Untitled

Colonist, Volume X, Issue X, 12 February 1867, Page 2

GOLD-EIELDS PUBLI CANS' LICENSES. This measurement author izes Commissioners on a Gold-field to grant Public; ins' licenses for sale of liquors; the license fees be ing, for oup year, £30, for six months, £17. »

NELSON PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. The fifteenth session of the Nelson Provincial Council was opened on.Tuesday, January 22. There were present the Speaker, the Provincial- Solicitor, the Provincial Secre-

tary, Messrs. Akerßten, Baigeut, Beitfc, Burn, Curtis, Gibbs, Kelling, Kingdon, Maemahon, Siinmonds, and Thompson.. Shortly after one o'clock, his Honor the

Superintendent entered.the Council Chamber, and delivered the following OPENING- SPEECH.

Mb. Speaker, and Gentlemen op the Pkovinoiai Council — 1. My first duty in meeting you on the present occasion will be to lay before you a full statement of the

causes which have compelled me to ask your attend-

ance at so short a notice, and at such a highly inconvenient season; as, had the circumstances been such as to leave me any choice on the subject, you would naturally and justly feel dissatisfied that I had not incurred any amount of personal responsibility rather than have called upon the- Members of this Council

to leave their homes in the height of the harvest, and without any sufficient notice, for the mere purpose of voting money to carry on public works, about the most important of which a great majority of members have already expressed their opinions, and sanctioned the necessary expenditure, without, however, giving that sanction the form of law.

By the 10th, 11th, a.nd 12th clauses of the new

Provincial Audit Act, which came into operation on tho first of this month, the Provincial Treasurer is forbidden to pay, and the Auditor and Superinten-

dent ar,e forbidden to sign warrants for the payment

of, any public money " unless the sums therein mentioned are then legally available for the services therein specified, by virtue of an Act or Ordinance of the Superintendent and Provincial Council of the Province." By rendering himself " liable to a penalty of one hundred pounds " for each signature " to be recovered in the Supreme Court at the suit of the Provincial Auditor," the Superintendent is, however, permitted to sign " special orders directing the Provincial Auditor to certify warrants " for the payment of niouey not authorised by Act, or in excess of any sum so authorised ; but even this power is limited to a total amount during the whole of any financial year, not exceeding one-twentieth part of the amount of the Ordinary Provincial Revenue of the preceding year, amounting this year to £2784 lls, 4c1., beyond which sum no discretionary power whatever is left to the Executive or to the Auditor. On receiving a copy of this Act some considerable time after it'was passed, and without the slightest previous intimation from any quarter that such an important alteration was to be made in tho discretionary powers of the Provincial Executive, I still hoped that the liberal sum of £18,000, voted by you List session, and made available for almost any want that could arise on our Westland territory would enable mo to meet all the urgent demands of the migratory population of our expanding gold-fields; but on (.he 12th instant I received information from Mr. Commissioner ICynnersley that the anticipated large influx'of miners south of the Buller had been so greatly in excess of the number that could be located on the payable ground discovered that, in accordance with instructions received from me, he had been able to let the whole of the road between the Buller and tho completed road seventeen miles from the Grey .in simile mile contracts, xipon very advantageous terms, and to be completed, and consequently paid for, by the middle of next month. The presence of thousands of men w*lio were at one time wandering unemployed and dissatisfied in the neighborhood of Brighton, offered a most favorable opportunity for the execution of this much-needed road through an exceedingly rough country, whilst the employment of so many of them was a most importa it auxiliary to the maintenance of peace, although it did no(; altogether obviate the necessity of a very considerable addition to the police force, a precaution rendered more necessary hy the presence of some gangs of desperate ruffians known to be in possession of lire-arms. It has also been found necessary to establish a fortnightly escort between Brighton and the Buller, consisting of five mounted constables. The necessary appointment of another Resident Magistrate and Warden, the appointment of Surveyors, Harbor Masters, and Signalmen, the erection of Court-houses, Gaols, Custom-houses, and

