ORDERS OF THE DAY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1756, 21 August 1862, Page 3

ORDERS OF THE DAY.

Law Practitioners Bill. The Hon. the ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the second reading of the Law Practitioners Bill, based he said on the principle of Free Trade. Mr. FOX made a few remarks, and Mr. GILLIES having replied, the Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed to-morrow. The Court of Appeal Bill. Was read a second time and ordered to be committed to-morrow. Miner's Franchise Bill. The Hon. Mr. GILLIES in moving the second reading of this Bill said, it must be apparent that while they could not ignore the i ights of the mining interests in this House, on the other hand they ought not to give them a privilege enjoyed by no j other class. He therefore proposed to take away the full right of franchise which they at present enjoyed. The Bill therefore repealed the \!inei - 's Franchise Act, 1860. He would leave them the right to vote for election, or they might be able to swamp every other interest in the Province. In exchange for thia deprivation, however, he would give them the advantage of not being obliged to register, but having a right to vote on presentation of their Miner's rights, held fora given time. But when holding the ordinary qualifications they might register, and of course, they would be fully qualified to vote at all elections. At the suggestion of Mr. FITZGERALD the second reading of this Bill was postponed till tomorrow. The Otago Representation Bill. Was also postponed till to-morrow as depending on the other. The House then adjourned at a quarter past eleven. FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1862. The Speaker took the chair at 12 o'clock. Petitions. Major RICHARDSON presented a petition from John Russell, of the Province of Auckland, late of Invercargill, prayfng for relief against the decision of a Court of Law. Petition beini? informal was not received. Mr. F. D. BELL presented a petition from certain inhabitants of Southland. Petition received,

