PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 214, 10 September 1896, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

.NOTES FROM THE GALLERY.

(BY TBLBOBAPH~FABI.IAMBNTARY BE-

TOBTKR.)

Wellinotok, Wednesday. v /THE END IN VIEW. :% In the House this afternoon, bbc Premier moved that, "The standing order prohibiting any new buaioess being taken alter midnight be suspended in respect of reports from Committee of the whole and third readings." In doing so, ba intimated that be hoped to be able to leb members get away ab the end of the presenb month. Sir R. Stoub expressed bhe opinion that bhe new standing orders had nob had the effecb of curtailing the sittings of the House after midnight. Parliament), in bis opinion, did wrong in sitting after midnight. Mr Crowther waa pleased to bear bhe Premier's statement as to the date of the end of the session.. Ib was all very well for Wellington members to wish the Besaion to last longer, bub they should think of those members who were unable to go borne to their families every day. He thought ib would have been better if the Premier had moved to sit on Mondays. -• The Minister of Lands contended the Governmenb was nob always to blame for late sittings and waste of time. If members wished to geb home ab midnight, and Ministers would be only too glad to go home ab thab hour, they should dome to Wellington prepared to sbay for six months. Ab presenb six months' work was attempted bo be done in three. The time taken up by private members, he considered, was absolutely' wasted. The Bills passed by private members were nob in the best interests of bhe people of the colony. After furbher balk, bbc Premier, in reply, stated that bis motion was in accordance wibh the general wishes of the House; tbeGovernment would be moderate in exercise of the power granted in passing the motion. Members made a great mistake if they thought Ministers Jiked sitting in the House till three or four in the morning, or that ib was conducive bo the' good of their healths. Neither Ministers nor members conld con": trol circumstances which led certain members bo fritter away time in speaking to the galleries. He regretted that the proposal which he made ab bhe beginning of bhe session respecting the House sitting on mornings was nob adopted, and inoimated that ehorbly he would ask permission to meet on Monday evenings. The Public Works Sbakemenb and Estimates had been further delayed by the action of the Legislative Council in postponing committal of the Loan Bill tor a week, as bhe Governmenb could nob bring down bhe proposals unbil ways and means had been provided. As for the Bills on the Order Paper, they could all bs dealb with in a week if bhere existed any party discipline amongsb the Opposition. , The motion was agreed to unanimously. WAGES PROTECTION BILL. The Premier moved to re-commib bhe1 Wageß Protection Bill in order to raconsider clause 5, ' which proposed that gumdiggerß should ba 9ubjecb bo the provisions of the truck Act. There was some debate on the question, Captain Russell opposing the proposal. Mr Thos. McKenzie contended that this was not' the way in which to bring the session to a close. Mr R. Thompson■ Saict^the clause, if passed as originally drafted, would have the effect of paralysing the gum trade. The Premier intimated thab he intended proposing . bbc ; insertion of, the clause as amended by bhe Cbmmit'tee-df-tbe House before ib was rejected.. He had received a communication conveying the resolution of a large meeting of gumdiggers to the effect thab every endeavour should be made to geb the clause .inserted.. He (the Premier) was aware thab members had been canvassed on the mabber by a prominenb member of the Opposition, and even a Minister had been approached. The motion for recommittal was carried by 33 bo 24. In Committee the clause was amended to provide that gumdiggers shall be entitled to actually receive in money suoh price for gum sold or disposed of by them to their employer which has been mutually agreed on. On division, the clause as amended was retained by 36 to. 18. The Bill was subsequently pub through its final stages.

