EVENING SITTING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5538, 15 November 1879, Page 2

EVENING SITTING.

The House re-assembled at 7.30. THE TETEORAMS. Mr Sheehan made a statement to the effect that One of the telegrams produced oh the previous night had been paid fotf by hiiriself; and that hia had instriicted a sdlicitorin "Wellingtdn to take proceedings' against the parties concerned for ille^alljr prqducing a copy of that telegranl. . . ( " „ . Mr Hill. Baid hejiild given an order for 1 the production of jthe telegram^ in accordance with an order of the Bouse, and he only held himself responsible for the production of the telegrams referred to in that order. . '

Mr Sheehan said he would nevertheless take legal proceedings in the matter. He was afraid he would have to proceed against the officer in charge of the department; , , Mr Wakefield deprecated the. course pursued by Mr Sheehan, and. expressed regret that the whole matter had not-been left to be dealt with by the Committee. "* Sir George Grey contended that Mr Sheehan had been injured in his private capacity by the leader of the House, and as such the House was bburid'to see him righted. He could conceive of nothing more heinous than the conduct of the Government in the matter. He did not think the Committee Was a fair one« Messrs Wakefleld and Saunders ought not to have been on the dommittee at all» Mr Sheehan's character absolutely depended on his ability to clear himself of the imputation cast on him. He asked the House to pass some censure upon the Go- . vernraent for its conduct in the affair.

Mr Wakefield said that his appointment on the Committee had been done entirely without his knowledge, and without any previous concurrence between the Government and himself.

Mr Speight said that he had ctacumep; tary evidence in his possession that the" telegrams had been paid for by the senders. •In that case he suggested that the whole matter shouid be inquired into, and if it was found that whathe stated was correct, then they Bhould be withheld and not sent before the committee. QUALIFICATION OF ELECTORS BILL. The House went into committee, and the qualification of Electors Bill was proceeded with. The amendment moved by Mr Montgomery wa3 put and lost, the division being— Ayes, 22 ; noes, 29. Mr Pyke moved that the word "person" be struck out and the word " man " substituted. The House divided on the question that the word "person" stand part of the question — Ayes, 21 ; noes,* 31. The word " person " was then struck out, and the word "man " substituted. Mr Seddon .moved that the property qualification be reduced from £25 to £10. The motion was lost on the voices. The subsection as amended was then put and carried. On the House resuming, the bill w%s reported with amendments, read a third time, and passed. REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS BILL. The House went into committee on the Registration of Electors Bill. Mr J. P. Fisher moved that progress be rnported, with the view of enabling the Government to bring down the Redistribution of Seats Bill, so that the House might consider it in connection with the Registration of Electors Bill. Mr Hall defended the bill against a charge made by Mr Macandrew that it was not a liberal measure. He contended that it not only provided that every man Bhould be allowed to have his name registered, but that his name would actually be put on the roll. He (Mr Hall) could conceive of nothing more liberal, and hoped that no unnecessary delay would be thrown in the way. Mr Stewart called upon the Government to Btate distinctly, yea or nay, whether they intended to bring in the Redistribution of Seats Bill this session. Mr Turnbull thought that the bill now before the House should be allowed to proceed, and that the Opposition should exorcise its power of compelling the Government to bring down the Redistribution of Seats Bill. Mr Gisborne also spoke of the importance of some assurance being given as to the Redistribution of Seats Bill. Mr Seddon characterised the conduct of the Opposition, to whom he belonged, aa being pure obstruction, and he hoped the bill would be gone on with. He reminded the House that if the Redistribution of Seats Bill were passed, a dissolu- ! tion must of necessity ensue, and the present was a most inopportune moment for a dissolution. They had to face, the present unsatisfactory state of colonial finance, and that was not a moment for them to face the responsibilities of a dissolution. Mr Hall said that the question of the ' redistribution of seats was purely a question of time. Whether or not it would be undertaken this session depended entirely on the progress made with the legislation now before the House. So soon as the Government saw their way in that respect they would give the House information as " to whether or not redistribution would be attempted this session. A measure of that kind would take one or perhaps two weeks to pass, and. it was not by any means clear whether that time could^v spared this session. He conoluded t^* saying that h& very much r doubted whether members were as sincere as they professed in regard to the question. However, he would give information as to what the Government proposed doing at the earliest moment. Mr J. T. Fisher said that the Redistribution of Seats Bill was one of the mean sures promised, and it showed very bad taste on the part of the Government to take up the position it had done.'' If they passed the measures now . before the House he felt quite confident'" that no Redistribution of Seats Bill would be brought down. The motion for reporting progress was then put and negatived on the voices. The House was left sitting at midnight.