The Estimates. Mr. BELL said he had taken steps to have the estimates as prepared by his predecessor printed and had them _distributed to-day, The; course'he intended pursue in this matter to advise his Excellency to send down a! message or two messages separating the part of the expenditure for Provincial Governments from that part for the General Government, he would then propose " That the House go into Committee on the Estimates, taking iirst the general charges on the General Government and then go back to the permanent charges of the civil list. He hoped that mode will be satisfactory and that it would enable members to get them. Neio Standing Order. Mr. FOX on behalf of Mr. CARLETON moved The adoption of the following as a Standing Order of this House : — At the commencement of every Session a Standing Committee shall be appointed, to which shall be referred all Petitions relating to Private Grievances ; and no such Petition shall be received by the House after thirty days from the meeting thereof, unless such grievance shall have arisen during the Session." The motion was agreed to. Crown Lands Bill. The time for the Select Committee on the Crown Lands Bill, to bring up their report was extended until Friday next. Crown Grants to Natives Bill. Upon the Order of the Day being read lor the second reading of this Bill Mr. DILLON BELL said he had really to apologise to the House for not being able to ask the House to proceed with this Bill, they were in great difficulties with regard to the printing— this Bill ought to have been in the hands of members yesterday. He moved that the second reading of thia Bill be made an Order of the Day for Monday next. Agreed to. Additional Sitting Day. Mr. BELL moved, and (he motion was agreed to, " That this House at its rising to-day do adjourn until Monday at 12 o'clock. Birds Protection Act Amendment Bill. Mr. A. J. RICHMOND in consequence of the absence of M r. Stafford moved "that the second reading of this Bill be made an Order for the next sitting day. Law Practitioners Bill. On the motion of Mr. GILLIES the House went into Committee for the further consideration oEthis Bill. Mr. O'RORKE in the absence of the Chairman of Committees {Mr. Carlton), was made Chairman. The Bill wa3 reported with amendments. Co::rt of Appeal Bill, The House went into Committee for the further consideration of the Court of Appeal Bill. Some verl al amendments having been made the Bill was reported with them. Miners Franchise Act Amendment Bill. Mr. GILLIES moved ' That this Bill be now read a second time." The motion wa9 agreed to and the Bill was ordered to be committed presently. Olago Representation Bill. Mr. GILLIES in moving "That the Otigo Represention Bill be now read a second time." said he thought it would be admitted that it was manifestly unjust that Otago with the largest population should have the smallest share of Representation. Last December the population of Otago was 27,000; if they took ten or twelve thousand away from that number as the mining population there would still remain 15,000 or 17,009. Such a large population was entitled to a larger number of members than five. Canterbury and Wellington with much smaller populations had each 8 or 9 members, and Taranaki with a still smaller population had three members. He merely professed by this Bill to give Otago an instalment such as no member would object to. He had no doubt that befora long the whole question of representatioa of the Colony must be considered, and that representation be retiioddled. (Hear, hear.) The Eill would give four additional members to Otago, two of them should be for the Gold Fields. The other two would be divided among the electors of Dunedin. It was proposed to divide Dunedin into two electorates, North and South, to give to the North the two existing members and to give the South this opportunity ol electing two. Mr. O'NEIL opposed the Bill. Mi-. FITZGER\LD thought that the alteration which had taken place in Otago made this measure very necessary. The only objection he had to it was, to the second clause, they should fix the number