POLITICAL NEWS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3770, 15 August 1883, Page 3

POLITICAL NEWS.

[BY TELEGRAM!.]

ri-ROM OUR OAVN CORRESPONDENT.] AVellington, This clay. AVhat are the qualifications and aims of a special correspondent r Should lie simp y play second fiddle in playing the oca member's game? Certainly ho should not bo looking anxiously for tho meat to be got oIE the dry bones thrown to him by the local member, neither should ho bo so wrapped up in " party that while Major Atkinson is to him a littlo god, ho can see no good in Sir George Grey. Ho should be free from the galling. Aveight ol: party chains. That won't do m pohticaL lite, for tho men who treat the tics of party lbditly arc tho men who form tho Caves ot Axlullarn, but it is a qualification lor a special. He should bo a frco lauco-abovo jl things a critic. If lie has w> polirics, . so much the better; ho will bo all the fairer. His duty is to criticise, and that i fah-h'. Ho must discount all he hears, V ancl he will unwillingly hoar mU ch that is not mended for hi n, and out of the mass ot ohafl.presented to him bo able to seize promptly the

few "Tains of Avhoat to bo found therein ; and.'above all things, better than _ being brilliant, he must be reliable. Again, ho should bo able to avoid repeating tho 1 ress Association telegrams. Tho ideal special would be a blind man who is dumb, whose dictionary contained not tho word politician—at any rate, in the sense in which avc understand it—to-day whose hearing would be so acute that nothing Avould be lost, and Avhoso Avrititig—l am presuming the blind man can Avritc —Avould have such a freshness in it that the dry fossilised hash of to-day Avonld bo voted stale, nasty, paltry, biassed, and lacking vigour, power, and in a measure truth. The House was in a bad working humor yesterday. A long discussion took place as to tho purchase of native binds. Uns debate took placo in Committee ot Supply on tho vote for the Native Department, and would have been much better on tho Native Land Bill. The result was that, up to a late hour, nothing was done, and then large amounts for public works were rushed through. No reductions could be effected, Avith tlic exception of knocking £1000 off the amount for tho Wanganui gaol, AA'hich reduction was carried by a majority of three. Tho House did not adjourn till 3.30 a.m., and does not meet till 7.30 this evening lor private members' business, so avo aro sure to sec members attempting a little log-rolling by getting members to keep silent, so that a'largo number of motions may get advanced a stage. , . AYcllington yesterday, mctaphorica II v speaking—for to'say vulgarly don't sound nice—had its tail between its logs. Iho day Avas rough, and therefore tho tail was somewhat dra-glcd. If Wellington is going to develop a goldfiold it will need more pluck than avus shov.-u yesterday. Tho yield should have been considered satisfactory, and would havo boon so had it not been" for the inflation Avhich tlic speculators worked up. Their game was the sole game played. The battery will have to crush more per day than it did per week to be a success. Then, again, tbe reports avci-c all written Avith a bias in favor of a mad gambling fever. AVhen I looked at the little cake of gold—perhaps the size of my closed fist—l thought of the urgent messages that wore scut for a safe,as the gold was overflowing in the boxes. Sainted Maria, that cases my mind. Men have seen twenty and thirty times the gold got, and the miners probably ignorant of the word safe I Hunk tho directors can scarcely be congratulated on the manner iiiAvhu-h thoy allowed tlie speculators* game to be played. I don't think thoy played, but I knoAV some Avho did.