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night have been made for them to be rebuilt, If the door were opened to such claims í dare say the coffers of the Government would be soon emptied and there would not be money enough to meet the demands. In raising the floors of houses, the ceilings are brought nearer to the ground; consequently a three-storeyed house in course of time becomes a two-storeyed house, permanent injury being thus inadvertently done to the property. Rents are reduced on account of the smaller accommodation, and the pro- perty depreciates in proportion. For this rea- son, I maintain, householders have
50 far contributed their mite towards improvements that have been accomplished, consequently it will be only fair for the Tramways Company to contribute their quota towards raising the level of the streets. Now under this Bill as it stands, when wishing to raise the level of roads in future the Surveyor-General will have to remove and to relay tramways at Govenment expense. For my part I shall be happy if the enterprise of my hon. friend opposite received a further conces sion, but as the largest foreign taxpayer himself my hon. friend and your Excellency as the cus- todian of the public purse, will be better judges. speaking generally, I presume it will be a hard- ship for the taxpayers to be compelled to incur an expense which they have not been in the habit of incurring in the past. It will be borne in mind that the roads have not gone to the tramways, but that the tramways have come to the roads. Considering the concessions that have been made and the privileges that have been granted to the Tramways Company, I think it is fair, in the event of circumstances necessi tating it, that they should pay for removing and relaying their own lines; otherwise, irrespective of cost, I am afraid improvements to roads would be a thing of the past, On every attempt at im- provement the surveyor-General would be haunted by the dread of the expense; it would prove a perfect bugbear to him; and eventually it would be found that no improvements would be under- taken.
Hon. F. B. JOHNSON asked at what stage the matter was at present.
His EXCELLENCY said the actual motion before the Council was that the report be now consider- ed. They would have to go into Committee of the whole Council upon it.
Hon. F. B. JouNSON moved that the consider- ation of the Bill in Committee be adjourned until to-morrow.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL called attention to the fact that in the minutes of the Special Com- mittee the names of the members present at the meetings were given and the naïnes of those absent, and the name of the Attorney-General appeared amongst the latter throughout. He asked for on explanation of this, as he had not been appointed on the Committee.
Explanations were gived by the Governor and the Chicf-Justice from which it appeared that the Attorney-General had consented to act on the Committee, hut by an oversight the appointment was not made by the Council, and his name had been inserted in the minutes as absent under a wrong impression.
The motion that the Council go into Com- mittee on the Bill to-day (Wednesday) was car ried.
CORRESPONDENCE RE "OCEAN."
His EXCELLENCY said the Hon. Mr. Johnson had given notice of a motion with respect to the production of the correspondence with the Go- vernment of New South Wales relative to the passengers by the Ocean, and since then the hon. gentleman had written to say he had no intention of moving for this correspondence. He night say that he was prepared to give what was asked for as what was called an unopposed return, but what was referred to as the correspondence be- tween the Governments, as well as he remem- bered was, with the exception of one letter, telegraphic correspondence. It was spondence respecting the alleged prevalence of small-pox and the quarantine laid on the steam- ship Ocean at sydney, and as well as he remem bered he had laid the whole of that correspondence on the table already. He begged to inform the hon, member he could obtain the correspondence as an unopposed return. He would take that op- portunity of saying that in the notice as sent to the Clerk of Council there occurred the word
a corre-
of
"barbarous"--the "barbarous treatment" these people. The fact was notices of motion could not be placed on the Order Book if they were themselves irregular or out of order, and any words in a notice of motion which were ob jectionable could be expunged. That was the practice in the House of Commons, and from time to time they might have seen, and especially in the last session of Parliament, that the Speaker had to call the attention of the House to the fact that he had directed the Clerk to expunge certain words from the notices of motion that had been given and the notices appeared in a difference form from that in which they had been handed in. They would remember a case in which the Clerk informed Mr. Labouchere that he could not place his notice on the Order Book. Upon that there was an attempted discussion. The speaker prevented the hon. member from proceeding, and said that any attempt to bring a matter by motion or otherwise be fore the house which he had decided to be irregular and out of order could not be permitted, and he would not put the motion and to that Mr. Labouchere at once yielded. In this case he (His Excellency) took the respon sibility of having the word "barbarous" struck out. It was a reflection, as it appeared to him, on the government of New South Wales, and it was not desirable any thing of that kind should be allowed to appear in a notice of motion.
Hon. F. B. JOHNSON said he withdrew the no- tice of motion for the reason he expressed in the letter to the Clerk of Council and for other reasons he did not think it necessary to go into at the time. After he had given the notice he received information from his friend the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce to the effect that a letter had been received from the Colonial Secretary with reference to correspondence between the Chambers of Commerce, and he wished to see that correspondence before bringing the notice on. As to the word his Excellency bad referred to, he regretted using it and thought his Excel- lency had exercised a wise discretion in striking it out. The bon. member proceeded-I shall now be in order in rising to a point of order. It will be in your Excellency's recollection that at the meeting on the gth August last---
His EXCELLENCY-In point of fact a question of order cannot arise except upon something be- fore us. After the Order Book has been gone through, with the permission of the Governor honourable members may be allowed to call at- tention to a point of order. The honourable member himself occupies the remainder of the Order Book, so there will be no inconvenience in taking the regular business first.
Hon. F. B. JOHNSON-1 may, perhaps, be al- lowed to say with reference to the observations that fell from your Excellency when I first rose I intended no disrespect either of the Chair or this Council, and I hope both your Excellency and the Council will acquit we of that. The Standing Orders are so loosely drawn that it is impossible for any hon. member to know exactly the mode in which business is proceeded with, and it was entirely from inadvertance and want of knowledge that I rose, according to your Ex- cellency's ruling, at the wrong time.
EMIGRATION.
Hon. F. B. JOHNSON asked, pursuant to notice, "When the papers relative to Chinese emigra- tion from the Colony, promised to the Council on the 23rd August last, will be presented ?"
His EXCELLENCY-Gentlemen, I now lay the papers in question on the table. As you see they are in print. They are voluminous, and I will only say they consist, as I informed you at the last meeting of Council they would, of the Imperial Act of Parliament for the regulation of Chinese pas- senger ships, the Ordinances now in force, pro- clamations made under them, and other docu- | ments. The point which will no doubt interest the hon. gentleman and the other members more im- mediately is as to the decision of Her Majesty's Government with respect to contract emigration. When the question was before Council you may remember there was some little difference of opinion as to contract emigration. The emi- gration officer, an old and most worthy officer of the Colony, bas, of late, at ali events, reverted to a former opinion he held, namely, that a contract
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