Thursday, August 16. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1918, 24 August 1888, Page 16

Thursday, August 16. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

The Hon G. M. WATERHOUSE presented petitions from certain Maori chiefs complaining of the Native bills which had just passed through the House of Representatives without the Natives of New Zealand first haviDg had an opportunity of considering the various clauses. The petitioners complained that if those bills became law, a great injury would be done to the whole of the Maori race. The petitioners asked that they might be heard at the bar of the Council, so that each tribe of New Zealand might be made acquainted with the changes sought to be effected. Mr Waterhouse said he thought the prayer of the petitioners was reasonable, and* hoped the Council would agree to hearing the chiefs at- the bar at 3 o'clock tomorrow. The Hon. Sir F. WHITAKER offered no objection, intimating that he proposed to ask the Council at its rising to sit on Monday afternoon for the purpose of considering the whole of the Maori bills. The motion was agreed to. HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. In the House of Representatives this afternoon was spent over a discussion on the property tax, Sir George Grey "having moved an amendment in favour of a land and income tax, which was negatived. The debate on the ocean mail service resolutions of the Premier was commenced in the evening and was not concluded. Mr Ward has moved an amendment that the subsidy to the San Francisco service should be discontinued, and was thought the amendment will be carried by a majority of four or five, TAXING ABSENTEES. In the course of the discussion on the property tax this afternoon Mr Turnbull assured the Premier that he could supply him with a olause that would meet the difficulty in the way of taxing absentees. He would supply the Premier with a clause drafted by one of the ablest lawyers in the colony. The Premier stated that the time to move in the matter will be on another occasion, and not on the introduction of fche bill under notice. The following is the clause : — " Provided always that every owner of real estate who shall either personally or through an authorised agent certify that he has not been absent from the colony for- a larger period than 12 months prior to (bla,nk) date tkt entitled to a rebate of Jd for evepy 20s of the value of such real estate." PRESENTATION. The Hon. Mr Larnach was presented this afternoon with a handsome album, suitably inscribed, containing the photoa. of the heads of the various departments of the civil service. AN IMPORTANT RETURN. This afternoon an important return was laid on the table of the House relative to the traffic in the various lines of ocean steamers and other valuable information connected wifch the services. It gives the passenger traffic of each line, the cargo carried, and the quantity of coal shipped during the year ended the 31st December last. The San Francisco route was patronised by" 396 inward and 716 outward passengers, as against 2548 arrivals and 1227 departures by the New Zealand Shipping Company's steamers. The inward cargo by the San Francisco boats amounted to 1335 tons, and the outward to 568 tons.' The carriages by \he direct vessels of the Now Zealand Shipping Company were 10,687 tons weight (16,336 tons measurement) inwar<Js. The exports by the same were 30,615 bales wool and skins, 239 bales rabbitskins, 139 packets wool, 2800 pkgs basils, 728 do pelts, 4975 casks tallow, 4292 pkgs beef, 205,684 carcasses mutton, 7389 legs mutton,