Signal-stations, have all added to the demands on the vote for " South-West gold-fields;" and although the increased gold-fields revenue has been more than sufficient to meet such additional demands, the inelastic provisions of the new Audit Act have left me no alternative but to put you to the inconvenience of meeting at the present time to give legal sanction to an expenditure so obviously necessary, as well as consistent with your often and clearly expressed wishes. 2. A Supplementary Approprintion Bill has been prepared, which proposes to add fifty per cent, to the amounts you last year voted for the West Coast Roads and South West Gold-fields. Your sanction will also be asked to other sums, several of which have been already expended. I have considered it prudent, under existing and anticipated circumstanccs,to ask you to extend the operation of both Appropriation Acts to the end of May. 3. Two other short Bills will be submitted to you. The " Auctioneers' Licensing Amendment Bill," Which is intended to withdraw the 3rd clause of the "Auctioneer's Licensing Amendment Act 1862" from operation in the Gold-fields, where it has been found to work badly. . 4. The "Publicans Licensing Bill" has been rendered necessary by the General Assembly having failed to make any provision for the issue of publicans' licenses on the Gold-fields in the " Gold-fields Act . ofl88G." 5. By Clause 40 of that Act, it is provided that the seven immediately preceeding clauses "relating to Agricultural Leases shall have no force or effect upon any Gold-field until after the Governor I shall by Proclamation inthe New Zealand Gazette (! have proclaimed and extended the operation of | the said Sections to the Province wherein 1 finch Gold-field shall be situate; and such I Proclamation shall only be made upon the application i of the Superintendent and Provincial Council of a Province." As these clauses, taken in connection with Clauses 52 and 109 of the same Act, practically confer a most important power upon the Superinten-

dent, being nothing less than a limited application of the power so often asked for by the Nelson Provincial Council of selling land to actual cultivators, and improvers upon deferred payment, I shall ask you to lose no time in joining me in the necessary applicaion to the Governor for the purpose of bringing them into operation on the Gold-fields of this Province. 6. My Estimates of the Revenue for the current Financial year will, I trust, be realised on almost every item, and, upon the whole, considerably exceeded. Presuming, that the three last months will correspond with the nine that have been completed, the Customs revenue esliinated at £22,000, would realize £22,890; the Pilotage estimated at £2000, would be £2187; whilst the Lnnd revenue, instead, of £10,000, would realise £16,017 14a. lOd. .With regard to the receipts from the Gold-fields, my information even for the nine months is not complete; but so far as it goes appears to indicate that, whilst the sum which I estimated for gold duty will be barely realised, the amount for Gold-fields revenue will be exceeded by nearly five thousand pounds 7. In October la<»t the .General Government appointed. Commissioners Sale and Kynnersley to readjust the apportionment of the Customs duties received at the Grey, but I regret to say that those gentlemen have never yet been able to agree upon any report, and there appears to be little to h ope for in that direction, except that the opening of the new ports of entry at West-port and Brighton, will soon give the province the adyaulago of receiving its -awn share of the Customs, duties. The large quantity of duty paid goods which have been poured into Brighton and Charleston both from Holritilsa . aid the Grey bas hitherto deprived this Province of ♦he duty on most of the articles consumed in those Districts. ~§. As I did not anticipate any meeting of this .

Council until tho usual season of tho year, I considered that I should best consult the interests, and procure the real representation. of the rapidly increasing population of the new districts,' constituted under the Electoral District* Act passed last session, by delaying to issue writs until the latest period tlmt would give ample titno for the election of new members before they .would bo culled upon to tnko their seats. I trust that, the operation of the leasing clauses of the New GoM-Fields Act will soon give such a number of settlers a permanent, interest on the West Coast, as will justify a large addition to the number of it's representatives in your Council.

