WESTLAND IN THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

West Coast Times, Issue 343, 29 October 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

WEST L A N D IN THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

(FUOJI OV II OWN' COKRESrOXDEXT.)

CHRISTCnURCH, . Tuesday, October 23, 1866. The Provincial Council, as you are aware, met on Friday last, anil I presume that you will have received and published his Honor's speech, in which he makes kindly mention of Westland, but is silent on many jjoints on which he niight have been expected to be communicative. The order of proceedings here appears to be somewhat exceptional. The ordinary business of the House has beeu proceeded with to-day, without any consideration of his Honor's speech, and it was left for a private member, Mr Montgomery, to give notice to-day that he would, on Thursday, move the adoption of an address in reply. It is a remarkable fact that although the Superintendent has expressed his strong wish to have a short session, and so prorogue the House for some six months, as soon as business of actual emergency is disposed of, no Government business whatover was brought before the Council ' to-day, with the exception of a message from the Superintendent, nominating I Mr John Ollivier, the late Speaker, to the office of Provincial Auditor, and asking the concurrence of the House in the nomination. There was a strong indisposition manifested to accept the nomination of Mr Ollivier without some understanding as the terms on which the appointment was to be made ; and the Government thought it politic to consent to a postponement of the question until Thursday. Except for the appointment of the ordinary working committees, no move whatever has been made by the Government today, and not a notice given of a single measure to be introduced.

The Chamber, with all its beauty as a work of architectural art, has one very serious drawback. It lacks room for the convenient accommodation of the forty-four members, of whom the enlarged House now consists. The consequence is, that those who fiz'st come make an effort to be first served. Messrs Barff, Whall, and Hoos, who arrived in time for the opening of the Council on Friday last, managed to secure three contiguous seats almost immediately opnositc the Government bench. Hon. members appear to have thought that they had nothing to do but to ticket the seats they appropriated to themselves on the principle of free selection, to secure them for the remainder of the session. Mr Jollie to-day made a rather amusing speech, challenging the validity of the ticket as a legal title, and threatening to introduce a bill for the '• re-distribu-tion of seats," or to propose that they should be put up to auction as a source of revenue, if the attempted monopoly were insisted on. He, himself, had been obliged to "jump " a seat. The Speaker being appealed to, ruled that in the absence of any standing order, it Avas necessary to fall back upon the practice of the House of Commons, and he quoted from " May " to show that members who were present at prayers could secure their seats for the day, by affixing their card to them, but could establish no more lastiug tenure. It is not likely, however, that any attempt will be made to disturb the present squatters of the comfortable sections they have selected, as courtesy overrides standing orders. Mr Bright, your fourth member, took his seat on Tuesday, in time for the commencement of actual bu-iness. He located himself in one of the cross seats at the extreme end of the hall facing the Speaker — shut out from the more luxurious quarters secured ty his colleagues. It is not, perhaps, to be regretted that by this arrangement the appearance of a Westland combination or "clique" in the House, has been avoided. It would be exceedingly -to be regretted that your representatives should encovirage the idea that they have no general place in the House as a Provincial Legislature. I may conclude this brief record of to-day's proceedings, by saying th&t nothing occurred of the slightest interest to your district with the exception of several notices of motion given by Mr Bright, and leave of absence for a fortnight granted to Mr Hawker.