Willington Gossip.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7930, 20 December 1887, Page 2

Willington Gossip.

' (BY TELEGRAPH.) [FROM OUK SPECIAL. CORRESPONDENT.] _ AVellington, Monday. THE OTAGO CENTRAL RAILWAY. A large deputation of members of the :? House of Representatives Waited to-day upon the Attorney-General in referenßd to the position he Wok up with re&ard to the Ofcago Central Railway Bill. The Attorney-General stated that he had been opposed to constructing railways undei' the land grant system, but had changed his views on that subject, becaase hgsdw the country could not go on borrowing for such purposes, and he considered that | the Otago Central railway had special claims for consideration, seeing _ that 'a large majority of the House was in faVdr of having it made; If the supporters of the bill would refrain frotri pressing it on this session- he wb'uld during the .recess prepare a contract and submit it. to the friends Aid promoters of the bill, and on. . its being mutually agreed to a bill would be brought on next session to' validate the contract. The reason hS desired, delay was Mt he hM HHt liad time to make himself fully acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and he wished to avoid the serious muddles , which had befallen the Midland railway Vscheme.",MrPyke accepted the proposals jj of the Attorney-General, and the bill will *- be introduced into the Legislative Council next session! ,' • THE LAND Blhli. The amendments made by the' Legislative Council to the Land Bill which were expected to give so much trouble in the dying hours of the session -will probably be amicably arranged,' 'as the Minister of Lands to-day moved that the amendment made abolishing the Waste Lands Boards be not agreed to by the House. The committee appointed to. confer ..with the Council consists of Mr Beetham and Mr John M'Kenzie (both of whom are members of Waste Lands Boards) and the Minister for Lands, so that it is quite likely a compromise will-be effected. Sir Julius yogel this morning 'referred to the amendment.- being carried in the Council \vith the connivance of the Government; • as' , both the" Ministers in that Chamber' supported the abolition, of-,- the. Waste, Lands Boards." The Hon. ' Mr. Richardson' somewhat warmly replied that there was \no connivance at all :in -the matter, . as the . - members of the.Government in 1 the Upper Chamber simply voted for, the : bill as originally 'brought /down by the Government, which, as is well known, proposed the abolition'of the Beards. The Minister for Lands added that- the 1 -ddvernment had accepted the decision of the House as to the retention of the Land Boards, and he was now moving that the House disagree .with the Council in that respect. EDUCATIONAL RESERVES. / The qnestion of the education reserves t-Jf of the colony occupied- the attention of the House for a considerable time this morning. It arose through a" question^ put by Mr Smith as- to -whether the * attention ,of the' Minister for Education had been drawn to an advertisement that appeared in a local,paper ottering for com- - pulsory sale for payment- of rates a number of educational .primary reserves, consisting' of 540 acres in the ,■ Alfred ton and Mangaone districts,' and if he would take steps ' to prevent such a sacrifice of the , public estate ? Mr Fisher . said the Government had persistently refused to supply the Wellington school commissioners with funds to. pay fates on secondary endowments,, but as, the reserves now advertised for sale were for primary educational purposes, fie .thought the sale, should be:stopped, and he would order inquiries to be at once made. MAJOR. GUDGEON'S -BOOK. Major, .Jackson*. gave notice Jo-day of his intention to. ask the Defence Minister whether it. is- true that- the' Defence Department..purchased 50 ; copies of .Major Gudgeon's book, "Heroes of NewZea- . land," out of the. reserve fnhd formed by fines inflicted on the members of the force, and if so, 1 what was the cost of. the books ? ' • t Were the" owners of the fund consulted before' expending such a large amount on a work that is not considered remarkable for its accuracy? ..And how were the 50 copies distributed ?■ CLOSING THE BUSINESS.- . Members are now, beginning to shake thedust.of the Empire city ; off theirfeet in order to be ho'ijie by Christmas. Several left to-day- by, steamer for the South, and a, good many others intend leaving on Wednesday, arid the prorogation is. expected to take place on Friday. WASTE LANDS BOARDS, J^ It is ..expected that the Legislative Council mil give. way on' their amendment to the Land Bill relating to Waste Lands ' Boards, but there is still some doubt . about it.. . Should they insist on their amendment .the Government will not drop the.bill or hold an extra session to consider iti, ; but in the event of no compromise-being arrived at the existing system of Land Boards will be continued for the present. • • r ■'■ THE LOAN BILL. . , Mr Maearthur, the member for Manawatu, is astrong believer in limiting the borrowing policy of the colony. He intends moving, when the Loan Bill is in committee, that after the floating of the million loan 'and 'the North Island Rail- ' way loan a guarantee should be given that no further borrowing in the English money market will take place for five years, ana that an intimation to that effect should bo inserted in tiny advertisement, or notice inviting applications for those' loans, so as to make it an absolute contract. The Government will not agree to this, as they consider five years too long. OPPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS. Strong efforts are. being made to whip , up the. Opposition against the repeal of the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act , as proposed by the Government, and a meeting will -probably take place totnorrow.ori the subject. So far, however, the agitation .has been rather coldly re- . ceivea by- the majority of members, and the chances are that it will come to - nothing.- " '■ MESIBERS' RAILWAY.PASSES. Some members . of ' the Legislative Council showed an amusing anxiety today when in committee on the Railways Bill to {ensure to themselves their free . railway passes. It was stated that there J was reason to fear that the railway com- J niissioners would be likely to make_ a distinction between the two Houses with regard to this cherished privilege, and_ iv order t& guard against such a possibility, an addition was made, to one of the clauses making it obligatory upon the commissioners to provide' passes for member* of both Houses. , -,-- • : ■, , A WELLINGTON KILL. The Wellington- College and Girls' High School- Bill, though passed by the Council to-night, was emasculated to such an extent as to fail to fulfil the promoters' objects, the chief power sought, that of mortgaging the land, being eliminated. The school governors are thus only able to offer only the rents of their property as security for any mortgage they, may seek to negotiate.