THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1832, 19 June 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1874.

The Constitution question now under discussion in the Parliament of Victoria will no doubt largely influence any action that may be taken by the New Zealand General Assembly in the direction of a reform of the constitution of the Upper House. Our readers will remember that last session the Government introduced a Bill to alter the constitution of the Legislative Council by placing a limit to the system of nomination, and providing for the election of. members after a certain time. This measure, like all half measures, pleased nobody. It did not go far enough, and was regarded, perhaps justly, as one of those dummy Bills which a Ministry sometimes introduces to stop a popular cry for the time being, but which is not intended to be carried into effect. The [ Bill was rejected summarily by the Council, although some of its members recognised the necessity of such a reform as would bring the Legislative Council in closer accord with the representative branch of Parliament. Daring the session the Council came into direct conflict with the House of Representatives, by rejecting most contemptuously, and, in many cases, without even the semblance of a discussion, a number of Provincial Borrowing Bills sent up to it by the Lower House. It was not so much the fact that these Bills were rejected, as the manner in which they were rejected, that led to the feeling of antagonism which undoubtedly arose between the two Houses, and which culminated in an open and direct threat from the Premier that he would even invoke the aid of Imperial Legislation if necessary to secure an entire rr rnristruction of the Council. Mr Yu-d not only said this, but he urged th:<t every member of the House of Representatives who might address his constituents during the recess should ask for an expression of opinion from them upon this question. It is singular that neither Mr Yogel himself in hi 3 numerous speeches at rublic meetings and banquets, nor, so far as we are aware, any other member of the Legislature, has uttered a word upon the' question of reforming the Legislative Council ; but it is hardly possible that the Government can allow the question to drop altogether, after what occurred last session. No indication has been afforded or the probable direction of the reform to be proposed. A repetition of the Bill of last session will not be regarded with favor, and H is improbable that the Government will attempt it ; they are more likely to watch events in the neighboring Colonies, and introduce some measure analogous to any that may be carried, either in Victoria, New South Wales, or Queensland, in each of which Colonies the question of constitutional reform is occupying the attention of the Legislature. In Victoria a Bill has been introduced by the Government upon which the Ministry will stand or fall, and as we gather from the papers that the Upper House ha 3 generally expressed itself willing to discuss the question, it is probable that some plan by which unseemly conflicts between the two Houses may be avoided, and that the constitution of the Council will be made more in accordance with the principles of representative government. The Victorian Bill provides that, with spme saving exceptions, " Any Bill which has been passed by the Assembly, in two consecutive sessions of Parliament, and has been rejected by the Council in each of such sessions, may be submitted to a joint meeting of the members of the Council and of the Assembly who shall sit and vote together as a legislative body under the designation of 'The two Houses.' " It is left to the Governor to determine whether any Bill rejected the second session is substantially the same Bill as that previously rejected. When any Bill has to be submitted to "the two Houses" the Governor may prologue Parliament and by proclamation summon a joint meeting of the members of the Council and of the Assembly, and any Bill that is submitted to the joint meeting may be rejected or pasged with or without amendments, and if passed will have the same authority and effect as if it had been passed by each House separately. " The two Houses" when in joint meeting cannot transact any other business' or discuss any matter except that specially referred to them. The Bill provides for the election of a president of the " Two Houses " and for other matters of detail which we need not recapitulate. The plan proposed is based upon the system in vogue in the Norwegian Parliament. Whenever the two Houses disagree they meet together, and a majority of the whole settles the matter. This system has much to recommend it, and will be just as useful under whatever system th<j Upper Chamber is constituted, whether it be elective or nominative. Frequently in New-Zealand, Bills that have commanded large majorities in the representative branch of the Legislature have been thrown out by a bare majority in the Legislative Council. For instance, we have the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill

