMr JONES deniud a s'atemeut by Mr Pyke that tbe LiviiiKitono line hnd been made at the instigation of one <if the Railway Commissii>m j rs— Mr Reid. It had been made at the i instigation of » joint as;itatio>.i — at the instance of Ikfl inhabitants of Oanmru and 3SFaßeby. The . lino would not benciit tho Messrs Reid. It had bat.» argued that Livingstouewas no fc a populous dirtliicfc, bin he had to runind the Housa that , <>nn of tbe principles ou which the railway > I p^Hc-y pTOViid"! •■-ai ib«\t ii oh/iuld optn up I1I 1 (Vo vii iiMioH, "ivd by that roeo.ua promote but? • settlement of the country. The member • » Dunei&n waß a noted storyteller. He

written a story entitled " Wild Will Enderby, that was rich in imagination, but bin speech the other night re the Livingstone railway completely eclipaed that narrative in rich romance. Referring to the Public Works Statement, he alluded to the reference to Mr Firth b efforts to clear the Thames of Bnagfl. Obe fact was that Firth clearod the river for bis own purposes, and in so doing be could not help benefiting the district. Mr Birth was not entitled to the very honourable mention made of him in the Statement. The question was put for going into Committee of Supply— ayes 30, n0e3 15. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. The vote Greymouth-Nelson Creek, L7S,UUU, was considered. , „ Mr PITT moved that it be reduced by a sum • L 21,000, the unexpended balance for harTour works. The House divided— Ayes, 22 j noes, 21. The following votes were passed :— Class 2, L 14.870} class 3, Kawakawa, L 47.000; Whanearei-Kamo, L 39.00 0; Kaipara-Waikato, L 131,000; Waikato-Thames, L99,000j Wel-lington-Napier, L 37.000. Mr SEDDON moved— "That the latter item be reduced L 20.000." The division was— Ayes, 11 ; noes, 33, The item was therofore passed as printed. Wellington to Woodvillo, wi'h branch to Greytown, L 120.000, passed ; as did Wellington to Foxton, L 36.00 0; Foxton to New Plymouth, L 117.00 0; Carlyle to Waifcara, L 199.000; Nelson to Greymonth, L 13.500; Greymouth to Nelson, L 70.50 0; Greymouth to Hokitika, ■* L 7000: Picton to Hurunui, L 10.000; Hurunui to Waitaki, L 178.000; Canterbury Interior (main line), L 15,600. Tuesday, 17th August. The House met at 2.30. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Keplying to Mr Reeves, as to whether or not it wastiue that some brewers in the Colony refused to pay the beer duiy, and that the Government could not compel them to do so, The Hon. Major ATKINSON said there was no power to recover at law simply on a resolution passed in Committee of Supply, and as this tax still reßted on such a resolution, at present it could not be enforced. So soon as the bill passed, however, it became retrospective, covering the date from the time the resolution was passed in Committee of Supply, bo Boon as the bill passed tbe tax would be enforced, and brewers refusing to pay just now would have the penalties enforced against them, ao that by refusing they did so at their own peril. Replying to Mr Bowen, The Hon. Mr DICK said the Government would place on the Supplementary Estimates one-third of the amount last year voted for the maintenance of public domains. Replying to Mr Reeves, The Hon. Mr OLIVER said a large sum of money had been placed on the Estimates for opening of tracks on the West Coast, and the Government recognised the importance of constructing roads through Cannibal Gorge, so as to connect the Maruia Plains and Hanmer Plains, so as to give easy access to Amun and Christchurch from Inangahua ; bub they could not undertake tn place a sum of LI7OO on the Supplementary Estimates for the purpose. The Hon. Mr OLIVER said an opportunity had been afforded Mr Armstrong, locomotive engineer of Southern railways, to rebut the charges brought against him by the Civil Service Commissioners. He (Mr Armstrong) got notice that his services would be dispensed with. The principal reason was that he had not been a trained engineer, andit was on that account he had got notice of dismissal. Replying to Mr Lundon, The Hon. Mr ROLLESTON grid that the boroughß unendowed under "The Municipal Corporations Act, 1876," had declined to take the endowments offered to them, or for which they did not apply, are considered by the Government to have no other claim under the Act ' Mr REID asked if, in reducing the vote for education, allowance had been made for the four months of the year which have already expired : also if any provision has been made for notice being given by the Boards to the teachers before reductions in salaries are made. TheHon.MrßOLLESTONrepliedtbatitwas understood that the reduction in the Education Department would take effect from the Ist of this month, as in other branches of the public service, and the Boards had been asked and had consented to co-operate with the Government accordingly. Provision would have to be made on the Supplementary Estimates to cover the amount already paid to Boards for the four months. No special provision has been made by the Government fcr keeping up teachers salaries at the old rate until notice has been given of the reductions. It is presumed this will take effect as in the case of the Uvu Mr BARRON asked whether the Government have taken, or propose to take, any steps to give effect to the recommendations of the Civil Service Commissioners in the direction of reducing the present engineering stuff of the The Hon. Mr OLIVER replied that the staff had been already reduced, and that Btill further reductions would be made. PUBLIC WOKKS BILL. rrrnTt On the motion of tho Hon. Mr OLIVER, the Public Works Bill was introduced and read a fipt time, and the second reading was ordered for Friday. REDUCTION Off SALARIES. Mr PYKE moved, as an amendment on the original question—" That in the opinion of the House the reduction of 10 per cent, should not apply to the salaries of L2OO per annum and under." On being put, this amendment was negatived, on a division, by 41 to 32. