POLITICAL NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 81, 3 October 1904, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES.

BUYING NATIVE LANDS. The grievance of Mr. W. Humphries, of New Plymouth, was ventilated at length in the House on Friday. Tha Native Affairs Committee reporteu that it had no recommendation to make on a petition presented by Mr. Humphries, who alleged that through the passing of certain laws he nad been deprived oi his rights. It appeared that some years ago Mr. Humphries purchased certain Maori lands in Taranaki, which were put up to auction by the Registrar' of the 1 Supreme Court, and trio title was subsequently validated by the SufA-eme Court. Later on, however, a defect in the titlo was discovered, and the Vi.idating decree was overriden by Prrfiamcnt in 1902, the Supreme Court, .-^lbsequently deciding that the title was defective, and that Mr. Humphries had no right to the lands. The question of whether Mr. Humphries, had a real grievance or whether he had merely experienced some of the umiculties which beset the person who indulges in the occupation of buying Maori iands was discussed at length, ana Mr. E. M. Smith and Mr. A. L. D. Fraser sought to have the report referred back to the Committee. The Native Minister, however, pointed out that thfl Validation Court had no right to deal with those particular blocks, and that the mortgage could not be and never had been registered against the blocks, in respect to which no title had been issued. Eventually the motion to refer the report back was lost on tho voices, and the report was received. NO LAW IN THE COOK ISLANDS. A curious position in regard to our "Island possessions," the Cook group, *■ was demonstrated during the committal of a Bill dealing with that part of the colony in the House on Friday. The Act under which they are administered expired on 30th September of this year, anu as Mr. J. Allen pointed out, the islands are without any measuVe dealing with their administration — a state ol"""> things -which he declared was due to th* gross , neglect of Ministets. Parliament, he continued, was becoming absolutely impotent, Ministers were impotent, and he urged that the measure dealing with the subject should not have been put off until such a late hour oi the. session, at the same time pointing out 'that the omission occurred in spite of the fact that one Minister (the Hon. C. H. Mills) was specially deputed to look after that portion of out- dominions. The Leader of the Opposition hinted that it was a very good thing we are not connected with the islands by cable, because if the v. people there knew that law was inoper- ■ ative for a while some of them would cause serious trouble. The Colonial Secretary tried tp throw the blame on tho House, which the previous night had at nearly 1 o'clock expressed a desire to gs ~- home when the Cook Islands Bill was the. next business, but Mr. J. Allen pointed out that the Government could have brought the Bill up at any time it chose during the pant fourteen weeks. Eventually the House amended the Bill so as to provide that the law shall be deemed J-o have been in operation during the time which must elapse until the measure re« cevies the Governor's assent. A DISPUTE ABOUT A VOTE. One of the rules governing debate it the House is that when a member in giving his voice on a motion says "Aye" *$ "No" he must vote as he spoke. Ou Friday a division was called on a certain amendment in the Cook Islands Bill, and the division list showed : Ayes 2ji, Noes 25, and the Chairman of Committee , gave his casting-vote for the Government. Mr. Hawkins thereupon remarked that Mi. E. M. Smith had called out "No" when the question was put, out had voted "Aye" when the division was ' taken. "I always vote with the Government," 6aid Mr. Smith, amid roars oi' laughtei, when he was called upon foi an explanation, and in answer to further questioning by the Chairman, he added that "as far as he knew" he had voted according to the way he kad given his voice. An attempt was made by the Leader of the Opposition and Mr. J, Allen to insist that they knew" that Mr. Smith did really call out "No" and had voted '"Aye," but the Chairman ruled that Mr. Smith's explanation was sufficient, and the Government won. A FLOUTED FETISH. One of the commonest of. Parliament taTy procedures is the suspension of the x j Standing Orders, to permit of the free j passage of a Bill, and this practice, has ! several times this session been the sub- ] ject of adverse comment in th"{ Legis- ' lative Council. The matter cropped -up*~ again on Friday, when the Hon. T. K. | Macdonald moved to set up a commit tea • to enquire into an alleged -breach of I privilege in connection with certain evidence taken before a Standing Committee. Qne or two members urged that the matter was a trivial one, and others contended that no breach of