NEW ZEALAND
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
(PROVINCE OF NELSON).
Published by Authority.

All Public Notifications which appear in this Gazette, with any Official Signature thereunto annexed, are to be considered, as Official Communications made to those Persons to whom they may relate, and are to be obeyed accordingly.

By His Honor's command,
ALFRED DOMETT, Provincial Secretary.

VOL. IX. NELSON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1861. No. 3.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1861.

THE Eighth Session of the Provincial Council was opened this day, at one o'clock, upon which occasion the following Address of the Superintendent was delivered:—

MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL—

1. It will I doubt not be as satisfactory to you, as the representatives of the various districts of the Province, as it is to me, to meet after the lapse of nearly eight years since the introduction of representative institutions, in a building the property of the people, instead of being obliged to hire, as has hitherto been the case, one from other public bodies of the Town. The building in which you are now for the first time assembled, will, I trust, be found not only sufficient for your requirements as a legislative body, but also for carrying on the chief departments of the Public Service; and this Hall in particular will, I hope, be found useful in several ways in contributing to the public welfare and happiness. That so long a period should have passed without this Province having been possessed of a suitable building wherein to carry on its necessary public business, may appear remarkable when it is remembered that several Societies, forming sections of our community, have for some years past been in possession of edifices suitable to their requirements. The delay however will not, I believe be regretted, since it has in some measure justified the erection of one, which, while it amply provides the room requisite for all the departments of the Public Service for which it was designed, is also in its external appearance worthy of our position as a Province.

2. In my address to you, on the opening of your last Session, I deemed it my duty to express to you the doubt I entertained that the Revenue of the Province might be diminished by the requirements or claims of the General Government, to a larger portion than five-eighths of the Customs Revenue. This was intimated in the despatch of the Colonial Secretary, a copy of which was laid before you. But in deference to the opinion of the House of Representatives no reduction has been made in the three-eighths allotted to the Provinces. This proportion of the Customs Revenue added to the amount received from the Land Fund, made the revenue for the past year exceed my Estimate, and enables me again to congratulate you on the financial position of the Province. The total Customs Revenue for the year ended 31st March last, amounted to £17,813 0s. 8d.; the Province's share of which, exclusive of Gold Duty, amounted to £6,410 14s. 9d., being £910 14s. 9d. above my estimate; while the Land Revenue accruing to the Province for the same period amounted to the sum of £22,840 13s. 8d. (exclusive of £1,203 8s. 6d. paid to the Central Board of Education) being £7,840 13s. 8d. in excess of the amount estimated by me, making a total from these two sources of revenue of £29,251 8s. 5d., and of £8,751 8s. 5d. above my estimate.

3. It will I am sure be satisfactory to you to know that through this healthy condition of our finances I was enabled to render assistance to the families of our unfortunate fellow-colonists of Taranaki, who sought refuge amongst us from the dangers and disasters attending the native rebellion, which it is to be hoped will be shortly brought to a satisfactory termination. You generously, and with a confidence for which I am thankful, left it to my discretion, in