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. Otago Central railway, LBB.OCO. In reply to questions put, Tho Hon. Mr OLIVER said that the vote was simply asked to employ a number of men who were otherwise unemployed, and until they eonld find other work for them of more pressing importance. To make the line to a point that would make it at all useful for traffic purposes would cost not leas than L 358.000, a sum which at present they could not afford to spend. As soon aB tbe session was over he would go South to arrange to have the j men removed to more profitable work. Mr HIRST thought the amount too large for the purpose for which it was to be employed. He thought it might be more profitably employed on some other works, v)z., the Urepum °Mr BOWEN concurred. What the Government asked was to spend L 1.000,000 per atinum for work that could not be made useful for many years to come. He moved that L 20.000 be struck off. Mr GISBORNE said that the system of employing the "unemployed" was becomingsomething enormous. They were employing those m«n in a moßt wasteful manner. If they bad the money to spend, let them call for contracts, and by that means provide work for those that wore at present unemployed, The Hon. Mr HALL said that if men came to them and said that they were starving, what J

could they do ? They had to provide for them in some way. The course they followed was to give them jnst enough to subsist upon, without giving them inducements to continue upon that class of labour. Mr PYKE said the work done by the socalled unemployed had beeD as cheaply and as well done as it had been done by any other kind of labour. The fact was that the Government made the profit that contractors would otherwise make. Under proper supervision this system might be worked to advantage, and they would hear less of contractors making large sumß of money out of these works. It was because this lino was to benefit the public estate and not private property that obstacles were shown in tho way of it being gone on with. It was the only line which would open up the 700,000 acres of land that was locked up at present. He did not say ifc waa flat country, but it was all available land. The only accessible route from the West Coast to the East was by this line. Mr M'CAUGHAN moved that the vote be reduced by L 36.700. Mr BARRON said that if the House reduced the vote by a single penny it would be doing a very gra&t wrong. Mr WRIGHT moved as a further amendment tlmt the vote be reduced L 30,000. If they retained the vote as it stood, the question of tbe unemployed would settle the question of making this line at once. They would then be told that having spent ho much money it was absolutely necessary that they should go on, otherwise what they had spent would be money thrown away. Mr MOSS, speaking from his own personal knowledge of the country, said that it would be doing a great injustice to reduce the vote. Mr LUNDON said that this vote should be taken for the unemployed, and by that means these men would be scattered over the Colony, and they would in that way stand a better chance of getting drafted into other employment. Mr DE LAUTOUR spoke in favour of the vote. Speaking from his own knowledge, he would say that wherever agricultural settlement in the district bad been allowed, it had been singularly successful. He believed that the purpose was that this land was to be given on fixity of tenure, and then in a few years more, when that had been done, there would be no lack of advocates for this line, and then they would have to pay thousands of pounds compensation for the land taken. The motion for reducing the vote L 20.000 was then put and carried. Invercargill to Kingston, L 115.000. Mr DE LAUTOUR moved that it be reduced L 7500. The motion was lost on a division of 17 to 33. Mr FINN moved that the item Lumsden to Mararoa be reduced L 7500. Thia was lost on the voices, and the vote as printed was passed. Western Railways, L 6400. Mr DE LAUTOUR proposed a reduotion of LSOO on the item, Construction of line from Makarewa to Riverton. The motion was lost on a division of 13 to 35. Mr PYKE moved that progress be reported. He charged the Government with keeping members there until they wer9 exhausted, and thereby attempting to carry their votes. If they did not report progress and adjourn, he could tell them they might aifc there until to-morrow afternoon at 4 o'clock, and he would take care they did not carry another vote. The motion was opposed, and negatived. At 1.15 a.m. the House was still sitting. Wednesday, 18th August. The Houbb met at 3 30 p.m. j SHEFFIELD TO OXFORD RAILWAY. Mr PYKE gave notice to a9k if the Government were aware that the line of railway recommended by the Railway Commissioners, Sheffield to Oxford, was a mere pretext to get the line continued to Temuka, so that it might pass through the estates owned by the Premier and Mr Wright, member of the Railway Commission. The Hon. Mr HALL stated he might just at J once Bay there was no foundation in fact for the insinuation put forward by the question. Mr PYKE said he would read a telegram addressed to himaelf on the subject by a resident of the district, who was well known and highly respected by the House.