of members of the House at 57, looking forward to having a number of Maorios returned to this House at no distant period. Mr. COLENSO supported the Bill. Mr. DICK was sorry to hear the hon. member for the Noi them division raise any objection to this measure, he thought instead of exceptions^ being taken to it, they (the Otigo members) would have been complimented upon being co reasonable in their demands. Mr. A. J. RICHMOND thought that the/should not fix the limit of the number of members at 57 as the second clause proposed. Mr. WARING TAYLOR also objected to the second clause, and recommendld that * change should be made in it. Mr. J. C RICHMOND hoped the Ministers would during the recess, form some plan for more equal representation throughout the Colony. If the valuable system known as Mr. Hare's was taken into considetation it might be brought into beneficial and practical operation in this Colony. Mi 1 . GILLIES in reply said with regard to the second clause, there was a practical difficulty in the way of alteiing it. He apprehended there must be some limit stated to the number of members. Perhaps the difficulty might bo re- , moved by inserting a clause that thia Act may be altered or repealed during the session. (Hear, hoar. ) The Bill wag then read a second time, and ordered to be committed presently. The House then went into Committee on the Miners Franchise Bill, and the Otago Representation Bill. Steam Postal Communication. The House went into Committee of Supply for the consideration of the resoutions of the Select Committee on Communication . Mr. WARD moved the third resolution of the first interim report as follows. " That this Committee recommends the appropriation of a sum not exceeding £30,0 >0 per annum, from Ist January 1864, for five years, as a contribution towards the colonial portion of a subsidy for such a service. Mr. BELL was confident that if the House agreed to the amount, the Colony would be able to pay it, commencing on the let January, 1864. The resolution was agreed to. Mr. WAhD then moved the adoption of tho first resolution of the second interim report as rollows . " That the requirements of tho Colony will not be fully satisfied with less than three lines of Intercolonial Steam Service, viz., between Melbourne and tho South, between Auckland and Sydney, and between Cook's Straits and Sydney respectively." Me remarked that ha was not of the same mind as the Committee on the matter, in fact, he had never been in a Committee in which opinion was 80 divided. Some advocated that the Service should be peculiarly Postal and peculiarly Commercial. The intention was to make the whole colony pay for the servica so fair' as it was postal, and to make each particular part of the colony pay for the advantages such part receives commercially. The interests of the colony could not be served unleas three lines of communication were kept up; vix., between Otago and Melbourne, between Cook's Straits and Sydney, and between Auckland aud Sydney. It was another thing and not for him to say, whether the colony was in a position to do all that the ealec.

committee had reported desirable, He believed if they put their hands into their pockets now, they would be relieved from, putting themselves into a position to pay three times as much some years hence.

Mr. RICHARDSON thought the word " Otago," should be substituted for the " South," as the termini was expressed in the other case, it should be expressed in this.

Mr. W. WARING TAYLOR would like to know whether the Government had made up its mind on thia question.

The Hon. DILLON BELL said it was a question on which a Government could not be expected to have made up its mind on the Seat of Government.

Mr. STAFFORD thought it would be objectionable to say that a steamer shall run to a certain place and stop there, aa the hon. member for Dunedia proposed by his amendment. He would suggest that there should be three lines of steamers between Auckland and the Australian ports. Cook's Straits and the Australian ports, and between tho Australian ports and the South, without fixing the termini.

