NELSON.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 677, 28 June 1870, Page 2

NELSON.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) On Monday, June 13, the discussion of the Estimates was resumed. I think one of your correspondents once said that " memory was a treacherous servant," and so I find it. I shall therefore accept the summary statement given by the local papers of the proceedings in Committee on that evening. It is as follows : "The items for Provincial schools, libraries, and others, included under the head of Education, were passed, after a short discussion. The item ' Warden and Resident Magistrate, three months at £530, and nine months at £350—£395,' was postponed, on the motion of Mr Donne. On the item 'Three Wardens and Resident Magistrates, £1500,' a discussion arose, in which it was argued that some of these gentlemen had considerably over £6OO a-year, including house, forage for horse, Coroners' and Sheriffs' fees, &c. Mr Luckie declared that the Warden for Westport enjoyed a salary e H ual to about £6BO, and the Provincial Secretary admitted that he had at least £620, besides horse forage. Mr Wilkie moved that there should be only two but the motion was lost. A motion by Mr Gibbs, that the sum of £ISOO be reduced to £I2OO, was lost on a division. The salary of the Warden's Clerk, at Charleston, was raised from £IBO to £2OO. In the discussion on the Police Estimates on the West Coast, Mr Wilkie made various charges against the police management in the Grey district, which produced a good deal of talk; in the course of which a strict enquiry by commission was suggested. Various other items were passed down to West Coast harbors, when the Council resumed."

With regard to the "Wardens' salaries, it was generally expected that a

determined effort at retrenchment was to be made by one of your Buller members, but the official and ordinary mind must have been agreeably surprised. Mr Luckie, Mr Gibbs, and others, who are accustomed in Nelson to a lower scale of salary than prevails on the West Coast, made a stand, not so much against the definite salary of £SOO, as against these accumulating perquisites arising out of sub-salaries and fees. Messrs Donne and Eeid supported the idea of good men, high pay, and plenty of work, but a suggestion was made that, when a Coroner was a Besident Magistrate and Warden, fees for the former office might be dispensed with by the General Government. It was admitted that the incomes were good, and it was suggested that, in such a case as the discovery of the Lyell reef, they were sufficient to warrant one or other of the West Coast officials visiting the district, and reporting thereupon. For the Provincial Sub-Treasurer there was only voted six months' salary, three of these months having expired, but that will probably be extended to nine months, and I presume it will be within the Superintendent's option to place the present occupant of the office in some other position, should such present itself. There was a good deal of discussion about policemen acting as bailiffs, and about the propriety of having a bailiff in the Grey district, as well as in Westport, but no change was made. Upon the item of " stationery, printing, advertising, and contingencies," for which there was £IOOO last year, and £750 this year, Mr Donne put a question which resulted in the answer that the " stationery, printing, and advertising" were very small parts of the items—l forget how much. The remainder constituted " contingencies." It was

commented that the Estimates might as well have read " One bailiff and contingencies " as to have other small items thus mixed up with a large amount. The police items are, of course, different from last year, the Sub-Inspector being dispensed with, and a re-arrangement of sergeants and senior constables having been effected. I notice that there is to be one constable at Matakitaki, where Mr Handyside at present officiates as Warden's clerk without the Warden. In the Gaol department at Westport, there was only one trifling reduction in salary. The amounts for rations, <fcc, are smaller, but it is to be presumed that these amounts are based upon the Q-aol Governor's calculations, in connection with the fact that longsentence prisoners are now transmitted to Nelson gaol. Not on Monday, but on the evening following, the West Coast departments were disposed of. The two items naggled over were the Harbor-Master's salary and the fact of there being a fixed boat's crew, while none existed at Greymouth, with an equal demand for such a service. Finally it was agreed to make the item " Boat's crew and boat hire," and to reduce the sum by £IOO or so.

For Monday evening Mr Donne had notice of a motion for £2500 for a pet scheme of his, or, rather of his constituents and others, viz., a road from Charleston to Westport via Addison's Flat. Two enormous petitions had been presented by him—one from Addison's and one from Charleston—representing that there had been a vote for this work last year, but unexpended. Though on the noticepaper, I observed by the reports afterwards that the motion had been withdrawn, in preference to another appointing a Select Committee, and still later 1 see that the Committee had reported so far favorably that £2OOO was added to the Supplementary Estimates for this particular work.