PROVINCIAL LOANS BILL.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1664, 29 August 1873, Page 3

PROVINCIAL LOANS BILL.

The seoond reading of this Bill came on for consideration in the House of Representatives last; night, and by the courtesy of the Government, we have received the following summary of Mr. Vogel's speech : — The Premier (the Hon. J. Vogel) mored the seoond reading of "A Bill entitled an Act to empower the Legislatures of the Provinces to pass loans for certain purposes, and subject to certain conditions." He said that the nature of this Biil was indicated in the Financial Statement. It had two objects—first, to secure competent looal approval of certain classes of publio works, and thus to free tha House from the necessity of considering the works, as to the expediency of constructing which it was. impossible for lion, members to have any adequate knowledge; and, second, to guard against suoh under* takings interfering with the credit of the Colony in carrying out the great works it had undertaken. Tho hon. gentleman then proceeded to treat on the provisions of the Bill, of which the following is a summary:—Tho preamble repeals the 11th clause of the Consolidated Loan Act. As in the Australian Colonies and Tasmania, their respective Parliaments have sanctioned the raiting of loans by local bodies, suoh as municipalities, road boards, and other publio bodies, so the Superintendent of a Province, or any persons acting on behalf of the Province, may borrow moaey, the interest and principal not to be payable beyond Australia, and the Colony not to be liable for ! such loans, and no security to be given by legal ordinanoe over the ordinary revenue of the Provinoe. The purposes foi which such loans may be raised include the building of school colleges, and other publio educational institutions, lunatic asylums, hospitals, harbor worts, docks, jetties, wharves, quays, and other public buildings generally; the construction of roads, bridges, tramways, or branch railways, waterworks, works of irrigation, water-races, sludge channels, drainage works, improvement of the navigation of rivers, reclamation of land, and purchase or acquisition of land for the foregoing purposes. Special securities are to be given, suoh as land reclaimed, publio buildings, wharves, &c., tolls and rates on roads and bridges; for tramways and branch railways, and works on the goldfields, the dues in connection with them, &c. Publication is to be made of the amount of proposed Provincial loan at least forty days before the introduction of any loan- bill in the Provincial Council, with particulars, amount* interest, &o. Petitions to be required from districts to proceed with rating, such petition to be signed by a majority in. number of ooeupiers and owners of. rateable propeity, and the. petition to be referred to committee; action to be taken by the Council to depend on the committee's report. Owners of land whioh remains for two years unfeneed after the issue of the Crown grant, are be deemed to have signed the petition; so also are owners of land whioh remains uncultivated three yean after the issue of the grant, and the owners of land that remains unoooupied four years after issue. Rateable districts are to be defined, and rating commissioner! to be appointed. The rate is to be either annual, or on the selling value of .the land. The rate may be amended. Valuations are to be made by owners, who are to make declarations, and may examine occupiers.,. Bates may be recovered before Justices; and the holder or owner is liable for haok rates. An annual valuation is compulsory. Debentures may be issued after, the rate is made. Revenues may be given as specific seourity under the authority of the General Assembly. Fifteen per cent, of the fund to be made payable to the Provincial Loan - Account. The, proceeds of the reserves to be applied to loans generally, in the general loan account. Where rates or tolls are given as speoial security, a separate ordinance is to be {passed in each oase; and the ■ Provincial Treasurer is to give directions for payments to be made into separate accounts. Offioers neglecting to pay in are to be considered guilty of misdemeanor. Money lying at the general loan account is to be subject to appropriation for payment of loans. There is to be no priority amongst general loans ; and the balance of loans on speoial securities may be paid out of the general loan account. If no loan is oharged on general loan account, the fifteen per cent. of the land fund payable thereto may be appropriated to other purposes. The Provinoial Auditor is to nave powers under The Provincial Audit Act, 1866; and - he will be, guilty of misdemeanor if he wilfully certifies warrants excepting in accordance with ,the Act. If the Superintendent or the Auditor refuse to make or certify a warrant, the person interested may apply to the Supreme Court. Debentures, ke., are . not to be liable to stamp duty. Debentures, &c, to bear notice of the non-liability of the Colony. The Act, Mr. Voobl said, might not .satisfy all the cravings for Provincial borrowing, but he contended that there was ho useful work whioh it was desirable should be constructed out of Provinoial loans, which the Act would not enable to be constructed. It would do this without interfering, with the credit of theColony in connection with larger works. The. neoes- . sity for the Act was rendered more, apparent by the way in which, representatives of Provinces had recently been demanding powers to borrow, even fo the extent of a million sterling in some cases. The' Government regarded this Act. as in the fullest sense a Government measure. If there were to be a general election they would be glad to submit .the measure* to the country, feeling sure that it would command the support «f » , •lector*, of* the country. He would add,, however, that Government did not desire to press for the immedUtcFteoond reading of the Bill. The hon. gentleman proceeded to explain certain modifications #Ui6h the Government pro«v posed to m«,ke w the policy m wnoimeed in to* frinaaoial Seamen*,

