Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Wednesday 18 May 1864, page 2


PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

TUESDAY, May 17.

The SPEAKER took the chair at a quarter past three, and read the usual form of prayer.

PAPERS, &c.

The COLONIAL SECRETARY laid upon the table of the House, in return to an address, a despatch relative to the dissolution of the first parliament. Also a despatch from the Secretary of State relative to the status of the Church of England in this colony.

The papers were ordered to be printed.

QUESTION OF ORDER.

Mr. DOUGLAS gave notice of a question which, to-morrow, he intended to ask the hon. member for the Burnett (Mr. Mackenzie), as to whether it was that hon. member's intention, in the present state of circumstances, to bring in a comprehensive scheme of Electoral Reform. (Laughter.)

The SPEAKER said that he thought it was not practicable to put such a question to a private member. Questions could be put to private members in charge of bills, giving notice of motion, or otherwise concerned in business before the house. [The Speaker requsted a precedent to the effect that Mr. Speaker Lefevre on the 11th August, 1859, ruled, on the point of order being raised by Mr. Roebuck, that a ques-tion put by Mr. Clay to the hon. member for Whitney, was inadmissible on the above stated grounds.]

Mr. DOUGLAS stated that he was led into error by the 74th clause of the Standing Orders, which was to the effect that a member might put a question relating to any bill, motion, or relating to the business of the house. He (Mr. Douglas) of course concurred in the ruling of the Speaker that the question was out of order. It had appeared to him, however, that the sub-ject matter of his question was a public matter connected with the business of the house. He begged to withdraw the motion.

The SPEAKER was prepared to quote half a-dozen precedents, if necessary, in support of his ruling. (Hear, hear.)

JURY ACT AMENDMENT BILL. In reply to Mr. BLAKENEY,

The AT'TORNEY-GENERAL stated that a

bill to amend the Jury Act was in course of preparation, and would be presented to the House at as early a period as possible.

TOOWOOMBA GERMAN LUTHERAN

MISSION.

Mr. GROOM, pursuant to notice, moved that an address be presented to the Governor, pray-ing that his Excellency will be pleased to cause to be laid on the table of this House, copies of all correspondence between the Honorable the Colo-nial Secretary, the Registrar-General, and the Rev. Mr. Schirmeister relative to the case of the Rev. Mr. Angar, the German Lutheran Missionary stationed at Toowoomba. He briefly

related the circumstances which caused him to move for these returns. He desired to get an act of justice performed towards a gentleman who had been unjustly treated by the govern-ment. Representation, some time back, having

been made to the head of the Lutheran Church

at Hamburgh that there was a large population of Germans in the Toowoomba District, and that it was necessary to send out a minister, Mr. Angar was in consequence sent as clergyman for Too-

woomba and itinerant for the district. He

brought letters to the Rev. Mr. Schirmeister, with which that gentleman was apparently well

satisfied. Mr. Angar was made, in consequence, a registrar for births, deaths, &c. After Mr. Angar had been eight weeks in the district, a German named Heineman died. Mr. Angar was called upon to officiate. In signing the various documents, he, in his ignorance of the language, and the actual duties expected from him in his position of registrar, signed the coroner's certificate of death. He signed it with Dr. Sachse's name ; and it thus appeared that Dr. Sachse had signed the document, when such was not the case. The error evidently arose through ignorance. Dr. Sachse took offence,

and influenced Mr. Schirmeister to act in the matter. The latter gentleman wrote a letter to the Registrar-General, in which he not only mentioned this case, but also stated that he (Mr. Schirmeister) had been led to believe other matters with regard to Mr. Angar

which were not true. The result

was, that the appointment of Mr. Angar was cancelled. Mr. Angur's ap-pointment was cancelled on the representation of Mr. Schirmeister, who assumed to be the former gentleman's religious superior, an as-sumption quite without foundation, as Mr. Angar was appointed directly to Toowoomba by the head at Hamburgh, whilst Mr. Scheirmeister came here from the Chatham Islands, where he had got into bad odour. The Ger-mans sympathized with Mr. Angar, and all ex-cept four had left Mr. Schirmeister's congre-gation. They had also collected £280 to build Mr. Angar a church.

The COLONIAL SECRETARY produced the papers, and stated thal Mr. Angar had been appointed on the recommendation of Mr. Schirmeister, who the government had believed was head of the denomination here. This fact

had regulated their subsequent proceedings in the matter, but if, as stated by the previous speaker, it was the case that Mr. Schirmeister was not head of the denomination the aspect of the case was somewhat altered. The papers produced would show why the government hitherto had not thought it desirable to reverse the decision of the Registrar-General. He (the Colonial Secretary) moved that they be printed.

The question was put and passed.

MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S

SISTER.

Mr. R. CRIBB postponed the motion stand-ing in his name until to-morrow (this day).

PUBLIC WORKS.

Mr. PUGH moved— "That an address be presented to the Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to cause to be laid upon the table of this House a return of all Works done under the superintendence of the Colonial Architect's Department since the 1st January, 1860, distinguishing between works executed under public contract subsequent lo tenders being advertised for,— works executed under contracts entered into without tenders having been publicly called for,— and works executed without any contract bring entered into previous to their commencement,— specifying also the names of the several persons employed on such works, the dates of commencement and comple-tion, and the amount expended in each in-stance." He argued that the returns would not involve much labor to compile, nor would the expense of printing be found great. In

some cases contracts for works for a consider-able amount had been given away without tenders having been called for. Possibly this

had been done without the consent or know-

ledge of the head of the departmcul. It was a great grievance that people in trade should have, in such matters, to contend with people not in trade, but who held government offices and were in the pay of the government.

The MINISTER for LANDS and WORKS did not object to give the information sought for, but the returns would involve the employ-ment of xtra clerical assistance. He was not

aware that any contracts of an extensive nature had been given away without tender. It was possible that in a small matter involving only five or six pounds the Colonial Architect might not have deemed it necessary to call for tenders, and might have made enquiries aslo where it could be most cheaply performed.

Mr. PUGH in the course of reply stated, that in this town, he was aware, that contracts not of a minor nature but involving over £100, had been given away in the manner mentioned.

The motion was then put and passed.

POWERS OF LEGISLATURE.

Mr. DOUGLAS moved— That an address be presented to the Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to cause to be laid on the table of this House, copy of the case submitted to the Law Officiers of the Crown by the Altorney-General, as to general powers possessed by the legisaiture of the colony under the 22nd clause of the order in council, bearing date 10th June 1859. He placed this resolu-tion before the House on account of a despatch recently laid upon the table of the House in reply to a question submitted to the Crown Law Officier by the Attorney-General. When the

Additional Members Bill of last session was carried by a bare majority, the Speaker had felt it his duty to declare the Bill not to be carried conceiving that according to the Constitution Act a majority of two-thirds of the members was required. At a subsequent stage he (Mr. D.) drew attention to the 22nd clause of the Orders in Council, which he con-tended gave the House power to alter the Con-stitution. The Attorney-General, however, gave his version of the law, and a case was afterwards submitted to the Crown law officeras ; but the case actually sent home was different from the case which he (Mr. D.) had raised, and which he had been led to believe would be put. It would be seen by the Votes aud Proceedings of a previous session, that the question which they were led to believe would be put was, as to the general powers of the Legislature under the 22nd clause of the Orders in Council, 6th June. But a different case appeared to have been put, or at least was embodied in the answer in the despatch laid before the House. That docu-ment said that the House at present had power to alter and make laws, except such as changed the constitutiou, when a majority of two-thirds was required. He (Mr. D.) argued that this was not the question desired to be solved. By the 8th clause of the Orders in Council the

Constitution Act was incorporated with them, and the question was whether the 22nd clause of the same orders did not thus enable the House to have power to alter the Constitution Act and make changes in the constitution. They were talking every session of reform, and the necessity of passing a Constitutional measure, yet the government refused to take the first steps for that end. He believed that, in consequence of this very question which he had raised, he had been much maligned in Aus-tralian circles at home, and represented as hold-ing anarchical doctrines. He was stated to be connected with a party anxious to upset the Constitution, and the fact that he had on one occasion publicly met Mr. Justice Lutwyche was announced in support of the charges thus made—by whom originated he did not know. The hon. member, after some further remarks, concluded by moving the resolutions.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that the facts of the case were, that on the occasion of Mr. Sandeman's bill being curried by a bare ma-jority, the Speaker ruled the bill not to be passed, owing to the existence of the two-third clause.

In that ruling he (the Attorney-General) con-curred ; but it was objected by certain hon. members. In order to set doubts at rest, he (the Attorney-General) had laid the case before the Crown Law Officers. He had questioned the power of the present parliament to alter the system of representation, but he had never passed an opinion, as stated by the previous speaker, with regard to the powers conferred by-

the 22nd clause of the Orders in Council. The

question at the time alluded to before the House was, whether it was in the power of the House to increase the representation by a bare ma-jority. The two questions mixed up by the previous speaker were totally distinct. He (the Attorney-General) had never had any doubts as to the powers conferred by the 22nd clause of the Orders in Council, and he had never submitted a case in connection with that clause became he knew what the answer would

be. No doubt it conferred power to alter the

Constitution Act.

Mr. DOUGLAS argued that he had neither

mis-stated nor confused the case. He referred

to the records of the House, and quoted to show that in answer to his question the Attorney-General had stated that a case as to the powers of the House, in connection with this increased representation bill had been referred home. It was unfair for the Attorney-General to en-deavor to shirk the question in that way.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that after

he had made up his mind to refer the question raised in Mr. Sandeman's Bill, the hon. member had put that question which he had read. He, (the Attorney-General) in his answer, inadvert-ently used the word 22nd instead of 21st. (Laughter from the opposition.)

Mr. DOUGLAS said that the hon. member

having admitted that he had made a mistake, and having stated that no such dispatch was in existence, had no alternative but to withdraw his motion.

GAS WORKS.

Mr. MACKENZIE moved— "That an ad-dress be presented to the Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to be caused to be laid on the table of this House, a copy of the Minute of the Executive Council, relative to an application made by the Corporation of the city of Brisbane, for a site whereon to erect works for supplying the city with gas."

The motion was put without debate.

BRISBANE GAS COMPANY.

Mr. MACKENZIE, moved—"That an ad-dress be presented to the Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to cause to be laid on the table of this House, copies of all correspondence that may have passed between the Solicitor and Directors of the Brisbane Gas Company and the Secretary for Lands and Works, relative to the lease and subsequent pur-chase of a portion of land within the city boun-daries." He pointed out that the application of the corporation for a site for a similar purpose had been refused by the government, on the plea that a grant in the town would injuriously

affect the health of the inhabitants. Yet in this instance, he believed a grant in the heart of the

city had been made to a private company. The site was to windward of the town, and for that reason was less desirable. Although a clause in the Land Act might confer power to grant to

companies for public use yet the government had in this instance established a very dangerous precedent. They would, no doubt, be told that it was not an absolute grant, but he (Mr. M.) believed that it had been leased with a right of final purchase, on unduly advantageous terms. The purchase was to be at from between four to five thousand pounds. The grant was origi-nally set aside as a dry dock, but it had been argued by a member of the government that the stench from the dock would be bad, and that the townspeople would be annoyed by drunken sailors. (Hear, hear, from Colonial Secretary.) Several letters had also been re-ceived recommending Breakfast Creek for the dock as more eligible. Now, he (Mr. M.) thought the stench from a gas works would be as offensive as a dry dock. If this precedent were allowed to pass, other private companies, such as soap companies, would apply for grants.

He considered that the whole of this affair bore

a suspicious resemblance to a " job."

