WELLINGTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2417, 21 September 1868, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

[FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Wellington, Sept. 9, 1868,

Since the financial statement was given, there has been a lull in the proceedings inside the House, but outside nothing but caucuses, combinations, and conspiracies. The Government supporters are popularly supposed to be always consulting together, and the wildest rumours are afloat. It is said that the Government are prepared very largely to modify the terms of payment to the provinces—in fact, to buy votes wholesale. The Opposition has taken a small room in which daily meetings, are held, and I believe the party is unanimous in its policy. Mr Fox's motion of want of confidence will test the feeling of the House in a distinct and direct manner. The result will depend to a great extent on the course which three gentlemen of great ability and good standing in the House adopt. Mr Curtis, I understand, has absolutely broken with the Ministers; MrM'Leanand MrOrmondare supposed to hare refused to. act with them, but I cannot say which way they will rote when the time comes. The defection of three men so good as they are would be a most serious blow to the Government, and' Mr Stafford would be driven into the arras of the Trooral-Loorals, the ''Odd Fellows/' ethoc genus omne. Perhaps " would" is the wrong mood and tense to use, for I rather think he is in their arms already. He reminds me of Victor Hugo's hero (I forget his name) in the " Toilers of the Sea," when he got into the loathsome grasp of the Sea Devil. Only, Mr Stafford cannot deliver himself by cutting the beast's head off with a clasp-knife, because it has not got one.

Mr Vogel is receiving a most virulent opposition to his Libel Bill—partly from private animosity against him on (he part of some of the Otago members, and partly because members of Road Boards, and similar bodies, do not want to be deprived of the privilege they now virtually possess of slandering people in secret. At one stage of the Bill (I think in committee) lie caused gfeat amuse iient, He said something to the effect that some persons were in the habit of writing scurrilous articles in newspapers, relying on the safety given them by a circulation of only 150 copies. Mr Hichmond, who was immediately opposite, did not seem to like the remark, but said nothing. In the middle of his next sentence Mr Vogel stopped suddenly, put his hand up to. his ear, said in the gentlest way. "DM the hon. member ask me if I referred to him and brought the House down. The only other important matter last week was a debate on a motion of Mr Vogel'*, that a proportion of the land fund of each province should be permanently set apart for immigration. His opening speech wa9 exhaustive, and worth the attention of every Canterbury man. Mr Stafford tried to make the matter a political one, but without much success; Mr Jolliemoved a clumsy and foolish amendment; Mr Reid agreed for once with Mr Vogel, to the sui'-' prise of the House j then Mr Stafford had another talk, and the debate was adjourned till the next day. On re-opening the subject, Mr Fox and Mr Kolleston made sensible speeches, and at last Mr Bunny came down with the policy of the Ttooral-Loorals. His plan was to borrow two millioifs for public works, and import immigrants to make them. The effect of this astounding proposal on the House was most ludicrous. Ultimately the resolution was agreed to.

The East Coast Land Titles Investigation Act Repeal Bill is to be allowed to pass, and I really don't know whether joy or sorrow preponderated in my bosom, as it is a subject in which sweetness and light" nre singularly deficient. Sept. 14. On Tuesday, Wellington was entirely occupied up to 7 o'clock in a celebration of the departure of Sir George Grey. I think Sir George Grey was more really popular on that day than lie ever lind been before. A luncheon was held in the Odd Fellows Hall, at which 250 people sat down. Everybody said that the thing was a great success, and Sir George Grey spoke admirably. Afterwards lie received addresses from the Forresters arid other similar societies. Unfortunately the programme was marred by the

non-arrival of the Mataura from Sydney. It had been arranged that the friends of Sir George Grey should accompany him out o£ the harbour, but, of course, as the steamer for Panama had not come in, that part of the arrangements was postponed.

