New Zealand Parliament

Colonist, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4170, 20 June 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

New Zealand Parliament

THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECfiH WEitiiNGTON, June 11. The Governor ' accompanied by Major Eccles, Mr Pennefabher,' the Private Secretary, and Consult Pearce, George, arid Toxward, opened Parliament at' 2 o'clock! this "afternoon, when the following speech' was delivered!— " 7 .' HoN GENTigMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE Go.UN- ,':'• oil, and Gentlemen, of, the Housj.of, Representatives.— : I have niuch pleasure, in again having recourse to your assistance. in Parliament now assembled.,. : ,The ; depression ;; that ; was, j j ■ ~/alent throughout the iCGlony-when-yoU;1 met last year shows signs, of passing away.jn in?,ny parts, and notwithstanding the ; low, price of wool and wheat, satisfactory evidence is apparent of renewed enterprise and confidence in the future progress of the colony. ; The loyal disposition of the Maoris and the. readiness they have displayed in aiding,in the construction of the North Island trunk railway must be exceedingly gratifying to you. ■ My Ministers desire, in dealing with the natives, to treat them with justice and consideration, whilst at the same time the law is maintained and throughput the native territority it may be said that the attitude of the Maoris is. not only peaceful, but friendly. Tribes and ha his .hitherto standing; aloof from the Europeans have shown an earned desire to co-operate heartily with the. Govern«ment. . ',•,, ■■■': ;,,. .. ■■ . .■ ~...i,;;,.. My advisers are of.opinion that, in order to avoid misunderstanding in future,, it, is most important that a better mode of dealing, with native lands should be devised, and to accomplish .this in a;manner just.to the Maori owners and benefclal to the colony they propose to submit to you a; Bill to, regulate the sale and; other disposition, of , lane's, belonging to the natives.. The construction of the North Island main trunk railway, which was happily inaugurated, near J£ihi ; Kihi in April last, cannot fail, to have a most' beneficial , effect on the : relations between, the European and,native races, and^s-land is provided for ; settlement along the,line, the North Island will doubtless make jgr.eai strides in permanent agricultural settlement. My, Ministers have proceeded cautiously but.effectively with the prosecution of the other public works, and thfey hope that\ab no distant,date,the railway between, Wellington and Napier will be finished. jßapidi.progresß is being, made ( in .the .construction ~qf;.the Otago Qentral railway f which, when, com-, pleted, will, open up the interior plains.of, that provincial district. i)i: , ; , ~ , ; ~; No time .was lost in making ■. an,. agreement under the East, and, West, Coast ancl Nelson^ Railway Act, and my Ministers are in hopes that, in accordance with its provisions. Nelson and the West", Coast will before long' be. connected with the East Coast of ;; the, Middle Island, and that, a vast area of land which from its nature requires a.railway to develope it will become available for u^elul purposes. The gain to the colpny from opening these lines of communication with the West Coast my Ministers consider will be, of, immense, importance, whilst the utilisation of the land, of which the colony will retain alternate blocks, must prove of great servrce. ;You will be asked to consider whether the effective working: of the. railways open for traffic could not be improved by the constitution of Boards of Commissioners to whom would be intrusted the general. management of the railways. In order to enable you to deal with the subject, my Ministers will submit a Bill for your consideration. In accordance with the authorities given by Parliament in 1882 and by your last session the loans of £1,000,000 and £1,500,000 have been raised and exceedingly satisfactory prices obtained. Papers on the subject will be laid before you. jThe Industrial Exhibition in Wellington will shortly be opened, and my advisers believe that through it an impetus will be given to. manufacturing-enterprise throughout the colony. You will be asked to .authorise the representation of , the . colony at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition to ;be held in London next year. A great opportunity will thus be afforded of making, known throughout the world the yasfc resources and natural advantages of this .colony. Considerable' attention has been given to the promotion of agricultural settlement. The special. settlements formed under the regulations lately, gazetted: promise to be a success. Applications far exceeding the area at present available by law have been received by the Lands Department. ; The constitution of. theLegiflative Counr cil has often been discussed/ A Bill dealing with the subject by limiting the appointments to a term of years will be submitted for your consideration. . Gentlemen of the House of Representatives— The estimates of revenue and expenditure for the current year will be laid before you without delay. They have been framed, with the desire to promote the utmost economy consistent with the efficiency of tha departments. My Ministers believe, that the time has come when, there should be some readjustment of taxation, and proposals with this object will shortly be.submitted to you. " ... . ' ' ."