1856. VICTORIA. AUSTRALIAN LIGHTHO.USES. PAPERS RBLA'rlVE TO THH LIGHTHOUSES ON THE AUSTR~ALIAN COAST. PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY'S COMMAND. JOUN .PERRES, GOVERNMENT PR1N'.rER1 MELBOURNE. No. :n,-tl. SCHEDULE. No. in 0 Series. NumberandDate.l From and to whom. Subject. Page. ·--- 1 31st May, 1856 Chief Secretary, Victoria, Relative to the appointment of Delegates ill to Colonial Secretary, to consider the subject of Lighthouses, New South Wales and urging the necessit)'" of erecting a. Liththouse on King's Island without de ay 2 12th July, 1856, Colonial Secretary, New States that it is proposed that the Board of ill No. 115 South Wales, to Chief Delegates should meet at Melbourne on Secretary, Victoria 1st August, and notifies a~intment of Mr. H. H. Browne, on b alf of New South Wales 3 21st August,1856 ... ... Report of the Lighthouse Commission ... V ' 4 18th September, .J. H. Kay, Esq., R.N., Forwarding Report of Lighthouse Commis~ xviii ·: 1856 Commissioner for Vie- sion (Vide No. 3) . · toria, to Commissioner of Trade and Customs 5 5th December, Chief Secretary, Victoria, Stating the views of the Government of xviii 1856 to Colonial Secretary, ·Victoria on the Report of the Lighthouse Nc1" South Wales Uommissioners, and submitting certain suggestions for the approval of the Governor General 0 6. 5th December, Chief Secretary, Victoria, Forwarding copy of letters to Colonial xix 1856 to Chief Secretary, Secretary, New South Wales (Vide No. 5) Tasmania '1 5th December, Chief Secretary, Victoria, Forwarding copy of letter . to Colonial xix 1856 · to Chief Secretary, Secretary, Ne.w South Wales (Vide No. 5) South Australia 8 Minutes of Evidence taken before the Commissioners in connection with No. 3 lll :No. ll.. Chief Secretary's Office, Sm, Melbourne, 31st May, 1856. I am desired by His Excellency Major-General Macarthur, to communicate with you upon the subject of your Despatch of the 30th November! !1st, No. 55 I 92, with which you transmitted the copy of a circular addressed, by His Excellency Sir William Denison's directions, to the Governments of the adjoining Colonies in reference to the appointment of a Board of Delegates to whom the superintendence and erection of Lighthouses might be entrusted, and I am to direct your attention to the length of time which has elapsed since the date of that circular without any further communication on the subject reaching this Government. Major-General Macarthnr requests that you will bring under the notice of His Excellency Sir William Denison the great neeessit.y which exists for proceeding with the erection of the proposed Lighthouse on King's Island with the least possible dclay,.and.he desires me to state that should it be deemed expedient to postpone for the present the settlement of the more general question, the establishment of this pnrticular Lighthouse is in his opinion, of sufficient urgency to deru:md that a special abrrcement referring to it be at once entered into between New South 'Vales, Tasmania, nnd this Colony. · His Excellency is willing that nny negotiation for this end be initiated by the Governor General, and in order to avoid unnecessary reference to this Government, he desires me to state that he will consent to any arrangem<mt 1mder which not more than one-hall' the cost of erecting and maintaining the light be borne by Victoria. His Excellency is also of opinion that the work would be most economically executed under the super­ vision of this Government, and they will be prepared to take charge of the Lighthouse when completed, should the Government of Tasmania; in whose territory King's Island is situnted, decline to do so. I have, &c., The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, (Signed) J. MOORE. New South Wales. • :mo. 2.; H5. NEW SOUTH WALES. Colonial Secretary's Office, Sxn, Sydney, 12th ,July, 1856. With reference to the correspondence whieh has taken place on the subject of the conference proposed to be held by officers deputed from the several Australian Colonies, respecting the establishment of a Board to whom should be entrusted the erection and superintendence of Lighthouses on the Australian coasts, I do myself the honor to inform you, thnt it is proposed that the delegates from ench of the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, should meet at Melbourne, as a central point, on the 1st of August next ; and to request that you will have the goodness to invite His Excellency, the Governor of Victoria, to appoint an officer of His Government to form one of the Bonrd accordingly. 