The Hon. Mr. GILLIES, said there was a principle in this Resolution which he considered very objectionable" He held that the House had no right to interfere in providing communication for commercial purposes. Their duty was to provide the necessary postal communication, and as full postal communication could be given by two line of steamers, as by three. (Cries of Nelson.) The mail might certainly be delivered a day or two later at Nelson. (Mr. Stafford, four days.) In the case of Canterbury and Wellington, he balieved they might be delivered even earlier. He believed the maintenance of three lines, was beyond the power of the colony, the coat would almost be iJ44,0C0. He contended that Provincial Governments would be able to obtainsteam communication very much cheaper than the General Government would be able to get it for them. The required sum wa3 much too large to be placed on the estimates in face of the other heavy liabilities to which they were exposed. If the colony undertook this matter it would cost much more than if undertaken by the Provinces (No, no : have they done it yet cheaper.) They had been prevented by the General Governmnt going into the field and bidding against them. The management of the Steam Service by the General Government had been from the first a bungle. He believed if one central line was maintained, and tho mails then conveyed from the central point by the Provinces all the postal requirements of the colony would be met with. Otago would require a line of its own, and would get a steamer at a much cheaper rate than the General Government could. It would be a gross injustice to the Province he represented to cause the people of that Province to pay a large proportion of the necessary sum for this service which they did not require. Mr. STAFFORD said the hon. member Jiad no Tight to assume that thore was any combination 'or the representatives of other Provinces to do an act of injustice towards Otago. He was sure every member was actuated in the fairest spirit. Mr. WOOD would ask the hon. member (Mr. Gillies) was a large steamer to be employed solely for the purpose of carrying the mails? Were they to say those steamers should take na cargo ? The Provinces could not make such arrangements for themselves in the matter of steam communication as the colony for them. He would point to the patent fact that the Province of Otago had failed to make any arrangements with Melbourne until his hon. friend, the late Post-master-General had to negociate it. He would admit that the steam service as arranged by the late Po9tmaster-General was unsatisfactory at the beginning, but defy any one to say they were unsatisfactory at the end, (Hear, hear). The service has been well, satisfactorily and completely carried out. They had had one central line, and it was well known how unsatisfactory that time was — it was abused throughout the Colony. . Mr. GILLIES explained he did not "mean that they should have but one line. Ho thought they should have two lines, one to Auckland, and one I to Cook's Straits, but had said with one central line to Cook's Straits, with Provincial lines diverging off from it, the same could be efficiently performed. After some further discussion, the following Resolution was constituted on the motion of Mr. Domoti. for Resolution No. 2 as it stood on the Notice Paper. — " That in making any contract to cany out the Steam Postal Service, the General Government should avail itself of the assistance of the Provincial Government, and obtain if pos j sihle their concurrence in tho same." The third Resolution was after a brief discussion, agreed to, as follows : — " That communications should be maintained between the principal Provinces of the Colony, four times amoiivh, ( and between all the Provinces twice a month, 1 provided' ~ih at the whole expense of such Interprovincial Service do not exceed .£20,000 per annum. Mr. MOORHOU3E then moved the following ; '-Additional resolution, — " That all future contraots with the owners of steam ships for the conveyance of her Majesty's mails, shall be contracts extending only from year to year, terminable by six I months notice from either party to the other." The Resolution was agreed to without discus, sion, and the whole of the Resolutions reported. Birds Protection Act Amendment BilL On the montion of Mr. STAFFORD, this Bill was read a second time. It met witk a slight opposition from some membars, who looked upon its introduction as the thin end of the wedge, opening the way for the enactment of the Game Laws. The Bill was committed, siighily altered in some of its clauses. The House adjourned at 10 o'clock. Monday, August 18, 1862. The Speaker took the chair at 12 o'clock. Message No. 2, was received from his Excellency the Governor containing a Bill to amend the Land Revenue Appropriation Act. This Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow. Petitions. Mr. STAFFORD presented a'petition from John Bailey Williams of the Province of Wellington with reference to a Land Boundary dispute, praying this House may take his case into consideration. Petition received. Mr. WELD presented a petition from Robert Park, late Chief Surveyor of Wellington, who had held office nearly 20 years, and being dismissed without notice, prays this House to take his case into consideration. Petition read and ordered to be leceived. Enlargement of Land Claim? Committee. The Hon. Mr." DILLON BELL moved that Mr. ('. J. Taylor be added to the Land Claims Committee. Motion agreed to. Petition of Henri/ and Thomas Shirley. Mr. COLFNSO moved,—" That the petition presented to this House from Henry and Thomas Shirley of Tutaekuri in Hawke's Bay, be roferred to the Committee of Private Grievances. Agreed to. Bill to remove restrictions on Native La.ids. The Hon. DILLON BELL moved— • For Jaave to bring in a Bill to remove the restrictions which now exist upon the sale and occupation of Native Lands in New Zealand," and made an explanation of the Native Policy proposed in tho Eill similar to that recently made by the Colonial Secretary. Bill read a first time and ordered to be read a second time on Tuesday. Papers. The Hon. Mr. DILLON BELL tabled the papers* respecting repayment of money spent by them in locating New Zealand Fencibles. Papers respecting the present position of the Province of Taranaki. Memorial from the Superintendent and ProYincM Council to hw Excellency Sir George Grey,

