LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1813, 20 August 1886, Page 13

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Friday, August 13. bills dealt with. The new clause proposed in the Government Insurance Bill was agreed to. The Property Assessment Bill was considered in Committee. On clause 3, making provision as to the payment of tax by mortgagee in certain cases, Sir F. WHITAKER, referring to the clause, remarked that no exceptional taxation should be permitted, and that no company or indeed any church property should be exempt from taxation. He recognised the clause as being one drafted by Mr Sperrey, who, although he was undoubtedly a good officer, yet generally desired to tax people as high as he could. He should like to see some alteration raade in the clause, and therefore moved the adjournment of the debate. — Carried. The District Railways Purchasing Bill was read a first and second time. The bill was then committed, reported read a third time, and passed. The amendments made by the House in the Settled Land Bill were considered and agreed to. CONFERENCE REPORTS. The Hon. Dr POLLEN brought up the report of the managers of the free conference on the Municipal Corporations Bill. — The managers reported that they had come to the following agreement : — The amendments made by the Council in sections 135 and 137 shall not be insisted on by the Council ; that the proviso added by the Council to section 182 shall be amended by striking out the words " separate rater," as suggested by tho House ; that the amendment made by the Council in section 182 shall be agreed to by the House ; and that the amendments made by the Council in the first schedule shall not be insisted on by the Council. — The debate was adjourned tiil 7.30. The managers brought upthe report of the free conference held to consider the question at issue between the Council and the House in the Counties Bill. The effect of the report is that the Council does not insist on clause 157, and that a new clause be substituted for clause 195. Consideration of the report was adjourned. The Railways Construction Amendment Bill was read a first time. GENERAL. The Public Revenues Bill was passed through all stages. The managers of the conference on the Local Bodies' Loans Bill and Harbours Act Bill brought up their report, which stated that they had been unable to come to any decision at the free conference. The Property Assessment Bill was committed, reported with slight amendments, read a third time, and passed. An amendment proposed by the Governor in the Stamp Act Bill was agreed to. A message was received from the House announcing that the House agreed with the Council's amendments in the Mining Bill. The reports of the managers of the free conference on the Municipal Corporations Bill and Counties Bill were agreed to. The Hon. Mr REYNOLDS moved the second reading of the Property Tax Bill. The motion was agreed to, and the bill was committed, reported without amendments, read a third time, and passed. Saturday, August 14. the property tax bill. The Hons. Johnston, Fraser, Mautell, Miller, Barnicoat, and M'Lean entered a protest against the passing of the Property Tax Bill. RAILWAY AUTHORISATION BILL. The Hon. Mr BUCKLEY moved the second reading of the Railway Authorisation Bill. Captain FRASER characterised the bill as monstrous so far as it referred to the Helensville proposed line. The gradients were steep, and the land, although fairly good, would be considered poor in the South Island. He moved that the bill be read this day six months. The Hon. Mr HOLMES had visited the locality referred to. The country was not settled, and would not be — at any rate for years to come it could not pay anything like interest. He considered it a waste of public money. The Hon. Mr SHEPHARD thought the best time to object to any item in the bill would be in committee. Captain FRASER withdrew his amendment. The Hon. Mr MILLER would like to ascertain from the Government what prospects they entertained that the line would pay. At present, so far as he could ascertain, the line would only bring down kauri timber. The Hon. Mr JOHNSTON considered that the country would prove a good field for fruitgrowing, but unless there were means of transit to markets fruit-growing would prove profitless. After discussion, the second reading went to a division, and was carried by 18 to 8. The bill was committed. ' The schedule was amended, making it read — " An extension of the Kaukapakapa line for five miles," instead of from Kaukapakapa to Omapere Lake. The bill as amended passed the final stages. OTHER BILLS. The Railway Construction and Land Act Amendment Bill was committed, and passed its final stages. The Hon. Mr BUCKLEY moved the second reading of the Rabbit Nuisance Act Amendment Bill.

