0

L"EGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The business of- t.he Council cl"J not

1 commenee yesterday till hnJf,·past Three There was no House till a quarter-past, and it was only after a quarter of an hour ·s silence, that hon members wrre roused to action by a su :ro·esLion from 1\tlr Fawkner, th~t it wquld b~ better to adjourn, as there was apparently no 'business to be done. It then upp2are<1 as though all the bon mem­bers present b::>.J lJusincss, and each was too modrst to begin ; for such a. multitude of questions on all sorts of suhjcets were put to om friend the Colonial tieuetary, as nearly overwhelmed the p•.lOl' old gen­tleman. He informed Mr \\'ilkinson that the Government couldri't help the bad weather that dclayad the \Vestern Mails ; Mr Mercer, that they couldn't menu the ferry· across the Barwon because of the Roads anrJ Ft>rries Act; and Mr O'~h:m­assy, that the Land Do!lrd wns a t\'l;:tJpnr,try .. and not a permanent institution. Other questions stand o·ver for answt·r this day.

Dr Thomson obtained leave for the Select Haroour Commit.Le to sit on ~aturclay, ia order that they mighl have the opportunity of examining Captain Gilmore, who after that clay would be gone to Sydney.

Mr Westgarth p1:esented a petition from Mr ,Joseph Raleigh against the abolition of Whnrfnge Dues. This petitio.1, toge­ther with a similar one from Mr G W Cole, prescn:cd some days ago, was ordered to be takan into consideration on TuesJay next.

The House was occupied during the remainder of the day with the considerll.~ tion of the Customs Reg-ulation Bill and · the Admiuist ation of Criminal Justice Improvement Bill.

The other Orders of the Day were post­poned, and the House adjourned. at ~ix o'dock.

LEarstA.TrvE cou'NciL. It is necessary to guard those who read tlle reports

of the proceedings of th!l Legislative Council against looking upon the uecisious of that IJocly as expressing tlte opinions of the Colonitits of Vic­toria·. W lJile om· Legislature i~ w constructed, that it is simply a. mockery of represcutaiiou, tbis fact should never be forgotten when e3timating tha value of its decisions. In an A~scml!Jy of thirty member~, ten ara nominees of Ute Grown ; and the right of retmning the twenty elected mem­bers is so artfully distributed t.hrougll the ColOJty. as very materially to check the free exvre~sion of popular opinion. The majorities in the Council. therefore, not only do not necessmily represent the opinions of the Colonists, but arc Tery fre­quently diametrically opposed to them. Tha members representing large and important con­stiLuencirs llre-lHcs.srs '1'\'estgnrth, Johnston, :md O'.Shanassy, for l\Ielbouruc ; .Mr :Strachan and Dr Thomson, for Ueelon~ ; lUcssrs Smith and Dight, fur Nonh Bourke; l\lr .Miller, for South Bourke; ?tJr :?lfercer, for Gr;mt; .Mr Q,;bome, for .Uelf:ISII :md \Varmambool; )lr \'l'ilkin.on, for l'ortlauLl; l\lr Uutlcll~e, for Yilliers and lfeytcsbury; 1\Ir Snodgrass, for the 1\.ilmorc .l.lorouqlls; 1.1" .l!'awk· ncr, for the countie~ ntljacent; ana 1\\r Tum bull. for Gipps L1md. Only where the n:uncs of the e g< ntlemen occut·, whether in n. maj rity or lHi­n< rity, are the opinions of tlHI 'rent mass of tha Colonists indicated.

Thttrsday, 19th August. 'Illc PEAl\.EH. tl)ok tho chair ~t a

qn~u tcr pt\St thr ·'c o'dGck. Pre cnt: '.rhc Col01 inl ~·e~rPt:try, tho .Attorncy-Geucral; }\~e H vVill;:inson, Miller, St.t"~lch:m, O'~ha~ nas;.v, l\Iurph}', .Ander$OU, Ucldsmith, F'"' l;n r, 'l'hum"un, Smith, Johnston, <tlllP· QCll1 4\U~ w·cl$tgnth.