When the House met at 7 o'clock, the Government tried to forestall Mr Fox's motion by going into Committee at oncc. A long rambling discussion on points of order then came off, which finally settled down into an accusation by Messrs Fox and Vogel that Ministers had raised £43,000 too much under the Financial Acts of last session. Mr Vogel managed to anger the Ministers to such a degree that Mr Hall clapped his hat down on his head and rushed to less thorny places tlian : the. Government benches—' attended or closely followed by Mr Stafford, Ultimately, after a rather hot discussion, it was arranged that Mr Fox should move his want of confidence on goiug into committee on Wednesday. This he duly did. He read a most carefully prepared manifesto, in which anything like personality atid debating points were entirely avoided. I will not attempt to condense his speech—partly because most people will read it as a whole, and partly because the speech itself is so condensed as to bear no further condensation. Mr Stafford followed, in a good humour. At least he refrained his soul— I don't add and kept it low, for that is its normal condition. He went on for a long time in the serai-con-versational manner usual to him, and, the debate hanging fire, was followed by Mr Graham. As Mr Graham's speeches are generally identical in character. I need not go further into particulars. Mr Curtis afterwards spoke strenuously against the Government, and said he would vote with Mr Fox. It will be remembered that in the former debate Mr Curtis expressed himself very definitely as opposed to Ministers, but intimated that he was not prepared to vote against them. This time, however, he let the House knpw pretty clearly that lie was not going to support them in thought, word, or deed. On Thursday Mr Campbell made a good sound speech in favour of Ministers, but his arguments did not seem to give much pleasure to their Proletarian supporters. Mr Borlase, for some inscrutable reason, followed in his usual taste, and then Mr Travers rose and made a strong and vigorous attack on the Government. He very cleverly quoted, in favour of Mr Fox's policy, the political status of the new dominion of Canada. Apart from its debating power, his speech was a great success; and I heard many say —both friends and foes—that he had never made such a good one.

After Mr Trarers sat down no one seemed inclined to get up, and as the Ministerial supporters had not done their share in the debate, Mr Fox got up and probed them and goaded them, until he brought Mr Stafford out of his den, who said that as many had spoken for Ministers as against them—which happened to be untrue. However, Mr Jollie rose and made a long speech of no great moment. Major Heaphy followed, and went into the Native question at considerable length, and finished up with some chaif out of " Knickerbocker's History of New York." The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr Richmond, but it was opened on Friday, by Mr Kerr, who (among other compliments) told Major Heaphy that he had sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, but did not specify the ingredients. After Mr Collins had intimated his intention to vote with Mr Fox, there was another pause. " But anon " Mr Bunny raised " his awful jubilant voice," and in strident tones glorified theTrooral-Loorals, and the Ministry, and generally hinted that he was the coming man. He got quickly snubbed or at least any body else would have been-but neither shame nor modesty resides in the breast of the leader of the Trooral-Loorals.

Mr Rolleston then rose and made a long and able , speech, in which he strongly condemned alike the financial and the Native policy of the Government. After him came chaos—-iQ the shape of along squabble between Mr Bell, Mr Stafford, and Mr Vogel—all evidently vicious, Eventually Mr Bell got Mr Stafford to promise he would answer a series of questions, which were duly put; but to the disgust of the House, Mr Stafford denied saying he would answer them further than to decline to give any answer. Howling and yelling greeted this—evasion, to give it a mild name, and for a few minutes the House was like the Zoological Gardens at feeding time. But it rapidly returned into sobriety under an infliction of Mr Ludlam, and from sobriety fell into saduess. A good deal of poetry, both serious and satirical lias been flying about the town lately, but I think the palm must be given to the following hymn to Mr Stafford, from the Advertiser, which appears to me to combine the grandeur and the glow of Tate and Brady with the ease and elegance of Martin Tupper, Here it is-

TOE. W.STAFFORD, ESQ., Colonial Secbetjht, &<j. O'er all the isles thy fame ii spread, From shore to shore thy name is flung ; The fates unroll the magic thread, On which ?tis hung.