The MINISTER for LANDS and WORKS

replied to the effectt that he was in New South Wales when the alleged communications be-tween the projector of the company and the government look place. He knew nothing of any correspondence in his office with regard to the matter, but would inquire whether any such

existed. He denied that in the valuation

of the land the government or the company were guilty of any "job." 'That valuation had been made by the Surveyor-General, and was in accordance with a valuation of land made recently in the same locality in connection with the claim of a certain private individual of this town. (Hear, hear.) No objection was made by the hon. member (Mr. Mackenzie) to that valuation. (Hear, hear.) He had no objection to produce the cor-respondence if any existed.

Mr. BROOKES argued that Hie government had no poner or light to grant Hie Municipal hinds nilen a Corporation existed, which he presumed hail thru- rights und powers, as well a- theil- responsibilities. (The COLONIAL SECRETARY, "Heur.") Ho had no pcruninry ¡ntetvsl in tho company, although ho knew some-thing about us lust formation. A cori-rspou driicc lu* wa. iiwui-r did tako phire, but lit that time ho wai no1 aw ure where the* works were to be*. A letter ruine lo the originators ol' tho company, signed "A. O. Herbert," ellice ol' Lauds and Works. Ho (Mr. Brookes) believed thal if t lu* correspondenco between the Solicitor of the* rompnuy and (he government were puhli-licd, it would be found lo be a i orr, .-poudrai r lu tween Mr. A. Mnriili« trr, Solicitor, and Ibu lion. Arthur Miu-ali-tu-, Minister for Lan . > a id Works. (Laughter). Ilr wus not nn m* Inn i In np the lund wus ob-tained, nor ol' tim jnvc -r terms ol Hie agree I nirtil.

Mr. B CRIBB -tai,,1 that the previous

speaker i'onued one uf theproiisionnl committoe ,

of tho company. (Laughter.) Tho rest wore Messrs. Stephens, Eduiondslone, and himself. Thoy were all very patriotic, and in tho zeal of theil* patriotism desired lo light tho city willi gas. (Laughter.) 'They intended to do so if they could gel a grant of lund for n site from Iho government. (Hour, heur.) In company with Captain Towns, they waited on the Colo-nial Secretary and Hie Surveyor-General, and proved to them that the company would confer a vast benefit to the* community, und Huit the jorernmcut would benefit, inasmuch us when tho gas was in oxisleue-o tho cost of pro-tecting Iho eily would become less. Well, the government nppcaretl to look favorably on the proposal. Subsequently Mr. Stephens and Mr. Brookes, finding that they could not havo it all their own way on the committee, withdrew mid discovered thal the company wus joining with the government in a gross job. (Hear, hear mid laughter.) These two great patriots suddenly arrived at the conclusion that the grant of land would be very iniquitous. (Hear, hear.) Having the press of the town in their hands of course the projectors of the com-pany, himself (Mr. Cribb) amongst the num-ber, came in for a great deal of abuse.

Dr. CHALLINOR had heard that the land

alluded to by the Minister for Lands and Works us having boon sold to a certain individual had

been sold to Dr. Hobbs. He also believed that it had been sold at less than half its value, and that a person was ready to give double the amount for it. He assumed then that

of the value of the land referred to in the resolution was based on that valuation the country would bo a loser and an injustice committed. He did not think that this grant of land, on the part of the government, to a company afforded a good precedent. He dis-sented, however, from the dictum of the member from North Brisbane (Mr. Brookes) that tho government were.precluded from dealing with lund in uuy municipality ¡ and ho admired the Coloniul Secretary for iho lctlor, which ho had had the courage lo write to the Brisbane cor-poration in connection with Ibis principle. The Ipswich corporation, with nil their faillis, would never think of advancing such pretensions us those put forward by the Brisbane corporation.

Mr. KENNEDY thought that if the fact of the grant having been made were substantiated, it was a very undesirable one great injury would accrue to the owners of properly adjacent to the site by the establishment for the proposed works. He thought that the powers of government, as regarded the grants of lands to companies or in-dividuuls in municipalities, should be restricted, and that in till such cases the limits should be submitted to auction.

Mr. DOUGLAS argued that a general rule as to power to make such grants should be laid

down. Ho intiinnted thal tho Caledonian

Society intended to apply for ii grant.

Mr. MACKENZIE, in tho course of i-oply, alluded to tho fact, thal it itppcnred from Hie discussion that tho lion. Minister foi* Lands and Works had not the whole control of his own dopiirtmeiit ¡ thal, during his absence on excursions other members of the cabinet interfered with ii. He (Mr. M.) knew nothing about the land alleged lo havo been sold to Dr. Hobbs.

The motion was then put and passed.

POSTPONEMENTS.

Tho second reading of the Intestalo Real Eslnles Bill wiu posl poned for a week ; und (he Brisbuno Bridgo Amendment Act for a lort night.

MEETING OF THE HOUSE ON FRIDAYS.

Mr. .BELL ino veil-" Thut the hour appoint ed for the meeting of Iho House, on Friday in each week, bo alterad from 3 o'clock p.m. to 10 o'clock n.m. j and that Iho sitting on every such day It'i'ininate ut 1 o'clock p.m." He brought tho subject forward in that spirit of concession

which had characterised tho Houso from Iho first session. Unlil last session it was Ihoririiclico

of tho House to havo a morning sitting on Fri-days ; and tho appointment of, afternoon meet-ings vins un innovation. Ho urged that Iho change proposed would bo a great convenience to country members.

Mr. GROOM opposod Iho motion, which, if passed, vvouhl only serve the convenience of the J psvvich members.

The COLONIAL SECRETARY said thal vvlion he brought forward the iisunl scssionul motion, which it was now proposed lo aller, he intimated that ho should bo very willing to alter the hours ol' silling on Friday. To meet the views of lion, members on both, sides, he suggested that the House should always meet on Fridays at ten o'clock, but not adjourn at one o'clock, if there remained business on the paper to be disposed of. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. COXEN, acting upon the suggestion of the Colonial Secretary, moved that all the words after "ten a.m.," be omitted from the

motion.

A desultory discussion ensued, and, upon tho question being pul, the niuendmont was agreed to upon u division of 17 to 7 voles.

RAILWAY GRADIENTS AND CURVES.

Mr. DOUGLAS moved—" That an address

be presented to the Governor, praying that his Excellency will bo pleased lo causo t o bo laid on Iho labio of this House, a rellim showing tho gradients and curves on thu proposed lino of railway from the Litllo Liverpool to Too-woomba, commencing nt the crossing of Gatton Creek and lonniniitmgnt the .summit orille* Main Range." He had no doubt, he said, thal he* would be met by the lion, the Minister for Luinls and Works with Iho reply thal there was no occasion for those iel urns. Ho trusted, how-ever, that lhere would be no objection ; for ho lind not asked for ninny returns, (udeed, the* only two for which ho bud moved, lust session,

had not been laid on the table.

They would no1 involve moro lliun a couple of hours work for a clerk in tho Engineer's ollico ; and it would bo a great ndvuntngo to bon. mem-bers to have (hem before tbcin. It might be sim! thal he could havo supplied himself with (he information from the plans of (ho railway which were on the table:-indeed, he* had ex-amined them, and had nrrived nt a tolerable ide*iv of (he line and of the different gradients und curves ¡ but he could not. say Hint ho liu.l thoroughly sntisfied himself upon tho iiuturo of the survey. 'The drawings were executed very- neatly and appeared to alford all the in-formal ion Hint such surveys did ; bul, ho thought, that in such n gigantic undertaking tis the colony lind entered upon, lim Houso should have a tabulated statement of those very im-portant inclines ol'the railway. The lion, mem-ber quoted from Mr. Fit/gibbon's report, in which wus staled Hint on the portion of the line which went over the Main Range, the average risii would be seventy feet per mile, or one foot in seventy-five feet; Hie sleepe-l gradient would be one foot in fifty feet ; and, of the fifteen miles ol' railway, there* would not be ono straight mile, and that the rest ol'Hie line would consist ofiurves from (ivoto twenty chains radius, 'flint wtisti description ol'Hint part of the line, and he should be* glad lo seo the* whole ol' the hue popularly described. It was desirable Hint the House and the community ul large, through the House, should bo made uwai-e of the exact eliiiracler of the works we were about lo niter upon. He should be glad if he could hear from the hon. member opposite, not only upon this ground of want of information, but upon other grounds which he (Mr. Douglas) could men-tion, that he would not press the motion which stood in his name lower on the business paper, until the information was furnished. It was very desirable for many reasons that it should his deferred for the present. He hoped that the House would

have some assurance from the hon. member that he would not hastily or needlessly press on the

matter.

The SECRETARY for LANDS mid WORKS said ho was sorry Hint the bon. member for Port Curtis should have fill it hisduly lo brill" forward the motion helore the House. Ile thought ho bud even shown u dr-iro to consult the convenience ol' honorable members. On this occasion, however, ho wus unable to ng'-ee to tho motion ol' the lion, mrmlicr ; and it would be his duty, not only lo oppose it. but, if Ihr lion, member should per si-i in it, lo pre-« the hou-e to a ilivi-ion. The. bon. mri.ibri- might luke his (Hie- Sivivtury's) nord for it, that Ihr rr-olulion to uiitlioriso'thjC goirniiiiriil lopioerrd with Hie railway would come on this evening. The practice of the government in New South

Wales was to place the surveys on the table of the House and to hold the En-gineer-in-Chief responsible for the work. Con-tending that now, there could be no alteration, he hoped that this was the last instance in which the House would open up the whole discussion 0n railways (Oh!) The plans, sections and

u leis hi d been on the I iblt all last week lind io bon nieinbei h id h id un imple oppoituiuty ol going ovei them m 1 get ling all thtinfoima tion tb it he now a kell foi He could not dis puto then coi ltd ness and of cnibuul melita eui ves sections an 1 eultnins theie vvns even iu<biinution that au engiueei tould dtsue If ho could not satisfy iiunstlf willi that m

formation or mulct stand it, it was too muth to expect the House to wait for lum Tho govern ment could not spme tleiks loi the convenience of the lion membei and he could see no i euson w hy Iho Oov ei mneiit -hould be asked to do so Ho (the Setiettuv) hud not tho slightest doubt that the Éiigincei in Cluel would be von hippy to fin nish Iho lnfoimnlion lo tilt bon mtiubei -if tht lion mtmbei thought it was ne Ss uy foi linn lo huí o it, he hil not Iho slightest objection lo his getting it licit dtti

Hie pOvtmment lind furnished to the House all

the mfoimutton und moie than Iho Iivr io

quilt I theitfoio he tould not see whit obicet olhci thin delay theie coull bo m bunging foi

w u 1 tho motion

Mr. R. CRIBB said (lint lion moiubcisweit i ot cnguitois , and so ftu ns tugmceiing w-is tonocino I thoy might leave that lo the gov ern meit, who ueic lcsponsib'c to tlio House is the 3 ngmeei m Chief was itspoiisiblo lo Ihtm It was impossible foi bon niembtis togo ovti the plans and say wintha Ihpy vi ero light oi

wiong

Mr. MACKENZIE said of course the hon. member for East Moreton was very much astomshtd that any motion should bo biou¿ht loivrmd lo piovont Iho goveinmont going on with tho railway It would bo m Ihoitcollee tion ol tho Houst that ho was one of iho mem beis who bul voted against the oi igmtil Railw ay Bill end his conduct now would be appreciated ( IIciu, Item," and luughiei ) Hie Setittaiy loi Lind» and AVoiIs said ho was following tho example of Now Soulh Wales m laying mfoimution on Hit labio It might bo so but (his colony wa» m u différant position fioni New South Wales. We wtio euleimg on a new mid uoicl cxp liinont (fient heal au Ino no) llieio was nothing bcfoic tho Houso lo show Hint it was nnvthmg else iho pinn mid scellons mighl bo all vti v

well so lu as Ihev vunt but ho munit line I I 1 that the mfoi limbon which lind b enalloided bv tho government was i vee dingly meagio, and Huit «hil the houso hu I Oot hill lo be dragged fiom them. He cxpi ssel his disappointment willi tho conespondeuce which had been lud befoio tho house It w is needles foi (he Secicluy ol laids and AVoiks lo sav th it ho loone I upon the lion niciubcis of the opposi (ion »illt contempt lltev saw Unit ho etui so hy cverv look and att The puptrs ho had lind bofoio (ho Houso weio insulting to Iho lonmiou scn-o of (hil hen-(Iiiu0htcr and heal hem ) li was ill vei v well to sav that the Doveinm nt weit e pon iblt to the Hoift uni lo the tountiv II the bon the Munslei foi Linds mid Noils tluew uw n i million of monct lo whom vvns he liable ? He (Mi Alatl 01171c) muiulnnud tint un lei oui picsonl fonn of government ii wus no1 itspon sibh government at all (I tui0htci mid

"Hear, hear ) When a goveimmnt got into a position lo do what thoy ph is d with tho piihaineiit, it was not itpm siblo (Kellivied lauf,htn mid eheeio) He pointed out lint Hit coiiespon hine whiih ha 1 been laid on the I íblo was toinposed of letteis which weit misivas (o olh is vluth Hie Holt o

wanted.

