THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, JULY 26,1870.

Colonist, Volume XIII, Issue 1339, 26 July 1870, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, JULY 26,1870.

AppEiTDEDto the Fifiancial Statementcof the Colonial Treasurerl are the'dtafts^offiyff bills, which are the xi^\i^^^^^-Qi^^''fxii^ cial scheme. Theifirst • ipf { thesei |is eajbitled " An act to provide for immigration and the construction to& frailways; and other public works." . The. secdnd bill is lientitleai"iin act to* authorise tne raising, of Jlrn6ifey :rffpr r immigration and^public , wprks.'^ ; IJthe third is: ai Bill entitled ";An j: Aci.|fco eucourage the interchange of ColiSmai^Pro-duce*-and Manufactures,"' the jpurposs *<)f 5 \?hic|i istOjgrant bonuses to the amount,of the, ~^iities .levied on ,such imports aa '$$• tralian wines. The fpurtH-Bill.ia e,ns'tled "An Actv ttt, alter the amount 'of/Eevettue payable to the several Provinces." , This Bill arranges; the.' terms of thb capitation grants to theProvinces^wh^ch jreiipr 18tbi^i; &2 ; 18fa>2, 38s. ;■-for 18,72^73, 365.; for -187,3^ 345h.W187^.75, 345.; *f875-76,?303. ;?«£& for every; subsequent year, 30a. per head of populaiidril ' There are- sundry 0 special ailow,anceß to,Westland,(for, three.years),ss. per. jhead additional • for Auckland, £3OQO a-year extra j.', for Hawke's Bay, a-year; for "Wellington,. £15(K)j a-y^arj and ;for, <Taranaki, £500 a^year, iv addition to the capitation. allowance. ' The fifth Bill is a Debenture Bill, for meeting the Colonial1 Defence Eipendilkure, for a period of*"five yearsi,4, '.The, sumsi;|o be met are these, rlfor the year ending June, l»70, including liabilities, £180,000; for the year.endinl'iTune, 1871, £160,000; and for eacn" of the" three years, to June 30; 1874, ,£150,000.,, ; These" ; proppsal«l were referred to in the Treasurer's Statement,' ; We return to ?ths i first of these -"BiUs^ iiwhich as-divided^ iritd %ihe' p'arts^l Part ;I. i;refers to Koada in the . J^orth'.,lsland, r and authorises the G-overnpr/tp' pr.pefei^i?oa^B and bridges, and ferries^ito be .-under the provisions of the arctj and to form, and;>maintain. and cpntrol1' these wheii^ ~ £job,ooo is i:.tq! be empijo^ed ttfwairds|such purposes"at^^'riot more than '^lOj[),Op()ja^year.

Part 11. gives^ power to construct railways, and pra^idesra special railway funi for the vmiddle?lsland," and an''equivalent sum is to be spent on railways.in.the.'MidMe Island as is spent on ,sgadsj in'l&e* North, the sum to bo 'expended in each Province being propbrtidnate to the amount falling ioeachTrovince under the new capitation arrangement. , ,The 7; Governor shall have power to construct any line or lines of railway mentioned in, tjie scheclule* or portions thereof, and to acquirethenecessary plant and engines for working the same. I'he; Governor shall 1 have power to define the lines of railway and the lands to be taken for the purpose ; of/such^ railway; but, without the request of the Superintendents of Provinces,. the Governor shall not be empowered to enter,, into any, contract for such -railway. Tfie Governor may cotftract.to pay 'in money or by grants of lands, or, by lease of the line ; and guarantee of profits and r subsid^B; no guarantee to exceed 6 per, cent, on a fixed amount of-capital, and no subsidy, to exceed one-third the cost.of. construction. Superinten&eh'ts'may■ recoinmerid' the getting aside of lands ,for . railway construction, and, on such recommendation, the Governor is empowered to grant isuch lands to the contractor as compensation in whole or'in part for the construction of such railway or part thereof. In addition to the £400,000, any