9. The rapid formation of the new town called Brighton, has been, remarkable even" in the unnals «»f Gold-Fields. In less than a fortnight a street longer than Bridge-street, Nelson, had been formed with houses- on both sides, and seven vessels were lying in a river not so large ns the Maibii. In recent private letters to me Mr. Kynnersley, says—" At. Brighton. for a fortnight,'■ there whs a lirge crowd of tii(>ii outside my tent from-daylight to dnrk. I used to give them three minutes each, but even then persons used to come in and declare that they had been waiting for eight hours to see me. * * * We have been yen successful so far in keeping the peace, although, at one time, at, Brighton when there were some 5000 men idle and discontented about, the place, there appeared to be a likelihood of a repetition of the Bruce Buy riots. I hud for a few days seventeen constables at Brighton, and had a very strong Look-up ! built in eight and a-half days. * * * * \ " The excitement, of these rushes has now subsided, and Brighton and Charleston are both in a tolerably orderly and satisfactory Btate—the forn,er is quite a considerable township, containing as nany houses as were in Greymouth this time last year. I do not think it will last long, as there is nothing but one good terrace to support; it; but it is very centrally situated between the Grey and Buller, and has in Woodpecker Bay a port which possesses one great advantage over either the Grey or Hokitika, viz., that a steamer can anchor in the Bay, and communicate with the shore nine days out of ten, without running the vessel herself into any danger by crossing | bars or otherwise. There is apparently little or no back country available for settlement, and nothing else, except, possibly, coal, to support a permanent town ; but the present diggings, even if no others should be discovered, are sufficient to support a town of a size large enough to require the services of a Resident Magistrate and Warden for at least a year. * * Whoever is appointed, should be appointed as soon as possible, and, pending the arrival of the necessary appointment from Wellington, might be instructed by telegraph or otherwise to take charge at once. * * * He would of course have no power to dqcide cases, except by the consent of the parties ; but would in many respects be very useful, and relieve me of much work." * * * * As to proclaiming Brighton a Port of Entry, he writes : —" I cannot make up my mind whether or not it, will bo worth while to make Brighton a Port, of Entry and Warehousing Port. At first, I thought not, for there are really no other diggings about it, but this one fcermce, which was the cause of the tremendous rush, and the idea of proclaiming a river, not quite so large as the Maitai to be a Port of Entry, seemed to me to be absurd ; but as the case stands sit present I am rather inclined to think that it would be worth while to make it a Port of Entry, provided that it can be done quickly. Unfortunately, we have in the meantime lost a large amount of Customs Revenue. There is a very good patch on the terrace at Fox's which will keep 500 miners employed for a year or eighteen months. There may be numerous other patches equally extensive in tho neighborhood, although I am not at all sanguine about this myself. There is a large township, containing fifty-three public-houses. There is a river or creek, navigablo at high water for vessels drawing five feet of water. There is an outer anchorage in Yfoodpecker Bay, where steamers can almost always laud goods and passengers. There are extensive coals seams in the neighborhood. It occupies a very central position between tho Grey and Buller, and communication may in time be opened bet-ween it and the auriferous country of the Little Grey. For all these reasons, and considering the large am junt of Customs. Revenue that we are losing, I think it might be worth while making it a Port of Entry, although there is no certainty whatever that, there will be a house left; there in two years." On the Bth of this month he writes:—" The re-venue for the last month received in the several Warden's offices amounts to about £3000 of which about £1800 was taken by me at Brighton in a tent in three weeks. But the expenditure is also very great. * * * The buildings are clearly necessary. The escort service is, I think, also necessary for the quantities of gold which will in another month, when the claims are fairly in working order, be sold at Fox's and the Palahi. * - * * * *

"Sergeant Franklvn will take charge of the pseorf, and I have selected four thoroughly reliable men to assist him. It is of no use establishing an escort unless it is a thoroughly efficient one, as somo of the most notorious ruffians on the West, Coast are now at Brighton. One gang of fiv^, especially, was passed on to me by the Canterbury Police, known to have left Wairnea, each with a revolver intent on some extensive operations. * * * Kvcn if Fox's were declared a Port of Entry, I think it would he necessary to continue the escort, for there wonkl always be some risk in shipping gold at that place and I think the Bunks would prefer to send it to the Buller. * * All this together with the Grey aud Buller road, which is being Hone fill at once, has and will cost a good deal of money, but it, has been, I believe, all of it well spent, and there will in a short time be a good deal of revenue from the export duty on the gold from the Buller." He also writes: — '"Another good Surveyor is wanted here, there is quite work enough for at least, two, as thee are applications for many agricultural leases in different, parts of the Gold-fields. In the Canterbury Westland they have seven Surveyors besides their Mining Surveyors."