— (Cries of " Name !") Mr Pyke : I will not give the name. It was only the other day a similar case took place, and you, Sir, ruled that ifc was not necessary to give the name before a telegram could be read. I will lay the telegram on the table after I have read it. The SPEAKER still ruled that until the name was given the telegram could not be read. Mr PYKE : Then I will not read |it. as I can Hea the Premier does not want it The Hod. Mr HALL said the hon. member did not give the name because he was simcly ashamed of himself and the part he had taken in the matter. NOTICES. Mr PYKE gave notica that on going into Committee of Supply he would move thai; a respectful address be presented to hia Excellency the Governor, informing him that Ministers do not conduct the busineas of this Houbo ia a satisfactory manner. Mr HARRIS gave notice that ho would ask the Government if they were prepared to call for tendera for gags for the use of members of the House. The SPEAKER said_ he was surprised at such a notice, and ruled it out of order. Mr MOSS gave notice that he would move tomorrow— " That it is exi'oMcnt to relieve the General Legislature of all duties that can be more efficiently and economically performed by local governing bodies, directly responsible to the electors by whom they are chosen. That forthis purpose and for the bettor redress of local grievancßS, school districts Bhall be grouped to form road districts, road districts Bhall be grouped to form counties, and counties shall be grouped for the formation of provinces suf. ficiently large to warrant the creation of a local legislature to maintain peace, order, and good government witbin their respective bounds. That it shall be the duty of_ each of the local governing bodies to form its own electoral rolls, to conduct its own elections, and manage all local matters in accordance with such laws as may from time to time be passed by the legislature of such province That auch provincial legislature shall be chosen every second year by the registered doctors of the province, who shall also every fourth year elect a Superintendent as chief executive officer of the Province. That laws made by the Baid legislature on all subjeota, except the 13 enumerated in section 19 of the Constitution Act, shall be valid so soon as they are aßsented to by the Superintendent, or failing such assent, so soon as they are confirmed by an absolute majority of three-fourths of the provincial legislature. That no laws shall be authorised by the said legislature except with the sanction of an absolute majority of threefourths of tbe members. That no appointments exceeding LIOO a year made by the Superintendent shall be valid until confirmed by the provincial legislature. That repre-

sontation of population shall rest with the legislature of the said province. That if vacancies occur in the Legislative Council they shall be filled up by members elected by the council of the province in which such vacancy occurs. That the Government is requested to preparo during the recess an amendment of the Constitution Act in accordanca with these resolutions, and also preparo such financial measures as may be necessary to give them proper and equitable effect." DESERTION OP WIVES AND FAMILIES. Mr FULTON asked what steps the Government had taken in fulfilment of the promise made on tho Obh December last, that during tho recess they would take into consideration tho propriety of securing united action among tho Australasian Colonieß to bring to justice men who desert their families and leave them |a burden on the public. The Hon. Mr DICK replied that the Go- j vernment had had correspondence on the sub- j ject with the neighbouring Colonies. New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania had replied favourably, and two had merely acknowledged receipt of the communication. Farther action would be taken in the matter. OTHER QUESTIONS. The Hon. Mr OLIVER said inquiries would be made regarding the removal of the Bhed purchased some time ago afc Kingston to some convenient place near tho line of railway there. FALLING IN OF OTAGO RUNS. On the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Mr DE LAUTOUR called attention to the importance of some provision beiDg made for the administration of lands in Otago held under pastoral lease. The discussion last night showed that parties had not information regarding the time when the lease expired. The value of the public, estate was variously stated !at two, seven, and ten millions of acres. The Government ought to have given such information aB would have set the House right. There was information before the Houee to show that 300,000 acres would fall out of " lease" in 1883. In that case, 18 months prior to March, 1883, this land would have to be dalt with, bo that it was, practically speaking, misleading the House to Bay that land did not fall in until 1883. In fact, they would have to be dealt with before this Houae was again in session. In that case, they had the right to know what the Minister of Lands proposed to do with ifc. Did they mean to leave it to be dealt with by the Waste Lands Board, or what? These boards had not proved to be an unqualified success, and it would not be wibo to leave these fclands ia