2. To this effect I have addressed a communication to the Governments of the Colonies of South Aus­ tralia and Tasmania, and I have the honor to add, that Mr. H. H. Brownc, the Agent for Immigration, who has been informed of the points that will probnbly be required to be discussed by the Board, has been deputed to attend by this Government, and will proceed to Melbourne to meet the other Members of'the Board at the time named. '' 3. I have the honor to add, thnt the Governor General has nmv- received inforn:mtion of the willingness of the Governments of Tasmania and South Australia to send delegates to Victorin, and that llis Excellency has proposed, ns before mentioned, the lst August as a good time for their meeting. I ba.-e the bonor to be, Sir, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, Your most obedient servant, Victoria, Melbourne. STUAH'l' A. DONALDSON. .. ~o. 3. REPORT OF THE COM:M:ISSIONERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNMENTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AND TASMA.NIA., TO CONFER UPON THE SUBJECT OF LIGHTHOUSES IN THE SEVERAL AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. No. 31.-b. MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. ~---··---- WILLIAl\I THOMAS NAPIER CHAMP, ESQ., The Honorable the Colonial Secrehtry of Tasmania, Oltairm!fn. ' I H. H. BROWNE, ESQ., Immigration Agent of New South ·wales. J. H. KAY, ESQ., Commander R.N ., and Prirate Secretary to His Excellency the Governor of Victoria. BLOOMFIELD DOUGLAS, ESQ., Naval Officer and Harbor 1\-Iaster, and Master of the Trinity House of South Australia. REPORTo 1. THE Commissioners appointed by the respective Govemments of New South Wales, Victoria, South _<\_ustralia, and. Tasmania, to consider the adoption of some general and uniform scheme for the erection and maintenance of the Lighthouses on the Australian coasts, having assembled in 1\felbourne, proceeded in the first instance to discuss the proposal of His Excellency the Governor General as to the expediency of appointing a General Board, composed of delegates from the different Australian Colonies, to which Board it was considered 'powers might be given si1nilar to those of the Trinity Board in London, or the Commissioners of the N orthem Lights in Scotland. In the official letters from the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, addressed to the other Colonies interested in this question, the Governor General considered it desirable that the Commissioners from each Colony should be prepared to discuss__: 1. The constitution and powers of the Board. 2. The mode iu which the funds, which must be placed at its disposal, are to be raised. 3. The provisions of the enactments which must be submitted to the Legislatures of the different Colonies, in order to give the Board a legal existence, and such powers as may be necessary for the perforn1ance of its duties. · 4. 'l'he arrangements which must be made in order to enable the representatives of each Colony in the Board to control and superinteml the Lights in that Colony. In considering the first proposal, Yiz., what should be the nature of the constitution and powers of the Board, the Commissioners are of opinion that to gi l'e such an existence to a Board of this character as will ensure an cffeotiv.e and unanimous management, likely to produce the results anticipated, it must be necessary not only to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to the nature of the I'egulations that will be requisite for its guidance, but also that an unanimity of action should be agreed upon, as to the collection and disposal of the fimds which it would be necessary to obtain from each Colony interested in its formation. To arrive at such a conclusion in the present conference appears to be impracticable, for the following reasons :-New South Wales at present levies no light dues, her ports being entirely free from the imposition of any dues excepting pilotage; Victoria is similarly situated in respect to light dues, but levies a tollllage duty of one shilling a ton ; South Australia and h. a ton. Tasmania both maintain their lights by special dues levied for that purpose. Both these latter Colonies object to any interference in the disposal of the sums so raised­ Tasmania, on the ground that her Legislature would be naturally jealous in allowing interference with the money appropriated by them for a specific purpose ; and South Australia, in consequence of the existence of a Trinity Board, which retains the power of levying rates only on account of lights erected on their own coasts ;:;whilst at the same time Victoria is unwilling, on account of the existence of large tonnage dues, to increase t,he burthens on shipping visiting her sh<Jres; and New South Wales, although willing to co-operate in a general scheme for such an important purpose, is naturally reluctant to make a retrogt•ade step in the imposition of shipping dues now altogether abolished. The Commissioners have considered it hopeless, under the circumstances, to establish a Board that will combine the materials requisite for a.