EATING ACT. The Rating Acb Amendment Bill was committed, and wae debated ab considerable length. Clause 2, prescribing the procedure for the recovery of rates on native lands, was amended to provide that) the coats of any iudgment against natives shall not be enforceable against them. A new clauae proposed by the Hon. Carroll providing thab nabive land can be j leased through the Native Minister for a period not to exceed 21 years, in order to find funds wherewith to pay rates on nabive land, was the subject of considerable debate, which laabed into the evening sitting. Attempts were made, bub unsuccessfully, to. make an alteration in this new clause, and two or three motions to report progress were defeated by large majorities. In order to meet objections the Premier moved-an amendment bo bbc clause bo provide that bhe Commissioner of Crown land? should be empowered to advise as bo the portion of any land proposed to be leased in order to provide rate*. This was, after a sborb debate, agreed to. The clause was ultimately agreed to, and the Bill was reported. SUMMARY SEPARATION BILL. This Bill was also considered in Committee. ;..'■.. Mr Bell called for a division on bhe clause providing thab the provisions of the proposed enactment should apply to men. The clause waa retained by 26 to 16, and the Bill was reported and passed its final stages, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. in the Legislative Council, in reply to the Hon. C. C. Bdwen, the Minister of Education said the Government proposed to submib this session further proposals in the direction of reciprocity wibh Canada, and if these were assented to no doubt the trovernmenb would consider the question of assisting the Vancouver mail service. The Hon. H. Williams moved thab the reporb of the Native Affairs Commitbee upon petition No. 12of KapaTe Whatanui relative bo the Horowhenua block be referred to the Government for favourable consideration. ' In the course of bhe debate th,e Hon. W.. C. Walker said that if this reporb were seat bo the Government ib would receive serious consideration, bub he pointed oub that the recommendation of the Commibbee would open up a very large, ' wide and dangerous question. Ib would unsettle nearly every native land title in the North Island. He auggeated the ; omission of bhe word •' favourable." I This was agreed to, and after considerable debate bhe motion as amended was agreed to. DEFAMATION BILL. On motion in the Legislabive Conncil that the Defamation Bill be committed, the Hon. Mr Feldwick said thab the measure had been improved by the Statutes Revision Committee, and waa now almost identical with the Tasmauian Statute.

One advantage of the Bill was that everyone would know exactly what libel was. The Bill was committed. The Hon. Mr McLean objected to the provision in Clause 9 enabling a newspaper to publish under the authority ol Parliament any paper containing defamatory matter. A i member of Parliament was privileged, bat that a newspaper should be privileged to.publish anyching defamatory spoken in Parliament was outrageous. The Hon. Bo wen said the .present position was that the press did not know where it stood in this matter. He suggested that members should'take a little more pains to restrict their utterances in Parliament. The Hon. Mr Feldwick pointed out tuab clause did not alter the existing law. _ Tbe clause was agreed bo, and the remaining clauses passed unaltered. CRIMINAL CODE. , The Criminal Code Amendmenb Bill was committed. Dr. Grace moved that progress be reported. This was lost by one vote, bat the short title was then struck out and progress reported. Mr Feldwick gave notice that he would aak leave for the Committee to ait again. A PECULIAR PETITION. Yesterday Mr Lawry presented a petition signed by John Ross and. Anne Theresa Ross, of Otautu, Patea, who ebabe they had for nearly twenty years occupied a section of land ad Otautu under a covenant known as a confirmed lease. Nob having sufficient capital to work and stock their land they' early in 1894 borrowed £600 for six months from MrO. Hutchison, M.H.R., at 10 per cent, per annum. On the 16th July they agreed to obtain a farther advance from Mr G. Hutchison. Afa the time they made the before • mentioned agreement) a verbal agreement was entered into between them and the accredited agent of Mr G. Hutchison, viz., Mr Hugh Muldrock, which was an inducement for them to sign the beforementioned agreement, and they were absolutely astonished and completely prostrated in mind when they were informed by Mr G. Hutchison that he recognised no verbal agreement made by his agent, and absolutely refused to give effect to it under the legal provisions of aforesaid agreement. Mr G. Hutchison took possession of everything they had, and they were left with seven young children absolutely pennileee. As would be shown by papers, the petitioners obtained a promise from Mr G. Hutchison that 223 acres of the said estate should bo vested in the name of one of the petitioners, Annie Theresa Rosa, for twenty-one years, a condition they were forced to accept, bub that agreement had not bean carried put. They drew the attention of the House to the fact thab the estate is controlled by the Public Trustee, who for some unnaccountable reason had failed bo render them assistance, which. La their opinion they were absolutely entitled to under their distressing circumstances. They are, they go on to say, satisfied that their estate has been grossly mismanaged in every way, that they have been defrauded out of their just rights, that no accounts have been rendered them to enable them to fully realise their position, but, in order to ©fleet a settlement, one of the petitioners, John Rose, agreed, on behalf of his wife, to accept 232 acres of land as aforesaid. They feel deeply the treatment they have suffered ab the hands of Mr G. Hutchison, and one of the petitioners, John Ross, on behalf of himself, and'for the sake or his wife and helpless children, humbly prays the House to aid hjm in. inducing the Public Trustee to give eflect to the agreement made, so that the 223 acres may be vested in his wife's name, or to grant them such other relief as they may deem fit.

