PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7124, 21 July 1888, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

[from our special correspondent. I WELLINGTON, July 20. The debate on Sir H. Atkinson's resolution regarding officers of the House has occupied the whole sitting, and it is intended to adjourn the House immediately after the division is taken. lam told that Ministers will be defeated on it by a majority of probably 12. The majority was put at five at dinner time, but appears since to have increased. The division will be in no sense on party lines. A good deal of surprise is expressed that Government should have entered upon so troublesome a question in the present circumstances when they have plenty of other work on their hands, and all sorts of conjectures are atioat to account for the proceeding. The discussion has been bitter and acrimonious in character, Sir Maurice O'Borke himself making a most violent and impassioned speech in Committee, which brought upon him a sharp castigation from the Premier. Several of the members were also more or less unpleasant in tone of their remarks.

11 p.m. The debate on the Premier's resolution has just suddenly collapsed, and the question being put, the resolution was lost by a majority of 14, the numbers being 25 for it and 39 against it.

11.30 p.m. The Premier, in moving the adjournment of the House after the adverse majority on his resolution, made a rather irritating speech, which had the effect of bringing on an exceptionally personal and bitter debate about everything in general and nothing in particular. Apparently members were seizing the opportunity to blow off a little surplus steam generated by the recent fighting. One speech kept bringing on another until it was not easy to see where it would end. Mr Fish was particularly sultry in his hits. Being interrupted several times by a certain member Mr Fish loudly declared he would not be put out of his course by these "bibulous remarks.' . This brought up the member alluded to, but nothing came of it. Mr Fish repeated the expression fully a dozen times. I cannot help thinking that some want of tact has been shown in the way the House has been managed in this matter, for by a little judicious suavity on the part of its leaders all the present acerbity of tone and waste of time might have been avoided.

11.50 p.m. The House has just adjourned. Owing to the recent disturbance of business., there is not the slightest chance of the Public Works Statement being delivered next Tuesday, as that sitting will be devoted to the Estimates. It is not at all certain that the Statement will come down next week at all.

I hear the Municipal Corporations Hill is likely to be dropped on the plea of insufficient time, but that efforts will be made to have it gone on with. To-day's debate and its subject have tended greatly to embitter feeling among members, and to strain the relations among various sections of the house. It is not easy to forecast the possible consequences. I feel convinced, however, that Sir H. Atkinson will take the earliest possible opportunity to close up the session. One Minister talks of the prorogation taking place in a fortnight, but the prevalent opinion gives the session another month's duration.

A proposal is to be made to the Government to reduce the postage on letters beyond the colony to threepence per half ounce, unless a higher rate is necessary to cover the cost of transmission; also to withdraw all subsidies for carrying the mails beyond the colony, and instead to pay ships authorised to carry mails onethird of the postage rate charged in the colony for such transmission.

- nother proposal submitted is that a permanent arrangement should be made to use the Borough valuations as a basis of assessment for the Property Tax purposes. [from oub correspondent.]

WELLINGTON, July 20. The State Forests Act Amendment Bill as reported from the Waste Lands Committee, contains the following new clause '• 'No land order wh eh before the passing of this Act could lawfully be issued in relation to the plantation of forest trees made within the land districts of Canterbury and of Otago, at any time subsequent to the coming into force of the regu lations made under Order in Council of the Ist day of February, 1877, shall be refused to be issued to any person by reason solely of such person not having complied with regulation No. t> of the aforesaid regulations, if the Commissioner shall think the said person has sufficiently complied with the regulations in other respects to entitle him to such land order."

There is a diversity of opinion in the Cabinet on the question of the Otago Central ICailway Bill. Mr Pyke's request that it should taken up as a Ministerial measure cannot be entertained.

In the matter of the lately proposed coalition between the freetraders and protectionist Opposition, I find that a good many rumors have been going about that have no foundation in fact. The story that a Government had been sketched out to which exception was taken is news to the freetraders, neither ia the rumor true that four members of the freetrade party, namely, Messrs Menteath, Macarthur, Scobie Mackenzie, and Newman, were ■willing to join in any attempt made to oust the Government. Dr. New*

man is not regarded as a freetrader by the party, as hia utterances at the general election were of a very doubtful character. MrMenteathhas strongly anti-Atkin-sonian views, and is very hostile to Mr Fisher, so that his assistance might possibly be calculated upon without any expression of opinion on his part; but X understand that Messrs Scobie Mackenzie and Macarthur were the chief movers in the resolution affirming the undesirability of any juncture at the present time not based upon some broad principle held in common. I gather that Mr Scobie Mackenzie, who has always been one of the most pronounced freetraders of the party, wa3 not even directly approached, and that in-so-far as the coalition was mentioned to him, ho pronounced, it bad on footH sides. His notion appears to be that tho freetraders are in a very strong position now for exercising an influence on the course of public policy, and that whiio like other freetraders lie is indiiiei'cnt to the fate of the Government, lie thinks no public object is to be served by turning them out.

Some idea of the farcical nature of the proceeding in the House last night may be gathered from the fact, that eight or nine times during the evening the bell had to be rung to obtain, a quorum. Members treated the whole affair as a huge joke, and at one time, when it seemed likely that the House would bo counted out, or would have to adjourn because there were not enough members present to form a quorum, the stalwart John McKenzie appeared at the entrance of the chamber bearing the struggling form of Dr. Fitchett in his arms, and held him there till noses were counted. Shortly before midnight, members were so far alive to the absurdity of their proceedings that they by IS to 17 excluded strangers from the galleries and the Hansard staff were relieved from duty, and the Press gallery was cleared. The motion for tho committal of the Hospital and Charitable Institution Act Amendment Bill was continued until -1.20 a.m. The last five hours' discussion was carried on with closed doors, strangers having been ordered out of the gallery in order that the debate need not be reported in Hansard. Mr Goldie subsequently spoke for an hour, and Mr Joyce for three hours, thus keeping up the discussion till nearly daylight, when a compromise TtWf arrived at by making , the Hill the third order of the day for Thursday next. TheJ stonewallers have thus practically attainellj! their object. : i The object of the Offences Against thfcj Persons Act, introduced by the Minister cil Justice, is to raise the age of consent froa twelve to sixteen, and thus make the la] uniform with that of other colonies. 4 also gives the police power to hand ovijji neglected children to reformatories. $ The Native Bills Committee, w h» agreeing to taxation of Native lands, ham inserted a clause in the Native Lands JjJBl excluding such taxation for a two years. The Committee agreed sjo numerous detailed amendments in & Native Land Bill and the Native Land Cofflrt Bill; the main principles affirmed bej&g that 110 certificates shall be issued more than twenty names, and that ftra| past transactions in Native lands shalljjK be validated, unless they have been Srejj fide and have not traversed any law wMKIS was in force at the time they took placqJß %