* L The following i«;the tetSlw^ Sc^edtd^ here referred to :-—v>- ■' •- '.! x' : '■:'■■ 'A. vJ HL X ■ "Auckland to Wanganui, by Taupo, with connection .>tp#eCandl:|lst.|Plyiflouth^ : " Wanganui to Wellington. "Picton to Amun, Chrutchurch, Tunaru, O»pwru, Waikoiaiti; Dunedin, Tokomairiroi Molyn«uk and Winjton, with.. oonft#ion f to Tu»p«kV, Oydt, ' (^mwtU, Aiwir, wd Qwwitoin.." ■' :

sums available under the Loan Act for rail, way purposes, as in the schedule, may be spent by the Governor. The expenditure on such railways shall be charged Provincially, except the expenditure out of the £400,000 fund. The Governor may accept lands from Provinces in lieu of charging against them moneys expended for railway purposes, and such lands being so transferred, the "Waste Lands Board of such Provinces shall cease to deal with the lands so transferred. Section 19 provides that half the revenue from Stamp Duties shall, from and after June, 1871, be appropriated to the Provinces to be applied to meet charges for railway expenditure. The sum for these purposes as noted in the bill has now been modified, and now stands at £2,000,000.

Part 111. of the Bill gives power to the Governor, on the request of any Superintendent of a Province in which a goldfield is proclaimed, to construct works for the supply of water to the goldfields. The sum applicable to this purpose has been raised to £300,000, and any portion of it so expended is chargeable to the Province in which it is expended, the Governor having power to define the lands and streams to be taken for the purpose of the Waterworks. The Fourth part of the Bill relates to the purchase of land in the North Island, for which £100,000 is now to be devoted, the proceeds of the land, when sold, to be applied in meeting any moneys charged against the particular Province for railways, immigration, &c. the cost of purchase being in the first place charged against the Province in which the purchased land is situated.

With immigration Part V. of the Bill deals. The Governor may contract with proper persons, within or without the Colony, for the selection of, conveyance to, or settlement in any Province of the Colony, such classes of immigrants and in such numbers as the Superintendent shall request; and power is given to contract for employing such immigrants onroads or railways, andfor giving them free or other grants of land, and also for providing compensation to the contractor. One half of the money so expended (a total of a million spread over a number of years,) shall be annually charged against the Provinces ; but not more in any year than 30s. for each immigrant introduced. Immigration Agents are tobe appointedin the Colony, to advise immigrants on arrival, and to assist them in obtaining employment. Contracts for service made out of New Zealand, shall have the same force and effect as if made in New Zealand; and if any immigrant fhall complain that he has f been induced to enter into such contract by any misrepresentation, that the terms are unfair to him, or that he had contracted while in ignorance of facts of which he should have been informed by the other party to the contract, then any Eesi-dent--Magistrate, or any two Justices of the Peace may enquire into the complaint, and make." such order as the equity of the case may require, and either cancel or modify the contract."

Part VI. details provisions specially applicable to the construction of roads ; pointing out the means of objecting, and for compensating persons aggrieved, and also providing for taking lands. Gardens, parks, vineyards, &c, are not to be taken without the consent of the owners. Existing roads may be diverted, and toll-gates erected. Drainage of the roads is also provided for. Similar provisions are detailed in Part VII, with respect to railways, the "Kailway Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845," of the Imperial Parliament being made the basis of this part of the Act. Part VIII. makes arrangements for the construction of reservoirs, dams, races, mains, &c, for goldfields ; the construction of such water-works tobe subject to the laws and regulations in force in the goldfleld in which the works are to be formed. The levying of rates is provided for. Various miscellaneous details occupy the ninth part of the Bill. Among others is a provision rendering it necessary for the Superintendent, in exercising any powers the Act confers on foim, doing so with the advice and consent of the Executive or Provincial Council. The concluding clause provides that accounts of all contracts entered into, and all sums expended on such works and purposes shall be laid annually before Parliament.

We have given a synopsis of the provisions of the longest of the five Bills which are appended to the printed statement of the -Colonial Treasurer. The changes which have been made in the scheme will not affect the details, and where sums are given in this article, they are the sums as set forth in the modified statement made last week by the-Colonial Treasurer.