The Hon. Mr SHUIMSKI criticised the bill adversely. The bill was committed, reported with unimportant amendments, read a third time, and passed. The Council took the usual adjournment at 5.20 p.m. Evening Sitting. The Council resumed at 7.30. A message was received from the House intimating it had agreed to the Council's amendment in [clause 38 of the Local Bodies' Loan Bill. SPECIAL POWERS AND CONTRACTS BILL. On the motion for going into committee on the Special Powers and Contracts Bill, Sir F. WHITAKER said he regarded the bill with disfavour. It was a purely new invention, and it certainly had no prototype in England, and so far as he was aware no other colony in the British dominions possessed a similar measure. In 1877 a Special Powers and Contracts BUI was brought down by the Govern- I ment of the day for special purposes, one of which was on account of the recent Maori wars. The acb of that year was excusable, but since then the annual bill had increased like a snowball till it had reached its present enormous size. He did not desire to hide the fact, that in the year 187S-79 he was in office, and he blushed to say that he had participated in the bills of those years. This year it numbered 39 pages, 18 clauses and 70 items. It embraced the whole of the colony from the extreme north to Stewart's Island, and included every conceivable subject. In clause 6, dealing with pastoral deferred-payment licenses, it was sought to effect a monstrous change which could by no stretch of the imagination be regarded as a local matter. With regard to clause 11, giving power to the Christchurch Drainage Board to borrow money on overdrafts, ho considered that the power sought to be obtained should not have been included in the present bill. He thought that if such powers were needed a special bill for the purpose should have been introduced. The bill was nothing more than a conglomeration of bills. He did not say these were not locally required, but he did say that it was not right to expect tho Assembly to inquire into each separate question at the close of the session. It was wholly im practicable to deal with the bill, and therefore he for one should not attempt to amend it, bub should wash his hands of it. Thore was work enough for the Council in the bill for a month, and it was therefore idle to ask it to pass it in ona night. He moved an amendment jthat the bill be laid aside. The Hon. Dr POLLEN, as chairman of the Waste Lands Committee, remarked that in that capacity he had spent a very bad quarter of an hour. The bill was one of the most wonderful measures he had ever seen. All the rubbish of the session had been shot into it. He supported the amendment. The Hon. Mr M'LEAN considered that as at least one private bill which had been rejected this session was included in the bill, it was not competent to reintroduce it during the same session. He supported the amendment. The Hon. Mr SHEPHARD characterised the bill as " iniquitous creature." He saw no other course but to lay it aside. The Hon. Mr BUCKLEY pointed out that the Government in introducing the bill had merely followed in the footsteps of previous Governments. Indeed, the Government was not really responsible for the drafting of the bill, as almost every member of the Assembly had a hand in it. Personally, he did not believe in this class of legislation. But as it had passed the ordeal of the other House and of the Waste Lands Committee he trusted the bill would be allowed to go into committee. The Council divided on the question that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question. Ayes, 11 ; noes, 15. The amendment for laying the bill aside was agreed to.