10. By letters, which are ready to be laid on your table, from Messrs. Rausome and Sims, you will see that about half the plant for the Nelson Waterworks, was shipped in November, and the remainder was proposed to be shipped last month, and may be expected here dui'ing the next two months ; and as all the debentures have been taken up and the plant prepared, there is nothing to prevent that work being expeditiously completed.

11. The iron-work required for the Waimea Bridge, has been ordered through our agent fn London, and it sum remitted to pay for it.

12. Much delay has arisen in the construction of the Steam Stone Separator, ordered from England in July, 1865 ; but the machine is now on its way to the province, and will, I have no doubt, effect a great economy and improvement in the metalling of our streets and roads.

13. The. excavations and foundations of the New Hospital are in progress. A plan of the proposed building will be laid before you. The entire design would exceed the sum voted for the building, but it is not necessary that the whole should be completed at once ; aud it was my intention to have called for tenders omitting the South-west wing. Such portion of the design would accommodate 4S male and 14 female patients, under the most favorable conditions for efficient and economical attendance. The proximity of the building to the lunatic asylum, will admit of an interchange of assistance by the female attendants of each establishment, that will obviate the necessity of objectional arrangements that have hitherto been deemed unavoidable. The demands on the existing City Hospital at the present time are not numerous, and the cases generally are not of a serious, and none of them of an epidemic character ; but in the Greymouth Hospital nineteen bad Ciises are reported, and. whilst the necessary expenses of that establishment increase, the voluntary subscriptions are gradually falling off. .

14. The Nelson Gaol requires enlargement, and such alteration as will better provide for the complete separation of female prisoners.

15. A correspondence will be forwarded to you that has ■passed^between the Immigration Commissioners nnd Mr. John Morrison, in which you will see, that Bishop Suter, has proposed to procure and accompany on their voyage, some carefully selected immigrants; and tho Commissioners have authorised the free passage of 50 single females, and consented to advance the passage money of 25 young mrrried

couples, to come out under1 the' care of his Lordship and Mrs/Suter. . .- ■■. '■ ■ 16. In "accordance with a series of resolutions passed by you on the Ist day of M'ay':.last, requesting me to bring " under the attention of the Government of the Colony," the subject of granting a large portion of the Territory of the Province in payment for the construction of a Railway between Nelson and Cobden, I took an early opportunity of waitingyupon the Colonial Secretary, audiobtained a prpjniae from him that the subject should receive the'-attention of the Government, and that a Bill-should be introduced in accordance with your resolution. A Bill was,, however, introduced by tho other honorable member for this city (Mr. Curtis) and became law, authorising the Governor in Council to reserve the necessary land from sale, and the Superintendent to maks a contract with any person for the construction of a railway, " pui-sii nit to any net or ordinance of tho Superintendent ami Provincial Council of this Province, which M!:iy liereaftor be pi-so;i."

