POLITICAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 7924, 29 July 1886, Page 5

POLITICAL.

[By Telegraph.] [feom oub special correspondent.] WELLINGTON, July 28. LOAN BILL. The debate ended at last, at about two o’clock this morning. It was expected to do so at half-past twelve, but in these days of political disappointments the prolongation was hardly a hardship. Mr Gore, who followed Mr Bruce, achieved the sensible distinction of making the shortest speech of the debate. Mr Beetham, who professed to emulate him in this respect, spoke a long time drearily about the Wairarapa district and its roads. Mr Barron, like the preceding speaker for the amendment, patronised the Premier in a most kind fashion, and said something about railways generally and borrowing. Mr Fulton was earnest: Mr Petrie was quasi-Magisterial for a few minutes, and Mr Levestam brought the debate to a conclusion with a eulogy of the line from Blenheim to (Tophouse, pronounced in his usual stiffly uncompromising fashion. The amendment was then thrown out by a majority of 13, the Bill read a second time, and away went everybody to bed. THIS AtOBNING the reflections made by Opposition people who have made this ridiculous fiasco are amusing in the extreme. The length of the debate was entirely, they say, due to the Government, for many reasons. Amongst others, the Government had no right to take the amendment as a “No Confidence ” notice ; the Government tried to stifle discussion by driving the debate through the small hours; the Government whip adjourned the debate on Friday, when it might have ended; the Government made injudiciously injurious speeches. Now, if the Government had accepted the amendment, the Opposition would have boasted that they had dictated to the spiritless occupants of the Ministerial benches. Even as things were, when the Government was actually cramming the amendment down the Opposition’s throat, that extremest of all zealots, Mr Fulton, actually spoke of the Ministerial policy as a “ lie-down'and-be-kicked policy.” This, by the side of the whining complaints Mr Rolleston and others made against the “ suppression of free speech,” and the punishment inflicted on them by the Treasurer and his colleagues, is sufficiently amusing. It is as amusing as the ideathatafter a few days of the most useless, aimless, stupid talk imaginable, a determination to get the debate over is a stifling of free discussion. That the debate would have been over if the Government whip had not adjourned it, is simply untrue, as true as to say that Mr Rolleston and the others were provoked by the Colonial Treasurer to make their speeches. They would have made those speeches whether or no: they would have said the very same things of the Treasurer with the delightful good taste that always adorns these superior people. The only effect the Treasurer’s speech had upon them was to make them say these things in a more angry way than: usual. Instead of snarling, they have been made to roar. That is the only difference. After all the talking and fury, we are no nearer the end of the Loan Bill than we were before the debate began. The Opposition is going to fall upon the schedule tooth and nail, and many of the Government supporters are going to help them. Heaven only knows when Or how

the discussions will end. After that, there is Representation to go through, and Government Insurance, the Auckland defence purchase, and other little things of the kind, just to whet the appetite of factions opposition. The end of the session seems receding. LOCAL BODIES LOAN BILL. There is in the Council a notice of motion for Thursday for another Conference between the managers of the two Houses. There is still, therefore, some chance for the Bill. In fact, the Council is hardly likely to throw out a Government measure of such importance by a side wind. OTAGO CKOWN TENANTS. The Waste Lands Committee have determined, on Mr Macandrew’s motion, that no relief can be given to the Crown tenants who lately petitioned. There was a motion by Mr Pulton for introducing the principle of judicial rents, to be applied to all tenants of the Crown. This was negatived. The principal ground was the rise in the price of wool. LAST NIGHT’S DIVISION. The analysis is as follows:—Auckland, seven against the amendment, eleven for; Taranaki, one and two; Hawke’s Bay, one and two; Wellington, two and nine; Nelson, five and zero; Marlborough, one and two; Canterbury, sixteen and three; Westland, three and zero; Otago, fourteen and ten; Maoris, two and blank. Thus ninety-five members are accounted for. The remainder are two Maoris, Captain Sutter (who did not vote),and the Speaker. The above list is instructive to the political student. THE MAORI PRISONERS. Te Whiti has succeeded in drawing attention to a European, as well as a Native, grievance. The unconvicted prisoners, it appears, are subjected to loss of tobacco, amongst other prison regulations. Mr Moss brought the matter up by a question, eliciting from the Minister of Justice a decided refusal to alter the regulations. Tobacco was a luxury. Those prisoners (unconvicted) who had no tobacco would think it a hardship to be without when others had it from friends or by purchase. Government would, therefore, have to buy it for them to the tune of .