1.—9.

Noes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Paragraph retained. Mr. O'Conor moved, That the words " some of " should be inserted after the word " supported," in the last line of this paragraph. Ayes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Noes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Whyte. Motion lost. Paragraph 4 : A division was taken as to whether the first two Hues of this paragraph should be retained. Ayes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Noes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Lines retained. The paragraph was passed, with verbal alterations, the Committee voting as on the last division. The fifth paragraph was struck out. On the motion of Mr. O'Conor, the following was adopted instead of the first sentence of clause 1 of the Committee's conclusions: "That it maybe inferred, from the numerous petitions on the subject referred to this Committee, that a great deal of discontent and desire for change exists in the colony in regard to the present system of railway management." A division was taken as to whether the last sentence of this clause—" These petitions also favour the adoption of Mr. Vaile's system" —should be retained. Ayes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Noes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Sentence retained, and clause passed, as amended. Clause 2 was passed, with verbal amendments. Clause 3 : A division was taken as to whether this clause should be retained. Ayes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Noes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Clause retained. Clause 4 was struck out. In the next paragraph Mr. O'Conor moved to omit all the words after the word " whole," in the third line. Ayes: Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Noes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Motion lost. The Hon. Major Atkinson moved, That the words "and the fact that the effect of the proposed scheme is so much a matter of conjecture " be struck out. Ayes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker. Noes: Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson, Mr. Whyte. The Chairman gave his casting vote with the " Noes." The motion was lost. The Hon. Mr. Eichardson moved, That, after the word " opinion," in the last line of the paragraph, the following words should be inserted: "that, in the present state of the revenue of the colony, the Government would not be justified in trying the experiment of adopting the proposals of Mr. Vaile." Ayes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Noes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Motion lost. The paragraph was verbally amended and passed. Mr. O'Conor moved, That the following new paragraph be added to the report: "That any alteration made in the system should be solely to favour the increase of New Zealand products for home consumption and export." Ayes : Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Conor, Hon. Mr. Eichardson. Noes : Hon. Major Atkinson, Mr. Gore, Mr. Macandrew, Mr. Walker, Mr. Whyte. Motion lost. The last two paragraphs of the report were passed without alteration. The Hon. Major Atkinson moved, in accordance with notice given at last sitting, That the paragraphs passed on that day be reconsidered. Carried. It was decided that these paragraphs should be rescinded. On the question being put, " That the report as amended be adopted," the Hon. Mr. Eichardson moved the following, as an amendment thereto :— That, as Mr. Vaile has not made any definite proposals in regard to goods-traffic, which now yields two-thirds of the whole railway revenue, and the conduct of which is of by far the greatest importance to the colony; and that, as regards the conveyance of passengers, no conclusive evidence has been produced to show that his scheme would be successful, the Committee is of opinion— That, in the present state of the revenue of the colony, the Government would not be justified in trying the experiment of adopting the proposals of Mr. Vaile. That, if the Government can see their way to make any reductions in the charges now imposed for freight, such reductions should be made in favour of the productions of the colony ; and That the Government should appoint some thoroughly-qualified person, either from within or without the colony, to visit the several railways, giving the fullest notice in each district of bis movements, in order to hear any complaints with regard to management or charges, and report to the Government whether there are any reasonable grounds for the same.

VII