Dr. CHALLINOR toni ended that Hit lust p_ ilhamtnt had Kui dissolied toi the puipose ot appcihng lo (he touuliy on the ii linly polity o, tho "ouuinicul ( ^So no und 'heal hen') Hi lion nieinbei who spol.0 last sud tho government wen io ponsiblo lo noono thev v leiesoisibh lotie f | "Olintiy J he lelinns moied lol coil! I 1 ob

( tmed, ns ho (Dr Chnlhnoi) hil obt une I the n by lending Iho haines on the emus an I Di nil i nts on the pin is

Mr. BLAKENEY was i ilh mu Inslont lied nt (ho oi ti In nmg manuel m wliiehllieimllsug "estions of the lion moui of the u olution wns net, and li did not Ihmk it nu m nu e ison ublo one lint iiulhei mjoimillion shoull be given to tbohottsi mid Ihiougli (he house (o tho publie as lo (ht i m il iblt expel um ut Hut thei wtio i lilt I upon to nish on fioni Ipswich Ihiougli Little Liuipoillo Ddby Ile com pinned of (ho ton luel of tho government nid tho tu mit înajoiily iiishuigtht bon e Hie government now Hi it thev hi 1 a mijoiilv bv thai n Jinn lble m magi mint weio dttpo ed to net tyrannic ilh ( Hcui bran li oin Mi

TAYLOR, and lniightci ) And iimtu0st (h m weio lion membeis uni othcis who could onlv e\pu s thtii feel m0's bv laughing at llio oppo ilion (hen he a ), and gunning at Hum (inn hen and laugh let) and eivmg 'him, hem (Re

nowed nieiiinicnt md ihccis) Hi it was n )l tho way to mi, suth a qutslion as thi3 '1 ho\ could not folget whit oecuirtd in the othti Houso oi Ltgishiluit dtiutig last «ess on lilt lion and leailled nieinbei le id the i solutions of tho Connell on the siib|e t of the lui« ii "uiyt in «huh (ho gnon ntiit weir n qui sled to gue fin thei tou«i Itiulion lo it befo o pioeeclmg with the woik n id lu elm gel llio gommmut willi healing the Uppn House with contempt m getting ii I of (lit itsohil ions by the pi tv ion* question Hie goveinmont lie lied Hit opposition ni Hit sime way b) tho munni i thev gut to questions 1 lionjh they had piomised to obtmn Hie opi mons of eminent intiméis on Hie ulm whose opinions did thev git 5 Hie opinion ol Sir Charles Fox. wns et foilh in Iheeoiiespoud ence Hicv lound tint he wns the paul ngent of Queensland loi the pin hise of iverv thing oi hied lol Hie colony mil he believe I the knight would not hive k«s than five pel tent oui of (hu li iiisittton He would not well de sciiothc nnmo of lo\ if ho was not moit ennuin.; than to Huon coldvv itei upon a svstem Hut wus to put morn y into his p ikit

(Iiiu^htei ) Ol com e he ippiovcd ol the nulli iy anil ol Ali 1 il/aibbon too It was uilliei odd liomin (hat the "oviinmoiit did io! I iko moit tire in seleetin0 then lelteis

\i hen e\ti itts weio giun ho alivavs lhou0hl that tilt e was something lnddiii m the coutevt bu C li i Us loxs kttei vvns feivtn m liül but only in ixtiict was given lnm Hint ol nu engmeei nt Bombay to i nuinbei of the Queensland govein mill lint Unit ixlinclwis In the died Hint the singlo foin feet "iiigc lid« iv, ii Inder lo ollur main lulls hld not b in piovnl a success m India Hie vviilti n is most disposed to lttotuineiid it lhen Hu wns i lettei a vciv shoit om liom Ali

Leiklev (. I ippiovm0 ol Ali lit cibboiis i poit wine h s>i thinks lex hid shown lum The lest ot the toirespondiuee i fei al to ofc oi)i indi in (Iwhtn) Lui Hie 1 Un

nhi h th ¡,0Vcininint hil sent home mu not I ttvm In conclusion Hie bon metnb i e\

piesse I hi hope mulline that loi lite sale of tit lolonv it Hu Dov miment wi«hi I lo i ury on (he hu nu ol tilt col my willi sitisfulioii lo the people tho r-ulwny would no1 be lushed

Hi ottgli (he lions,.

Mr.R.CRIBB io«e li addie - Ile House lie dis ud touille an cvpliuuliou lining le ieieuu to «oil soap

The SPEAKER sud Hie lion membei had ilu i tv -pokon

Mr. BLAKENEY :Veii have no «oft soap

fi om v on

Hie House then ud|0uincd foi refreshment Upon ii stitiinix nt 7 o tloel,

Mr.BROOKES rose und expired lus ugiet tint theie should hayo bien on tho pint ol

lie lion Hu S neilin foi I linds mid AVoi k so i lily lnumlestcd, ni connection with the motion, a «spuit ol dein mined ho tihtv to ev civ tlimg in tin. shipt of con dtatton Of com e tillie was no tv i Ililli di Ltission ninth woull niihido t whole i iilway question und il nus not de

t ible tlint it shoal I ht undid Iioinlhtwny 1k qui st ion hu I bien bi0iin ho toni I see no ult initivi but lo discu-s the mullel tluouji

out Hi whole lenDth und bienlth Ht lookul upon Hu loiu-pondeiut ns exceedingly un ntis

fuetoiy , it waa not what the House had a light

to expect fiom the mnnsteis of the crown Aflei leferrmg to tho pioeeodings of lnst session Di connection with tho Railway Bill ho said Ihntduinig tho ícccss the Mimstei foi Lands mid AVoils yti'lly exceeded the poweis com milted to lum mid if for that cause only it was tho duly oi the Houst to seo that thev wcro not hum d into an enoi mon« and 1 ii lsh expense What they weio doing mijit not only mutonully ulled the ii edit ol the colony but impose upon its httbilitics wini h ho did not Hunk any membei of the House would live to "co discharged Ho thought that the opinion of the

Surveyor-General of the colony ought to carry weight with the government, and he showed that that gentleman had, in his evidence given at the bar of the Council objected to the three feet six gauge, and to a decision on the railway without a pre-liminary survey. But not only was his opinion disregarded but ministers had either forgotten — he would rather adopt that expression— or broken their own promises. The correspondence gave evidence that they had not been forgotten but that they had been grieviously ignored. The Colonial Setretary on the 8th September last, assured the House that the government would not do anything with regard to the construction of the railway without fur-

ther consideration, and the Secretary for Lands and Works saul sonittlnng of the same soit and pi omi ed lo coiuult the mo t tun neill engtntcis at home upon Hit railway It appealed by the tonespoudeiict lint on the 18th September tho Secietuiy foi Lauds und Works wioto to Sir Climie» Fox des i ing thut ho should act on behall ol the Quecn3laud goveminent ii- agent foi tho purchase and ship mont oí i til« iv mat uni fiom Lngland Hint lid not lool like a deDiie to obtain norning land the opinion ol eminent eiiguiecis it was lil o go ug into a business alf m He found that m a communication dated 20lh Septembei a positivo mltut was sent home to bn Chin Ils lo\ and m eply to thal on the 2Gth J nuaiy,

ho slated that he hud i cecil ed tcndei3 and ho subjo ned al t ol ir. líeles which ho had put thtisjl nnounling lo something like £J7,000 Now he (Mi Lioolts) iiishtdto speak lespeet

fully m tins inutlei but wlth suth evldenco bc-

foic hull ht s i d that tho government lind bee i guilty of a gioss hi tilth of confidence, they had di«tmelh lost sight ol then own wold, and they bud lulled to do that which (hey had promised to do

foi the house The lion membei then moved Hint tho moe on before the Houst bo amended, by 111 nisei tion ol the following wolds nftei tho w ord ' i nlvv ly tho follow nig w oi ds bo uiseilcd- itio«s tho Littlo Itvtipool und,'

und thut nil the woiels ullei 'loovvoomba bo c mci'led

Mr. DOUGLAS sud lhat ho hmdly expected when he moved the ic«oluliou that they would have "ono into tho dis u«sion ol tho general qutslio i Ho had hoped that the government would li ive acceded to his request foi tho post ponement of the ruduay question, but as they had not acceded to it, ho vva3 not gotug to press his motion (Hen hour) If tho lion member lo "Soi Hi Diisbme would yiithdiaw his amend

mint he (AL Douja ) would withdraw his motion (lieu heil )

Mr. BROOKES huv nig expros-ed his vv ilhng ness to withdraw his amendment,

The molle, i uni the amendment were then, by leave wit lull ii n

CLERK OF PETTY SESSIONS, GLAD-

STONE

Mr. DOUGLAS moved—"That an address

be presented to the Governor praying that his Excellency will be pleased to cause to be laid on the table of this House, all correspond-ence ninth may have passed between the Bench of Magistrates at Gladstone and the government in i eli lenco to coi tam thiirgcs biought ¡igmist the Cltik of Retty Stssions at Gladstone Ho said he vv as not satisfied with Iho uiisw i ol the Colom d Stcittui} to Ins question on this subject u few dnxsngo It was

to the effect that as this officer had withdrawn

his appeal under the Civil Service Act he had been allowed to exchange with another official. Now he (Mr. Douglas) wanted to satisfy him -self of the piopnelv ol Unit procedure He had h en mfoiiiiel Hint the gentleman refured to had bch ned in a veiv nideeoiousmanner befoio tin coull It appen ti that winn lu vvii3 tilled upon lo pciloim lis dttlies ni com the wis m ti si itt, ol d unkiuness , he tlncvv tho depo it ion boo! nt the heil of (ho chid ton slnblt and he then jumped on tho bench mid c lied lol his hoi-i (Liughlti )

Mr. MACKENZIE seconded the motion.

The COLONIAL-SECRETARY believed that the hon. member had been entirely misin-

formed as to the circumstances that took place on the occasion to which he referred. The conduct of the clerk had not been so outrageous as he described. The officer had been in the service of the government for very many years and had performed his duly in a proper manner ; better, with exception, than any officer of similar standing in the colony. On the occasion in question it was a fact that he was intoxicated. But in consideration of his past service, which had been considerable, he had been allowed to exchange. He (the Colo-nial Secretary) had not the least intention of op-posing the motion though it was like many motions that came from the other side-- inter-

ferng with the functions of the executive, and taking them into the hands of the opposition.

The question was put and agreed to.

