PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1720, 29 April 1862, Page 5

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

The opening of the seond Session of the third Provincial Council took place on Friday, 25th instant. There was a numerous attendance of persons in the space allotted to the accommodation of the public, and several ladies were also present, though not so many as we have observed on former occasions. The following members were present. The Speaker, Messrs. Brandon, Woodward, Fitz herbert, Johnston, Smith, Barton, Allen, Carter,'T, ay lor, Wallace, Spinks, Fawcett, Buck, M'Ewen, Whitewood, Wright, Rhodes, Duucan, Stoke^' Bbrlase, Crawford. The Speaker having taken the chair, his Honor the Superintendent shortly afterwards entered the Council Chamber, aud proceeded to -deliver the following. ADDRESS. Mb. Speaker and Gehtlemeh of the Provincial Council, — In your last Session you passed an address to the Representatives of this Province in the General Assembly, in which, after thanking them for the course they had pursued in reference to the Taranaki war, you urged them, " to use their utmost exertions to obtain the establishment of such a wise, humane, and equitable policy by the General Government towards the aboriginal inhabitants of these Islands as would ensure the continuance of peaceful relations between the two races; and the future prosperity of the Colony. It will scarcely be expected that I should open this -Session without offering you my heartfelt congratulations upon the changes that have taken place since we last met — upon our having escaped the- dangers that then impended over us, and upon' the prospect there is now of our hopes being fully realised. Though at the time you voted that address a truce had been arranged between the Government and the Natives, still no change had taken place either in the policy or intentions of the then Governor and his advisers. They agreed to a suspension of arms in a moment of panic, and only waited for reinforcements and the sanction of the Imperial Government to make an aggressive

J movement, which must at once have brought on a general war — i war which according to their own admission, must have swept away the hard earned fruits of twenty years of colonization, and could only have been brought to a close by the , extermination of the Native Race. The dangers to which you, in common with the i whole population of this Island were then exposed, i will only be fully understood and appreciated J when the correspondence between the late Go- 1 vernor and the Home Government, and the rejo- i lutions of the Secret Committees of the two s , Houses have been made public. But nevertheless, 1 when you remember that the war was commenced i when there was only a force of a few hundred men I at the disposal of the Government — that even < when the force (military and naval) had been t augmented to above 5000, the Governor and his j Ministers found themselves too weak to fire " that 1 shot in the Waikato country which was to be the signal of a general rising of the Natives," — that they still begged and prayed for further reinforcements ; and when you further consider that upon your Eepresentatives protesting against his striking the blow he was meditating until at leasfc some sort of protection to the settlers had been provided, the late Governor admitted, that even if he had 20,000 men at his command, he could not do more than defend the three or four centres of population ; and that therefore all the settlers beyond the precincts of the garrisoned towns must be prepared to submit to the sacrifice, if not of their lives, at any rate of their properties, — when you bear in mind such admissions as these, I am surely justified in congratulating you upon this Island having escaped dangers as great as ever threatened anyone of England's numerous dependencies. Nor am I less justified in congratulating you upon the prospect there now is that the hopes you breathed in the Address to which I am referring will be most completely realized, The dismissal of the late Ministry, and the substitution in its place of one holding entirely different views and advocating a wholly different policy — the recal of Colonel Gore Browne, and the reappointment of Sir George Grey — the man of all others in whom the Natives over have had, and still have the greatest confidence, — at once changed the whole aspect of affairs. No sooner did these events occur than a firm conviction seized the minds both of Europeans and Natives that there was an end to the internecine war contemplated by the late Administration. How far this conviction has bean borne out by subsequent events — the present position of the Colony contrasted with what it was a few months since— the restoration of public confidence — the revival of every branch of industry — the employment of the Military, not in war but in making roads — the changed attitude of the Natives, their eager adoption of the institutions of self-govern-ment offered to them — the withdrawal of some of the most influential chiefs from the king confederacy — the confirmed loyalty of many of the most powerful tribes — the unmistakeable wavering displayed in the ranks of the king's adherents, — these and other facts, patent to all, sufficiently testify and declare. My own belief, however, in the establishment of a permanent peace, rests not so much on the chan jo of Ministry or the re-appointment of Sir G. Grey, or the offer to the