•

l'UNG'l'U,~LJTY. Some minutes having elapsed, l\[r FA WK~ER ruse nnd called the at­

tention oft.he Speaker to the ff,ct, that. it m~s 1 1~arly half-past three. _He thought that 1f strc ~1on 1;1emuNs had no_ bnsmess to transact, the co' Hou:;c h:1d better adJourn. cnl

The SPEAKER: Docs the hou member l tJ:a,. wi•h to move the aajournment of the vic Honse? . . ll is•

lir FAWKNER.-Tes, 1f ::my body will ve:l c·ond it. (A lan~h.) a-,

8 ~ THE Wi.<;STEH.;;r l\IAILS. b ; l[r WJJAGNSO~ wi~hetl to ask a q~estion tl~~

of the lion. Colom~l-Secrctary . r~lat1 ve to wit the continued delay m t.he transnnss1011 of the '] Western Mail~. lt w~s _about a _month ago, dul since he had pnt a smular quest10n, but no ti o,t,l improvement had taken place, but the last dates fro1n t'ortland w~re only to the 30th Julr, while from Adel:ude, a place_ at three times the dist~uce, the elate~ m th1s_ Colony

plol the the

were up to the 9th August. He Wished t.o know if any st~ps were likely to be taken by ~~=) the Government for the remedy of so great an inconvcnicnc&.

con abo of hu

The COLO~lAL SECRETARY said that on the former oc.cr.sion of th~ ho11; member's briuging the suhJeCt under h1s not1cc, he had stated that the delay complained of was h~~. caused by the weather. The samo cause pi still exi>ted, the ro:1ds being iiupa~saulc of 1 owin"' to the 1·ain. 'fhe subject had attracted int the ~ttrntion of the Government, ani! it was in 1 intended 11ext year to compel the routrac- wh tors to provide boats on two of the worst of re' th• rh·ero, in order to provide the means of crossing in b:l.d sca;;ons. The Government, ba ha might state, had :tlso endeavonrecl to re- tl~j instate the overlnnd mail to Geclong; but ho the contracts had not been taken up, and fro consequently fresh ones had been called

ag~

the pa

for. THE YARRA TENTS.

:Mr FA \~'KNEH ~ave notice that h• should to-morrow (this dny) ask the Colonial Secre­tary if the owners of huts on the south side of the Yarra paid anything to GoYernmcnt for the privilege of erecting those hnts, ann if so, whether the an;onnts werQ p:tid yearly or monthly, or at what periods of time.

'l'HE BAHWON FEHlW. Mr ~1EUCEU asked the Colonial Secrc-.

tary a question relative to the re-establish­ment of Ghe Ferry across the B:<nvon.

The COLONIAL SECRETARY replied, (IS we understood, that. unde r tin Act for Roads and Ferries, the Government could not act in the matter.

THE LAND BOATID. Jlfr 0'3HANASSY g:tve notice tlut he

would to-morrow (this day) ask the Colonial Secretary a question in reference to an in<ti­tutiou, the existence of which he (lfl'0'3han­ussy) had never been acquldnted \l'ith, till he saw it alluded to in a return re ccutly fur­nished to the House. He meant the Land Board; he wished to know the officers of whom that Board was composed, and what were the 'onstitutional powers of that Board.

The COLONIAL SECRE'l'ARY would reply at once, that it was in the power of the Governor to appoint a Land or any other Bo.Jrd. The powers of these Boards were to consider certain matters, which they were constitutecl for the purpose of considering.

}fr O'SHANASSY would wish to know if this Board was a p crmnnc11t one, or had been constituted only for a temporary pur­pose.

The COLONIAL SECTIE'l'AI!.Y said, the Board would sit only as long as iti serv ices were required.

i\Ir O'SHANASSY said his question w:1s l)Ot yet auswcred fully. lie wished to know the na.]Jles of the officers composing the Board.

The COLoNIAL SECRETARY- The Board consists of the Surveyor-Generlll, the Colonial Treasurer, the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the County of Bourke, and himself.

THE HARBOUR COJIIl\HTTEE.

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Dr 'fliOJI.lSON said that by the f~' Standing Orders of the House, Seleet Com­mittees '"ere not allowcrl to ~it on those cbvs j~ in which the House did not ~it. As Chair- nH man of the Select Committee on Ports and w Harbours, he wished t.o obtain permission of hi the House for that Committee to sit on Snt.ur- M day morning at ten o'clock. Th11 Committee were an:<:ious to examine Cnptain Gilmore, who after Saturday would be gone to Sydney .

Mr JOIINSTON se conded the motion, which was put llnd carried. RALEIGH'S AND COLE'S WHAI{VES. Jlfr WESTGARTII presented a petition

from Joseph Raleigh , praying that in the event of the abolition of \Vhar fnge dnca, h e n1ight be alloweu compensation; alsn that he might be l1eard by ccnnsel, at the bar of the Eouse, against such abolition.

Petition rcceiv, rl . Mr WESTGAHTH then gan notice that

he should move on 'l'uesday next., That the Uou!e take the petit! on, as aloo the

petit:on of Mr George Ward Cole, into considera­tion.

CUSTOMS REGULATION BILL. Ou the motion of the Attorney-General,

the Hous11 J:Qsolvecl itself into a Committee on this Bill, and con~idercd it3 remaining clauses, which with tcchuiral amendments only, were ag reed to. .