which has for two consecutive sessions been carried by a large majority by the House of Representatives, but rejected by a small majority in the Legislative Council. If the two Houses could muot as one body the result would be to affirm the decision of the representative chamber. I It must be observed that the Victorian Bill exempts from its operation any measure that may be introduced for the purpose of altering the number of members of the Council or Assembly ; any Act for which purpose must be pa3aed respectively by both Houses. Opinion as to the working of this measure appears to be very conflicting in "Victoria. The Government and their supporters say that it will effectually put a stop to dead locks ; their opponents on the other hand assert that it will lead to greater difficulties than ever. One party says that it will degrade the Legislative Council; the other that it will make the Council practically unassailable. A couple of extracts — one from the Argus and the other from the Daily Telegraphwill show how differently the question is viewed. The Telegraph says : — No Bill will be more keenly sifted and discussed than this measure. We will anticipate one criticism, namely, that its end could be more simply attained by providing that any Bill which passed the Assembly in two consecutive sessions by two-thirds majority should become law over the heads of the Council, "Ministers, however, consider that a great good will be effected by the interchanger of ideas between the Council and the Assembly. This being so. they, in fact, accept the further responsibility of reforming the Council itself, so as to form a House which can meet the ••s»omb]y in donate without loss of power or dignity. Under the proposed Act, legislative deadlocks will become a thing of the past ; our Constitution will provide for finality. When this practical and all-important end has once been attained, the next task will be to give the Colony an Upper House worthy of the land, and equal to the dignity and the responsibility of the office. The Argus, on the other hand, says : — Let us suppose a minority in the Assembyl 1 to become, by the aid of the Council, a majority in the " two Houses." The Bill under discussion would then be lost, and the Ministry, we must suppose, would resign. How is a new Ministry to be formed out lof the minority in the Assembly ? How is the old Ministry to remain in office whmi it is unable to carry the measure upon which it had staked its existence ? So far, therefore, from securing finality ii legislation, the Bill seems to provide, at least in one very possible contingency, for a permanent and incurable deadlock. If the "two Houses" meet, the result must be either favourable to the Assembly or favorable to the Council. If it be favorable to the Council, then the majority in the Assembly continues to be overruled ; and there is the further difficulty, that the Ministry which is aupported by that majority can no longer retain office. If it be favorable to the Assembly, then the independent voice of the Council is stifled by superior numbers, and the process of degradation at once and hopelessly sets in.

The interesting information has been received that the Greymouth Coal Company have bottomed their main shaft, and proved the coal to be 14ft thick and of excellent firm quality. The coal was struck at a depth of 80ft. The fire clay underneath the coal is also of first-rate description. We observe that Mr Abeam, the Principal of the Roman Catholic School, will, on the 23irt insfc., open an evening school for girls only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; the course of instruction embracing thorough English and French. The evening school for boys will be continued as heretofore. A. grand LIOOO sweep upon the Metropolitan Handicap, to be run two months before the Melbourne Cup, is now being got up by Mr Tonks. Tf previous success should be an augury of the future, the management of the originator will soon till the list. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, Timothy Reardjn brought an action against T. Hungerford for having made use of abusive and insulting language in a public place, calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. Mr Newton, for the defendant, admitted that the language was made use of, but it was under great provocation while discussing some monetary transactions, in which the defendant complained that he had been charged twice for some work douw. The Magistrate said the case was a very trumpery one, and dismissed it. The Register says :— " The timber trade here was never in a more flourishing position than at present. So great is the demand for the vessels now in port that the mills are scarcely able to keep up a supply equal to the demand. Mr Saworth, of the Westland mills is now running his mill night and day, in order to keep pace with the large orders on hand." One must go afield to learn news. The Register of yesterday says :— '• A rumour is current that a company is about to be formed at Greymouth for the purpose of building four or five colliers of suitable burden, in order to facilitate the coal trade of that port. A similar project is talked of in Dunedin, and it is not improbable that the two companies will amalgamate. 