RAILWAY EXTENSION

Iho MINISTER foi LANDS and WORKS io o to move tilt le olution standing in Ins name Ulei Iho long discussion vi huh had lukin plttet upon n tollutci ii point, lit thou'lit ii w is not neees ni i foi him to enter upon tins subject so (idly ns ho should otherwise havo dom He de red Unit Iho «(rietest enquiry should bo instituted into every net of Iho go

vi minent in com u tion with the construction

of the railway. The Governnent Railway Bill hut been li anio 1 mid inhodiiced with a legard to Hie pecuhni circumstances of the colony

Vi el ions to (bo mhoiluetion of tho bill, Lontmunl dt nundi wiro beuig rando foi the i npioveinciits of tho loads of the colony in vinous quaitets mid theso

demands unnunlli meieised In n few years moi e indeed Iho money expended upon the nnpioi cincnt of common louis would havo sulliied to niuko a radi ond Ihrou^h many of tho di (nels m which such expenditure was in cuiud Hit nnpiortmeiit of the loads undei the old system wa3 out of all pioportion to tho hu go amount ot money expended Tho govern ment theiefoie (tho liamwav Company winch vvns lai0tlv endowed by government foi Iho fur timante of then design, having failed), wera

induced to dneet then attention to tho ailvisa

bihty of mtioduemg nilvvnys into tho colony, moro e pecinllv into the vv estem districts It w ni lmnceessai y foi him to go oi er the ynrious

le i-ous which had been on former ocm«ions as

s gned by the gov el umeut for tho adoption of (he i pie cut railway policy In the neighboring colonies heal y anil oxpcusive railways had been mtioduecd, which, howeyei wnrranted by a eel tim -tuto of tiicttmstanccs were uncalled foi

I m (ho e lolontee eitlin by theil revenue, popula

lion ot Irafhc llicso ladvvays had been founded on tho high speed gnugi system of 1 njnnd but it had bien foi gotten tint fal

dilleieiit cniitmslauces led lo Iho contraction of ml« ays in tho lnotlin couuhv lo thoo which pievnled m Hit tolony In the lutt -, the money toi their conshuction vvnsboirovel on the publie «cciuiti, n id Uley welt intent d lobe nnimpiovid lond ns compaied with ti o mud Irieks of tho colonv In England Ino liitlvv iv sweic constituted by puvnte toinpan c« who h ula pel feet light to spend their money as they pleased. The object in England was not to improve the roads or to obviate to the disadvantages and expense arising been the bad condition of those roads, tho object was to uttun a lory high rate of speed. The government of Queensland were of opinion that the intrduction of such railways in Queensland would be uncalled for (Hear, hear.) To have made a high-speed railway would have been to plunge the colony into an minimum amount of debt, whilst the traffic would not have met the wear and tear of the working expenses. In deciding on the adoption of any scheme, one great object for economy which the government had to consider was the ascent of the Main Range. The government were prepared to maintain that the gauge adopted

the gauge most economical in a level country but its economy became best apparent in the ascent of the Main Range. That with a

gauge of seven feet the ascent could be made, he did not dispute. With a gauge of 4 feet 8½ inches he was not prepared to assert what they could not do. What he did assert was, that before they introduced such lines be-fore they could adopt the requisite curves they would have had to form to mount the range, they would have had to involve the colony in an expense which it could not have borne. (The hon. member proceeded to quote from authority to show that tor a length of 15 miles odd, under the wide gauge above referred to, with an average gradient of one in forty-eight, the steepest being one in thirty-seven, the cost of construction was £40,000 per mile.) It would be absurd to introduce railway here at such a cost. It appeared to the government that they could have a gauge better suited to the colony ; a gauge which would enable them to go round curves with a radius of two chains. would enable thom to ascend the main range ; and which would in point of traffic meet all the requireinents of the colony. He was pitpated to umltitake to show that on the mu ion ginge dm eoidd iiseeud steep gradients and go lound «lura ernies Iho following account of tin opening of a narrow gauge railway in North Wales was worthy of attention :--

"The Festiniog Railway in North Wales, a line fourteen miles long, with a uniform inclina-tion of one in eighty, and a gauge of only two feet, was opened recently for traffic with locomo-tive power. The engines, which only weigh five tons, are the smallest ever made for railway traffic. They are beautiful low-built, compact, four-wheeled coupled tank-engines with cylin-ders eight inches in diameter and wheels two feet in diameter. At the opening of the Festi-

niog Railway, each engine conveyed a train of about thirty tons weight up the line, and round curvess of 130 feet radius (less than two chains) at a speed of thirteen miles per hour, with per-fect ease."

¡Niict rho peuod of Biuiielaiid Stephenson ho contended thal gi cat lmpioveinents had taken »hec ni the engineering science, and in no bl inch of the seunco had gi e dei impi ov emciit s taken ph -t than in (hut in conuttlion with ruinais, and no bunn h ol Uns sub|ctt hail bien more di elis ed (han tho adaptation of gnttgts lo

tlie curies ti id ascents to be oveiiome, and the | nuiomit of (lulhe which was leqtmed lo be pio v illili foi tspceiully vv bel e the question oi in clines mil sleep gradients wus involved 'Hie sVstcn adopted bv the government was iomidtd xvith a vitw to economy Its elinrncttiislics viere light rails a light peimnucnt way, light engines and light coinages 'Iho question of -afetv depended upon that of speed mil the mitral was Milo nt ti speed of lim ty miles nu ho u Hie L,oi crament, in first eonsidci nig this iinttti, had taken advantago of Hit assistante of uprofi «louai gentleman who happened to be in tlio colony (Hcai, and laughter ) And whose tub ico they had sought Ho alluded lo Mi

1 itzDibbon, who«e tnieei tis m cngineei and n ¡,iiitlcinnn lind been pim ed bifoie (he Ko ist ii o elim gc li id bein mu U iigun-lAIi

litfgibbon that ho (AL Al) was avviut ol The bight I comphnunt that could be paul to Ali litzgibbou was Iho nimmel m which his titi i liles ni this mullel bud been veiifud und t it

mil out 'Hi it gentleman had upuled in fin or of the 3 feet 6 inch gauge ; and the reasons given by Mr. Fitzgibbon were exactly those which had operated on the minds of the govern-ment. The authority of many modern English and American engineers tended to show the de-sirability of lighter railways than those con-strutted m the mothci counhy Vftci Hitit port of AL 1 rUgibbon, tho Ridwnv Dill was pi ed lust session, no1, it is ti lit, without oppo ltion Having pnssed Iho Assembly, Hie pre iiling genius ol tho oppo ilion in

the olhel House called foi évidence on

the question of gauges. That evidence was to him (Mr. M.) conclusive as to the advantages of the gauge proposed to be adopted by the government and it would be folly on the part of members opposite to base their opposition on the question of the gauge,

as any attempt to reconstruct that fabric which 1 11 ubi uly been 1 noektd down eould only end n lonfiisiou and disinny [Hie bon membei

li re quoted copiously horn tho ovideiiet of Me r litrgibbon and l'lcns dehveinl at the I ir of the Council ] He ni gued at sonic 1 n «lit Hut tint endenco wns conclusivo ns to Iho de «iriliilitv of tho ginge loi lins colony Alter alluding to a certain narrow gauge line in India, and contending that the question of safety was dependent upon the question of speed the lion ni i ibu pioeecded to nfei to the tullin, which hil to bi met Hie government bud consulted «ith I L AA'ilson, CH to tho seeittniy to tho Indian government (Hie lion nieinbei li re quoted Ins opinion us embodied ni th pnnlcl eoiiispondenet laid upon (ho table iftli Houso The opinion, a lengthy one, vins ii fnvoi of light railways in counliies vvhcio the triflie was m its infinity 'Hit cngineei in ilmf nt Bomba} hud also been consulted (Hx tracts from tho punted eoiiespondeiiee wa« m I by Ah Arncuhstci ) Ho (Ali Macnhbtei) minitemed that these authoiities proved that the gauge adopted would be for years to come uleqmte to tho roquín incuts of tho traffic flu Mimsfei foi Lands mil AVoiks hera pi o i le I to deny tho insinuations cast nguinst 'ir Clmiles lox that gentleman had been con «lilting endulce! foi tho following lnilivuvs, vi/

C ipe low n mid AVinbui gh und the London und Dour He bud likewise been chief engilleei foi th london and Biigbton, and vv bitney lines Re vi is ni o cngineei foi tho AAVt London Docks und other works mentioned) A copy of the upoit of Ah lit/gibbous lepoit ml been foriviu led lo Su 0 lox (Jin honorable uieinbei hera quoted fiom the Kuttd coi rcspoiulenee, tho opinions of Su t

loi und Mi Ilciklcy, Alcmbci of the Instituto of Cml Dngnueis in "j or or Mi ritî-gibbons leport gone nul)) Tho lion nnnistei next pioeeeded to Ki« to tho executivo action taken by the goiirinnent in othci mattera Then flist step '?ii to tako mc ian cs to obtun suney« pi ins ant «picilicationi ele Ho nigucd that it thev IniLnlledfoi lenders they might have lind many applicants but the goleininene, tould lune no Ç ra-liitcc for the capabilities of such applicant.)

(Io tirgitcd there foi t that tho government weic therefore right in selecting a poison in whom

uley hid confidence and whoso fame and foi lune would bo involved in tho success of (he under tilniL Thoy hnd engnged Mi fitzgibbon .Ile(Mr Al) yvhen in Sydney lind ondeavoiodto glin «omc mfoimation lrom tho head of the nil

my department as to tho cost thcicinclined ni urveving hues of millya, , but, although °n ci cry point in connection with othei «ntters tim kow South AA'alcs Govern Ment allorded him every information on this point thev wei o reticent Ho had obtained wwcvei soino Victorian statistics on tins head

Jhe prtlitninaiv surveys m that colony he "»gilt mention "eo-t £55,444 Tlie survey for «'Ç « illinmstown branch line co«t fMSO pei wile foi tho Melbourne and Muiriiv Rivet, -13oo per mile, and the Geelong and Ballaarat slooo per mile The terms of Mi Fit/gibbon s 'outPiet for sui v ey s w ei e us follow -

, *P u h lo loot of Main Range, SO miles,

''«?P» îuilo

Wie incline, vnthout îefei euee mileage, £3000 toowoomba lo Dalby, £70 per indi

toowoomba to AViirvviek, £70 pei mile

1 NcrvismiNG ScrritiMiMaxcr

«P-with to^iowoomba.faiO pel mile toowoomba*to Dalby, £2S0 per mile

toowoomba to AVaiwick £2(>0 peí indo

Jbe hon membei pioeecded to explain Hint

»s include 1 nil cxpcii-cs, payment ol draught» l'*' n ' nni* "10 '.ompetency of persons cn tngoilnid to be nppiovcd of by the govi m Went Iho contract could also bo hi oken oil if |lu; parliament did not sanehon tho .iliciue oi the government nero di««atis '',cl flith tbo Morl The Mmistei v ° pointed out tho circumstances undei ninth

"" <- l"ox lind been employed to fin nish "'Sines una p*ant xhe employ mont of middle "im m the «hope of mci candle (nins who did "o'c pee nil-understand this branch of business liiVi'"3 rtsu't*-d in tho othei colonie«, veri often une purchase of mferioi plant at a buger ex len«? '»eluding Um commission, than was no te sary * H0 treatetl mxii conteulpt tho false

