PARLIAMENTARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XII, Issue 3392, 14 June 1881, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER),

WELLINGTON, this day. THE GOVERNMENT INTENTIONS I believe it Is the intention of the fim, ' meat to take the edge of the l__.t2 T. House off on the ChtritabU ifISPSif the sing Bills. These will be thffiL Llcenintfoduced. The financial l„ Btmeasn "s hardly be inttoduidhS.Sfe*.*"l month or early in July w „-^ d- of the probably be coupled L nS^H. lf Will Seats Bill. v v tae Redistribution of Sir George Grey will _ notice for production o._U_ZT W.«ive and papers relating to _*-»_ ? t orr/ BPondenco Princes. g t0 ttle visit of the young AMENDMENT ON Thp at^ IN-REPLY ADDKES«It is rumoured that Sir p'„ „ move an amendment on thge. ? re-v "HI Reply to-morrow. I v",. 1' tte. Address-in-foundation for the report e,e »some BROGHEN'S" CLAIM. Brogden s claims are cotnino ._.... _■ again They are about to M* B*"* mentfora rehearing of them c_ Parlmtion on account of losses sustain^ A? 60' 14, uection with immigration tefli. ■. em' £20,739, and a further claim on ,J BWeDt o{ alleged non-payment of buiSs »* contracts amounting to £21D nr>a , tt?ttelt total claim of £256,764 ' '**""«» LOBBY GOSSIP. Very little lobby news is stirring, mem. bmbeug engaged viewing the gfc£?V The debate on the Address-in-reply has scarcely been mentioned, though the probability is there will be a wa?m E22___ to-morrow. Mr Collins, the mover who was a Staffordite in 1871, has the reputation of being not a brilliant man, but a vigorous speaker and hard hitter, and may come out of his shell in his maiden speech when the gallery is filled with ladies. Mr Fulton, the seconder, is rather a poor speaker, and not very likely to follow the example of Colonel Trimble, who last year put the fat in the fire by attacking the Opposition in seconding the address! There are not above 40 members at present in Wellington, so that a long debate ia not likely to take place. PUBLIC WORKS PORTFOLIO. Rumour fixes Mr Driver, member for P.oslyn, as the coming man for the Public Works porttolio. It is, however, only a rumour. Pressure is being brought to bear on the Government to push on the Fencing Bill, dropped last session, through at an early date. The Government have promised a Wairarapa deputation to consider the proposal, and will probably accede to the wish. THE REPORT ON PRISONS. ; Captain Hume's report on prisons is being much discussed in town. It is generally looked upon as an extraordinary production. The suggestion for the abolition of education of prisoners is condemned in some quarters in unmeasured terras. The report M will doubtless form the. subject of an animated debate. TELEGRAPH ARRANGEMENTS. There is considerable grumbling re telegraph arrangements tbis session. The 1 office at Parliament. Buildings has been ■ abolished so far as sending direct telegrams is concerned, and only a receiving clerk and messengers are kept in the building; messengers to take telegrams away every twenty minutes to the central office, and this entails a loss of another quarter of an hour, which is very inconvenient for special correspondents. It would entail very little extra cost to have a couple of instruments on the premises, while the advantages would be considerable. THE "TIMES " ON VOGEL'S LETTER The " Times " to-day has a lengthy article, reviewing Sir Julius Vogel's letter to . Mr Curtis. It says :—"Sir Julius Vogel'i", letter to Mr Curtis, on the ghbject of _Nei; Zealand public works and railways, is the letter of one skilled in wordcraft, the art of concealing true intent, amid a multitude of high sounding phrases. It is ostensibly a private communication, unless tbe recipient • desired to make it public. It is id reality written expressly for publication to glorify the writer in the eyes of New Zealand people. It is an elaborately wrought out declaration of personal ! opinion that no one but Sir Julius Vogel thoroughly understands New Zealand affairs. We should be sorry, indeed, to impute unworthy motives, but the conviction must force itself upon the minds of even casual readers, that, inter. mingled with the protestations of good intent and, disinterested advice, there is a current of adverse feeling towards those upon whom now devolves the responsibility of the administration, and a disposition to counteract their best efforts. Take, for instance, the reference made to the period of depression which New Zealand recently suffered. Sir Julius Vogel asserts that the Government of the colony magnified it to such an extent aa to nearly produce mistrust sufficient to wreck every financial institution and every man of means in the colony. No one should know better than Sir Julius Vogel how little absolute truth there is in such an assertion. As often as it may have been repeated by the opponents of ,the Ministry, none should know so well as he that bis proposal to replenish falling revenues by a tax on tea, sugar, or other, articles of daily use,andthe nonimpositionof. property tax, would have been unjust to the great mass