POLITICAL NEWS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3136, 16 July 1881, Page 3

POLITICAL NEWS.

[BY TELEGEAPH.]

(raoiw OTJE own correspondent.)

Wellington, July 16,

Yesterday evening Mr Sheehan fired the big shot of the session in intimating bis intention to introduce a bill to abolish the Act for the abolition of the provinces. It is understood that this is intended to strike in between the Government proposal and Sir George Grey's proposal relative to local government. The intimation was received with cheers from all sides of the House. Mr J. B. Fisher's Counties Act 1876 Amendment Act 1881 provides for the election of a county chairman upon the first Wednesday in November. Any person qualified to be a county councillor may be elected to be a county chairman. Any county councillor elected to be a county chairman must thereby vacate the first-named office, and any county chairman elected to be a county councillor must vacate such office of county chairman, but a county chairman shall be a county councillor ex officio by virtue of bis office. Section 54, 55, and 56 of the Counties Act, 1876, are repealed, and all the other provisions of such Act inconsistent with the proposed measure.

Mr Sheehan's bill to repeal the Abolition of the Provinces Act causes all political interest to flow in that direction. It is believed it will be pressed to a division, and Mr Sheehan, having been promised a good amount of support, it is expected to be a close one.