Whe'nl the petition was presented Mr G. Hutchison obtained leave to make a personal explanation. Ho said that he only desires thab an opportunity should be given for investigation of the petition befor&,.the A ?eßßion ologed., The facjig,..g}o;,far as they were facts, were the subject of an action in the Supreme Court, which came on for trial on the Slefi August, and counsel for theplaintiff, who was then Mrs Rose, was so persuaded there was no case thab he consented bo judgment, being entered for him (Mr Hutchison) on all issues, and be (Mr Hutchison) bad waited all claim for costs or rent of premises, which one of the petitioners had occupied for 18 months. The facts would show that he bad been weak to a degree in seeking to help the people out of difficulties of their own creating. MASTERS AND APPRENTICES; BILL. The Labour Bills Committee have made the following: amendments in the Master and Apprentices Bill;— The definition of apprentice is amended to include only apprentices to any skilled handicrafts. The provisions of the Bill will not apply to unskilled callings; "young person " under tho proposed enactment will be defined as " boy or girl not older than twenty and not younger than fourteen years of age," and the deed of apprenticeship under the proposed enactment may afc any time be cancelled by a stipendiary magistrate if be is satisfied thab an employer has relinquished business. The clause relating bo the waerea of apprentices has been altered bo provide that rate shall be regulated by the standard rate payable to journeymen in the proportion of ten per cent, for the first quarter of the whole term of apprenticeship, twenty per cenc. during the second, thiry-fivo per cent, during the third period, and fifty per cenb.for the fourth quarter. The third schedule deals with the proportion of apprentices to journeymen in different- trades there enumerated. The Committee proposes that the proportion in all cases shall be one apprentice to four journeymen. The Committee has struck out of this schedule brickmakers, hairdressers and bin workers, and inserted upholsterers, French polishers, wood-workers, foundries and millers. JOTTINGS. The Abbatoirs and Slaughterhouses Acb Amendment Bill passed its final stages in the House this afternoon. ''■ This afternoon the Poverty Bay Lands and Deeds Registration Bill and fche Ngatiboa Truftb Bill passed bbeir final stages. It is understood tho Public Works Stafcemenb i& in a forward Btate, bub, of course, the action of the Council in postponing commibbal of the Loan Bill has further delayed its presenbabion. The Labour Bills Committee has altered the title of bbc Undesirable Hawkera Prevention Bill to bhe Hawkers' Bill, and has struck oub bhe clause declaring thab a licensed hawker must display his name, and aleo bhe clause giving a jusbice power to issue a warranb to search for alcoholic liquor in tha possession of a licenaod hawker. The same Committee has amended bhe Shops and Shop Assistants Aob by striking oub from bhe clause dealing with the extended definition of shop assistant the following :—"All persons or classes of persons declared by the Government- bo .be shop assistants,"