Natives of the institutions for which they have long been craving and striving after, as upon the simple fact, that his Excellency and his Ministers by their offer to refer the question of ths Waitara purchase to arbitration, have had the moral courage to proclaim to the Natives — that the same principles of justice which guide men in their private transactions shall be observed between her Majesty's Government and her Majesty's Government and her Majesty's subjects — that if wrong has been done even by her Majesty's Representative that wrong shall not be persisted in, but as far as possible repaired. Had this avowal not been made a deep and keen sense of injustice, rankling and festering in the minds of the whole Native population, must have rendered a solution of the Native difficulties well nigh if not altogether hopeless. | -Without that offer of arbitration, Peaoe was j barely possible ; that offer made, to my mind, War is barely possible. The discovery of Gold Fields in the Province of Otago, which have up to this time proved as remunerative, if not more so, than any in Australia, has already had an influence on this province second only to that produced by the general impression that peace would be established. That such a discovery by drawing off a considerable number of our male adult population, and by unsettling men's minds should have caused a temporary stagnation to trade and commerce, ought not to have excited the slightest surprise, for such ever have been the first effects of the discovery of a paying gold field upon the countries more immediately adjoining them. But when it is stated that since the discovery of gold in Otago, from the returns furnished to me by two Banks—the Union and the New South Wales— that nearly £70 000 had been remitted from Otago to this Province — that the Custom House returns shew that during the year ending the 3 1st December last, the, value of th>* Exports from this province to Dunedin was <£35,109, and for the quarter ended the 3 1st March last £18,485, and further that the value of stock, timber, and other articles , the produce of the Province, was for the same quarter .€15,343, it can scarcely be doubted that this Province lias probably reaped greater advantages from the gold fields of Otago than any other Province. Tbi discovery of gold in different districts of this Province has very naturally caused a belief that paying gold fields may yet be discovered and consequently a desire that no time aiiould be lost in ascertaining how far the impression is well founded. You will therefore not be surprised that the Government have not hesitated to anticipate your wishes by intimating to Sir. R. Murchis'on that they accepted his offer, conveyed through Mr. Mantell, to select and send out a Geologist thoroughly competent to explore the mineral re sources of this Province. But in order to avoid any charge of apathy in regard to a matter in which the whole Province manifested so deep. an interest, the Government gladly availed themselves of the services in the mean time of Mr. J. Coutts Crawford. The reports furnished by that gentleman will show that in the short space of three months he explored a great portion of the West Coast territory ; and the information contained in them both in regard to the geology and the agricultural and pastoral capabilities .of the country he traversed, will bear ample testimony to his competency for the work he undertook and to the valuable services he has rendered. Though no discovery of available mineral wealth rewarded his explorations still he has paved this way for the researches of future geologists and has already indicated the localities in which minerals may most probably be found. You will be gratified to learn that this Province has at last been relieved, both of the heavy expense, and of the mischievous obstruciveness of the Land Purchase Department — His Excellency the Governor having been pleased to devolve upon . ' myself, as Superintendent, the duty of purchasing _ such lands as the Natives may from time to time . be disposed to alienate, Though fully alive to the 3 responsibilities attached to the appointment, 1 have not hesitated to accept it, as I conceive that very 1 great advantages may accrue, especially in the pret sent state of the Native mind, from the Superin- , tendent being placed in such close and intimate j relations both towards the General Government j and the Natives, as the office of Land Purchase r , Commissioner implies. There will no longer be 3 that antagonism between the General and Provina cial Government in regard to land purchases so lt calculated to impair and destroy the influence of c both. The subordinate officers of the Land Pur- ( . chase Department will no longer be political „ agents employed for party purposes to engender v distrust of the authorities and to foment rather * c than to adjust disputes with the Natives, about ■q Land. The Superintendent from the constant and