"'b'-3 whiili Jiad boou published uguiut b'm

in connection vi ith this mnttoi, and had taken non tho hist le0itimiito oppoitumtv vi hu li olleied lo lay Hit wholt ol tho tirtumstnntts be foi o the house and tho eountiv II had boen ultim ric, I to lum by several lion mombil s tint Ihtv would dtsiit lo htivosoim account plated belote them ol Hit connection with Qucciislind of one eminent finn who woie now eui tying out oui litilvv iv Ht wold I put thut connection befoit the houst in a my low yvoul Ono ob|ect Hit gol ti muent had m view winn ht visitod îicvv South AValeswas if posible to asu.it nu what couti lelois in that colony so fin as the goveinuent tould tell vveie likely to otter for Quituslanil conti ids, and what likelihood Hitit was ol thoso puitits bung ublo to tauy out the contradi Vnd when ho npphtd to Iho head of the ladway dtputnunt h" was told tint it tho goitinintnt ol Qucuislan 1 wtio not bound down bv le olution ot puihaineiit to at tcpt Unionist (indu Ihcuiteitsts ot the colony vvoull be vin muili-mod and it would be to the mleiesl ol Hie eountty Hint the eoulracl shout I bo emile I oui within tho piopei tim«* if Iho tonlrjct woie given to Peto, Riussoy, and Jltlts Hit agtut of Hutt finn Mi A\ iIio\, w utul upon lum (the Soudan), mid lit told linn tint tin goiiiumint had lallod foi tendus, but that tiny would leccne one fiom lum Mi

AViliox «aid, that ii en m Xiw South AAriles his finn bul never bun m the prnitice of sending ni tendéis that they mado ollns lo do tho woik, and thev wera nthei accepted 01 icjtctid Ho stated Uni he would go lo Queensland and seo the eouiitiy ovei winch (he line v is lo pass and multo an oller, if Ihe leudéis weic found lower thin his ollei, then tin got u liment could di hoy Iho oin, it the tenders weio ob]CCtc I to then tlio

ollei was binding V 111010 fan a mol o honoi li ublo olia lo contract on tho pmt ol ii lum could 1 not bt conceived AVhen tho tondus vino t opened tiley yura lound tobo as follows - ] Mi Higgins--und ho (the ¡bedc1 iii) must c mention (hit Hits gentltmnii of all Hit tindtieis, t was tho only out who lenlly nppeaied befoio 1 th" govern unit with tiny thing hie a loeom mendilion li oin tho ninnsleis of auothci colony -his tendel loi the lino lo Lillie Livcipool was eilJ7«M 10* 2d Tho next tendu wns fiom Mi Bloomfield -LlOiiGjJ Hie next was fioni Mi Bonnie who he (the Setietny) behevel was the con tractor loi the lovvn Hill and Hie amount of h s tendu was COOOlo llitn thtio vvns Iho tendel ol Ali Aim t induit foi £!-7 707 When tliiBondol AAoii&infoimtlhunol theiimounl of the low est tendu mid us he h id only a few days btforo lecuve 1 tho oller of i'eto Brassey, mid Hell« and As he knew vvhtit that ollei was, lit 1 uti it before tin bomd md it was u eepted Iho amount was CSO'JOO It was two lion membtis ol tho House who s it on the opposition hinches and who viel o decidedly opposed to Iho i ittlvi ty and one ol w boin lind thut oi eimig de nounccd the govu nmuit foi hiivmg enti usted Hit woik to Hit conti nctoi s happened to be the sui tins foi one of the tendu era (Cms of >uinc ) Ah Uiookes and Ali L huon I stone (I aughtel and Hem hem and Ah LdvjomisIOni 1 did not douounci tho goiiiumint ) Ho dil not say Hut lion niein her lind (Mi Lu li y " Il was not nie m the 1 itibo0ic ) He h m thus ns concisely as ho possibly eould put tho Hoitso in po session ot the whole of the pioceethngs ol tho l,o\u numil with ititi euee lo this i tulum «mee I'm hument hist met Hie "ouiiiniuil won not uii"i ittftil toi Hie toifitleittt vv luth tho Houso dt-plnyidiii then list session in committing tho woil lo then ino bul li thought it must bt ndnulltd on nil Innis Unit tliul con lidtnci li id not been ubiised AVhnt mi0bl be tho lint ol opposition it was not pc hups foi lum lo sny Bul hi thought Hutt then tould be no diflicull*, horn what thev hld llieiulv seen ill knowing vih it (lint opposition xv is lil ely to be and (ho illino 1 that lould be sud ol it was tint the oppo ti ion was foi delny ( "No mid Hen li vi ) Iho q i stton lot lion m mb is lo consul i was tin pi ohm,,! don ol tin lim ol lnilw iy and if lion menions weir ol opinion tint the line shoull be piolongnte I he llopul 111 li Uley vvoull vole foi the lcsoluliou befnc Iho Hou e und gue the government uuthoiily ti tauy out (lit lino to Dilby As he sind bifoie om "nil ob|cit was to ascend the Main Range, and having ascended (hil Hie lound y hid a light lo e\p el (hit tin goitinminl shoul I alloi I it Hit pioof lint Iho i ultim was a 0uul sue ess 1 liri sltould show lint bl li piolon^ilioii ol the hue tiny would assist tho YVcstun distnils ol Hi tolony ii fitting thin pioluic lo muket (linn heal ) It wns not lo ho denied loo (li it nllti Uley lo! tiuoss tho Mam Ringi they ¿ot into the eountiy ol thup lndw ns (Hen heir) Ovei thoeountiy betvvun loowoombi mil Ddbv

the cost ol the line would be little oiei lull what it was on the lino lo loowoomba (Hem beni ) ihci must be a tonsidu lb't qumtity of pi mt bought to cm iv the railwnv to loowoomba thal woull bo ol suviee on tin Dalby hit Thoo nut lonsiduattons vi luth ho li usted lion mimbus would bein in mind But thcio welt others It wus a niattci known to lion inembeis (hat no position of this colony was moio deshtuto of louis no poldon of lins colony was lnoie disioimecled fi oin tin liitiusts of Queensland Ulm the AAtsluii di diets (Heal hem) The dish id-of Al n moa an I ol A\uneo0 vino distant from Dillie, si\ him lied indes and those distiiet with (ho ex i pt ion ol patches belo und theie hal bein applied loi

and he had been lo'l lint foi lineo bun died miles noith and south on om wes eui boiindniy line wo bud no com minneihon willi the settlers-that bc}ond the le eplion ot (bur heciiso fus anntiallv wo lind no lonneitiou with limn-Hint th u uholi ti lfht mid li iii vi is with New South Wultsoi bottth Ausliihi (heir lieai)-md Unit Uicy wire foiecl lo putihnso pioduce theio nt nu equal cot lo wlut it coull bo pmelnsed foi at Dalby Ihoso titeitinst mees weio iittubutible to Iho fnet that thuo wen no nie ins of commitni itmg with lliosi d19

diets He du ted tint whntevu iin0lit he the eourso of bon nieinbei s on Un ot ht 1 st le tho House vvoull by «mppoitng the io oin don vi Inch he would move alibi d to tho lotinti v (he guarantee tint then d sue lor railway nccommodation was 11 letihtv Ht conclu led by moving the following amende 111 solution -

Hint Cus House appiovts ol Hie phils -et lion» and book of 1 lu ince (now submitted to the inspection of lion mimbus mid on the tablo ol this Houso) of an exten ion of the railway already anthou-ed lo little Livcipool fioni (hit pinte io Dalby viv loowoombi

Tho COLONIAL TRI AS UKI II seconded

tho motion

Mi MaCRENZlL culled the ntlention or tho government to tho impropriety of putting this question befoio the House nt this time They lind not henrd the Iiensuioi s fmnncinl stntement, mid the passing of the jcsolution would commit tho eountty to a len loigo ex pense They lind just got some mfoi mahon which thoy had been expee'mg foi some dint and they wuuttd tillie to mnstei it ( No no

fiom Hit tieiistuy hinch, lnilwny «p id fioni Ah Blikinev mid tho uv vvns echoed bv the ATTonxrx Gniitu) He, thcicfore moved (hut the dibnto bo nowtid'oiumd (linn hiur) In doing "o he stated that he was us much in fin 01 ot 1 nilw ay eommiuiuution us any mombo of (he Houso AVhen (ho question 1103 hist biought foi vi aid he stated thal to bo the eise

and when tho bill wns fust befoio thom ho stated that his objection to it was that it did not embody 11 railway scheme geno rally npphenble lo tho colony Iho lion membu m ion ed at length tho his toiy of tho railway agitudou 111 this colony, tho coming amongst us of Mi Titz

gibbon his dangerous txpeiimtntal hue his assumptions of endit fin tho tonslruchon ot railways tlscvvhcii, and his being unmasked by Ah Doy no mid Mi Fit/gibbon s anomalous position Ho uho lev lew ed tho coirispondence winch had been laid 011 tho tnblo by the toi ern mont mil denicl that it pioved mil Hung 111 fuvoi of tho ixpuiment vi hull Queciislunl wns linking AA lula ho vi as speaking hewasmtu uptcd by -

Hit COLONIAL SLCRETARY who "tntcd that the 111 gumenl balbeen alvuniod lepmtedly and ho would ask what dilfeieneo it mnlo cm ryug paesongois, trafilo, or goods ou a rodway

Tho chanco of overturning .must be Iho same. (Oh, oh, and laughter.)

Mi*. MACKENZIE said it made all Iho dif-ference. (Hear, hear.),. Ho then proceeded al length lo speak lo tho general question, lo illus-trate the necessity for au adjournment of tho debate. J

? Mr. PDG n seconded the amendment.

Mr. JHiAlClîJOY regretted the eourso that tho government had taken, ami ho told them that their acts would recoil upon them. (Laughter.) Tho present was without excep-tion tlio most vital question that would.bo considered during tho present session; and us this was vu-tually tho first week that tho Houso had really got to' business, ho could not under-stand the reason for so much busto on 'tho part of tho government. ICo reason had boon given for it, und he supported Iho motion for ad-journment. Ho thought tho financial position ol' the country should lirst bo made known hy-the Treasurer, before tho House wera called upon to incur moro expense for railways. AYhy should tho resolution bo forced upon thom by a junction ol'tho Ipswich and Downs moinbors nguinst tho metropolitan members und the Northern districts: it wus a conspiracy. In commenting upon Hie speech of the lion. Minis-ter foi* "Lands mid AVorks, ho twitted linn with having mado two railways out of one, in his enumeration ol' tho grout works for which Sir Churlos Fox had been engineer. Ho had lived at tho Cape, and he know thal Iho Capo Town and ' AVineburgh railway was one line, .ol' about ten miles in length. (Laughter.) The lion, member spoke al considerable length to tho gene-ral question. '