I _ Xaw Practioner's Bill. < This Bill was reported — read a third time, and 1 ordered to be transmitted to the Legislative Council. ' Court of Appeal Bill. t This Bill was also reported with amendments, read a third time and passed. | Supply. The Resolutions from the Committee of Supply of yesterday were reported — read a second time, and agreed to. Miner's franchise Act Amendment Bill. , '1 his Bill was considered in Committee, reported j ■ with amendments and ordered to be committed to-monow Messages Nos. 3 and 4, from his Excellency the Governor enclosing the Estimates, were ordered to be considered in Committee of Supply. Otago Representation Bill. This Bill was reported with amendments and ordered to be considered to-morrow. Crown Grants to Natives Bill. This Bill passed its second and third readings, and was ordered to be transmitted to the Legislativ Council Committee of Suppty. Oh the motion of the hon. DILLON BELL the House proceeded to consider the Estimates, and Progress having been reported, the House adjourned till Tuesday at noon. Tuesday, Auqdst 19th, 1862. The Speaker took the Chair at 12 o'clock. Petitions. Major RICHARDSON presented a petition from John Russell, praying for a fresh trial of a law case in which he conceived himself wronged. Land at W dtara. Mr. FOX asked the Hon. the Colonial Secretary — Whether it is the intention of the Government to take any and what steps to continue the investigation into the title to the disputed block of land at Waitara? Hon. COLONIAL SECRETARY replied that Ministers were not aware of the actual state of the case, and could not therefore give any answer. Militia and Volunteer's. Mr. FOX asked the Hon. the Colonial Secroretary — Whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce any Act this Session to amend the law relating to Militia aod Volunteer Hon.' COLONIAL SECRETARY said it was the intention of the Government to introduce such a measure. New Provinces Act. Mr. FOX asked the Hon. the Colonial Secretary — Whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce any measure to repeal or amend " The New Provinces Act, 1858"? Hon. COLONIAL SECRETARY replied that it was not their intention to do so and in that >c. speci they followed the footsteps of the late Government. Registration and Transfer of Tide. Mr. FOX asked the Attorney-General — Whether it is the intention of the Government to put in operation the provisions of the Act of 18<JO, establishing a new system of Registration and transfer of Title thereby? Hon. ATTORNEY-GENERAL replied, that such was their intention. Losses in the White Swan. I Hon. Mr. DILLON BELL moved— " That a Select Committee be appointed to consider the question of losses sustained by Members of Assembly and other passenger.*, engaged in the public service, by the wreck of the" Whi to Swan." j Report to be brought up on Friday, 22nd August. The Committee to consist of the following Members. Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Jollie, Mr. Atkinson, Mr. John Williamson, Mr. . J. C. Taylor, and : Mr. Ormond. Motion agreed to. Government Printing Press. Hon. Mr. DO MET L 1 moved—" That the Report of a Board of Officers, appointed to enquire and report as to the expediency of establishing a, Government Printing Press, be refeired to the following Select Committee to report thereon. The Committee to have power to call for persons, ; papers, and records ; to report on August 26th. t CommitUee — Mr. Stafford, Mr. Curiis, Mr. A. Richmond. Mr. Ormond, Mr. Ward, Mr. Fox, i Mr. O'Rorke, and Mr. Cargill. Motion agreed to. Case of J. B. Williaim. Mr. STAFFORD moved— That the petition of Mr. J. B. Williams be referred to the Committee ' on Private Grievances. Agreed to. ' Papers. Mr. O'NEILL moved — That the Return made ' to an Order of the House, and laid on the table ' on the 23rd July last, relative to documents lost in the White Swan, he printed. Agreed to. ' Resignation of Justices of the Peace. Mr. A. J. RICHMOND moved—That there be laid on the Table of the House Copies of all correspondence with reference to the resignation ' of Justices of the Peace for the Colony, since the Ist of January, 1862. Agreed to. ' Case of Robert Park Mr, WELD moved — That the petition of -' Robert Park be referred to the Private Grievance Committee. Agreed to. Leave of Absence. ! Mr. WARD moved — That leave of absence for a fortnight be granted to Mr. A. E. White. Agreed to. Address to Her Majesty. Hon. Mr. DOMETT moved— That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty on the subject of the Despatch of the Secretary of State, dated 2(Jth May, 1862. Most Gracious Soveueign, — We your Majesty's loyal subjects, the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of New Zealand, in Parliament assembled,— in all faithfulness and zeal to your Majesty's service, humbly pray your Majesty's interference to avert from this Colony the evils with which it is threatened. From a Despatch just received from Your Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies dated 26th May, 1862, we have learnt with deep concern and anxious foreboding that it is th» intention of your Majesty's Government to relinquish the duty of governing the Native inhabitants of these Islands, to cast the whole burden and responsibility thereof upon ourselves, and prematurely to withdraw the troops necessary for the protection of the English settlements and the maintenance of your Majesty's authority. We humbly represent to your Majesty that this course would be fraught with injustice to ourselves, would probably bring the settlements to the brink of ruin, and issue in the destruction of the Native race. Had the evils which distract this country- been produced by our own mis-government of the Natives, it might have been considered just to throw upon us the obligation to remedy and remove them. But from the first settlement of the Colony the government of the Natives has been in the hands of Your Majesty's Representatives, and of Officers responsible to them alone. An absolute control over any legislation affecting the Natives, over the administration of laws relating to them, and especially over all transactions for the sale and disposal of their lands, has been strictly retained by Your Majesty's Representatives, under the orders of successive Secretaries of State ; and the settlers as a body seem to have been viewed by Government as objects of suspicion and distrust to preserve Natives from whom it was necessary to pass peculiar enactments, and to establish especial protectorates. It was under a government conducted on these principles that war with the Natives broke out in [815 — a war which commenced with an act on the part of the insurgent chief Heke, the cutting down of the Government flagstaff, intended as a distinct rejection of your Majesty's sovereignty. This was undeniably a Government war and not a settlers' war. And all the present disturbances have arisen either from a desire felt by the Natives for law and order among themselves — the establishment of which, while the Government maintained its exclusive right to govern them, devolved as a duty solely upon the Government ; or from a

