PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 56, 23 May 1874, Page 9

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Thursday, May 14.

Petitions. —A petition was >eeeived from residents of districts through which the Port Chalmers Bail way passed, praying that trains might be run at hours to suit the working classes — say six o'clock in the evening from Dunedin, and teven o'clock in the morning from Port Chalmers. — From Mr Cooper, Arthur's Point, for compensation for a road passing through his property.— From residents in the Makarewa district, that they might be transferred to the Lindis road district. Motions. — Mr Beeves moved the desirability of securing a mining engineer for the ProTince ; seconded by ]Lr Fish. Messrs R. Clark, McKellar, J. C. Brown, and Wood were in favor of the motion, which was opposed by Messrs Stout and Reid, but eventually carried. Want op Confidence.— Mr Bastings moved : " That the composition of the present Executive; and the land policy enunciated by it, do not command the confidence of the Council." The hon. member, in bringing forward the motion, denied that he was actuated by (Personal pique or factious ouposition, and if the motion were carried, —as he believed it would be— he was prepared to take the responsibility. He considered he had not been fairly treated by his colleagues, who row sat on the Government benches. He had been in dead opposition with the late Government in carrying out public works through the sale of large blocks of land. He denied that he had favored the goldfields during his administration, as had been asserted. He would state the difference existing between him and the Government iv reference to the laml policy. The Provincial Secretary thought the present deferred payment blocks were insufficient to support a family. To this he concurred, but the point on which he disagreed with him was in selling intervening blocks between those deferred payment blocks at £2 per acre, because it seemed an anomaly that colonists upon deferred payments could get land at £1 14s lOd an acre, und those »ho were willing to pay ready money must pay £2 per acre. It had been said of his late colleague (Mr Turnbull) that he desired to bury the hatchet, and it looked as if lie would bury it in the heart of this country, and bleed it to death by. selling large blocks of land. He was prepared to unsheath the sword and fight to the bitter end rather than do that. The Provincial Secretary asserted that he had no more desire than the mover of the motion to sell large blocks of land. The lioh. member then, in a speech of some length, defended the policy of the Executive from the asperaious of the mover, and replied to the hon. member for Dunedin'u objections to the composition of the Government. Me.-srs DeLatour and Clark spoke in favor of the motion, and on the House resuming, after refreshment, Mr Fish continued the debate by stating that his objection to the composition of the Government was the fact of the member for Dune din (Mr Turnbull) aud the member for Oamaru (Dr Webster) being members of it. Mr Turnbull had stated that he had resigned hw position on account of not having lime ti» attend to the duties of the office, but it was a fact that the present head of the Government would have to be absent from the Province, for at least three months, at Wellington, during which time Mr Turnbull would have to attend to his duties in addition to his own, He (Mr Fish) indignantly denied that, he had a hankering after place, and would challenge the hon. member lately at the head of the Government to say whether he had ever expressed a desire to have a seat in the Government. The debute wa* an extremely warm und protracted one, in which Messrs Stout, Kinross, Henderson, McKellar, Turnbull and Hasgitt defended the Government ; and Messrs McKenzie, McGlashan, Sumpter and McDerrnid expressed an intention to vote for the motion. At a quarter past two a.m. a division was taken, with the following result :— Ayes, 17 ; Noes, 24. The motion was therefore lost. The following is the division list . — Ayes, 17 : Messrs Bastings (tiller), J. C. Brown, G. F. C. Browne, H. Clark, R. Clarke, De Latour, Fish (teller), Green, Hazlett, Ireland, McDermid, McGlashan, McKenzie, Oliver, Reeves, Sumpter, Turton. F Noes, 24 : Messrs Allan, Daniel, Davie, Haggitt, Henderson, * Kinross, Lumsden, Menzies, Mollison, McKellar, McLean, McNeil, Keid (teller), Reynolds, Roberts, Rogers, Shand, Stout (teller) Teachemaker, Tolmie, 'i urnbull, Webster, Wilson, Wood.