intimate intercourse which will thus be established "- between him and the Natives in every part of the Province and from the influence which his office as Land Purchase Commissioner will undoubtedly give him. cannot fail to acquire an accurate knowledge of the feelings wishes, and requirements, of the Natives, and thus be enabled to second far more effectually than he otherwise could do, his Excellency's Government in their endeavours to remove existing causes of irritation, and to revive that confidence in the Government which has been so grievously impaired by the proceedings of the late Administration. While on the one hand there will be no solicitation — no teasing of the Natives to part with a single acre of their lands, yet on the other hand, they well know and feel that in the event of their wishing to sell, they will not be subjected to the vexatious delays hitherto occasioned by the necessity of referring'every negotiation to a i distant authority — but the terms of purchase arranged, and the boundaries of the Block offered for sale after due notice publicly defined and marked out, the purchase will be at once completed. While I am anxious to avoid raising any undue expectations from the change thii3 made in the Land Purchase Department, I have reason to believe that no long time will elapse before valuable blocks will be freely offered for sale to the Government. With respect to the funds by which purchases are to be effected, I am not in a position to state how much of the Land Purchase Loan remains unexpended ; but I fear that when the accounts are rendered it will be found that of the £27,000 allo. cated to this Province, the whole, with the exception of a few thousands, has disappeared, and that some 30j>er cent, of the amount has been frittered I awayin the expenses of the Department. As itisim- ! possible to give^even^an approximate estimate of the sums that may be required, I shall simply ask you to authorise me by resolution, in the event of other funds not being available, to raise temporary loans from the banks, an operation which there will be no difficulty in effecting, as the Union has on former occasions made similar advances to a large amount, and as the New South Wales Bank a short time since, when T hoped that Mr. McLean might purchase certain blocks, involving heavy payments readily consented to place at my disposal whatever amount might be necessary. Such advances it will be understood, will have to be repaid out of the first proceeds of the sales of the purchased blocks. You are aware that the two Bills, the one repealing the clause of the Land Revenue Appropriation Act of 1858, under which one- sixth of your Land Revenue was authorised to be retained by the General Government; the other compelling a refund of the amount so impounded, which were passed by the House of Representatives in 1860, and rejected by the Legislative Council, were again introduced last session, and agreed to by the House of Representatives without a division, but that the Legislative. Council again threw them out. It is satisfactory to know that before next session the Legislative Council will be so far reformed by an addition to its numbers, that it will scarcely be in a position again to defeat the repeated decisions of the House of Representatives on a money bill, with which it has constitutionally no right to interfere. In the meanwhile the present General Government has advanced to the Province as a nominal loan, the whole amount of the " Reserved Sixths" received up to October last, on the security of a portion of the land in process of reclamation, and I have no doubt they will continue to hand over the accruing sixths as often as we may ask for them, especially as under the change just mentioned in the Land Purchase Department, the onus of providing the funds for land purchases will devolve not upon the General but the Provincial Government. During the last session of the General Assembly the Representatives of Hawkes' Bay and of this Province, after repeated conferences upon the subject of the apportionment of the Public Debt, agreed to submit the case of their respective provinces to the Auditor ' General, not as an arbitrator, but with the view of obtaining his opinion as to conditions and principles, by which in the event of an arbitration being agraod to, the arbitrators should be guided, and upon the understanding that the report should be laid before the Provincial Councils of the two Provinces for their sanction, previous to any further action being taken in the matter. The Auditor General, after hearing the statements of the two parties, and fully considering the whole question, ultimately gave it as his opinion, that the permanent debt of the original Province must be taken at the date separation at £100,000 ; and that the apportionmentshould be based on population, rather than territory; and accordingly recommended thatjHawke's Bay should be charged with ±'25,01 >0 of the £100,000. Your representatives at once offered either to adopt the Auditor General's recommendations, provided the same principle of apportionment was applied to the Land Purchase Loans, or to adopt the territorial basis of apportionment for the jL'IOO,OOO, or finally, by way of compromise, to accept the sum of but the Hawke's Bay Representatives did not feel themselves justi-. fied in agreeing to any of these three proposals. It is under these circumstances that in redemption of a pledge given to the House of Representatives, I shall submit a Bill appointing commissioners with full powers to adjust the debt with the Hawke's Bay Government. Without expressing my entire concurrence in the conclusions arrived at by the Auditor General, I yet willingly admit that he has so far cleared the way for a settlement, that I do not apprehend that there will be any serious difficulty in satisfactorily arranging this vexed question, if the Hawke's Bay Government is prepared to enter upon the propseod negociations in the same spirit as we do. The