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. X. NELSON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1862. No. 8.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1862.

The Ninth Session of the Provincial Council was opened this day, at One o'clock, upon which the following Address of the Superintendent was delivered :—

MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL—

1. Before alluding to those matters which are more immediately connected with the past and present progress of the Province, I deem it my duty to refer to the loss it has, in common with every other portion of the British dominions, sustained by the death of the Prince Consort. This duty I consider to be particularly imperative on the present occasion, in consequence of my having been absent on the West Coast for several weeks after the melancholy intelligence reached this Province, whereby I was deprived of the opportunity of inviting the co-operation of its inhabitants to an expression of sympathy with our beloved Sovereign, and of paying the outward marks of respect so especially due to the memory of one who, whether viewed as the husband of our illustrious Queen, as a promoter of the arts and sciences, or as the earnest advocate for the moral, intellectual, and social improvement of the condition of the humbler classes of the people, must ever retain one of the highest positions in the affections of all who owe allegiance to the throne of England. As the representatives of the people, this Province, assembled for the first time since your election, you will, I feel assured, take this, the earliest opportunity you of forwarding an address of condolence to her Majesty on her irreparable loss.

2. Adverting now to the ordinary affairs of the Province, I have the satisfaction of informing you that its financial position during the past year has been quite equal to my expectation; and although the Revenue did not reach the amount anticipated by the late Council, it has been, nevertheless, such as to show in each of the revenue departments most satisfactory results.

3. The total Customs Revenue for the financial year ended 31st March last was £20,994 16s. 1d., three-eighths of which being the portion (less the gold duty, the whole of which is Provincial Revenue) allotted to the Province, gave £7,539 12s. 2d., being above £1,500 beyond my estimate. The land revenue for the same period amounted to £20,413 17s. 8d.; while from miscellaneous sources the amount received has been £5,423 8s. 4d.; making with the balance in the Treasury at the commencement of the year a total revenue of £39,440 13s. 2d., or £3,289 18s. 2d. in excess of my total estimate.

4. The management of that portion of the gold-fields which comes under the operation of the Gold-fields Act, having been delegated to me under the specified limitations by his Excellency the Governor, it becomes necessary that I should request you to make suitable provision for defraying the cost of its management, for keeping in repair the lines of communication, and treating it generally as one of the most important portions of the Province.

The heaviest item of expense connected with the Collingwood gold-fields, exclusive of public works, has hitherto been under the head of Police.

With the decrease in the number of diggers, a cor-