ITnviiifj seen tho country tlirous;li whicli this railway would have'to be constructed, and the laud it is in our.power to offer as pa; ment, honesty compels mo to say that I cannot entertain the smallest hope that a work of such magnitude will ever be completed on the terms proposed,-or indeed on any terms which this Province could prudently offer. But as I feel that it ia of greit. importance to set so larjre and interesting a question sit rest, [ hiive, placed on the Appropriation tiill to bo suhmi'ted to you, » sum of £1000 under the head of Railway Report, which sum I should propose to expend in the engagement, if possible, of a thoroughly competent practical man, entirely unconnected with local politics and prejudices, to travel over the proposed line of railway, and furnish the Government with a report both on the probable cost and practicability of the railway, and the apparent value of the laud through which it is to pass. This idea ia suggested to me by the course that is now being adopted by the Auckland Provincial Government. After having expended an almost incredible sum, and yet having entirely failed to complete evf n the five or six miles of railway required to connect Auckland with Onehunga,. across a narrow neck of land in which no rivers, mountains, or any other engineering difficulties are apparent, Mr. Russell had been authorised by the Superintendent to consult with Mr. Brassey, a well known English engineer, on the subject, and the result of that consultatiou was, that at Mr. Russell's urgent request, Mr. Brassey " agreed that Mi1. Ogilvie should pay a visit to the Province for the purpose of inspecting the line and reporting to him upon the nature of the works to bo undertaken, and of the security winch the Province could give. Mr. Russell is also reported as having stated to the Auckland Provincial Council that "he was sure that Mr. Ogilvie was in Mr. Brassey's closest confidence, and he was "a man of known ability. His actual salary was £200 per month and Mr. Brassey had consented • that the amount to bo paid should not exceed what he himself paid him." I cannot of course say that Mr. OgilvJe could be induced to visit this Province or to report on the Nelson and Cobden Railway ; but it does appear to me that if the question of that railway is to be entertained at all, an effort should be made to obtain the opinion of such an authority, an authority that would be respected amongst foreign capitalists, as well as being placed above suspicion in this Province. This comparatively smull outlay would probably be the means of saving this province from those great and expensive Railway mistakes which have impoverished, and destroyed the steady progress of several sister Provinces and injured the credit and added to the burdens of the whole Colony.

17. It is perhaps unnecessary for me to remind you that under the. new Audit Act a Superintendent cannot act on the resolution passed by you on the 3rd of May last authorising him "to take such steps as he shall think best calculated to bring the Railway scheme under the notice of capitalists," and pledging the Council" to cover by vote any expense tho Government may incur in endeavoring to carry the resolution into effect," as the Provincial Auditor cannot now sign a warrant even on the authority of a resolution of tho Provincial Council.

18. If Mr. Ogilvie can be induced to devote some little time to the work, the opportunity should not be lost of getting his attention, and through him the attention of British capitalists called to the really practicable work of connecting our vast and excellent coal mines with the Buller Port, by means of a short railway, a work that could probably be completed for a 3inaller sum than the Colony now annually pays to subsidize steamers, and which would add far more to the real wealth and steady progress of New Zealand, than all the artificial assistance of its subsidized steamers will ever do. I trust that the fleet of steamers employed by the West Coast Gold-fields, and the increased population that is beinif attracted to the neighborhood of the Buller, will soon render it impossible that this evident source of wealth and permanent prosperity should be any longer neglected.

19. In addition to the forty or fifty miles of road already mentioned as in progress, and to be completed next month, a packing track for horses has been completed from Cobden to the end of the Seventeen Mile Beach, Northward. From Cobden, up the Grey, to the Twelve 'Mile, the old foot track has been improved by making side cnttings round the rocky spurs, and metalling the places that required it, making a useful road for horses and stock. In connection with this road a substantial cart bridge is being erected across the Coal Creek at Cobden.

From the junction of the Little Grey, up that river to ihe saddle, into the Inangahuu, and down the Inangahua to the Buller, a good horse track has been made in length about forty miles.

An important, improvement has been effected in the communication with the upper Buller district, in that portion of the road which had always been most liable to get out of repair. Several miles, commencing at the entrance of the Big Bush, and extending over the saddle at the head of the Black Valley, have been well metalled, and the various bridges, culverts, and fords have been thoroughly repaired.

A road party is now completing the North Buller Road, from the Lyell to the termination of the old horse track below the Maruia, a"very rough and rocky piece of work formerly left unfinished. On the track below the Inaiigahua, along the south bank of the Buller, a party is also at work engaged in finishing, for horse traffic, those difficult and rocky portions along which only a foot track was formerly carried.