of the people for whom he pro* f esses a regard. The great mistake, he says, was made in spending the five million loan so quickly. He conveniently forgets bow much he personally helped to excite a public desire for a lavish outlay which would not brook delay; that under the present administration the lawful and cautious expenditure of which he suddenly became a new-found advocate is. practised in the spirit and in letter. Again, why has not, his good souse and actual knowledge offsets convinced him that he reasons unfairly when he condemns the Government for being seized with a panic against immigration, aud for fatally discouraging the coming hither of desirable settlers. Will not the records of the Agent-General's office show that the only check exercised has been against the flow of pauper immigration, and by whom the colony had already been inundated with many shiploads, until even the. most firm believers in the Vogelian policy were fain to cry " Hold, enough?" Un the subject of railway administration, Sir Jul.us advances views which are less calculated to |S bring about any practically good results, . and present him in his favourite role of a dariug financier. Conceding that there is an element of practicability in the proposal to vest the administration of State railways iv the hands of Commissioners absolutely free from politicalinfluence, and holding full powers to develope the system as their own judgment and experience suggest, and the means at their commandmay permit the proposal to give them power to borrow money for such purposes apart from and outside of the general financial arrangements, the colony is radically bad. In due k course of time the.truuk lines defined in the original scheme of railway construction will be made. Wellington, J»apier, Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Auckland, will be con-, uected, and so also will be Nelson,; Hokitika, Blenheim, Picton, Cbristchurcb, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill. This, however, will be done without recourse to any such revolution in Colonial finance as that Sir Julius Vogel proposes. Equally disingenuous and misleading are flis remarks on tbe general subject 01 Colonial borrowing. He blames the Goveroment for not having resource sufficient to continue with intelligence the prosecution of the railway system, the term "resource " being synonymous with mere borrowed capital, nefurther suggests that the railway provided for New Zealand mightlive witfon itsincome,"except perhaps occasionally dotrowing for some great public work, and yet but a short time since he was fully cognisant that the entire voice of the colony was against further borrowing. He concurred in such objection, and counselled the Ministry to refrain the publication of Vogel s letter to a friend. Curtis dispels- the illusion that he is a heaven-born genius n finance. . __-' LICENSING BILL, The Licensing Bill is now printed, vis a bulky document of 58 pages, containing 229 clauses and 11 schedules. Ihe lass clause repeals alt existing Acts, and tne last schedule comprising a list of the Acw bo repealed, includes one of the Imperial Parliament (24, George 2, C. 4), fflw <tt:0» Governors and Legislative Council ot mew Zealand, fourteen of the General Assembly, aud thirty-two Provincial ordinances. « provides for Local Option to application^ for new licenses only. No licensee lsw have any benefiical interest, directly or indirectly, in more than one license. Licenses ire divided into five clauses. The »*»**" :luding publicanß, family hotel, club, bottle, New Zealand wine, and billiard table, licenses. The second claw comprising jacket, wholesale, and conditional licenses. Under Club Licenses the licensee must oe in officer of a club, and may only supply iquor to bonft fide members and their .vests. The New Zealand Wines Licenses iuthorises the sale between 6 a.m- ana. .0 p.m. in quantities not exceeding two ;aUons to any one person of wne,cmer, md perry, the produce of fruit S^mm be colony.the liquor to have a strength not. 7_ ' : '______^____m_

j cent, proof spirit. New I ? !« (of first class) are only to be granted I b wis annual meeting; second class I st « P s may bo granted at auy time. The I & aie Pv °p°sed a9 t/Y. ma™1 fees I ' .v.. various licenses :—Publicans license I fo^in boroughs, £40, ou side, £30; Club i wine license, £1 ; § Sg? , table license, £10; packet jil Jil»» ru Q . wholesale, £io ; conditional If i^ c ' according to duty, not exceeding Bl Be* .Here are elaborate provisions for reII • t' tion of licensed premises ;« to duties I nihilities of licensees, rendering debts II a innor non-recoverable, etc. No liquor I W description is to "be supplied to perof either sex who are apparently under 7 se of 10 years, the exception in last * < glpermitting beer to be supplied to I »12 years being struck out. lull! iio» licensed premises (club, inI ''m* ly Prov''lcd for. Convictions I iKfe adulterated liquor are to be enII vLj on the offenders license aud \ wfded on hi* premises, and for a second "' I ''..c to be advertised at his cost. •;| * *