for measurement duties } proposals Concerning Provincial loans ; and proposals relating to those portions of the trunk railways which were at present unauthorised. To the first the effect of law had been given; he was now dealing with the Government measure as to the second ; and as to the third, the Government were willing to important j modifications. He admitted that so to do would be io modify a portion of the policy which was strongly nffirmed in the Budget speech, and any hon. member ■who desired to take advantage of that fact, or of that admission, was fully entitled to; do so. He would Btate how the proposed modifications had been brought about. The Government had been given to understand that the representatives, of. some of the Provinces, and especially .of Canterbury and Otago, entertained strong objections to any of their,lands being taken as security for trunk railways, but. that they were willing, in lieu of : those lands being.taken, that the Colony should provide a landed estate for th« North Island. This offer was, not calculated to give early relief to the loan account, but it met one of the. greatest difficulties with which the Government had to deal, namely, the unequal position of the Provinces of the two Islands. Tndeed, it was a far-sighted policy of the Southern Provinces, and would some day return to them bounteous interest in the contribution the North m Provinces ■would make to the general revenue of the Colony. The Government recognised that the advantages of proposal were so great as to justify a departure on this point from the policy propounded earlier in the session. In other words, they accepted proposals though it would necessitate larger borrowing to complete the trunk railways than would have been necessary if land had been taken from the Southern Provinces. It must (continued the hon, gentlemen) be understood that the alteration does not affect the present position of the law which makes each Province liable for interest and sinking fund in the cost of the railways within its boundary. The liability of the land fund to annually provide interest will remain, but will not take land from Otago and Canterbury to be turned into money in relief of part of the funHs which have to be raised by loan for their railways, and we will return to Wellington and Hawke's Bay the land wlii<>h has been taken from them as special security. In respect to details, I have to «ay that the Government propos* to subetitute for the Budget proposals the following—That authority should be given to borrow £500,000 for the purchase of native lands in the North Island. This amount, together with the £200,000 already authorised, to be charged upon the Colonial revenue. The amount already authorised is expended or required to complete engagements. Its distribution, therefore, cannot, be varied; but it is necessary to apportion the £500,000, and the apportionment we propose is £250,000 to Auckland, £150,000 to Wellington, £50,000 to Taranaki, and £50,000 to Hawke's Bay. We have given aniious consideration to the question whether we should retain control over the land in order to devote it to meeting the railway charges in the North Island. We have come to the conclusion that it would be better to leave the Provinces of th 9 North Island to deal with the land as the Provinces of the South Island do ; and, therefore, whenever, free from native difficulties, we propose that the purchased land shall be handed over to the several Provinces within. We make only this reservation, that the land shall not be sold without auction for less than twenty shillings an acre, or with auction at a less price than ten shillings an acre. This is all that we can do this session, but we shall endeavor nest session to obtain the concurrence of the North Island Provinces to reform land law in the North Island. What I have said will apply equally to the land acquired out of the £200,000, as to that out of the £500,000. I have finally to say, that, if the modification now submitted is not acceptable to the House, we are willing to adhere to the Budget proposal. But, we do not hesitate to recommend in preference the policy I have described. It involves it is true some present cost to the Colony, and some apparent sacrifice on the part of the Middle Island, but time will vindicate it as an enlightened and noble Btep in the best interests of a future united New Zealand.

The discussion was adjourned until to-day (Friday).