determination to found a separate nationality— a sentiment which is antagonistic not to the settlers but to the government and has naturally manifested itself in an insurrection against the latter, not in a war against the former. There is abundant proof of the correctness of this view in despatches and declarations of your Majesty's representatives themselves. And your Majesty's Secretary of State, in the despatch which has given occasion for this our humble appeal to your Majesty, acknowledges that the | system of keeping the management of the Natives under the control of the Home Government to to the exclusion of the English settlers has proved a failure. The proof of this failure is assumed to ba the present disturbed state of the country and . the repudiation of your Majesty's sovereignty by so many of the Natives. It in therefore clear that the Government and not the settlers are accountable for the evils of the present state of things. If then it is unjust to hold us responsible for disorders which we^had not the power of preventing, it seems still more unjust as well as impolitic, to transfer to us alone the obligation to extricate the Colony from its difficulties at the present moment. Had the Natives been in a state of peace and prosperity, and of acknowledged allegiance to your Majesty, the transfer of authority to govern them or of the responsibility attending it, might have been accepted by us with gratitude for the confidence displayed in us, and a reasonable anticipation of favourable results. But Your Majesty's Secretary of State proposes to make this transfer at a time when the exercise of the duties it involves ia full of difficulty, and must entail upon the Colony expenses it is not in a condition to bear, and dangers it cannot without the aid at least of the presence of Your Majesty troops successfully contend with. It is to be made at a time when a large body of the natives are endeavouring to establish a separate nationality, and have set up a " King" and raised bands of armed men to maintain it ; when many other tribes are alienated or disaffected ; and at the close of a war which has failed to convince the Natives of the superiority of your Majesty's arms and has reduced to a mere military garrison one British settlement, where the insurgent Natives at tills moment hold possession, avowedly by right of reconquest.of one of its principal agricultural districts which had been occupied and cultivated for years by peaceful, and industrious settlers. To extricate the Colony from these difficulties and restore tranquility and prosperity, will be a work of time, involving much expense, and require a firm, and cautious, and wise administration of Government. Wo are very sensible of the prompt and generous assistance afforded to us by Your Majesty at the outbreak of the late insurrection ; and our beat endeavours will always be loyally and cordially given, to co operate with and assist to the bsst of our power, Your Majesty's Representative in this arduous task. But we cannot think it just that this task shouldbe imposed exclusively upon ourselves, and that the powerful aid of the Imperial Government should be withheld from us. And we are grieved to perceive that Your Majesty's Secretary of State appears to be under the impression that there is a disinclination, on our part to take upon ourselves a fair share of, the burden of the defence of the country, either in the raising of money or men, The lossses and the share of expenses connected with the late war, which the colony has borne or is called upon to pay, amount to half a million sterling. The taxation requisite to meet these losses and demands, would, with that already paid by the colonists, amount to four times as much for every individual in the Colony as is paid per head by the people of England ; while with regard to raising men for Your Majesty's service the number of Taranaki settlers, actually engaged in military service for the last two years and a half, amount to more than three-fifths of the male population of the whole Province, from 16 years of age upwards. The Secretary of State seems also to think that the Colony can be defended by Militia alone. The opinion of all Your Majesty's Representatives — of the Generals and Military Commanders acquainted with the country — has often been given against this view. The fact that the settlements are isolated one from another, situated at great distances on an extended line of sea coast, with tracts of impervious wooded and mountaneous country behind and between them, but inhabited by hordes of warlike Natives, who, occupying a central position with regard to them all, could concentrate their forces to attack any one of them separately, is sufficient to show the impossibility of any Militia force in this stage of the Colony's existence being adequate for its defence. There is another consideration which we humbly venture to present to your Majesty. If the Colony be left for its defence, to it 3 own resources, and the settlers be unaided by Your Majesty's Government it will be obviously impossible ior them to assert or maintain your Majesty's sovereignty over the large portions of the Northern Island not occupied by them but inhabited by the aboriginal population. They might in self-defence be obliged to confine themselves to the Government of their own districts, laying down lines of demarcation, outside of which, the Native population of a country, comprising a large extent of sea coast, would be left in a state of virtual independence,— a position which might lead to grave complications. Moreover if the settlers wero thus left to their defence, any war that might arise, would degenerate into a guerilla warfare of continual surprises and massacres, — the ultimate consequences of which would be, after incalculable loss to the settlers of life and property, the certain extermimation of the Native race. To avoid all these evils, to give a chance for the restoration of prosperity to the Colony, to secure the safety of the settlers, and the preservation of the Native race, we implore Your Majesty to cause this proposal of Your Majesty's Government to withdraw its support from the Colony to be reconsidered. We pray Your Majesty, to direct that measures may be resolved on consistent with. the welfare of both races inhabiting these islands, with tlie preservation in its integrity of this portion of the empire, with the maintenance of the honor and dignity of your Majesty's Crown, and with the magnanimity of the people of England. The hon. member made a lengthy speech on introducing the address. Mr. FITZGERALD moved that the debate be aljoumed till Friday which was negatived* ! and on the motion of Mr. J. C. Richmond* the debate was adjourned till to-raorrow. Miners Franchise Act Amendment Eill. This Bill was reported with amendments read c third time, and passed — ordered to be trantmitted to the Legislative Council. Olago Representation Bill. This Bill was also reported with amendments, read a third time and passed. Election Petitions Act. The amendments <made to this Bill by the Legislative Council were read and agreed to. ( To be contined in our next.)