'i'h.e House then resum ed, and the Chair­man having lH·ought up the report, it was, on the motion of the Attorney-General, ordered to be printed, and taken into consiclcmtiou on 2nd September.

COllHT OF REQUEST'S BJLL. Thi.<; Bill was committed , p1·o fo1'1iUJ., when

the Chamuan immediately rcportc<l progres~ . and ol.Jtained leave to sit again, to-morrow, this dav.

ADllfiNISTRA TTON OF ClUl\TIN AL JUSTiCE llllPHOVEi\lEN'l' 131 LL. ,

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The Bouse went into Committee vn this Bill, and SeYer~! of its clauses being dis­cussed, the Chairman reporte d progre~~. and obtained leave to sit ag:~in to-morrow, this n day.

POSTPONE:OIENT3. The Orders of the Day for the eonsi il era­

tion in. Committee, of the Immigrant Ships Investigation Bill , and tho Ports, IT a rbours , and Shipping Lnw Consolidation Bill, and for the adoption of th e repot ton the General nnd Quar~cr Se~sion Courts Bill , were po"t·poncd ; also l\>11·. O'Shunassy's motion for a retum of sold Government Land, Hnd the second r~ading of the Costs in Criminal Cases 'l'axa­tion Bill.

The House adjoumccl ut oix o'clock.

Fn.d_ay, 20th August. NOTICES OF MOTION.

l:fr FAWl~NEB, to move:-!. 1:hnt an address be presented to Hi• Excellency

the L•e~Jtena~t-Governor of Victo•·ia, respectfully requestmg h1m, that he will muke it a con:lilion in the acceptance of Oiflcc, or Poy, or S:tlNry, or Cr•tnity unclor this Go,·ornment, by any elected ~!ember of this C01mcil, t hat he t holl , before he •ccepts such OJTcce. l"oy, Sala1·y, or Gratuity, resi an llis £:eat in the l~egisluturc of thi:5 Colony. o

2. That an Address be presented to His Excel­l ency the Lieutenant-Govcmor of Victor~. tbot he will be pleased to cause to be laid on the t aWe of this Douse, copies of all the con·<·spondence that bas passed between the Local Government, and \\' . N. Gr3y, Cro,rn Ccmmi~sioner, and nl:;o with .3-ieEsn lluglt IJurray and John Leormonlh, respecting the lnucts descl'ibed as applied lor by t hem severally, at or near llun!nyonrr and Colnc , thu3 described in the nctum ordered by the Council to !Je prir.tcd ,5th Juuc, 18[)2 :- '

Applied for 27th Afril, J S.\0; John Lenrmontlt. ~'U :;el'e.a, lots All auc (.;, _portion 1, 160 ucrcs cacl1 , lt<Y.~t• s.w·. corucr of Uun!nyong TownsiJip rcscn ·c, County of Grant; name of valuator, W N Gray, CC; \'alued ilt £ 1 ]Jcr acre, £480 Jo•· -ISO ncrcs.

Next, 27C..h 1..\fay, 1850; lluuh Murray, 632 ncJ·es, section 1, parish of J~llimynt. ndjujuing east JJonn4

da1·y of Caine Tom•slli~reEene, County of l'Oiworth; Valued by IV N Gr~>y, c C, ns above, at £ 1 per bcre, 1132 acres, £G32.

Together with n copy of instructions to the !?.id •nlu~tor as to how be wns to arri,·e nt the value of the lund ; and further tLe date ut wl•ich the dc­cibion was arrived at, thnt these l:!nds were only worth twenty t:billings prr r..cre; and nl~o, a Hetnrr. of all lauds sold, both ut Culoc and Uumli)'Ong , <hs­tau.ruishing- Town lots from Suburban ; the d. ate of ~ach sa le , the quantity nnrl person to whom soltl , the pri~ per arc·, nnd the g rO!:i:) quantity of ncre!-' sold and of cash received at each sale, to June 30:il . 1so2.

n

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(lllDEns OF TilE DAY:

~mpounding Act Atneudrncnt Bill - Scconrl mg. rd

d 2. ~overnment l' rinting Establishment - Consi- 1 •;nt.on of Jteport . ·'· ~rumigration Ships' Investigation Bill- To b<

t>cn!1dcred 111 Committee. g;d4• Courts of Requests Bill- To be further con-1 •red In Committee.

ms. Administration of Criminal Justice Improve· ~ntGUill.·--l'o be further conoid ere(! in ConJmiltce.

_.~· ~ueral and Qur.rter Sca~iOII$ Courts Ilill­,. OPhQII. ~.t' ;ilfli>Qr~.