POLITICAL GOSSIP.

Evening Star, Issue 12279, 20 August 1904, Page 7

POLITICAL GOSSIP.

[From Otrn FaHh-iasies-tar? RKroßfun.] WELLINGTON, August 20. THI3 CL'ItSK OF TOttUXGAISM. lohungns anil their methods wore discussed last evening in connection with the vote for Maori Councils. Mr Herrics oxpresssd astonishment that the Government 'Gazette' of a recent dale, contained notificatiohs of the licensing of Maori tohun»as —tho very class whiwi if, was fho duty" of tho Government ti> suppress.—Mr A. L. D. Eraser also complained of the action of the Maori Councils in bringing down hv-lawa •whereby " these infamous ecovindrels " were licensed at a nominal fe.6 of £1 a your to ratty on their inkmirous practices. He regretted that anything stamped with tho seal of Government approval should allow such procedure.—The Native Minister said • hat it was acknowledged that there wore tohungas throughout the coiralrv. Thty were franns travelling rnund (he country oiferlng to heal disorders, ami unsettling tho Maori constituencies- wherever thev went. But, he asked, how we.rs tie-v----to m dealt with? Rupposhig that le-gula-tions were not framed, what was propo cd'.' 'They could not he interfered with iiny mora than could Dowie or other charlatan's that Went round professing diPr-rent reliRion?. Bather than have regulations which were repugnant to their minds members •were willing that theso tohutigas should go nn practising their ham-fnl aris. ft was i:ei*s*ary to bring tohungas under tlie power fif Council;!, and the only way to do that was to have regulations "undo'- which they had to apply for licenses. If the regulalions rould bring tnhuniraisni In a practical ond they should not be condemned.-—Mr Farat;t s.iid that a tohunga had recently visited Otago, but he pet sucii a warm weleomo from ihe natives tliere !hat he w:« glad to take himself back to the North Island. The speaker told how he had taken Bn active pari in bringing about this result. To his disgust he found that the Native Minister had granted a peimit to this iuhunjja to practise his method?.—The Native Minister said that the proper way to deal with tlifl mailer was to give Maori Councils tho right lo make refutations to licence a. tohunga. Tlie reason thev wore licensed was to make them amenable lo the taw.— Mr A. L. D. Fr,lM;r pointed out tint tohungas were already amenable to the taw. as was shown by I heir being convicie-I ?nd sent to gaol both in GMiorno and Napier. To give, these people tlie 'nil-mark of Government approval by liicri-'\ so that they might go from kniauga ;o kianga, was disgraceful. THOSE I'AHIAi UA TELEGRAMS. Thn newly elected mamher for Pahiatua (Mr Hawkins) lircd his lirst. gun ye tenby afternoon, when he p.-'ve notice to ask .the Postmaster-Gauer.il whether the telegrams rigned ''R. J. Seiidnu." and transmitted to prominent electors in the Pahiatua electoral district during the iV[cnt bye-cicdion in that district, were paid for by the Premier ;is ordinary telegrams, or whether they were transmitted tree by the Telegraph Department. (The ffdlrrwirtij is the exact wording of the tclcr/rams referred to:— ''lt would ho very plea l ins; to have Mr Buiek returned as sticccssu- to your late respected member. John O'Meara. Hope every effort will be nada In" yon and friends in the. intorCM* of tho district and colony to secure his return. kindest regards.—P>. J. >Skddo.\.") GAMRLIXG AMONG CHINESE. Some itttercftino: evidence en the snojoel iif jjamblin? is contained in th" <-!aK'mcnt made by Inspector Elhson to r: cominittpp of the House dtirbin; Ihs coijsid'.iafion of a petition prayinir that more drastic incisures be taken for the suppression of saivbliti!:. Tlio petition and the evidence were referred to the Government for favorable (■onrideratinn. In regard to opium, fnEllison paid there i J rcrr lirrle npium-smnkin; on, and tin re had teen very little of it in Weli'muton for ,i (onu time p3*t. He. thoucht. trie fincr-• thai. had been inflicted were sullbient to prrvenl. u continuation of the practice. The c.tistin^