1 ' We have no information on the subject. The following shipping case was heard at the dokitika Resident Magistrate's Court, on Tuesday last :— Todd v. Westland Steam Tug and Freight Company. Mr South for the plaintiff, and Mr Purkiss for the defendants. An action to recover 13S 6s lOcl, for damages done by sea-water to fifty-seven bags oats and forty -three bags flour, which arrived, consigned to the plaintiff, by the brigantine Sarah and Mary. The damage was not disputed, but the defendants contended that it was caused by tempest and was unavoidable, while the plaintiff alleged that there was no proof that the vessel had been properly repaired at Dunedin, where she was taken after being stranded on the Hokitika bar. Proof was giveri, however, that nearly L2OOO had been expended in repairing the vessel. A large number of witnesses were examined. Judgment was given for the defendants with L 5 9a costs. The following items of news respecting affairs in China and Japan have been published in the Indian papers : — The Messageries Maritimes steamer Nil was lost on the Chinese coast on the 25 th March with 80 lives. The steamer Manehu, with over 50 souls, wasjost on tha 17th March. Ghiarini's Troupe were giving successful performances at Hong Kong. The China Traus- Pacific Steamship Company had placed a second magnificent steamer on the line, which was to give monthly communication between San Francisco, Yokohama, and Hong Kong. A. Chinese experimental squadron to visit Europe was talked of. It was said that the Peninsular and Oriental Company were likely to transfer their head-quarters" from Houg Kong to Shanghai. la Japan the rebels had been quieted, but war had been declared against Formosa, aud four men-of-war and 15,000 soldiers wre to be sent to attack the island. No less than sixteen firms had been burnt out in a great fire at Yokohama The Argus informs us that an improved safety hook for mining purposes, patented by Mr David Whjte, manager of the Great Northern Quartz Reef Gold : mining Company, Stawell, has recently been brought ' Under the notice of the Mining Department,

\ ;et'iiia. The invention is designed for the |iu:pf»s«of ]iri-vrMiting accidents from overwinding. The h'iok' is composed of three fhif; metal plates of the same size and shape, each being wider at one end than at the other. In the wider end ot each an angular slot is made. Iv two of the plates this slotis m:uic to turn in one direction, and in the third one in the opposite direction. When the plates are in position for supporting the piu on which the cage is hung, a hole is made through the whole of the plates, which are of steel, to receive a pin for connecting them together, which is of copper. The hook, when in position, hauls up the cage, but the moment the cage reaches the poppet-heads pressure is brought to bear on the edges of the plates, which causes them to cut the copper pin and push the centre plate into opposition with the others, when the pin of the cage is released, and the cage falls about a foot on to a suitable landing. This invention promises to be of great value in the prevention of accidents from overwinding. An accident occurred at the Great Northern claim some six weeks ago, but this invention being in use there all injurious consequences were avoided. We have been furnished with a copy of a full report of the trial of eight Pijians, at Levuka, in February last, before Chief Justice St. Julian, Ratu Marika, and a jury of 12 of the prisoners' countrymeu, for the murder of the Burns family, on the Ba river, iv February, 1873. The particulars of this melancholy episode in the history of Fijian colonisation have been published more than once in this city. A number of native witnesses were examine I at ih« trial, but nothing that was noS prevLiu-l/ known, except as regards tlrj the men in the dock, was elidhs.!. The late Mr Burns's plantation, was wionin easy reach of a mountain town, and it appears that his Tanna laborers had shot several mountaineers, in- 4 eluding one woman, who had come down to the river to fish. This greatly incensed the tribe to which they belonged, and finally the massacre was determined upon, partly from motives of revenge, and partly with, the view of securing stores of arms aud atnmumtion. A heathen priest was cousulted on the subject ; he decided in favor of the expedition, aud a couple of days after the Tanna laborers had boen disarmed by their employer the descent was made on the plantation. Mr Burns, his wife, their two children, and 20 of the Tanna laborers were killed before aid from ihe neighboring plantations arrived. The trial lasted several days, and the guilt of the prisoners, one of whom slew Mrs Burns with his own hand, was fully established. They were all sentenced to death, and they have since been kept in close confinement pending a final decision as to their fate. One, however, the priest who was the chief instigator of the actack, contrived to effect his escape from the lock-up, and according to the latest advices from Fiji had succeeded in evading recapture.