Mr. DOUGLAS was not going lo address the House at considerable length, by telling hon. members opposite his reasons for voting with his hon. friend who moved the adjournment of the debate. He had been disposed, after what had occurred last session, to accept all the evi-dence which should be addressed in favor of tho scheine adopled by tho government ¡ and he thought if (ho government lind exorled them-selves more fully to obtain that evidence thoy might havo beon in a better position than thoy really were. They could not too often dwell upon the fact that before the close of last session the hon. gentleman opposite had agreed to ask the opinion of competent professional gentlemen in England on the question at issue. He (Mr. Douglas) at that time understood that the matter was to be referred to individuals who could not have the slightest personal in-terest in it. He had, however, heard nothing of reference having been made to the Institu-tion of Civil Engineers-- a course which might very easily have been adopted when the opinion of the highest possible court of appeal could have been obtained. The real circumstances or the case might have been detailed, that the country was a new one, and the amount ol' trnllio Wits not likely lo be grout for many yenrs tocóme, mid nil other necessury informa-tion. There was not the slightest doubt but that, had Hie cottrsoho referred to boen adopled they would havo obtained tho dispassionate opinion of the best men in England. As it was, how-over, the only authority I hey possessed for the adoption ol' tho guugo was that of Mr. Vii/. gibbon, who certainly vvns nu energetic mid en-thusiastic man. His energy vvns minnies!, from tho manner in which it had been displayed in currying out the surveys nh-rady mude, ¡lut he was also nu cnthusiusliu mun ; urn! tiny mun ol' nu enlliitsinslir temperament vins likely lo arriv-j nt conclusions which certainly might be bused upon I'ctisotitible grounds, but which ho (Air. Douglas) thought it would bo scarcely proper, with a due regard for the future prospects of the colony, to adopt those conclusions, unless it could be shown that other opinions had been obtained to prove their correct ne ,3. A letter had been written by a gentleman, whose*opinion had evidently been given in the* nio-t dispas-sionate manner, mid who hud bren referred to tis a mau ol' great mark by (hu government us bearing testimony in corroboraliou ol' Mr. Fitz-gibbon'»- idea, ¡ti which, milong oilier observa lions, it wiisnss-tTled tliatuuy hull-measures willi regard to railway construction were quite a mis-take. That was the opinion of a gentleman of high slr.iieliiig in his proles-ion, mid ono which ho (Mr. Douglas) wu-i prepared to accept. Thora was no doubt thal, Iho system adopted would prove li success as lili-as the Little Liverpool ; but the critical point wa.s who! her it would bo as successful in going up the nunn range. That wus n serious engineering question, 11)1011 which ho would Uko lo ¡nive some other opinions 1 lui 11 those already adiunccd. If lit« resolution nvre passed the governmeiil vvouhl be in 11 position at once to go hilo the market, mid advertise for lenders for the whole extent ol'line. There was no doubl I hut it would co-l u large amount ol'money, which it would be necessary should bo voted by Ino House* mid if tho government could show clearly Hie grounds upon which Iheynnticipulcd a stillteieiit profit from the line, he lind titilo doubt Ibu! the House* would seo no dilficully in the way of voting for it. Ho 11,limited Hint tho resources of the colony ivero largo-vory largo ¡ but still the ftiet could no1 be ignored that upon the proper management ol' the finances of tho colony at the present time tho futuro prosperity of tho colony a great deni depended. If a mis-take wore made* it might be found necessary lo put on fresh laves ¡ when it would bo found thal emi-gration would not be so i-upid us formerly, people from other colonies vvoull rrn-e to make their appearance, mid lhi'«tpialiersivoiil-l begin lo cry out. 'The ne\l step would probably bo to con-tract a debtof some Ino of Ihren millions, which would doubtless lend to some schemo ol' direct taxation. 'There* was every reason to believe thut the session would hist us long us tho cold weather did, and lhere would, I hereum», be plenty of time to con-sider tho number of important questions to bo brought before (he* Jlottso in Um mo-t de-liberate manner. For his part, he thougla that if there was so much confidence felt in Mr. Ki!/.gibbon's plan, inquiry should rather bo courted I linn otherwise, mid tho presence of competent engineers, who could bo ex-amined ns to the merits ol' the cuso, would cirry willi Hiern some weight, should he ob-tained. There were nt present many eminent engineers in Victoria mid N'ew South Wuk*««, who had been enguged in currying out rail-way works in tho*e colonies, and who were all'men ol' high position, und ivcro therefore likely- to tell their honest opinion. The lion. Secretary for Lands had laid great stress upon the fact that Mr. Tlews bud iisserted that the projected railway was calculated lo carry nil the' traille for Iho next hundred years to come. The lion, gentleman's prescience wits certainly

most remarkublo Hint it enabled bim to seo 60 far ahead. [Tho Sechetauy for Lands : " I merely quoted Mr. l'lews' evidence."] Mr. Plews elid not really believe that the system proposed to bo ndoptcd was either the cheapest or best one ; and he (Mr. Douglas) believed that gentlc'iunn wns prepared to stake his Pro-fessional reputation upon (hat opiuion. There* vvns no doubt but that the evidence of Air. Plows which had been quoted that night bud bren wrung from him. [Tho Skchbtahv for Lands : " I did not wring it from bim ¡ it wus tuken as it caine."] The urgumeut uppetired to bo that the cheaper the railway Iho better-an argument which, if driven to its conclusion, would justify the adoption of even a narrower gauge than the one proposed. From Mr. Plew's evidence it also appeared to bo necessary thut in the ascent levels should bo formed at which to pull up at, but from the plans produced it appeared that there was in tho whole use-ent only 0110 milo of a level. They had heard that night, for the first time, thut tho amount of tho contract taken up to curry tho Uno to Littlo Liverpool was £86,000 j und if properly carried oui for that sum, there could bo no doubt but that they would bo doing well-£. 1000 a milo was cer-tainly very moderate. Ho presumed, however, thut that sum did not cover the cost or tho per-manent way. (Tho Secuetahv for Lands ¡ Not for rails, bridges, or fencing.) He found it was intended that the bridges should be built in such ai manner as to allow for the future adoption of the four feet eight and a half gauge. He could not but regard that fact as other than showing that the ministry had no confidence in their own scheme ; and he would like to know what it would cost to make tho wider guugo up Uio maia range, whick ho bvliovexi would iuivo

to bo done. (The Secreta.iy for Linds: .CIO.000 per mile.) That might bo the lion, gentleman's idea of the -easo ; bul. ho (Mr. Douglas) know very well Unit the cost ol' milking tho railway over the Blue Mountains in Kow South 'AVules was nothing like tho sum named, and he thought that the engineering difficulties, wera certainly us great if not greater. He knew for ii fact thal the average cost per milo ol' (ho Now. South AVules railways did not exceed £15,000. Now lion, iiiembci-3 must admit that in matters such as Hu one before tho House, thoy must to a certain extent be guided by their own reasoning powers noting upon the best avail-, iiblu infornuilion. OT course, in matters-of detuil they wera bound to refer lo professional engineers-and therefore it wns that ho wished to Ii ive those opinions properly plneed before him before he fcvll able conscientiously lo give a deci-sion. They must also recollect, us another argu-ment for delay, that la present Iho colony was not hull'represented. (Cries ol'" oh, oh.") He thought it would be n'much belter course to adopt, instead of rushing precipitately into tho matter, first ol' ? all obtain the dispnssionnto opinion of the* country in a proper manner ¡ and allow all parts of the colony lo have au opportunity-of assisting lo decide upon it. Thora was a very'imporlanl measure shortly to bo brought forward, that for tho establish-ment of provincial councils, mid ho might say he believed Hutt to bo a measure lav exceeding in importance the railway question) and ho was glad to porcoivo that Iho government desired lo endow tho councils.with such largo powers. It would doubtless be found necessary to oxpend a largo amount of.nioiioy throughout tho,colony upon railways, besides tlio lino at present under discussion, it was_ probable that before very long a railway from Rockhampton lo tho I'eak Downs would bo required,. and it was likely thut some objections might be mado lo voting money for increased railway communica-tion, on tho ground thal it would bo taking uionoy out of tho pockets of tho inhabitants of ono part of tho colony in order to assisi tho de-velopment of tho resources of iinothoi* part. For all tho reasons ho had mentioned, ho thought that the settlement of (ho question should bo delayed to somo fritura time, and would there-fore voto for Iho adjournment of tho debate.

Mr. KENNEDY suid it behoved him lo give some relisons for voting in tho nimmel'lia in-tended lo do on tho question beforo Hie Houso. It wus ndmitlod on all hands (lint Iho formation ol' railways wus an absoluto necessity, and ho lind iidvocale'd them for somo timo past. Ho

lind been thrown out for tho district which ho ut present represented on account of his railway propensities, mid since thal limo ho had been returned on I hem. Last session, before the ques-tion was beforo (he House, ho lind mudo nu uintmdmcnt which, if carried, would havo had tho ell'ect of compelling necessary surveys lo bo ninilo beforo the outlay of any money. Ho lind been glad to find that many of his hints lind been tided upon. It was also very agreeable to .seo that, sometimos, when mon discovered that they wero wrong, they were willing to mend; mill ho could point out several instances in which the government had done so. Ho believed (lint unless tho lino of railroad wero carried out. quickly, much ruin must occur in tho part of tho country which ho representad. Tho government had adopted the narrow gauge, and guaranteed it as their gauge. The opposition had given a decided opinion on the question, and it was adverse to that maintained by the govern-ment, nnd tho issue would ol' cottrsu determino which vvns right. Under nil tho circumsliiiices ho must sny Hint he was averse to any further adjournment, and ho should vote for the original

resolution.

Mr. J'UGrlI said ii wns in tho recollection of bon. members Illili Iho government lind during I ho hist session mudo ii distinct pledge Hint beforo the adoption of the the three feet six gauge they would elicit Hir opiuion ol' eminent engineers. I f surh lind been alone, and it had been found Ihal those engineers hu 1 approved ol' It, lu* would liavc bren happy lo support it, mid would have* been glad lo know that it was callable* ol' being carried out in the manner proposed. Three weeks lifter tho session lind beru opened, some correspondí-neo bud been luiel upon the Inblo vi ¡Hi reference* lo light railways, and Iho lion. Secretary for Lands hud produced thom willi nu nil- of triumph. Bul Unit lion, gentlemen hal failed to show thal, anything had been said in favor of the gauge, except by Sir Charles Fox, who had been burked up by four lines from a person mimed llcrklcy. 'Thoy found also (hill in the month of September, 18(13, ael nully belora tho Houso hail adjourned, that Sir C'hn.-le- Fox hail been appointed ugrnl for the government for purchushigrailway millerin!, und thal gruilemeu had iictut.lly accepted no less Hum seventeen lenders for engines, soft soup, rison, Sze. Altogether it wus evident Unit the go-vernment lind not Iho slightest inten lion of keeping fhoir promise ¡ but ho (Ah-. Pugh) must certainly give tho bon. Secretary for Lands great credit for the ingenuity which ho bud displayed in his opening address by endeavoring to liiako a good case oulof a very bud one. A letter was certainly produced from a gentleman in Bombay, which was lo Iho ell'ect that ho did not know whether the guugo was successful or not, seeing that it had not been tried. Tho Secretary Tor Lauds hud quoted un instance ol' a railway in North AVules with u very narrow guugo which was it appeared used only for the purpose of conveying slate from ii quarry. The government had really not shown one instance in which a railway gauge so nar-row as the one sought to be introduced was used for passenger traffic ; they had argued no-thing but what would lead people to believe Hint it wus u mero oxperimeutiiltogelher ; lhere eould bo no ilottbt but tliul Uti* government lind determined to carry out a certain gauge, and bud been burked up in Unit delerininulion by mi interested person, Sir Charles Fox, who wus acting us Iheir agent. Tho Dun Mountain Rail-way lind bren u grout curd willi the government, as it was upon that railway that Mr. Fitzgibbon hu I been employed ; und bo (Mr. Pugh) could state for u fuel Unit Hint gonllumnu beforo ho

left New Zealand had informed Iho conductors thal Uley could not go al a greater speed limn three miles an hour willi safety. They hud since exceeded thal pne-c, und mi np-el had been the consequence. No doubt. Mcs-rs, l'cto, Brassey, and C'o.'s contract lo lake the railway lo Hie* Litllo Liverpool for £80,000 wits un uel vantiigrous und cheap ono ¡ but lion, members must recollect Hint Hint amount did not pio-lado for tho erection of stations, for building stations, or for rolling stock. The line of rout«, loo, was almost level, and yet Iho nmouul had bren quoled triumphantly as being so rery cheap, and no account whatever hull been taken ol' Mr. Fit/gibbon's charges for surveys, which thoy had no reason lo believe would bo so very Bunill. The manner in which tho tendera bud been opened was anything bul a correct ono : four ten-ders hud been received onn Saturday afternoon, nnd opened on Monday morning, when the four tenderers consulted with each othor ns to tho ro suit, and it was found thut Mr. Mnrtiudale'swos the lowest ¡ but when thut grntlcmuii applied at tlio olllcohc was informed thal ono was expected which would bo lower still ¡-so tho fart was that a number of contractors- bud been brought from other colonies on f'ttlsu pretences, and at much expenso-tho government having predetermined ns to who should bo t ho successful tenderers. Tho Minister for Lands bud endeavored to explain tho matter ¡ but he (Mr. Pugh) roservod to himself the right of believing that lion. genUeiuan's statement. The* bon. gentleman had also quoted Mr. Plews evidence* iu support of his proposition, when from tim! gentleman's nuswers lo the thirty eighth, forty-eighth, and seventy-third ques-tions, it appeared that ho wus not awaro of any line of railway used for passenger traille with the three feet six inch gauge, that he considered the four feet eight and a half gauge much cheaper in the long run than the smaller oue, and that much economy would arise in the per-manent way from the adoption of the broader gauge. He could not beliovo thal nnything but harm could enstio if Uley determined to curry out Iho whole extent of the lino until the experiment hud been tried upon the first twenty miles, or until Ihey had received viiluablo information on tho subject from storling men. Untier llioso circumstances ¡io should fuel it to bo his duty to vote for

the umonduieut of tho bon. member for the JjUi'Uott.

