THE Wellington Independent Saturday, July 19, 1862. YESTERDAY'S ASSEMBLY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1742, 19 July 1862, Page 2

THE Wellington Independent Saturday, July 19, 1862. YESTERDAY'S ASSEMBLY.

The House ot Representatives met yesterday a,t 12 o'clock. Various motions of no particular interest occupied the attention of the House but which will appear in their proper place. The only oue of peculiar interest was by Mr. Gillies, for a com. mittee to consider the whole question of the ad. ministration of justice, with a special view to the appointment of a Judge for Otago. Ma. Woods resolutions, intended to be moved on Tuesday next, involving the introduction of the budget, were postponed until a future day. ' The House then went into committee on the Land 1 Bills. In the Legislative Council the only subject of immediate intorest was the address to ' His Excellency in reply to the opening speech. Mn. Stokes proposed the address in aneffeetive speech. Dr. Menzies guarded himself from being considered to approve all the policy of the Government-. The Chief Justice, took an able review of His Excellency's speech, characterising it as most judicious. He enlarged upon the necessity for the introduction of law among tho Natives. When he arrived in the Colony ho found scarcely any laws for the Government of the Natives, and ie was not until, the session of 1858, that the question really received attention. The Acts then passed provided the frame work for the measures put into operation by Sir George Grey. The present Native polioy which had been called " new. " was in reality only the policy embodied in Acts of the Legislature in 1858. That Sir George Grey -had only given life and vitality to a policy which had lain dormant in the Statute book. He expressed his conviction that the new institutions were proving highly beneficial and were in a fair way of producing law and order throughout the land. The only dark spot was Taranaki, and as it might possibly be eveh two or three years beforo it would be possible to restore order there, 1 * lie- trusted that the other branch of the Legislature - would be prepared to deal liberally with the settlers in a pecuniary sense. Mb. Sewell, in alluding to what had fallen from the Chief Justice, read from a paper on the

table what it was which ministers proposed in re • I ference to Taranaki ; that at the proper time law i and order should be enforced there. In all the / consultations with ministers Sir George Grey had I always hept in view the restoration of Taranaki. J They were desirious of adhering to the Govern- ' menfc as much of the Native population as was possible, and although ten months of weary waitting time had passed over Taranaki, yet ifc must be borne in mind that that time had not been lost ; much that was preparatory had been done. The introduction of the new institutions had been going on during the time, and a road had been made without which it was utterly impossible to render availiable the troops in the north. He could only ask the Council to believe that though apparently that Piovince was neglected, it never had been really so ; and though it might be hard to continue waiting, yet he would ask them to do so in the faith that" when the proper time came, both the Governor and the Ministry would be able to shew that they had not been unmindful of their duty to' that Province. He then shewed that the increased expenditure would only be five or six thousand pound 3 more than the sum heretofore annually voted, His Excellency having agreed to pay one half of the whole coat. There were those who blamed the Government for not calling tho Assembly together before inaugurating the present policy, but he would remind them that the other House had voted £10,000 last session for the especial purpose of enabling them to put into operation such a policy as might be determined on, an amount which they had not eTittrely~Bpeiit: He "wasr sure that -tU« Government individually would rejoice at any liberal measures the other House might adopt, although he was bound to say that when the House voted compensation before, it was on the under, standing that it was to b<-> final. He had been the Commissioner who • instigated the compensation claims, and the picture of ruin and utter desolation which he saw at Taranaki, made him resolve to use his utmost endeavours to prevent the then Governor from bringing to like desolation the other provinces of this Island. No other honorable member speaking the address was put and earned. The Council shortly after adjourned.