shortness of the last Session having precluded the possibility of your examining the claims preferred against this Province by Messrs. Gladstone and Co., in respect of the Ann Wilson's immigrants, I must again ask you to take the matter into your consideration, with the view of enabling the Government to give a decided and definite answer to Messrs. Gladstone and Co. From the correspondence which has already been published you will perceive that the two questions submitted to Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners were, — Ist. Whether the Provincial Government was at all liable for payment of the passage money of the immigrants by the Ann Wilson ? and 2ndly. If liable, whether large deductions ought not to be made on account of the breaches in the Passengers' Act, and the conduct of the Captain and Surgeon, which have foroed the Provincial Government to forego, as far as it is concerned, any attempt to recover the passage money on the promissory notes of the immigranta." The Commissioners decided that the Government of Wellington could not be compelled to pay for the immigrants by the Ann Wilson, but they nevertheless concluded their reporjb with a recommendation that it should pay the whole amount of the passage money, less the sum of £$o>.\ on account of the non-issue of the legal allowance of water. Now as the second question was clearly contingent upon the answer given to the first, which was given in favor of the Government, I have always contended, that the commissioners exceeded their powers in even entering 3 1 upon it — that in short, having decided that the ? Provincial Government was not liable, there was - an end of the reference. Nevei theless, seeing - that no blame really attaches to Messrs. Gladstone a and Co., that they appear to have taken the usual t precautions to ensure the comfort and health of the c passengers by the Ann Wilson ; and having regard c to the admirable condition in which the other - emigrant ships despatched by them arrived in o this port, it would not redound to the credit of if the Province if the whole loss was thrown upon - them, and I therefore feel assured that you will ,1 meet their claim in a fair and liberal spirit. r The census recently taken by the General r Government presents some interesting results, t which yvill shortly be made public in a report X drawn up by Mr. Woodward, who acted as the

-^ohief enumeratorf -"The'totaf^bpiilatidniij statedT at 12,566, the increase over that of 1858, being only 7 per cent. The smallness of this increase ia to be accounted for partly by their having been no Government immigration for the last few years, but chiefly by the absence of a large number of our male population at the Otago diggings, a fact ■ which is proved by the disproportionate amount of females as compared with the males; and ; further, by their being an excels of married j women over married men, the number of males l between the ages of 21 and 40 being given as 444 less in 186 L than in 1858. ' Tne Education returns shew that out of a popu- : lation of 6 371 above 16 years of age, there could '. read and write 558 5, could read only 328 could neither read nor write only 369. The number of children at schools is 1688, of whom 394 attend schools receiving Government aid, and 1291 are at | private schools. I The number of horses is given at 5117, being an ' increase since 1853 of 60 per cent. ; of horned cattle 49,323, or 35 per cent, increase, of sheep 247,940, or an increase of 59 per cent. With regard to land and cultivation the returns show that there are 76,6 it acres fenced in, being an increase since 1858 of 87 per cent., and 50,313 acres under crop, being an increase of 1i26. Though these returns are in some respects not very flattering, yet upon the whole they show that the Province has, in spite of great . disturbing causes, made a very considerable progress, and justifies us in indulging the expectation that its future progress, the obstructions removed, will be much more rapid. Unsatisfactory as were the steam arrangements made some years since with the Coleman Company, the modication of them recently proposed by the Pottmaster- General does not seem to have met with the approval of any one of the Southern Provinces. As far as I understood the scheme of the Postmaster-General it was this — A steamer was to leave Sydney on the arrival of the English ' mails from Auckland ; two inter-provincial steam- ' , er3 were to keep up a fortnightly communication ' I between Auckland and the Bluff, calling both ' [ going and returning at the intermediate ports ; j and another inter-provincial boat was to run once a fortnight between Manakau, Taranaki, Nelson, ( and Wellington. The English mails for Napier, ' Taranaki, and Nelson were to be brought by the ' Sydney steamer to Auckland, and forwarded on by the inter- provincial boats ; the mails for the 1 other Southern Provinces were to be sent from ' Melbourne to Otago, and forwarded on also by the ' other inter-provincial boats; the insuperable ob- l jection to that scheme was, that it deprived all the ( Provinces except Auckland of direct steam com- ' munication with Sydney. This objection has, however, to a certain extent been removed ; for it is - now proposed to run a steamer once a n>onth and ( back between Sydney and any two of the three ( provinces of Nelson, Wellington, and Canterbury, ' which shall join in giving a subsidy of £3000 a ' year, to be supplemented by the General