The vote of £1000 passed last Session of Council, for the improvement of the Dove Dale roads, was intended to have been expended in making the existing bridle-tracks into dray roads. This has been done, but at a cost considerably in excess of the estimate.- The importance of the object to be gained, that of settling families permanently in the locality, seemed, however, to justify an extra expenditure, and the district is now easily accessible for dray traffic from Waimea West, and also from the Moutere by a continuous line of road, of which about sixteen or seventeen miles have been improved as intended, besides a further portion nearly completed on another line of road leading into Dove Dale, giving access to the.Orinoco Valley from the Wai-Wero road fora distance of nearly three miles.

20. The past year has been rendered memorable by the atrocious'murders within the borders of this province .of no less than five Marlborough settlers. These murders ' were not committed by our own settlers, nor do they indicate any deterioration in that high moral position of ■which the settled portion of our population lias so long been .able to boast. On the contrary the outburst of ■well-founded indignation which so simultaneously moved the whole population to a determined search for the concealed bodies of the unfortunate victims, and pi'ccluded the possibility of shelter to the four hardened criminals who had so long perpetrated their deeds of blood in other localities, has afforded the strongest possible proof of that- healthy moral condition which has long rendered life and property so proverbially- secure amongst us. The search for these bodies, the arrest, secureretention, conviction, and execution of the murderers have cost this province nearly £2000, irrespective of private subscriptions and volunteered labor; but it is impossible to estimate the service that has thus been rendered to the whole colony, or to overvalue such an expression of

the heroic, spirit which animates the population of Nelson.

In compliance with the recommendation of the Judge, at the conclusion of these trials, and which was quite in accordance with the convictions of myself and the Executive Council, the steady, intelligent, and painstaking conduct of the principal police officers has been rewarded by promotion and some increase of salary. It also- became my duty to acknowledge and re ward the great assiduity and efficiency of the acting Gaoler.

21. The large fire which occurred, on the morning of the 7fch August last forced the attention of the inhabitants of the city to the great need of some organisation to arrest the ravages of that' element on any similar occasion, and also to the desirability of giving the power to some proper officer to order, the destruction or removal of any buildings or other property whenever such action may appear to him the racfet practicable means to stay the progress of a fire. The former want was at once supplied by the formation of a well-organised and active brigade, which will, I trust, receive the necessary support from the Qity Board of Works and the agent 9of the various insurance offices established in this city ; but as tho Board will probably need some additional power to authorise it to pay money for such a legitimate purpose, and the agents of the insurance offices required to consult their principals on the subject, I took upon myself the responsibility of meeting the earliest requirements of the brigade by paying the sum of £2uO from the Provincial revenue, on behalf of the city.

The want of a" duly-authorised officer is still unprovided for, and the whole subject is one that will probably claim your attention at your first regular business session.'

