Wellington Gossip.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7914, 1 December 1887, Page 2

Wellington Gossip.

,- . - ■ • • • - - . •" -•■ (BY- TELEGRAPH.) <■ --'- (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, Wednesday. NAPIER RECLAMATION BILL. Mr Ormond was examined to-day by the Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the Napier Harbor Board Reclamation Bill. The bill would probably have gone through its remaining stages in the Council "without any trouble bnt for on objection made . that the plans which were forwarded have not been certified by the Resident Magistrate. No objection was made, against this by. the Committee of the House of Representatives, but in consequence of the Council taking up this stand the plans will have to be forwarded to Napier for the Magistrate's signature, and a_ delay of three or four clays will result in consequence. Mr Ormond does not anticipate any. difficulty in getting the bill through the Council when the plans are received from Napier. FLOGGING IN SCHOOLS. The case of the school ,girl alleged to have been recently flogged at Newton occupied the attention of the Hous.e for over an honr this afternoon. Sir Julius • Yogel asked the Minister of Education what course lie had decided to take with regard to the matter ? Mr Fisher replied that the Government would take no further action in it,' as from information they lirid received further action was not" warranted. Sir 'Julius then moved the adjournment of the House, which is now becoming Almost a daily occurrence, and is a fruitful source of waste of time. He went into the whole questian at some length, and said that such a thing should not be tolerated as that a girl should be flogged in the presence of the whole school merely because she omitted to bring' a shilling from her mother for school pur? poses. He said that if the Government refused to take any further action . lie would take care that the girl's mother was provided with means to prosecute . the schoolmaster. Mr Fisher then rose and gave .a very different version of the affair.. He aaid that from inquiries be had caused, to be instituted he found that 'the whole thing was grossly exaggerated, and that the punishment—which had been administered by a female teacher, not by_ the master-^cpn-sisted of two strokes on the hand with a cane. On learning this from the Education Board the Government did not feel ' justified in taking any further action. He denied absolutely, however, that there bad been any, such "brutal assault "as was alluded to by the member for Christchurch North in such harrowing terms. - This explanation, however, did not satisfy Sir Julius, and he again contended that the Government should interfere in the case. He thought nothing was more likely t* lead to vice than; that a young girl should be punished so openly as this girl had been done. The debate still went ou, till the Premier stated that he • entirely disapproved .of the system of corporal punishment being inflicted on girls,' but' in the present case the Government found they could ' not interfere with the action of the school jommittee,- especially, as the punishment iad been so' much exaggerated. The natter shortly, afterwards dropped. THE LOAN PROPOSALS. ' There, is a rumor afloat that the Gdvsrnmeut have: modified their loan -pro)osals in deference to the wishes of a arge section o£ their party, and that only 2750,000 will be asked tor instead of '1.000,000 as , proposed in the Financial Statement. The report' has gained iredence owing to the fact that MrScobie Mackenzie, as I informed you some time igo", intended moving in that direction, nit he was induced to forego his resoluion after consultation with Ministers. It a further rutnbfad- chat the extra loan of i 1,000,000 for tbe^North Island trunk me will be delayed for the. present in nnsequence 91 the opposition that has een raised against .the central route and ho probabilities of a fresh survey being lade of the* alternative route. I send ou both rumors for what they are worth. . WASTELANDS BOARDS. • . - The proposal to abolish these Boards is been condemned by nearly every [ember who has already spoken on the and Bill, _on the ground that such ft , •oposition if carried into effect would put 0 much power into the hands, not only the present Minister for Lands, but of ture holders of that office.' I under- - • und that the Waste Lands .Committee, whom the bill has been. referred^ are ■'<) :ely to reject the proposal. . The : bill ijr Übefoiethecommittee.anditsopporienls ' c using all their ' efforts to keep ft: there 1 Mr Ballanc& arrives from.Wahganui. PAYMENT OF MEJnSfeRS. " The Hadical members 0/ the Opposition J working up a Btrqn>feeling against c proposed, reduction of the honorarium, - tlio ground that* it goes in the "direction ' killing democracy. Mr Fish intends ,• >ving when; the bill is in committee that 2 honorarium be reduced to £50, in the -. . , pc of throwing it ouf altogether. It is

