HOUSE OF REPRESETIVES.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5527, 1 November 1879, Page 2

HOUSE OF REPRESETIVES.

Friday, October 31. The House met at 2.30 p.m. THIRD READINGS. The Napier Swamp Nuisance Acts Amendment Bill and the Church Property Trust (Canterbury) Bill were read a third time and passed. THE MAORI PRISONERS. Tomoana gave notice that he would ask the Governmenc what step 3 they proposed taking with respect to the Maori prisoners now in custody. QUESTIONS. Replying to Mr Hislop, Mr Hall said the Government would carefully consider the advisability of introducing a bill to consolidate and amend the law relating to Resident Magistrate's Courts, District Courts, and Supreme Courts, with a view of simplyifing them, and with the- view especially of rendering less expensive the trial of cases at present only within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Replying to Mr Saunders, Mr Ball said that there were telegrams sent by the late Ministry on electioneering subjects aa public service telegrams, and if on examination the Government considered it would not be prejudicial to the public aervice, copies of those telegrams would be produced. Replying to Mr Giaborne, the Premier said that. the Government agreed with the recorded opinion of the late Government that the Agent-General of the colony should not be a candidate for a seat in the British House of Commons.

Mr Gisborne asked the Premier whether the Government would give effect to the decision of the late Government that the Agent-General of the colony should not be a director of the New Zealand Agricultural Company ?

Mr Hall replied that the AgentGeneral had been requested to retire from the company, and the reply he made was that having been the promoter of it, it would be unfair to the shareholders of the company for him to retire at once. That communication was dated the 26th of September. The Government quite agreed with the inexpediency of the Agent-General's continuing his connectton with the concern, but at the same time they admitted it was only reasonable that some time should be allowed him to sever the connection. That opinion had been communicoted to Sir Julius Yogel.

Mr Pyke asked what was the amount of loss to the revenue resulting from the reduction of the tea and sugar duties during the period of nine months extending from the Ist of January to the 30th of September, 1879 1 Mr Hall replied that the deficiency on tea during the last nine months was £24,000, and on sugar £61,000, making a total of £85,000.

. A.t a meeting of the Waipukurau lresbyterian church building committee recently hpld it was resolved to erect a taanse fdr the residence of the Eev. Mr * raser, *t a cost of £600. Mr. Eraser has be^n ma^atigablo in the discharge of Ms S6B&W hls congregation have tAkeft mis.aieans of displaying theb apprecia*W of his ttibfaa fig ft su &ntial mannei'.

. Afee fen to represent the Port atom wno are particularly: tequlsted to "t^n up Jo practice this afternoon at 2 o clock, at the Spit .-—Messrs, Dewes. r Duncan (2), Ellison, Gibbons ;(H. and H ' P.), Hunt, Irvine, Bendall, Kennedy, fe d i le ' f^. hidings, Bose, Searfe (P. G. and W. H.), Young. , Tile natives iv, %U TotomarA and Awanui districts are just nDw causing \. je6Aside!raDle trouble to the' police. ' .jML party of them entered upon the land^fT MrM'Arthur, anddrore away & nulEßDep of his sheep, causing the death of some; of them. When arrested they excused iJfiSr conduct on the ground that Mr MfAjfchur owed them money for back-rent. Three others, named Te Rorey, RenataHarav '-' and Karehona Taireri, were taken before v the Awanui Resident Magistrate on ' : O Tuesday, the first being charged with>-> stealing a £10 note, the second with thV'abduction of a girl under sixteen years oi ' age, and the third with an indecent : assault upon a little girl* They were All : .i remanded. Another Maori nAmed P&lcirikiri, has been committed for trial at r -, Gisborncfor rape upon a little girl (al ' native) under 10 years of age. Tanip Euru Tamiaha.was at the same Court,,; yesterday committed for trial on a charge ■ of forgery. • -•.:-..-

The WaJca Maori lias ceased publica«: , tion. ' ■; , ";,..• The new hotel at Norsewobd is; now completed, and Mr James 'Williainson, : " the landlord, late of tlie Railway" Hpfcel,"" Takapau (the old hotel on the coach-road)', has obtained the necessary license. .His : old house. at Takapau is closed.. ,, TKeo situation of the new one wilLbe;an adyan-^ tage to travellers on the road through ;tlu>" Seventy-Mile Bush, as it stands about: - halfway between Mr Ferguson's -hotel at Takapau and the hotel at Tahoraite. 'The " building is very commodious and well - fitted up. " :. -. . ■ Our Waipawa correspondent writes that the township is extremely quiet. There was only one case of vagrancy T. brought before the R.M. Court during .the week, the man charged' being ■• an old offender named Murphy. He was relieved from wandering about for the next two months by a rest in the Napifer gaol for that period. .-■, '