£SOO a year. Further, all discipline would be destroyed in the gaols, for the tobacco craving would permeate throughout. Mr Moss pointed out that to a Maori loss of tobacco was almost unbearable. The Minister thought anyone, whether Maori or European, would easily get over the privation of a luxury. Mr Moss, who likes his pipe, observed gently that the' Minister' did not smoke himself. The Minister smiled and suddenly rose to move the adjournment of the House, but learning that this bad already been done;'he sat down and the matter dropped. Te Whiti can escape from all this by applying for bail from the Maori members of both Houses. They waited on him to-day, and offered to bail bim if be liked, but be refused, on the ground that an application for bail would be an admission of the justice of his treatment. HOSPITALS AND DELIRIUM TREMENS. • The member for Lincoln did not ask to-day that well drawn-up question which I sent you down the other day. The presence of the question on the Order Paper had apparently done its work, for the Minister has assured Mr O'Callaghan that no change will be made in the present arrangement for D.T. patients, till he has arranged some better plan for their treatment. Of course, we do not require to be told that a gaol is no place for these people, and that a hospital full of suffering humanity, with whom rest is at a premium, is equally out of the question. AFTERNOON SITTING. A long discussion, which began-ahout a road south of Auckland, and extended to a great many roads, and came to include numerous other things, took a great slice out of the afternoon, enabling the long question list to keep possession till halfpast four. At that hour three important Bills were introduced and read a first time, amongst them the Government Insurance Bill. This having constituted the fresh business necessary to enable a second motion for adjournment of the House to be made, Mr Moss took the occasion to do so before the Orders of the Day were called on. This he did for the purpose of enabling him to get the tobacco question ventilated, and right merrily did the House ventilate it till dinner. During the discussion, the Premier made a good point, when he said that whiskey, as well as tobacco, was a luxury. Did hon members want the Government to supply the unconvicted with whiskey as well as tobacco? Where was the line to be drawn ? LOAN BILL. After dinner, and after the Gold Duty Reduction Bill had been passed through Committee, the Loan Bill got into Committee, and remained there till supper time. The chief discussion was about the third clause fixing the amount at a million and a half. This nearly degenerated into a wrangle, chiefly because the Treasurer was not very happy in making the House understand his meaning, and partly because the House was not happy in its attempts to understand him. At the outset Major Atkinson made an attempt to get the Committee’s discussion reported in Hansard, but the howl against adding to the already overburdened Hansard, made him desist. Mr Eolleston occasionally, during the subsequent proceedings, impressively referred to this “refusal to publish most important matter.” The great difficulty about the money clause was that hon members wanted to postpone the clause till after the schedule of,works. They said they wanted to know what work they would agree to raise. The desire was not unreasonable, but the Chairman quoted the Standing Orders in support of his ruling, that clauses of Bills can never be postponed till after the schedule. Upon this there was an informal little debate about the amount, Mr Bryce going very near to moving a reduction. But the sense of the House was against reduction, and there was a feeling that if the whole amount were raised some alterations in the schedule might be arranged to the general satisfaction. Major Atkinson pressed the Treasurer very hard to declare what they would do, and wanted to insist that the absence of the Premier was a sign of a serious difference of opinion on the Government benches. In the middle of his speech the Premier came quietly in and took his place. The Major promptly claimed that he had done some, good by compelling his attendance, and at once attacked him about his reference of the other night re future borrowing. The Premier explained that his remarks had referred more to the illogical