§1. I>oiut«a|^ifciihaifiJtheCMllTis retrospeegsitive iaf^toirabter^^iteiK.'slibuld'.'pass this ft session J^ratiberfe%;h^' we're in the last ' Paruameatfwill lonly'Veceive £50 honor- : ■ avium and £50 expanses,*. whilst members .-" of.£he'Legislativ'e';Council will .only re- ■"■ Beive £50, notwithstanding\ that the members of both' Houf esreceived the f iill honorarium 'of 200 guineas for the short session Held in' June last. . THE NEW LAND BILL. - -Sir Robert Stout was present in the "~" House last night 'durin'c the debate on the ■-' Land Bill, rhear.that the ex-Premier is highly incensed- against the measure as aiming a death blow at his cherished land nationalisation 'theories, puring the debate on. the bill Sir Julius Yogel frequently.- i.eferred to a "high legal authority." with whom he had conferred, . and who had informed him that certain clauses' ili ttap bill were unworkable and ' rnisohievous in character. , .tfHE GREAT RAILWAY SCHEME. - The determined taken up by tne Legislative Council on the Midland railway contract is causing great tribulaJiori .amongst' the Canterbury and West Coast members. The latest report is that the contract will be so altered before it . leaves the Council that the company will ', refuse to accept it, and that the whole thing will be nung tip for this sessipn. Mr Waterhouse yesterday made a telling speech against, the new concessions asked for by. the company, and several, other members followed in the ' same straiu. Sir Frederick Whitaker, of course, as" a member of the Government, made the best of his case, but he spoke in a halfhearted manner somewhat unusual with him. Mr Stevens, another member of the Government, is also, I understand, opposed to the railway, while it is well known that Mr Hislop, the present Colonial .Secretary, and Mr Fergus, the- Minister of Justice, have hitherto been warm opponents of the scheme. _ The opponents of the railway in the Legislative Council give it as their private opinion that Major Atkinson will , not in reality be much disappointed if the contract is made unworkable, as it will place tlievotje of the Canterbury Members ' in his power next session till the railway is out of danger. It is alleged on the other hand that not only the Premier but Sir John Hall are extremely anxious to see the matter finally disposed of, as they ttre convinced that the Canterbury ring will never be broken up while the railway hanep fire. It is also well known that Major Atkinson has always been a consistent supporter of the Midland railway scheme, if properly carried out and without loss to the colony. POLITICIANS. •> About half-past 4- o'clock this afternoon ' as -Messrs W. P. Reeves and Thomas Mackenzie were strolling by the water's edge in the direction of the wharves their attention was rivetted by/the spectacle of a boat apparently in a sinking condition, with the' crew, struggling in the water. Realising the gravity of the situation, both gentlemen prepared to render all the assistance in their power. As luck wonld have it there was a dingy in close proximity to the place where they were walking when they observed the occurrence, and without a moment's delay they jumped aboard the frail craft anil made all speed, for the spot where the were struggling in the water. As the bay was in a. rough condition there was considerable risk attached to the experiment, but actuated by the desire to save their fellow-creatures' lives they pulled with might, and main, and at length reached the scene' of the disaster. They there found fonv men struggling in the water, and after some difficulty they managed to. get them aboard the dingy, Two of the men who were extricated ; from this „ perilous position were very weak 'indeed, -but luckily one of the rescuers had a small flask containing spirits- in his pocket, and thus managed to revive tjie i .sufferers: The dingy was then headed shore wards, and the boatwrecked crew and their rescuers hastened to change, their clothing, which was thoroughly saturated. It lias transpired that the boat which gob swamped was a four-oared inrigged sculling boat belonging to, the Star. Boating Club. Messrs Reeves and -Mackenzie have been complimented on all hands for their . plucky conduct, and > general opinion has been expressed that if the members for St. Albans and Clutha manage to assist in steering the ship of State as successfully as they steered the dingy this evening they will be enabled to render good service to the colony. ' ... . , x . Later. THE AMENDED RAILWAY CONTRACT. I hear to-night that Sir Frederick Whitaker, on behalf of the Government, has agreed to accept a- proviso to the railway contract that the only remedy the company will have in respect of the amount of land falling short shall be the right on the part of the company to select land within the authorised area. This is practically the same. amendment as was introduced in the House lay Mr Downie Stewart, but was rejected at the suggestion of the Premier. . MORNING SITTINGS. This afternoon the Premier stated he would be compelled to aak the' House to sit in the mornings if so much time, continued to be occupied in asking questions. He was pot desirous of doing this, but he was afraid.it wonld be necessary in order to get'through the business in a reasonable time. Major Atkinson pointed but that replying to questions this afternoon (with the usual motion for adjournment)' occupied nearly two hours. NAPIER PETITIONS. Mr Ormond presented a petition to-day from Mr Horace- Baker, of Napier, praying for three months' salary in lieu of notice in dispensing with his seivices as Commissioner of Crown Lands. Another petition' was presented by Mr Ormond from twenty members of. the old Hawke's Bay defence force, praying that their land claims might be considered or an' equivalent in value given to them. . - . 1.30 a.m. REPRESENTATION ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The bill brought down by_ the Premier provides that after the expiration of the present Parliament the number _of members of the House of Representatives shall consist of 70, of whom three shall be Maoris. REDUCTIONOF HONORARIUM. The bill.for the reduction of the honorarium to £150 ocenpied the whole ortonight's- sitting. The division, which has just been taken, resulted as follows :— Ayes,'- 56 ; 'noes, 14. The following is the division list :— Ayes 56.-»Allen,' Anderson, Atkinson, Beetbam, Blake, ■ Bruce. Buchanan, Cadman, Conolly, Cowan, Dodson, Feldwick, Fraser, Fulton, Goldlo, Graham, Hall,Hamlin, Hobbs, Izard,, Jackson, Jones, Joyce, Lance. Lowry, Macorthur, Marchant. M'Gregor, M'Konzie, J. (Waihomo), Mills, Mitchelson, Moat, Monk, Nflwman, O'Callaghan, O'Connor, Ormond, Peacock, Pearson. Perceval, Rhodes, Rich-, ardson, E. (Kaiapoi). Russell, Seymour, Smith, Steward, W. J. (Waimate). Stewart. W. D, (Dunedin West), Talpua, Taiwhanga, Tanner, Tajlor, Thompson, R. (Marsden). Thompson, T. (Auckland North), Whyte, Wilson. Withy. Noes 11— Buxton, Duncan, Fish, FitcheM, Grimmond, Guinness, Kerr, Levestam, Moss, Reeves, B. H; J. (Inanerahua), Reeves, W. P. (St. Albaus), Sedaon, Walker, Ward.