Mr. AVTENnOLT was under the impression llint too much lind already been said upon tho maller. After tho long and lucid explanation of tho lion. Hie Secretary for Lands, ho thought the opposition should bo satisfied. Ho believed Hint the whole* discussion was a waste of time, and he could not but remark upon Hie audacity display ed by the bon. member for Port Curtis, who had certainly dealt in a very underhand manner willi the* question. With regard to Mr. Blukeney, who it appeared owned somo lund at South Brisbane, ho (Mr. AVimholt) could no1 but express his conviction that that lion, gentle-man íwiis a disappointed mun, in consequence of it having .been ' arranged' that the railway

should not start from Brisbane nt once. As it wus, the line would' certainly be very useful, and he (Mr. AVieuholt)'was sure that the idea of making it go into Iho interior al once was a very gootl ono. Ho could not aceoimt for the absurd arguments brought forward by (ho oppo-

sition.

Mr. TAYLOR quite agreed with Iho lion, gentlomnn who had just sat down, thut it great deni of useless,talk', which could not possibly inlluonco ono vote, had already been listened lo. He-pirns sorry lo sny (hat certain bon. members were in tho Imbil ol' attacking the character of lion, members ou his sido of Iho House vi hen Uley worn not present lo defend themselves, mid thereby tool: a cowardly and menu iidvan Ingo. Hu vend in reports of newspapers some shameful and most unjustifiable nil neks which bud been made, und ho only wished Unit somo resolution or law would bo como lo by whieb individuals would bo compelled !o refrain from milking attacks of the nature referred lo upon persons who wero not present lo defend them-selves. Ho lind noticed in the report which had appeared in tho nuivspapcrs ot the fiivowcll address of Mr. Ruff, Unit (hat gonlleinim had rofcrrod lo himself (Mr. Taylor) in anything bul a coiiiplimentnry mininer.

The SPEAKER hero informed Mr. Taylor Hint ho vvns out of order hy not speaking lo Hie question.

Mr. TAYLOR resumed : no was quito pre-pared to submit to tho riding of Iho Speaker, but still ho thought it wns very desirable Unit he should havo an opportunity of rol'utmg the abominable stiitamcrls which had beeu made. Tho opposition professed to abhor personalities, when thero was really no lion, member in tho House who so nitteh indulged in them. The leader of Iho Opposition in tho other House, Dr. Hobbs, had given instructions to (ho Survoyor-Oeneral, who, in consoquenco bud gone over tho proposed route, mid pro-nounced it entirely impriieticnblc. Tho gentle-man, who at a recent election had proposed Mr. Brookes, had stated that, ii had been de-cided lo select a round-about way for tho railroad, in order to reward ono of its sup-porters-numery, himself (Air. Taylor), und that lo do so a largor amount of oxdartiils would huve lo bo lind down. A greater false-hood had novor been uttered, and ho would tako that opportunity of stating that on tho occasion alluded to Mr. Pettigrew lind uttered mi infamous falsehood.

Mr. LTLLEY, lining risen to order,

Mr. 'TAYLOR said Unit, leaving Unit subject, he would go on loromark Hint tho squatters lind been accused of robbing tho country-und ho would nsk tho Houso whether tiley could believe Hint ? Mr. Brookes liad also slated Hint the toy railway, ns ho culled ii, wus inlondod to convey a few hales of wool and a fow swells would ii not be equally well em-ployed in bo doing, ns in conveying tbonoblo person of his bon. friend, mid alow pots and kelllos. If the railway must bo a mero toy railway how was it that Iho patriot Brookes bad been so ready lo become security for two of tho gentlemen who hud sent iii lenders for tho contract. (Tho bon. member here referred to documents in support of his as-sertion.) As Iho gentlemen for whom ho hud become security lind failed in obtaining Um contract, Mr. Brookes had thought proper to inveigh against the whole

scheine, lu reference lo the rcitiurk which hud

beru made by tho lion, member for North Uria bane (Mr. lilukcnry) us lo the " hour, hearing" of crrlitiu members on Iho ministerial benches, ho would ask Hie Houso vv hellier I hero wus any member who created grenier disliirbitneo Ullin the gentleman who had mndu this com pluinl ? 'Thut gentleman, ho iiudcrlood, lind threatened thal if the motion beforo tho House

wero pushed by lilian, ho would tako care Unit it did not puss the other House. (Laughter.) Ho could scarcely bclicvo thal the bon. mem-ber's iulluriire was so extensive tis Hint. AVilh regard to the cvidrnco given last session by Mr. Gregory, ii wns rendered entirely worthless by tho inisvvcr given to tho lnil question asked him. That question was ¡ "Have y ou lind any experience in tho working of railways in Eng

htiid?" To which the answer willi "No." Cou

se'qiiciitly- his evidence wus not worth a nut-shell Desperate ellbrts had been mado to prevent tho railway from going to tho piuco vi hero ho (Mr. Tit} for) lived, bul ho felt perfectly easy on Hint point, as Toowoomba bud a lurgo mid thriving population-no1 that ho cured one rush whether the railway vvenlUicro or not, as far its ho wits personally concerned. He bud not tho slightest hesitation in saying that Mr. Brookes, and Ihosowho voted with linn opposed Iho ruil vv ay, becuuso it was not started from Brisbuno. Mr. Ruff had clearly let it out that tho question at issue was not the gauge, but the fact that it was to start from Ipswich, instead of Brisbane. Ho hail no doubt that (ho milli ay would reach Brisbuno in limo, but Iel them first lake (ho rail-way to places lo which Iho conveyance of suit cosl £7 per ton, and of sugar it lo, tho cost price being £5. Hu might mention as a fact, that no doubt, would bo satisfuctory lo Iho lion, member for North Brisbane (Mr. JJIiikenoy) llinl sevenly-fivo per cent, of Um squatters were insolvent through bad seasons, and tho high ralo ol' e'lirriiigt*, Tho bon. member for Ibu Burnett bud grumbled nt having Iho en-gineer and commissioner of railways in ono person i ho grumbled oven ul a saving where it suited his purposo to do so. Ho believed Unit lion, gentleman was influenced unduly by Hie membors of Iho opposition, and thal ho would bo only too glud lo return to Iho placo from

which ho came. The lion, member for North Brisbuno (Mr. Rluhcnoy) had lulled very loudly lihou! (he- apposition only vv idling lill tlio meet-ing of Iho Houso to oxposo tho bribery und cor-ruption ol'the government, but ho bud not us yet perceived liny signs of the threatened ex-posure. Ho moimi the government had curried every Illili" beforo thom lust sossion, in spite ol' tho assertions of Hint very truthful paper, tho Courier, Hint an improper appointment had been mado ut Ipswich, in tho case of the son of ono of tho members of tho government. (In answer to exclamations from tho opposition, Mr. Taylor stated that ho con-sidered liimsclf hair a minister.) Ho was proud to bo a supporter ol' the ministry, and trusted that when tho other side, (hough ho hoped tho day might bo far distant, when ho should find himself there, ho should bo oqunlly firm in his opinions. If tho motion beforo tho Houso wero postponed, as propo-ed by members ol' tho op-position, a great deal of additional expense would bo incurred by tho necessity for engaging a fresh stall' whenever it ¡was decided to go on xv-ith the work. Ho had been very doubt tul na to tho propriety ol' adopting tho 3 fool 0 inch gauge, but arter conversation with his mild un-assuming friend, Mr. Fit/gibbon, ho had been thoroughly toiiiinrcd'of its expediency iu spito of his dull comprehension. 'J ho ministry lind pledged themselves as lo tho clllcioncy of Iho scheme of railway proposes, which, he thought, ought to bo n matter of great satisfaction to his bon. friend, Mr. Bkikeuoy, who might, by the failure of tho scheine, gain a great deul moro thun by opposing it in its pressât singe. For himself, he should certainly withdraw lils support in tho ministry, as fin* as theil* railway policy wus concerned, if tho 3 feet (J inch guuge turned out a failure. The hon. member

for Port Curtis had stated that when the letter of the government was wn-illen, forward-ing the report ol' Mr. Fit/gibbon, that tho amount of tho probable traille, and Hie country through which it was proposed to curry Um railway should have been stated, but these state-ments hud actually been given. (No, no, from tho Opposition.) Hon. members hud evidently not read tho documents that had been luid on tiiu tau!» of. Uto Jiouot-, <w ¡ii> li'iUgibboa'p it*

! port. Two miles of road woro boin" constructed

through Hie Rosewood Scrub, which would cost Hit* country moro thnn a railway for that dis-tance. Thora was another road at the foot or the Main Range, which ho lind no doubt would cost a similar umouiil, and if thoy threw away tho money of tho colony in constructing mud roads thoy would soon lind them-selves in a pretty position. If (hoy borrowed two or three millions of money tor a railway, the iwlffic would soon enable (bein to pay the interest of the money, ns (ho lowered rnto o'fearriiigo would ndmit of ine-reiieed t axut ion ¡ but they were certainly not justified in borrow-ing money to pitch into tho mud. The thought lliiit ti ' few articles, such as rum nnd tobacco, might bo fixed upon to pay Tor tho taxation required. They were ni pre-sent taxed al a lower rate than any other colony, and could bear ti eon«idc*rablo increase of luxa-tion. Ho did not believe that tho squatters would object lo extra taxation, us thut would bo set oil' ngninsi. tho extra charge for riirringo. Some bon. members, like tho gentleman who re-presented the Bin-net I, got tltoir incomes without working for them, but tho squatlers in general, looked upon things inn vory.difi'oroiit light, und would deni with (his matter as ono iill'eoimg their interests. Ho Wits glad to perçoive the fiivorublo lntnmor in which the resolutions hud been received, mid trusted that the House would unite as a friendly family lo pass thom.