Govern- ' ment witli a further sum of £2000. Admitting ' the force of the objections urged to the scheme as ] thus modified by the Chamber of Commerce, and ' others, still, as it virtually makes Wellington the Head-quarters of Steam, and as it is most import- ' ant not to merely maintain direct Steam with Sydney, but especially during the Meeting of the General Assembly to keep up frequent communication with all the other Provinces, I think it would be unwise in us to decline joining either Nelson or Canterbury in the proposed subsidy, even though I deem it excessive, considering that the line between Sydney and Cook's Straits pays the Company better than any other. I shall have peculiar pleasure in laying before you the Reports of the visiting- Justices of the Gaol ; for, from them, you will gather, thanks to the zealous and judicious superintendence of the visiting Justices, and also to the faithful manner in which their instructions have been carried out by the Warden, how different is the state of the Gaol to what it was a few years ago. The discipline is so much improved that whereas formerly mo3t of the Prisoners were kept in irons there are now only two. Ttie classification is so far improved, that debtorß^are^noionger_obliged tojierd with prisoners, and the penal servitude men are kept separate from the hard-labor men. Additional accommodation is, however, required for females, and lor men awaiting trial. This it is proposed to provide, by adding on to the N. W. Wing. What, however, is wanting, is the establishment of certain rales and conditions under which prisoners can by good conduct in the Gaol, win for themselves a remission or mitigation of their sentences. As long as no such hope is held out, the heavier the sentence, the loss inducement to reform, the stronger their desire, at any risk, to escape Under the present system Justice simply defeats itself. Nor is the state of the Lunatic Asylum less satisfactory. From the Reports both of the late and of the present Medical Officer, you will learn that restraint is seldom had recourse to— that however violent patients may be when admitted, they soon, owing to the lenient and judicious treatment now pursued, become quiet, and render the most implicit obedience to those in charge of the Asylum Pay a visit to the Asylum and you will probably find its residents engaged in carpen. tering, gardening, cutting firewood, or some other useful occupation. The building, however, being too small to allow of any classification, I have placed a sum on the Estimates to build an additional wing. The nature of the remarks I made last session respecting the want of engineering skill displayed in the construction of our Bridges, has been, I regret to say, fully confirmed during the last year. The past expenditure on Bridges has in a great measure been so much money thrown away. Even within the last few weeks some 4 or 5 Bridges have been swept away, involving a very considerable outlay to replace them. Though it may be necessary to replace some of these, as some of them are absolutely necessary for the purposes of traffic, yet, as I propose, with your sanction, to consult Mr.Fitzgibbon of Nelson, who has already given a sufficient proof of his engineering abilities in the construction of the Dun Mountain Railway, and who has had to contend in America with precisely the same difficulties which present themselves here, it appears to me inexpedient to incur any larger expenditure than we can possibly avoid, either in Bridges, which are scarcely completed before they are swept away, or in attempts to prevent the freaks and encroachments of our rivers and mountain torrents, until we have obtained either his advice or that of some other competent engineer. I make this recommendation the more readily because Mr. Fitzgibbon has had great experience in the erection of Iron Suspension Bridges, which I understand have been thrown over a span of 1000 feet,- at a cost of about £8 a foot. If such is the case, an Iron Suspension Bridge could be thrown over the. Wanganui River at considerably less cost than a wooden one. And here in order to explain the omission of the Wanganui Bridge from the Estimates after having stood there so many years, I may as well mention that Mr. Fitsigibbon has already declared his willingness to report upon the practicability of throwing a Bridge over the Wanganui. The reason which induced me last session to recommend the erection of a Toll-gate at Kai-warra have acquired additional weight. For the repairs of the two great Trunk lines cost last year £4183, an expanditure which will be very materially exceeded this year. The unfairness of devoting so large an amount of your revenue to such purposes, while those whose property is maily benefit ted by the Trunk roads not only contribute nothing either to their construction or repairs, but also generally escape all Taxation for District Roads, seems admitted by all parties. It will be for you to consider whether a Toll-gate at Kaiwarra will meet the justice and requirements of the case ; or whether in addition to a toll levied upon all who use the Trunk Roads, a tax should not be be levied on all lands abutting upon them, and whioh are not taxed for District Roads. . Crown Grants of the Town* Belts of Weliington