•■■:■,■ ' ;....- Hon. Gentlemen op the Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House ,of Representatives— For some time during the recessconsiderable apprehension existed of an outbreak of war with Kussia. My Ministers, therefore, felb it necessary to make immediate arjd strenuous efforts to place the colony in a state of defence. With this object considerable expense has been incurred, to which you will no doubt readily assent. The main ports are being put in a state to resist attack, and it will be proposed to you to sanction further expenditure to render the defence of the colony still more complete. You will be invited to express1 your views on the question both of naval and land; defence. There is throughout the colony a desire to improve the system of local government. My Ministers consider that any reform attempted should interfere as little as possible'with existing institutions so long as the object sought ban be obtained. They have prepared for your consideration various Bills making provision for granting the looal bodies larger powers, with a more assured local finance thus enabling them to perform their important functions without continually referring to the Central Government or to Parliament for aid and assistance. The attention of my Ministers has; been much directed to the developement of the great mineral wealth of the: colony. The interest and enthusiasm awakened in the miners by-the lectures recently delivered on chemistry and mineralogy, and their desire for the permanent establishment of Schools of Mines demonstrates the confidence these enterprising setters have in their pursuits. You will be asked to give facilities to the mining industry. There are other industries which require' your careful attention. Tbe forests of the colony, if properly cultivated, would not only give full employment to many colonists, but their; value would be greatly enhanced. Much valuable timber is now being recklessly destroyed, and it will be for you to consider whether, for economic as well as climatic reasons, greater efforts should not be made to conserve and utilise the forest lands of the Crown. A Bill on the subject has been prepared and will be submitted to you. The relation of New Zealand to the Australian Colonies and the South Sea Islands has occupied the attention of Ministers during the recess. My Ministers considered ib their duty to oppose the' Federal Council Bill in the shape.it was brought before the Imperial Parliament until y6u/could have an opportunity of expressing your views on the subject. The new mail service to the South Sea Islands1 which' you authorised will, it is 1 hoped, strengthen! the commercial j relations and increase the'trade between them and New Z.alahd. •' Correspondence with the Right Hon the Secretary of State fi?r the' Colonies, with the Premiers of the Australian colonies,' and -with the King of Samoa, ;will be laid before you. ! The dispensing of aid to the poor and sick has proved, especially since the abolition of the Provinces, a difficult task.' My Ministers think that such aid .cannot'be'successfully administered by a central government",' but' should be locally controlled, and a Bill with this object wfll be submitted to you. ■' j I commend to your careful consideration the Bills which will be brought before, you for various purposes, amongst: others 0 for consolidating the land laws: for limiting'the liability of Insurance Company share-

holders; for codifying-'the briminal1 laws; for: bo'ißolidating the various Municipal' Corporation Acts, the !lNat'iye' 'Land5 Laws', and the Land Transfer: Acts, and-for e.sirbUsh ing;ia[ system of parcels post,: and/ for1 the-issue' of po al notes.; ■:-'.;^:.; f-i i ;i'- 1;:..;;.,.-;,,... --l^ j •<.; I earnestly libpe'thafc with theblesßirig of' God you mSy be enabled' to discharge your onerous duties (with: good' effect.!;;: : ' ' The fisheries, th6ugh kiiown to be valuable j> have hithjerto received very little^ Proposals to found fishing settlements, and to aid in the development of fishing industries will be laid before you, and I have no doubt they will receive your, careful consideration.^1 ; ■ ;. :.. .i -.;■•■