Dr. C11ALLÍÑOR, eonc3iving that, no sub sttnitiul reasons had boon adduced against Iho policy of tho government, should oppose the

amendment. '

Mr. MACALISTER mudo a fovv remarks, in which he stntcd Hint, (ho objections of the opposition uppenrod to bo mudo on two_points, v i/.. !-Firstly, Hint Mr. Doyuo bud written lo Iho Melbourne papers, giving an opinion ad-verso to the proposed railways ; and secondly, thut it wits represented thal until (hoy hadan increased representation, tho question of rail-ways ought no1 to bo entered on. II bud also been staled Unit (hero would bo no saving in the narrow gauge,; us ¡I might bo iidvisablo hcrciiflor to inerenso it. Ho quite agreed that tho time lind arrived for additional representa-tion, bul in reforenco to tho present question tho govcminonl sought lo servo the interests of tho colony at large. As long as thoy retained Iho confidonco of Iheir constituencies, thoy felt themselves bound to volo according to their consciences-for whiil thoy con-sidered best for (ho gootl of (ho colony. Inrel'eroiico lo Mr. Doyuo's let le'*, nitor careful perusal, ho could no1, como lo Iho conclusion that ho was opposod lo Iho 3 feet 0 inch guugo, ns, in expressing his opinion on Iho subject, Mr. Doyno bud bIuI ed Hint Iho Irealiiient ol' every stylo ol' counlry in référença to railways must bo governed by ils peculiarities. Ho held in Ins hand a document of greul Importance, us it re-ferred to the finn of which Sir. Doyno wns ii nicmbcr. It wns therein staled that when

Mr. Fit/.gibbon was engaged in a survey of tho Main Runge, ho bud wrillou to Mr. Hoyne, willi whom ho bud been previously cngiiged, request-ing bim to scud him the best engineer ho could, to cheek Hie surveys of thut lint*. Mr. Doyno had sent his own purl nor, Mr. Lnloticho. Mr. Luloucho bud slated Unit, uflor survey of (ho lint*, ho vins entirely iufiiiorof tho proposed stylo of railway for tho country surveyed, und wits of opinion Unit if that niolhod were adopted lhere would bo a fourfold saving in the cost of construction. The only inference that could be gathered from the letter he re-ferred to was Hint Mr. Latouche had become a convert to the 3 feet 6 inch gauge, as far as the Main Range was concerned. This he consi-dered a complete mistier in reference to the charge, us far us Mr. Hoyne wus concerned. Mr. Doyuo's letter further sluli d that Siveedish and Norwegian railways had been oponed on the same principle, as Unit proposed to bo adopted

in Queensland, mid thut nrrungements hud 1 been completed for the const ruction ol'ii similar | ¡ railway in India. Willi regard lo I ho «contract ol' Messrs. Peto, Brassey, und Co., ho would propose, with Iho consent of the (louse, mid in iiecoi'dnnco with Um advice ol' tho Hngincor-in Chief, lo give thrin the remainder oftho contract, Tor objects of economy and efficiency. Ho thought thal a railway constructed on Iho principio of tho narrow gauge would very shortly bo in a position lo pay tho interest on (ho money borrowed, which could not bo anticipated from tho moro expen-

sive line.

Tho House (hen divided on the amendment with tho following result :

Ayes, 8. Noes, 10. Mr. Pugh Mr. Herbert

lllakcncy Macidisler Sluphens Moll'utl

Brookes Clmllinor

Douglas B. Cribb fidinondstono R. Cribb Edwards ") m"ii""n Wienholt Mackenzie j lulors* Groom

Lilloy Pring Coxon

Konnody Royds

Maclean

S.indomaniTU

Taylor J

Tho original motion was thon put by the

Spcukor.

Mr. BROOKES moved the adjournment of the House, and in the course of doing so trusted that sooner or later the necessity of delay would be seen by hon. members opposite. The mem-bers of the opposition simply asked for time to ascertain the accuracy of the plans and sections laid on the table ; the work involved a large expenditure, and it was desirable that before assenting to the works, the financial statement of the Colonial Treasurer should be heard. It was also desirable that evidence should be ascertained as to the accuracy of the plans. He contended that the delay asked for by the opposition was reasonable, in order that they might obtain the opinion of competant persons us to the plans before assenting to them. He argued that the evidence of the Surveyor General as to the cost of tunnelling (which he quoted) was as reliable as that of Mr. Fitzgibbon, yet there was a great discrepency between these two professional gentlemen. He argued that, therefore, the House in this and other points should have the reliable and impartial judgment of other parties. He wished lo know who was to supervise the surveys or Mr. Fitzgibbon. All the evidence adduced by the government was one-sided and emanated from friends of the scheme. He did not care to answer slurs cast upon himself for being surely to a success-ful tenderer, but he believed that thut was one of the few tenders which the government had accepted on proper principles. He did not agree in the government always accepting the lowest tender. The hon. member concluded by defending the course pursued by the opposi-tion. The combat was one of Darling Downs against the whole colony ; and the ministerial victories would cost them more than their de-font. The hon. members on the ministerial side received a large consideration for their support, in the shape of a large allowance of the exercise of the pre-emptive right.

Mr. SAND ISMAN objected to the adjourn-ment, and urgncd ut length that tho Unie had come when this question should bo settled. On a former occasion ho objected to tho lino to Dalby, on tho ground that the construction of such a lino savored of centralisation. Tho go-vernment, however, met his objection by pro-mising to tako 6teps lo inaugúralo a sun ey to the North for a railway. They bud fulfilled that pledge. Ho behoved in railways, but thought they should bo self-supporting. Tho railway to Dalby ho thought would bo self-sup portiii", as would also tho ono conteiiipluted from Rockhampton to AVostvvood. Ho should

vole for tho resolutions.

Mr. GROOM spoke in support of tho resolu-

tions.

Mr. R. CRIBB denied tho ascrtion of the hon. member for Brisbane that members who voted for (ho motion wero paid for it. Ho carno to tho rescue of Brisbuno ¡ und notvvithst'iiiiliiig thut three members for Brisbane opposed the motion, he dunied Hint thoso gentlemen represented BriBbuno in their opposition to tho railway. Ho ohntacterised (ho Opposition us /'actions. In retorting upon the bon. member, Mr. lilukcuey, who aroused bim or having turned his coat, lie »»iii hu rwumUncd Hw uno wkcu («lu liuu.

member would voto for anything the govern-ment proposed. Ho would not do so now ; but why? Bcciiuso ho could got the loaves and

fishes. He, then, was tho turncoat.

Mr. BLAKICNEY could not ullow the re-marks of the bon. member for East Moreton to pass. That bon. member said that ho and his colleagues did not represent Brisbane. That lion, member did not represent East Moreton, mid ho would lind that out by-and-bye. Bris-buno did not wnnt. his advocacy, and it would not hilve him as a représentative.

Mr. DOUGLAS said that tho object of the present discussion was delny. (Hear, hear.) Ho nittintuined, however, that one object lie had in viow was to save the honor of tho House.' It could not bo said that all the informa-

tion which tho Houso had a right' to had boon placed beforo them. All precedent bud boon set nsido to forco the railway ¡ und tho privileges of parliament were in danger. 'Tho government bud got to make it a practico to sot' tho law aside, to twist tho law, to go right through it ¡ mid ho illustrated his' nrgument by stuting the cirotiinslnnces under which certain appointments lind been made.

Tho COLONIAL SECRläTARY said tho charges of tlio lion. mombcrlbrPortOurtis, which wero repeated after the lion, member for the Bur-nett, as to tliogovcrnmcntdistortiiigandtvvisting (ho law, wero totitlly unlruo. Thoy had never been ublo to prove a particle of those charges ¡ und, therefore, it was very unbecoming of lion, ineinbors occupying a high position in the Houso lo make Bitch cbnrges recklessly.

Mr.'MACKENZIE undertook, beforo tho end oftho session to prora all ho had stated and more. (Hear, hear.)

After somo further remarks from Dr. CHAL LI NOR and Mr. BL AKENE Y, tho question wns pul tlinl tho Houso do adjourn, and wa» negatived without a division.

Tho question for tho adoption of the resolu-

tion was then pul, and tho Houso divided with ' tho following result i

Ayes, 17. Noes, 7. Mr. Cliallinor Mr. Mnekoiuio

Konnedy Pugh ' * i R. Cribb Edwards

Lilley Stephens' - ( Mofliill Brookes ? .

Macalister Blakenoy I ", " '

Pring Douglas jTolleM'

Herbert !

AVicuhoIt Saiulcman Bell

Coxco

Taylor

G room Royds

Tho question was, theroforö, carried in th«

nilirinutivc.

ADJOURNMENT.

On the motion of tho COLONIAL SECRE-

TARY, the House adjourned at a quarter to one this morning until three o'clock in the after

The Intercolonial Match Committee held a

special meeting at Kelly's Royal Hotel, last

evening -Dr. Gunn being in the chair. A re-solution was carried that the number of players to represent Queensland be twenty-two instead of eighteen, and that, pink be the color for their shirts. It was determined to choose the players - also the umpire and scorer on Monday even-ing next. The Hon. John Watts, and Mr. Lilley, M.L.A., were added to the honorary

committee, and Messrs. J. M. King, A. T. , Greenly, and A. F. Wilkie to the managing committee. The site for the Grand Stand having been withdrawn from auction yesterday it was agreed that tenders be advertised for the same, to be received up to Monday afternoon at four o'clock-the booths to be sold by auction by Martin and Dickson on Monday next. Mr. Costin gave notice of motion for to-morrow

evening to re-elect the selection committee, and that it consist of five players, who, with the secretary, will also act as a ground committee. A letter from Mr. Clayton, giving further in-formation respecting the Sydney players, was read to the meeting. The following will be the eleven to meet twenty-two on Saturday next :— Messrs. G. Cowlishaw, F. Somerset, E. B. Shaw, J. Sercom, J. W. Wilkie, F. Deedes, P. M'Grath, W. G. Macnish, J. Cowlishaw, J. Plank, and D. Jacobs. The country player who intend to be candidates should lose no time in offering themselves for the practice matches. The treasurer, Mr. Shepherd Smith, being in attendance at the meeting, requested members of the committee to collect subscriptions and pay them over to him forthwith.

AVi: understand thut busbranging is becoming fashion ublo in tho Northern districts. Unfor-tunately tho copy of tho Rockhampton Bulletin. which contains tho particulars of ona coso, has not been furnished to us, though wo have been informed that tho victim was Mr. A. Ball, and that two horses wero taken from lum. We havo also been told that an escupo from the Rockampton gaol wus oll'ccted by four prisoners. Thoy raised tho ularin that thoro was a, snako in their cell, und the winders immediately went to kill the reptile. During the oxcitomont th* prisoners muiiugcd to get outside of tho door, mid then locked up tho officers in the place where thoy thomsclves should havo been. They

ofibctod an escapo, und havo not* since bcoa re« "IC captured. , , , .

It will be seen on reference to another column that after a considerable delay the Acclimatisa-tion Society of Queensland have attracted some notice from that of the mother country. After a most successful voyage, the Young Australia arrived in England on the 12th of March, and the Parent Society received from Captain Phillips a consignment of various animals for-warded from Queensland. Some of them unfor-tunately died on the voyage, and of others no information was given. The letter, however, is very satisfactory, and will, we believe, be pro-ductive of much benefit to our Society. It may be regarded as the first step towards a system of co-operation with us, and us such is most valu-

able.

AVe havo been requested to draw attention to the sales of the undermentioned well-known and valuable pastoral properties situated on the Downs and in the neighborhood of Ipswich,

which aro advertised to tako placo on (ho fourth ? of June i-Wivenhoe, ïuirnoy Lawn, Tambo-reen, Fassifern, Moogerah, Palin Trco Creek, Merrit ide, Dttugogie, Buuluud, and Maaland. The Bales will tako piuco at the rooms of Messrs.

Fattorini, in Ipswich, on tho day mentioned, ' und will, we believe, judging from rumours, create considerable interest.

YESTERDAY evening a tea meeting in con-nection with the Primitive Methodist Missions

in this city was held at the church belonging to that body, in Adelaide-street. A large number of persons were present, and the minister of the

church, the Rev. J. Buckle, presided. "When, the tea had been enjoyed, several ministers con-nected with the different religious denominations delivered suitable addresses, which occupied the attention of the audience till about ten o'clock, when the meeting dispersed.

THE eighth number the Queensland Journal of Commerce has been forward to us. Its

general appearance, and the amount of useful information it contains, justify the favorable remarks made by us on its first appearance.