"a'S'J iVauganui and also of the Reserve known as the Canal Bisin, having baen issued to the Superintendent, Bills will be submitted to you, vesting the management of the Town Baits of Wellington, in a Board of three Commissioners, who will be empowered to lease it in moderate size allotments for a term of 21 years, and to apply the rents to such Town improvements as they may deem expedient ; unless you should specify in the Act works which the Commissioners shall be bound to carry out. Though tha Canal and Basin will be vested in the same Board, yet it is provided in the Bill that | they shall be reserved as a Public Park, a certain portion of which is further to be set apart as a Cricket Ground. A similar Bill will be required for the Town Belt of Wanganui. While providing a Public Park at Te Aro, it seems only fair to make a similar provision for Thorndon, and as it is desirable for several reasons to purchase the acre in front, I would suggest the purchase of the two or three acres behind, with a view of having the whole block planted and laid out, part being made a Botanical Garden. It having been .determined that the next session of the .General Assembly shall be held here in June, it will in all probability be necessary to build one or two rooms in connection with " Bellamy's," and to provide additional furniture. Although the General Assembly may be willing to defray these expenses, still it appears to me so wholesome a rule to lay down — that any Province i which seeks for the meeting of the General Assembly at its capital should take upon itself the sole burthen of providing the buildings and accommodation which a compliance with its claims entails, that I shall not hesitate to ask you to vote whatever sum may be necessary to meet the requirements of the General Assembly, of which I shall in all probability be advised by the next | mail. I shall again ask you for the appointment of a committee to receive and report upon the claims to compensation of those parties who complain that they were prevented by a variety of causes from preferring them within the time prescribed by law. A block of land at Manawatu estimated to contain some twenty-five thousand acres has been recently handed over to the Provincial Government, but as , the greatest portion of this is swamp, which in the hands of individuals would be com paratively useless, it is proposed that the Government should undertake to drain it before it is thrown open for purchase ; the Engineer's report as to the practicability of draining it is being just obtained. A Bill authorising this will probably be necessary. Under the Provincial Audit Act of the General Assembly (1861,) it is necessary that the Provincial Couucil and Superintendent should concur in the nomination of an Auditor and Deputy Auditor of the accounts of the Province, who will then after such nomination be appointed by the Speaker, and further, that provision for their salaries should be made by a Provincial Act. While I shall readily concur in your nomination, I feel bound to submit, that, considering the faithful and efficient manner in which the present Auditors have for several years discharged their duties, and their entire independence both of the Executive and Legislature, it will be difficult to find others so well qualified for the offices, and therefore, unwise to dispense with their services, if they are willing to continue them. It was my intention to have proposed some Amendments to the DLstrici; Highway's Act. But the opinions of those who have had experience of its working are so conflicting that I deem it expedient before any further legislation be attempted, that the whole subject should be referred to a Select Committee— in order that the evidence of members of the various Boards of Wardens may be taken. The anticipations we indulged in last year as to the effect of increasing the Grants in aid, from an equivalent to two-thirds have been mlly realized. The amount paid into the Treasury during the past year for the purpose of obtauung Grants in aid having been more than double the amount of any previous year. I am glad to say that the state of your finances will permit of your continuing to contribute at the same rate during the present year. As it is essential that the Custom House should be as close as possible to the Custom-house Wharf, I felt it my duty to lose no time after the contract for the wharf had been taken, in having plans prepared for a Custom-house, and also for a Post Office, in consequence of the Postmaster-General having authorised the Postmaster to secure at once a more suitable building. These plans having been approved by the Commissioner of Customs, tenders were called for, and one has been accepted, subject to you sanction. It being desirable that these buildings should be ready ftu occupation by the time the wharf is completed, you will, I trust, intimate your decision with as little delay as possible. But these aro not the only public buildings whiclx are required. By the lasb mail I received a communication from the General Government, pressing upon me the desirableness of making provision not only for these buildings* but also fat Supreme Court by a loan with a sinking fund, to which His Excellency will be prepared to assent ; at the same time intimating that the " General Government is so deeply impressed with the necessity of making provision by a loan for these objects, that unless the Provincial • Legislature will make such provision by a loan, Ministers will feel themselves called upon to propose to the General Assembly, in its next session, to sanction the necessary expenditure, the amount being brought to account as a local