19,981 cases meats, 4269 pkgs butter, 12 casks lard, 1777 bales flax, 60 pkgs hides, 745 do leather, 29 casks entrails, 347 pkgs hearts and kidneys, 830 do sundries, 15,859 cases kauri gam, 60 sacks malt, 528 do oats, 475 do pease, 5651 do grass seed, 22 do apples, 4848 pkgs cheese, 37 do honey, 26 bundles cloth clippings, 20 sacks bran, 20 do pollard, 200 do flour, 1600 bags do, 1937 sacks wheat, 14 pkgs hair, 21 do gold, 31 barrels beef, 551 sacks potatoes, 215 bags ores, 29 do linseed oil, 165 cases pearl shell, 22 bundles whalebone, 15 bags cotton waste, 12 casks oil, 40 do pitch, 10 live rams, 6 casks castings, 14 packages horns and bones, 16 pigs silver. The quantity of coal shipped by the San Francisco traders at Auckland was 1389 tons, valued at £1389. The shipments of the direct steamers of the New Zealand Shipping Company at Auckland, Wellington, and Lyttelton amounted to 14,799 tons, valued at £15,995. By the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's steamers the imports were 23,101 tons general cargo, and. the exports 28,982 bales wool, 235 pkgs wool, 1073 bales flax, 1208 do leather, 1150 casks tallow, 1230 pelts, 15,827 cases preserved meats, 2317 do cheese, 111 sacks bones, 23,175 do grain and seed, 410,601 carcasses sheep and lambs (frozen), 22,401 legs mutton (frozen), 2706 pkgs beef (frozen), 991 do meat (sun- 1 dries), 5899 kegs butter, 2414 boxes antimony, 547 bags ore, 1792 bags potatoes, 1372 cases kauri' gum, 827 pkgs of sundries There were shipped at" Lyttelton and Wellington for this service, during the year, 13,589 tons of coal, of the value of £15,742. The arrivals numbered 1911 souls, and the departures 737. THE PROPERTY TAX. The following Otago members voted for Sir George Grey's amendment on the Property Tax Bill: — Messrs Allen, Ward, Duncan, Feldwick, and Dr Fitchett. Mr Fish explained that he was opposed to the property tax, but the amendment was inopportune, and therefore he opposed it. THE OCEAN MAIL SERVICES. The debate on the Premier's resolutions was an excellent one. In moving the resolutions the Premier made a temperate and argumentative speech, adducing very forcible arguments in support of his proposals. He was followed by Mr Ward, who dealt with the question at great length. The member for Awarua made the best speech he has yet delivered in the House. It bristled with facts and figures, and it; was very evident that he had given the entire subject a thorough consideration. When ho had concluded his speech, which lasted an hour and a-half, he was loudly applauded. Mr Peacock came after Mr Ward, and spoke well in advocacy of the San Francisco service. Mr Beetham made an exhaustive speech in condemnation of this route, and was succeeded by Mr Verrall, the new member for Ashley, who delivered some rambling remarks, in which mail services and State banks were mixed up in a very complicated manner. Mr Fish came to the rescue of the San Francisco service advocates, and spoke vigorously against subsidising the direct service. He traversed Mr Ward's speech, and contraverted many of that gentleman's arguments. Mr Fish proposed his amendment relative to a monthly in lieu of a fortnighly service, of which I made mention in one of my messages Mr Thomas M'Kenzie made a telling speech against the San Francisco service, and asserted that our trade with Victoria is double that with the United States. He brought forward arguments to prove that New Zealand has received no benefit whatever from its mail connection with America. ■ Mr M'Kenzie spoke until midnight. AN INDIGNANT COUNCILLOR, The Hon. Mr Shrimski is very iudignant at the waste of time which has taken place this session. At 3 o'clock this afternoon I happened to meet him in the front lobby, and noticing that he was '• fretting and fuming" about something, I inquired the cause. The hon. gentleman drew himself up and .exclaimed in a rather excited tone, " Why, it's 6imply disgraceful the way we are wasting the time of the country. Would you believe it that the Council has only sat for half-an-hour to-day, and now stands adjourned until to-morrow, when ifc is intended to have some Native chiefs before the bar. We would have gone on very well with the Native bills, but the leader of the Government in Council is determined to act in a domineering manner and ride rough shod over those opposed to him. We shall lose two entire days by not going on with the Native bills now. On Monday next we shall h»ve a lengthy discussion on these measures. They will then have to ba referred to the Native Affairs Committee, and it will take two or three days before they come before us for the purpose of being considered in Committee of the Council. This will take two or three days more. ,It is simply disgraceful that men should be called upon to make such sacrifices. We are now in our fifteenth week, and the only result of our work has been to play into the hands of the large landed proprietors who have axes to grind. Those who came here to do bheir duty honestly have little or no chance to fight the battle of the people. I'm simply sick of the whole thing." , Thus saying the indignant councillor turned on his heel.