22. As it is ■my intention to resign my present office at the conclusion of this probably short Session, it would be manifestly improper for me to indicate any future policy. The voluminous, and I fear rather hasty, legislation of the last Session of the General Assembly, will probably call for some attention from my successor, and some action from you at your next Session. But'there is one of its acts—the Audit Act —upon which my present position particularly qualifies me to offer an impartial criticism, and upon which I may therefore be permitted to place my opinion on record. I am convinced that public accounts can only be effectually, and therefore usefully, audited by a competent officer daily in attendance for that purpose, and he should, of course, be entirely removed from the control of, or the slightest dependence on any public officer, whose accounts he has to check; and should have no voice whatever in the direction of any expenditure. Nor should he even be appointed by any other paid officer or officers, but by the representatives of the people, the expenditure t of whose money he is employed to watch. Besides the guarantee which such an officer affords the public as to the honest application of public money, he earns his salary by relieving the responsible head of a large establishment from that laborious investigation of each account, which would otherwiseformanecessarypartof hisduty, and which could not fail to injuriously distract his attention from his more legitimate work. By the Provincial Audit Act, which has been in operation in this Colony, for the last live years, the Superintendent could expend money without the authority of the Council, provided the expenditure were called for by unforeseen circumstances, and so evidently desirable as to leave no doubt that the Council would sanction it after being put in posession of all the facts, and carefnlly enquiring into all the circumstances. This enabled a Superintendent to act himself, and even to authorise his sometimes better informed subordinates to act, in those sudden emergencies which are constantly arising, especially on Gold-fields, with that promptitude which is often so very important, although with that wholesome caution, which a knowledge of possible fines and penalties could not fail to impart. The stringent provisions of the new Act, like most other extreme measures, will defeat the intentions of its promoters, as it is not to be supposed that tho majority of any Council having the slightest confidence in the Provincial Executive, would entirely destroy its efficiency by giving it no power to meet unforseen demands; and tho only alternati-re trill be that of placing large sums afc its disposal for possible contingencies, and thus losing the power they ought to have of effectually calling the Superintendent to account for all uncontemplated expenditure after having had an opportunity to make themselves acquainted with all the circumstance which may or may not have justified his proceedings.

23. It would be improper for me to conclude my last opening address to you without a grateful acknowledgement of the uni'eserved, and very able assistance I have continued to receive from Mr. Commissioner Kynnersley, to whom. I have been able to entrust an increasing amount of discretionary power; a trust which he has never failed to justify. The amount of harassing and exhausting work which he has sometimes undertaken for fifteen hours a day to meet the demands of sudden rushes, has obviated the necessity of some costly appointments, which could not always have oeen terminated with the circumstances that had called for them, and it is no mean evidence of his capacity to find that he has been able to command the uninterrupted respect and obedience of the large and everchanging body of miners, amongst whom his duties have been performed.

24 There are other Officers of the Government, who are personally too well known to you to require any mention from me, whose valuable services have rendered my own" task an easy one, whilst you, Gentlemen, have made it a truly pleasant one, by that liberal support you have ever accorded to each humble effort I have made to promote the welfare and the progress of the Province, over which I have thus had the pleasure, as well as the honor to preside. Alfeed Satjnders, Superintendent.

His Honor having retired, Standing Orders were suspended, and Mr. Burn moved the appointment of a committee to prepare a reply to his Honor's address, the committee to consist of the Speaker, Mr. Curtis, Mr, Macmahon, and the mover1.

REPLY TO THE OPENING SPEECH. On Wednesday, January 23, Mr. E. Burn brought up the following reply agreed-upon by the Select Committee, to his Honor's . speech, which was read and laid on the table: —

"The Select Committee appointed to prepare a reply to his Honor the Superintendent's Bpeech, beg to recommend the following:—

" The Provincial Council of the Province of Nelson accept your Honor's reasons for our being summoned at this inconvenient season as of a fully satisfactory character. ~

" At your Honor's announced intention of departure from this province, we desire to place on record the thanks of the Council for the vigorous action taken by your Honor in giving effect to the expressed wishes of the Council, as well as in anticipating its wishes on those various and difficult emergencies which have arisen during your Honor's short term of office.

v<" But we cannot avoid expressing our dissent from your Honor's opinion of the character and value of the land in this province, which it has been proposed to offer in payment for a railway to the West Coast. Of the adequacy of the proposed payment, whbh, in •pursuance of the resolutions passed by the Council, the Superintendent of the Province is empowered, by Act of the General Assembly, to offer, the Council sees no reason to alter its opinion; and, therefore, any steps taken by your Honor to place fairly before capitalists and the public generally the true nature and magnitude of that inducement, will meet with tha most thorough approbation of the Council. " The importance of the development of the Goldfields of the Province, especially that at the Buller, cannot be over-rated, and we look with confidence to well-devised efforts in this direction for exercising a most material and beneficial influence on the prosperity of the province. '* ROBBBT BUEN, . "Chairman. 11 Council Chamber, Nelson, "January 23,1867."