charge against the revenue of the Province." I not only coincide in the opinion thus expressed, as to the necessity of that these sums and the interest accruing thereon should be invested in mortgages on Freehold Land within the Province ; that such payments should be a first charge upon the Revenue of the Province, after paying interest on Loans; and that the monies and accruing interest so invested should be applied by the Commissioners at stated. periods, or from time to time to redeeming a portion of the public debt. The advantages of snch a scheme are sufficiently obvious — the annual charge would be triflLest any objection should be urged against increasing the public debt, it ia perhaps right to remind you that at the same time, that the permanent annual charges are increased fresh sources of revenue are created. Assuming that the proposed loan will entail an annual charge of £2,000 still estimating the wharfage dues at £1,500 a-year, the road tolls also at £1,500, and the light dues (the levying of which will it is expected be authorised by the General Assembly in the ensuing year) at .£SOO, you have an addition of £3,500 a year to your income, to meet an increased charge of £2,000. But while thus proposing to increase the debt of the Province, I am anxious that steps Should, at the same time be taken, for providing a Sinking Fund for the extinction, not only of the Loan now proposed, but of the whole public debt. You may remember, that in a previous session I threw out a suggestion, that a portion of the public estate should be set apart for that purpose, but after more maturely considering the subject, I readily acknowledge the validity of the objections urged to the suggestion then made ; and I now propose that each year, a sum (say) of £2000 should be paid over to Commissioners, to bo termed Com missioners for the extinction of the Public Debt ; the buildings in question, but I am anxious that you should also sanction the building of a Police Court and Station — also to be included in the loan. The site proposed for the Supreme Court and Police Court is the reserve near the Scotch Church. I need not point out that by erecting these public buildings either on or in the immediate vicinity of the reclaimed land, you will materially enhance its value, and ensure a speedy demand for it. Considering the large sums thus proposed to be expended in this city during the current year, the many public works which, are, required in. different parts, of the country, the inroad already, made

upon the revenue by. .the damages recently • done to public works, the fact of the coat of the Lighthouse having been defrayed out of the revenue, instead of, as was intended, out of the loan of £25,000 disallowed by the late ! . Ministry, and especially the probability that large^ fund's maybe required for land purchases, I feel thafc ; it' is. only fair . and reasonable that the ; cost : of the Custom House Wharf should, equally' with the buildings just mentioned, be provided for by loan. I accordingly intend laying a Bill before you, authorising a loan of £25,000.' •■ ing— the province would receive a highar rate of interest on the money it lent, than it paid on the . money it borrowed ; — ita sinking fund instead, of being sent out of the Province to be invested in foreign securities, would, be employed in developing the resourcss of the Province— and in the event of the Province . requiring further loans, if would go into the money market with much higer credit, than it would do, were no provision 1 made for the liquidation of ita previous dabt. To show, the operation of this scheme— if the public debt was £100,000— it would be extinguished within 19 years; but ie is not proposed, that" the sinking fund should go on accumulating for 18 or 19 years when it. would be equal to the amount of the debt of £100,000— but that the Cpmraissioners should from; time to time apply the whole or a portion of it to redeeming a portion of? the Fublic debt. Should this proposal of a. Sinking, Fund meet with your approval, . a Bill giving, effect to it will be laid before you. . The Audited accounts up to the 31st of last month will at once be laid before you. Prom these and also certain other Keturns, you will find that with three or four exceptions, all the works for which you made Appropriations last year, have either been completed or. are in progress. With reference to the proposed expenditure for the current year, you will necessarily , find many of the Appropriations of last year, on the present Estimates. . . . i ,_,-. „ Taking the expenses of the Ordinary Departments of the Government at £14,000; of 4he Surveys and , Roads Departments, at £5000 ; the permanent charges (i.e., Interest on Loans) at £9,500 you will find on the Estimates under, the head of Sundry Undertakings, the fallowing items proposed: for Education, £750; Council Library, £150; Explorations and Geological Survey, £1100; Subsidy to Local Steam Navigation Company, £1000 ; for Inter-Colonial Steam, £1,500 ; 1 for Repairs, Insurances, Furniture, International^ I Exhibition, &c, £950; making a total expense k I under the head of Public Undertakings of £5340. Under the head of Bridges, you will find: for the Pakuratahi, £825; for the Silver Stream, £129;; for the Horokiwi, £85 ; for the Wangaehu, £1000": for the Hutt, £300; the Taueru, £629; the,. Pahautanui, £83; the Porirua, £203; the Tutai 2*ui, £150 ; making a total expenditure on Bridges of 4-3,400. Under the