And fame and fate alike agree,. To pour their oil adown thy brow, To fit thee for the victory, Approaching now. Arm, arm thee, for the fight is nigh; Display the scarlet robe in sight Of puny foes, who whining cry, , Thy might is right,

Tower's no vested right! to none Belongs the right to trample: When didst thy voice invade the throne Of people's might ? Not once! Avaunt all party cries, Avaunt the idle notes of trate *; < On thee a people bend their eyes. And Fox is late.

[* Sic om. CM Sed foUasse pro ' trate' legendum' bate,' scilicet ' badinage > ut Galli dicunt. Ineptissime nescio quern habet" hate."]

What a splendid subject for an allegorical picture 1 Mr Stafford in a red ooat, getting liis forehead greased by Fame and Fate prior to going !o Donnybrook, and daring Mr Fox to trample on his tails. There are various rumours as to the authorship of this fine piece—some say it is the creation of Mr Hall -others attribute it to his Excellency lam inclined to think, that like the famous despatch about Provincialists and Centralists they both had a hand in its composition!

Sept. ic. Before the House re-assembled on Tuesday events had occurred which induced Mr MoLean to give notice of the following motion:—" That this House views with alarm the position in which the colony is beW placed by the action of the Government in relation to Defence and Native affairs." Messrs McLean and Ormond had all alone given the Ministry a doubtful support, but the removal of the constabulary from Hawke's Bay to the West Coast convinced them that the colony was no longer safe under the

present rule. They, with Mr Fox and Mr Vogel, took the unusual course ("only justified by the extreme urgency of the occasion) of waiting on His Excellency and pressing on him the necessity of sending the Hawke's Bay constabulary back again. The Governor is understood to have received the deputation very courteously, but to have declined to net against the opinion of his responsible advisers.

On the resumption of the debate, Mr Vogel rose and made a very able speech, which made Mr Stafford so dreadfully angry, that he got up and said, that whenever Mr Vogel insisted on misrepresenting him he intended to leave the House—and out he walked with a theatrical strut. Mr Stafford is really overdoing the dodge of making out that he is misquoted. The fact is, the House (and all other collective bodieß of men) takes words and sentences in their broad common meaning, and does so necessarily; but Mr Stafford, whether designedly or by mental habit, often uses language of an ambiguous and twofold meaning, which is only tolerated in the practice of diplomacy, and in poliiics proper produces endless confusion. However, Mr Stafford's absence did not much disconcert Mr Vogel. He was succeeded by Mr Hepburn, who is, I think, the Scotchest of all human beings. He evidently Ins the most pungent hatred of Mr Vogel, and expressed his wrath in a fashion which kept the House in a war. His last words—that the Oppo<ition thought the Ministers very black rogues -were loudly cheered by both sides. After dinner, Mr Richmond made a long, temperate defence of the Government, which was well received on the whole. Then came Mr Stevens, who gave ample reasons why he belonged to the Opposition. On financial subjects he seemed to speak under a feeling of re- , attaint, and did not reach the high level of his former endeavours; but when be got on to the Constitutional question, the County scheme, &c., he roußed himself and warred very vigorously. Mr Cracroft Wilson then made a " Ghoorka" speech, containing a Latin quotation, which though very trite oivl elementary was too much for many members apparently,for there arose cries of" Give us it in English," &c. Mr Waring Taylor, in apleasing speech, defended the Provincial system ; and next Mr Haughton made (for him) a feeble and pointless attack on the Opposition, and then the House adjourned on the motion of Mr Macandrew.

I have written at such length on the special subject which engrosses everybody's attention, that I have omitted to mention the progress of various bills, which may interest Canterbury people more than the "struggle for existence." The Stock Mortgages Bill is through committee in the Upper House. The Bankruptcy Amendment Bill is being reconstructed by a select committee of the Lower Home. The Canterbury Rivers Bill is receiving too much attention from the Lords, who (most of them) don't know anything about it, and are too conceited to ask people who do. The Disqualification Bill has got dreadfully low in an order paper of 30 orders of the day. The University Scholarships will be (I am afraid) only realized in the Millennium—and lam not at all sure (considering the condition of the Bakers and Millers Bill) whether it will be an innocent act or a misdemeanour to make hot cross buns next Good Friday.