their hands. He concluded by moving— "That in the opinion ' of this House it is desirable that the Minister of Lands, before the close of tho session, fihould give a distinot enunciation of his policy in regard to the future administration of Crown lands in Otago now occupied by pastoral tenants on lease." The Hon. Mr ROLLESTON said that considering the constitution of the Waste Land Board of Otago, he was pained to hear imputation cast upon it. He had bean challenged to bring down and enunciate a policy of laud administration. He believed that the best policy they could adopt waa to offer every possible facility to the progress of settlement, and up to the present time they »s a Government had taken every possible opportunity of following up that course. They would not lay down any cast-iron rule on the subject, but just a few general principles, and act upon them as occasion suggested. He agreed that classification should precede the date when these lands fall in. He held that the courße was to get hold of the best pieces of these lands for small settlers. I Their policy was generally laid down in the Regulations of 1877. The course tho Government intended to take under that Act was a question • the House had a perfect right to be advised on, aud he would tell them he was prepared just now, or at any other time, to oupply that information. It was not the intention of the Government to conceal their inteutions. They were prepared to give the fullest possible information. Mr MACANEREW defended Mr De Lautour from the charge of having employed an improper tone in opening the debate. The question was one second in importance to none of the questions which had been before the House this session. The renewal of these leases had kept back settlement to a very great extent. Mr THOMSON said that in consequence of the action of the Colonial Secretary in renewing these leaKes many yeara ago, the night before he left office aa Superintendent of Otsgo, 'the Colony had been involved in a large amount in the way of compensation. He supported thf* motion. ?Jr SHRIMSKI supported the motion. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment. Evening Sitting. The Hon. Mr DICK spoke at some length as to the land laws which had formerly existed in Otago, and on the question of the runs falling in, and the purchase of land on the deierredpaymeat syscom. Messrs JONES and BROWN spoke in favour of the motion. Sir GEORGE GREY spoke of the importance of the subject under discussion. The motion for going into Committee of Supply was then put, and carried by 40 to 34, Mr De Lautour's ameadment being thus negatived. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. In Committee on the Public Works estimates, class 5, on the item roads, North Island, L 594.000, Mr SHRIMSKI proposed that the vote be reduced by L 46.164. The vote was agreed to aB printed. The item roadu, bridges, and wharves north of Auckland, L 66.650, was carried. On the item roads and bridges in unsettled districts, Patea and Taranaki, L 48,8161 8s 9d, Mr THOMSON proposed that it be reduced L 26,000. The motion was negatived on a division of 21 to 46, and the vote as printed was passed. _ Opening up roadß and constructing bridges through lands recently purchased, £10,104, passed. Nelson South-west goldfields, roads and bridges, L 165.000, passed. Roadß to Greymouth and Westport, L 15,000, passed. Westland, roads and bridges, LSOO, passed. Hokitika to Christchnrch, construction, super, vision, and damage by floods, L 15,427 19s sd, passed. Roads to open up land before sale, L 61.544 9s Id, passed. Class 6, land purchase North Island, voto chief offices, Wellington, L 120.622 2a 4d. Mr MONTGOMERY asked the Government to say if they intended going on with these purchases, or whether they would try to withdraw from them as soon as possible. The Hon. Mr BRYCE replied that it would be desirable to get rid of a good many of these bargains, but a number would have to be carried out. He did not wish it to be understood that the Government intended to complete all these negotiations. I Mr MONTGOMERY condemned the Go1 vernment for entering into obligations which

would entail the expenditure of a million of money without the sanction of the House. Mr MAC ANDREW, aa a member of the late Government, repudiated the whole throg, .•md did not look upon it as a liability. The Government was nob called upon to take the land at all unless it was desired to do so. The Hod. Mr BRYCE looked upon it asan engagement, and consequently as a liability. The Government had entered iufco a solemn contract with the Natives, which ought to be fulfilled. Mv MACANDREW said Ihero had boen no authority to entor into any now arrangement. Surely the Colony could not be bound by Buch transactions. Mr BALLANCE desired to know more particulars about these land purchases, and how far the vote wa3 likely to go. Me WHITAKER deprecated the idea of repudiating bargains onbered iuto with Natives. If they had agreed to pay them so much »v acre, tiiey mußfc do so, unless they oould be honourably released with the consent of the Natives. Mr TURNBULL considered that the Native bills should bavo beon brought down before the voto was brought forward. Sir GEORGE GREY moved the adjournment ot the vote until the kte Native Miuiator was present. The Hon. Mr BRYOE did .not see tho necessity for Mr Sheehan being present, and insisted upon the propriety of the vote being disposed of. The debate was still going on at 1 a.m. <J»