TELEGRAMS.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1603, 21 September 1885, Page 2

TELEGRAMS.

(fkom our oww corrkotonpknt. ) Wbilington 19. On the. item of £4660, in Snpplementary Estimates Mr Sutler moved to reduce the vote by £8800. A lengthy discussion ensued, principally in connection with the vote of i'Boo

■■I ?T!^^ for Kumar a water race, and £1000 La < Monte gold saving process the vote was ultimately agreed to in full. After dealing witb other votes of no ' interest to tbe Coast (the House rose at ( 2 a.m. . I ' ] The remainder of the Estimates will i ( be gone on with to*dky. The Friendly i Societies demonstration and carnival i week in connection with the Exhibition is definitely fixed for Thursday ' 15th October next. Cluap fares have i been arranged with the steam boat j owners to bring members of societies from all parts of the Colony. The . Anchor line have arranged to issne return tickets from Westport for two j pounds saloon, and thirty shillings > steerage, and from Greymonth for i three and two pounds respectively. ! The general committee expect these ! prices to offer sufficient inducement for one thousand visiting brethren from | the Coast. Eations are to be provided j at a cost of 2/*. per day, sleeping ' accomodation free. The Land Bill passed its third reading in Council yesterday. Tho Local Bodies Finance and Powers Bill was further considered. Dr Menzies moved " to excise clause 5, providing that the local body in a Mining or Gold Mining district may ! expend a portion of its go[d revenue in prospecting. The amendment was carried Ijy 17 to IS. Mr M'Lean moved " that in clause 10, providing for the repeal of the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, the Act in question be suspended instead of repealed." The clause was passed as printed. The bill was reported, read a third time and passed. The Enforcement of Judgements, Costly Training Institutions, Waimea Plains Railway, and New Plymouth Exchange Completion Bills were read a second time without debate and afterwards committed and passed. j Tn the Lower House the Minister of ; Mines in reply to Mr Cadimtn, said the '■ Government would, during the recess prepare a Consolidating Bill. Replying to Dr Newman, the AttorneyGeneral said every Government, he had no donbt had considered the question of taxing absentees, but none of them had been able to do Anything. He was not sanguine that this Government would be able to do more than had been done by other Governments, but they would consider the matter. The resolution* of Government telegraphed to ynu yesterday, re the renewal of the San Francisco mail service at the > termination of the present contract, were considered at the afternoon Bitting and after some discussion, during which two amendments were proposed, they were ' adopted on the voices. I The House next went into Committee j on the Supplementary Estimates. On the item, Colonial Treasurer, £"9600, a j scene took place. Mr Pyke being in one i of his happy moods, remarked that he j once visited a place where there was a ' sly grog shanty kept by a person named i Sutter. Several members rose to order but the Chairman ruled that there had been no breach of order. Amongst the objectors was Mr J. C. Bucklaud, who said that the state of mind of the lion, gentleman was no doubt some excuse for his remarks. Mr Pyke retorted that tho hon. gentleman had not got a mind of his own, hut presently he committed himself by advising Mr' Suiter not to kick over the ladder by which he had risen, thus nearly tracing the application for his statement to the member for Gladstone, Mr Sutler. He was thereupon called on to withdraw his statement, which he did. i The matter arose out of Mr Sutter having moved that the following item be struck out, viz., subsidy of £1 for flon rates levied and collected within the Counties containing one or more goldfields during the year ending 31st March 1886. in excess of |d in the £1 exclusive of rates under Crown and Native lands Rating Acts 1882 and 1884. £'10,000 less a moiety of LSOOO chargeable to Public Works Fund. Mr W. J. Buck a id, who followed Mr Pyke attacked the goldfields members, who he said were banded together for plundering spoil and quarrelling over it. Mr O'Conor rose to a point of order, but the Chairman said he did not think there had been a breach of order. He pointed out that hon. members being in the habit of indulging in personal reflections, must expect that those reflections would recoil upon themselves. At the same time he urged the hon. members to discuss the business in a calm and temperate manner, for by doing so they would raise themselves and the House in tho estimation of the country. Mr Sutter emphatically denied the statements made by Mr Pyke and that gentleman indignantly protested that he had not mentioned Mr Sutter. After some further discussion a division was taken on the question that the item be struck out. Ayes, 30; Noes, 45. Item retained and vote was agreed to. The vote t' 1,200 for Marine and Harbor created considerable discussion . Mr M'Arthur moved— "That the item £168 for removal of rocks and bar at Mokihinui river, be struck out. This was lost and the vote agreed to. The following is the resolution proposed by Government, and pdopteu 1 by the House yesterday :— That Government bo authorised to contract for a service between Sydney, Auckland, and Honolulu, or betwoen Auckland and Honolulu,* with efficient provision fur the carriage of mail* I

to and from San Francisco, so that the whole time between Auckland and San Francisco shall not exceed twenty days, . at a cost to the Colony, (after computing j estimated receipts, if any, from the other : Colonies) not exceeding £18,000 and failing such arrangement being practicable that Government be authorised to contract for a service between Auckland and San Francisco, or between Sydney, Auckland and San Francisco, at the same rate of time and at a cost to the Colony (after computing estimated receipts if any, from other Colonies) not exceeding £23,000. The House has been sitting all day, the major portion being taken up over a very acrimonious discussion respecting the appointment of a second Commissioner (Mr Walter Buller) with Dr Von Haast, to proceed to the English Exhibition next year. The Government were openly charged by Mr Buckley with appointing Dr Buller as a reward for squaring the Maori block vote during the recent noconfidence debate. The Premier and the Native members indignantly denied this. After a round of strong personalities the subject dropped. The Supplementary Estimates were again considered. Owing to several delays the business of the session is not likely to be finished before Tuesday, as it is proposed to deal with the Land Bill and other measures. One matter of interest to your district is likely to engage the attention of the House on Monday. I refer to the report of Mr Fitzgerald, Auditor General, who appointed a special auditor to examine the accounts of the Inangahua County Council. He disallows £1,522 7s 6d of the expenditure enquired into, as illegal, and £1,762 5s 7d as of doubtful legality. After referring to details, Mr Fitzgerald concludes with the following remarks : — " On the whole there seems to have been an impression on the part of the Council that it was open to them t) expend the funds of the County in any manner which they considered beneficial to the County interests, entirely ignoring the fact that a Corporation is strictly bound by the Charter or Statute under which it acquires its powers, and by those whose interests are involved. In this case, any ratepayer may recover to the Corporate! fund, any sums illegally expended."