law gives the police power to enter Chinese premises where opium-smoking is snspicted, and that law had been taken advantage of by the police, Gambling, he w-nit on to say. was carried on in various: forms very much by Chinamen in all part." of New Zealand where the Chinese co'leef. Tt teemed fn he about the only recreation they had, and, in his opinion, the r<.a!y objectionable featuie wa* whr-r" Kuronean men. young or old. look part in it. He thought the only (fame that liluropeariS look much part in was pakapoo. which ia really a lottery,- pure and s:'mp!e. Fantan w'as carried <m principally aniens the Cbenesc themselves. The law hud been found to bo defective in eases which had been taken before the Supreme Court. He did not think pakapno would ly; carried on to any harmful extent, were it not for the support it received from Europeans, lie thought the easiest way to cheek it would be to make it an offence for any European to frequent Chinese quarters where any such frame is carried on, or where tickets arc :old ,or lotteries carried on. He did not think that the playing of dominoes, or even fantan. umong the Chinese themselves would he productive of much liaim. The supprewion <jf such snimes would probably cause an otitbreak of evil in seme other direction, because human nature must have soma kind of safety valve or means of relear-ing the energies, and if it was not dortc in one way it. wonld be in another. He thought H would, be as' hard to stop such recreation amongst the Chinese as to stop whist arid other Came!? amongst Europeans. He thought the gaming propensities of our own people In private houses were just about the same ass with the Chinese. He could not make any distinction between the two habits, but he was decidedly of opinion that j it was bad for young' men, middleaged men. or old men to mix with the i Chinese for the pmpos-3 of indulging in gambling of any description. Ho thought that if it wero made penal for such persons to be found on .such premises without lawful excuse it would remedy a great deal of the harm which i? done. Inspector Ellison went on to say that the host war to deal with men who visited the Chinese'quaifers to invest their money in the lotteries would hj?, to amend the law. so that Hi by could be charged with vagrancy if ...ev* frequented such place.-?. The pakn-poo bank wa;< run in Wellington by a Chinee syndicate, who were living on the profits. ' There were twenty-two or twenty-four agents for the r.ilo of ticket - , and they lived out of thecommissions' they got. INQUESTS. As Hie Coroners Bill was introduced, it proposed that magistrates, who will be coroners by virtue of their office, should determine, cases without the assistance of jurors. As amended by the Statutes Revision Committee, the Bill make** the assistance of a jurv necessary, as at present. The number of jurors at an inquest is not to exceed six. and the concurrence of four jurors sha!! •>e sufficient. Another amendment provides that anyone summoned to appear and serve Bf» a .juror who fail? to appsar shall be liable to a tine not exceeding £5. OUR RIVERS. Two much-wanted maps arc publish..! wjfh the Lands report; they show ih" catchment area* of the river systems of the colony. Theie are eighty, of which thhtyeiidit are in the North nnd forty-two in tba South Inland. The following uie above 2,000 square miles i—North 1-land : WaiJcato 5,500, Wansrnnui 2,850, Mar.awatu 2.296. South Island : Cmtha 8,166. Waetaki 1.597, Waiau (.Southland) 3,184. Ruber 2.470. Taieri 2.178, Mutiiufa 2,145. The northern Waiau (Amuri) hag beru regarded =es equal to it? southern namesake, but has a watershed of lin ly 1,?,78 Krjuare. mile*. There is undoubtedly most watet in vSotifhhnd. which fact, perhaps eicrlotmt.'; for the greater Krength th*r<> of tha temperance fentiment. THE STUD RILL. There is considerable diversity of opinion among farmers about the Stud Bill. One of the leading farmers in Wellington 6v

pressed the opinion that tlie Whole object of tlw Bid is to find work and money for tho veterinary Department. There is (lie considers) no heed to rcgistei' or license Stud hoist's. If on animal suffers from any esriotl:* complaint or defect, it will soon become known, and farmer's are quite as able to jrulge sivrs as* Government Vetn. JOTTINGS. " I couid point oiit 10.000 acres of native land which I would not accept an a gift, bscanse it hns been made worse than useless by biing ailowed to lie overrun by blackberries.''—Mr Massey. Mr Liutrenson was called to order yesterday afternoon for ti breach of th-e parliamentary rule which prohibits the irnpulimj; of motives to hon. meml>ers. He had said that- tin-ie were some hon. gentlemen who would like to see freetrade in native lands-, so that, they might readily get a '"cut in." Tlie Legislative Council insist on their ameisdmont.to the Counties Act Amendment Bill—-viz.. that the time within which bylaws should be liable to be disallowed should be indefinite, and not restricted to two years. A conference with managers appointed by the House will be. the next step, ovrinp; Xc the conflict.

'•".i'iie natives of Taranaki have taken to th? ardran-3 duty of milking, and arc doing it well."-—Mr Major, in the comse of an addicsii eulogistic, of tlu> Maoris. Tiv L.ind Committee recommend that the pcikion of N. and j'i. S. Taterson and tifty oilieis, of Dnnidin, praying for an iimemlment of the PuKio Works Act, be referred to (he Govctuirienrt for fsrorable- consideration.

Notice has been given of the introduction o: two more Government measurtr i!:e State Ceal Mines Act Amendment Bill and the Wekdus ;md Measures Act IPOjAmaielli'.cnt Bill.