privilege ha<* been committed. The Hon. J. Rigg co itended that an important principle was involved- Were tne Standing Orders (oue of which defined the privilege I in the case under discussion) to be respected or not? The Attorney-General considered that the subject of discussion was a trivial matter — a sentiment that roused the indignation of the Hon. T. K. Macdonald, who thought that the At-torney-General, the Leader of the Coun» cil, should be the la&t person to flout> the Standing Orders. It should be for the leader of the House to see that tho Orders were upheld, and if he thought they could be set at naught, he oughl to move their repeal. He deprecated tho indifference of members ana their sys« tematic disregard of the Orders winch governed the conduat of Parliamentary business. The discussion concluded with Mr. Macdonald's withdrawal of his mo* tion. A COMING INDUSTRY. The Government Viticulturist has evidently very great hopes of the future of | the wine industry in New Zealand. In his annual report tc the Minister tor Agriculture he rcmaiks : — "The establishment ol a Viticuitural Division by the' Government of New Zealand ha& been followed by an obvious and continuous improvement iv the cultivation of the. grapes and making ot the wine, wi.ich can compare lavourably witlr the best imported « ines. This statement has Deep confirmed by wine-merchants, hote.keepers, doctors, and Continental experts. The results so far obtained must carry with them strong convictions as to tho great futu 4 e awaiting the wine industry of New Zealand. Tht progvebs &o far made, however,' rapid though it has been, is DUt the first step on the ladder of the great progress that is yet to come." Apparently, however, there are troubles still to be got over, for he goes on to say that in the course of his travels in New Zealand «nee his arrival hero three years ago he has met with numerous samples of adulterated wine, and ait this condition of affairs is a serious drawback to the legitimate wine-grower, bo thought it advisable' to bring before tho Uovemmen,t the necessity of legislating to prohibit the sale of such liquids, in the interest of the honest and scrupulouv vine-growers, wine-merchant*, and .deal* ers, and also of tae -consumer*.

DAIRY INSPECTION. In the course of his annual report the Chief Government Veterinarian points out that, except in respect of the boroughs of Thames, Hawera, Blenheim, Lyttelton, and Gore, hia Department has r*o control of dairy inspection, and he once more draws attention to the necessity for the whole of this work being performed by men who have gone thiough an effective course of training and prov.ed themselves fit to carry out their duties properly.' Generally speaking, he goes on to say, there appears a marked tendency towards laxity and carelessness on the part of owners of dairies, especially in the important matter of cleanliness in handling and storing milk, and also in the construction and maintenance of dairy buildings. Thorough cleanliness is insisted upon at once, diseased or suspected animals are at once weeded out, and every care taken to ■ safeguard the health of the consumer. The rapid spread of contagious mammitis renders a frequent examination of each individual cow more than ever necessary, there being strong reason to believe that many cases of so-called septic sore throat in human beings are induced by the consumption of milk from cows affected by this disease. IMPORTED STUD STOCK. The stud, stock imported by the Department of Agriculture cave in for some severe criticism while the Estimates of the Department were under consideration. Mr. Buchanan thought that the people who buy for the Department al Home are bad judges 'of stock, while Mr. Massey was strongly of opinion that a great deal of money had been wasted in this direction. He was quite sure that every man in the House who knew anything about stock would agree that •we have better horses in the colony than any imported by tho Government, and he was sure that the same remarks applied to the cattle. "Take these tbing3 they imported the other day," he remarked in contemptuous tones, referring to the Kerry bulls. "I don't believe they will ' be the very slightest use to us here." Mr. Rutherford thought the Kerry cattle as a milk breed were obviously inferior to the Jersey or the Ayrshire, and he suggested thai they should be handed over to Mt. Donne, to be distributed over the various tourist routes foi the purpose of improving the scenery. The Minister for Agriculture, however, UTged that these cattle would be very suitable for the Taranaki district, the home of the dairy industry, where some of the country was as steep as the side of a - ■ house, and where ordinary cattle could not keep their feet. Their importation had been urged by the Farmers' Union, and all through the Taranaki district settlers had been wanting them.