Monday, August 16. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. SPECIAL POWEHS AND CONTRACTS BILL. The Hon. Mr BUCKLEY called attention to the fact that in laying aside the Special Powers and Contracts Bill, the usual practice had been departed from. He believed the practice was to allow the bill to proceed through committee, and then on the third reading to consider the motion to set it aside, so that the other branch of the Legislature might, in making a search, find out the actual state in which the bill was after goiug through committee. He considered that the motion to set it aside took effect for the day only, and, subject to the ruling of the Speaker, he would move that the Council go into committee on the bill. The SPEAKER thought the bill having been read a second time, it might be allowed to go into committee. The Hon Dr. POLLEN expressed his regret that a new bill, clear of objectionable clauses, had not been introduced. Sir F. WHITAKER moved the adjournment of the debate till 2.30, and after discussion, this was carried. On tho Council resuming at 2.30, Sir F. WHITAKER, on the resumption of the debate on the motion for the committal of the Special Powers and Contracts Bill, said his objection to the bill was as strong as ever, but as there were several matters which must be attended to in the bill he should offer no furi ther objection to its committal. However, when I the bill was in committee he should reserve to himself the right to object to private matters contained in the bill. The bill was committed. In clause 6, providing that holders of pastoral deferred-payment licenses may exchange their licenses for leases of small grazing runs, the Hon. Dr Pollen moved the exclusion of the clause. — The Hon. Mr Buckley remarked that several cases of great hardship would be occasioned if the clause was struck out. He therefore hoped the clause would be retained. — The clause was struck ont. The clause authorising the borough council of Ross to collect rents from leases there was struck out. ' Clause 11, giving borrowing powers to the Christchurch Drainage Board, was retained. Clause 12, authorising the Selwyn County 'Council to raise a loan ; clause 13, authorising the county of Waihemo to raise a loan ; and clause 14, amending an error in the Caversham Drainage Act, were excised. Clause 15, which sought to amend the provisions as to grants of new leases on surrenders of West Coast reserves, went to a division, and the clause was struck out. On clause 18, dealing with apportionate of Hospitals and Lunatic Asylums reserves at Wellington and Nelson, the Hon. Dr Pollen moved the excision of the clause, which, after some debate, was struck out by 18 to 11. Paragraph 18, first,schedule, giving lessees at tho Thermal Springs power to extend the leases, went to a division, and by 18 to 8 the paragraph was excised. The Hon. Dr Pollen moved the excision of the paragraph authorising the borrowing of money on reserves for the erection of a girls'

high school at Auckland.— The paragraph was struck out. The following paragraphs were excised:— Grant of land, Onehunga, for rifle range ; lease to Mokau Coal Company ; conveyances leases, Fitzroy township; additional endowment to Hawera ; issue of a grant of land in township of Urenui ; lease of land to G. Caverhill in Opunake district ; application to transfer a block of land n Hawera district from Te Retane to George M'Lean ; proposed transfer of immigration cottages to county council ; application to vest lands in Hawke's Bay for volunteer purposes; exchange of lands, Hawke's Bay, with John Holden ; application to retain original siteof Oddfellows' Hall, Napier ; application on the part of the Crown to resume land in Waipawa belonging to the intestate estate of William Howell, deceased; proposed grant of land to Francis Wall, Arohomo, and paragraph 42. On the motion of the Hon. Dr GRACE, the Governor was authorised to convey four acres of the hospital reserve, Wellington, to the trustees of the Old Men's Homo. Tha paragraph referring to a site for a school of arts, Wellington, was agreed to, the boundaries of the land being slightly altered from those appearing in the original paragraph. The Council took the usual adjournment at 5 o'clock. The Council resumed at 7.30 p.m., the Hon. Mr Miller being in the chair. A long discussion took place on clause 44 of the Special Powers and Contracts Bill in committee. The clause relating to exchange of land given as an endowment to the Wellington Harbour Board and taken from the board by the Government for the purpose of building a Government printing office. — Consideration was postponed. On the paragraph giving authority to the governors of the Wellington Girls' High School to borrow funds to erect a school, the Hon. Dr Pollen opposed the paragraph. The Hon. Mr Johnston submitted that the case of Auckland and Wellington were not parallel. At present 130 girls were assembled in a small house, which was unhealthy. If the illness of the children was the consequence of the rejection of the paragraph, the onus would rest with the Council. — The paragraph was struck out. The following paragraphs were also struck out : — Land For reclamation purposes in Nelson ; provision to enable the immigration depot, Invercargil,l to be used for town hall purposes ;' issuing Crown grant to Wi Takofor certain land. The bill as amended was reported and passed its final stages. The Owhaoko and Kaimanawa Land Bill was received from the House, and passed through all its stages. The Council adjourned at 9.30 till 10.30 a.m. on the following day.