head of Roadt, ■ the following votes are proposed: for repairs of' the two trunk lines, including Ngahaurangaand the HutfcGorges, £4,700 ; lor the Beach road, vyellington, £100; for the Rahgitikei- Wanganui trunk line, £3,000 ; for No. 3 line, Wanganui, (inclusive of the appropriation of last year) £1000; (and the following votes all include balances of previous " | appropriation, unexpendedon the Ist of Jauuaty last): for Feathereton to Mastertoh, £1,000,: Featherston to Te Kopi, £250 ; Masterton to/ Castle Point, £7*50; Belmont Road, £3LO; Wai? nui-o-mata, £D 80; Remutaka, £650; bridle tract to Mungaroa, £300 ; Upper Rangitikei to Tijrakina, £o00 ; Karori diversion, £500 ; and 'grants in aid, £4,500 ; giving a total proposed expenditure on roads of £18,130. Under the head of Buildings and •itindry Works, vbte3 are proposed. — for land, £3000; Piling bank of Wanganui river, j6200^; Meteorological Observatory and Instruments, £200: for additions to Gaol; at Wellington, £750 ; to Gaol at Wanganui, £500;~ to Lunatic Asylum, Karori, £400;; for purchase of three acres adjacent to Government - Offices," £1,600; for toll-bar at Kai-/Varra, £350; contingencies for public works, £200 i; Deep Watefc VVharf (including metal, sheathing, cranes,.«ind plant), £18,000; Custom House and Post Office (including sheds, warehouses, and furniture), i'SOOO j Supreme Court, ,£3000 ; Police Court and Station, £2000; making (with a few other items) a total expenditure on public buildings and sundry works of £36,500. ' The total expenditure proposed for the year being £91,880, but it must be understood tKafc this expenditure on public works, &c, isintended tq extend over the period, commencing on thelst of last January and ending on the 31st of March, 1863. For in making the present statement lam placed in this difficulty,' in consequence of your having decided upon April as the most convenient mjonth for holding your session; a.nd sanctioned an expenditure in your last' Appropriation Act for the first four months, of the present year erided the 3 1st December last, but; without making, any spesH 1 fib appropriations for tEese four montb.3. and. witbji out changing your financial y'ea',jt f aui necessarilyobliged to make afinancial statement for the' year ended on the 31st December, instead of for theyear ending the 81st. of 1 - next March.,. To obviate this difficulty (which, practically is not of the slightest importance, for your financial position, jboth as - 'regards revenueand expeenditure, as' ,you will see by referring to. the audited, accounts was almost precisely the same on the first ofthis month asitwas on the Ist of January I propose, submitting to you two Approprifttjpa' : • Bjlls— one covering the actual experid.ituve , q£ : tb(e last three montils already sanctioned, and (he." other for the year commencing, the Ist of Apriland ending the, 3lst March next. ■ ■• ;"{••-,. With regard to the means.of meeting the large expenditure proposed I apprehend you wi^ see no difficulty. On the Ist of January (and 4t is the 1 same now) the balance in. the ha^jis .pfi.ths; Treasurer was £17,695 ; balance due ,on account of reserve sixths, £2,88 L; balance to the Credit of the Province in England, £3,925 ; interest due^ from Hawke's Bay, £4,500 ; I estimate thejJ'-Sths gross customs at £14,500; licenses, auctioneers-, -, and publicans', at £1,-900 ; pilotage, £500 : asSes-' ment on sheep,. £250; Hospital and' LunaticAsylums (subsistence money), £250; Incidental Receipts, £100; Immigrants' Promissory, Nqt©^, £2,000} Rates on laud and contributions frboi. grants in aid, £2,000 ; pasture licenses and- rente, - 1 £1,00.0,; Land sales, £25,000; proceeds qf re/-, claimed laud, £6,000 ; refund of reserved sixths,, £4,C00; making the total receipts, £84,391, t6 coveran estimated expenditure , of £91,880, exclusive of any liability oh aceoupt of the Ann Wilson's immigrants, and of additions that may possibly be made to the estimates before they are finally passed. > • ■ ■ i j f : : This apparent excess of expenditure over income has already been explained by the intimation that £25,000 of it is to be provided by loan. .. Having thus explained to you the present pbsi- : tion of the Province, and brought befqre you the" matters which appear to me of' thtf most importance, it simply remains for me to : assure you of my readiness to co operate with' you in any other measures you may deem calculated to prq,« mote.its interests, and to express my earnest hope, . . that, recognising, as 1 believe we all, do, jtlie.. critical period through which we , have passe^rr: the imminent dangers we have escaped— and tibe brighter prospects opening before us— we. may. not forget how much the ultimate success of that wise and pacific policy, in which we are all so deeply in. terested, and which,, in spiteof the predictions of disappointed men and the sinister influences of unseen opponents, is steadily making its waydepends upon the Provincial Councils and^Go; vermnents ofthis Island, not merely' j giving l to ii x a passive , lukewarm, lifeless adherence,— -bu6 upon. i: their availing themselves of every possible 'opjJdrr'-' tunity to declare their -approval of it.- 1 and tlie&r LM determination to <give it "their- cordial and '"actiiP^ 5 ' supprot. . •.. "•■ .- v; « j t >.liiiw Several notices of motion, .were, given by different membersi aftet^which the Council adjontned. onL the-mutiooi <uof<ltbe Provincial Secretary, to Tuesday^he.'.29lli:iasiattti^rd£k,'|/