position in which the Opposition had placed themselves than to anything else. The Treasurer at last told the House that when the Bill came . to •: be read a third time he would take care that the amount to be borrowed would not exceed the amount of the schedule of works. This meant that the Bill would, in case of alteration to ,tbe schedules, have to be recommitted. The Opposition attacked him at once on this, asking why he had not said so at first; why had he said that the Colony was committed through the Agent-General to raising a million and a half; and why had he committed the Colony without the sanction of the House ? The Treasurer protested that he had only committed the Colony subject to the decision of the House. Then why had the Treasurer stated a reason which had no meaning when he was asked to submit to a diminution of the amount ? and so the discussion proceeded. But after a time, the Treasurer’s explanation anent the Ministerial intention to preserve the due portion of the amount of the loan, and the amount of the schedule of works, was accepted. The discussion became greatly more reasonable in tone, and the Bill proceeded on its course. By supper time the clauses were all

passed without amendment. After supper the House fell upon the schedule, ana a running fight ensued. This; after-playing round several of the northern railway pro- : posals, became very stubborn and protracted over the Qreymouth-Hokitika line. . The Westlanders fought with great spirit and resolution against their assailants, who were valiantly led by the veteran Captain Sutter, and they won by a substantial majority. It was the fourth successful division for the schedule. The Westport-Inangahua line was the next cause of difference. For this work Mr Levestam made as good a case as Mr Seddon had made for the preceding railway, and the Minister of Public Works added his testimony. Mr Eolleston • thought that if they were to pass all these items of the schedule, they ought to do so in silence and sadness. The fiudler lion, who was full of statistics, pointed out that the Colony would have to make a very expensive set of repairs to the road, or a railway. He pointed out the effect of the Westport harbourworks. It was pointed out that the route of the Buller was not a proper one for a railway. “ There was no land/’ Mr Eolleston said. “ But there is coal/’ said Mr O’Conor. “You can’t make a railway to carry coals from Westport,” retorted Mr Eolleston. Mr Macarthur pointed out that this line would cost over three hundred thousand before it was finished. “ How can we ease-off borrowing, if we ' begin new works like this,” he said. “ Either we are not going to ease-off bor-' rowing, or we are going to waste the money represented by this vote,” The adverse reason prevailed, and the majority against the proposed line was large. Blenheim-Tophouse coming next, Mr Conolly proposed that it should be left an open question, meaning to favour the Eai Valley route, and pointing out that the Midland, in consequence of Mr Hursthouse’s proposal for diversion, .might not come to Tophouse at all. Several members, Mr Pulton at their head, said the country was good for nothing, all stones and manuka scrub. Mr Kerr said emphatically that the Wairau was the best valley in New Zealand, good land for ' agriculture. (Cries of “Where?”) He specified where, and pointed out the entire absence of engineering difficulties. Mr Dobson -corroborated him, and said the line would become a logical necessity when the Midland was finished. Mr Macarthur opposed to them the map attached to Mr Blair’s report, which shows very little agricultural land. Mr Buchanan, having said that the Treasurer had once informed a Wellington audience that this line would bring cheap coals to their city, declared ironically that if anything ought to convince the Committee of the value of the line, that ought. So the defenders of the line were overmatched, and going to • a division, they were defeated by an enormous majority. At this stage, the Treasurer wished to adjourn further consideration of the schedule, but the House cried out “ Finish,” and the Treasurer did not insist. Mr Holmes then made a protest against the smallness of the amount allocated to Canterbury, Out of a million and a half, there was a paltry JEBOOO to the Ashburton line. If this were struck out, the Committee would be treating Canterbury as usual, though that Province was entitled to recover a million from the Colony. Mr Allwright pointed out that he had voted against the two items and others in order* to get the amounts allocated to Canterbury. Thq Treasurer added that by the excision of the last two items Canterbury, Nelson, and Westland were largely deprived of their share of the million and a half loan. He was, therefore, not surprised at the remarks of Mr Holmes.