OUR LONDON LETTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6214, 17 October 1881, Page 5

OUR LONDON LETTER.

[fbom odb own correspondent.] September 8. THE SESSION. The crisis which threatened at the end of the session did not last long, though for some days it seemed as if the action of Lord Salisbury in the Souse of Lords, in connection with the Land Act, would create a revolutionary situation. It was for the country to judge, he said, between the Peers and the House of Commons whether the amendments to the Land Act sent down should not be accepted. Had the question gone to the country, however, it would not have been inquired whether the amendments were fair and just. The state of the public temper was not one which admitted of a calm investigation of details. The Laud Bill had been before the country from the month of April. The newspapers were full of it; the magazines discussed it; it was the subject of all the popular platforms, and, though there was little real understanding of the nature of its provisions, there was an apparent universal agreement that it must be passed at all hazards. Had the House of Lords persisted in its opposition, and the opinion of the country been contrary, the new question would have been : Is the House of Lords worth preserving ? It was already being widely asked, and would have been asked with all the agitating power of the Liberal caucuses throughout the country. -The end of the crisis must be attributed to the wise compromise of Mr. Gladstone. Notwithstanding that the Bill was his, and his only—that it was liis labour and arrangement which carried it through the session, and that he might actually be supposed to have an increasing affection for every detail of it, he discussed the Lords' amendments, and suggested the acceptance of all that were not directly antagonistic to the principles of fixity of tenure, free sale, and fair rent. The landlords were permitted to have the same free access to the Land Court as the tenants. Compensation was provided them for any purchase of leases they may have effected, with the working of the Ulster custom, sanctioned by the Land Act of 1870. It was agreed that evictions should not be unconditionally suspended, as Mr. Parnell had dictated. Though there were compromises, the Bill was saved, and the country at the same time, from au agitation -which promised to be one of the most serious and far-reacli-ins* in its consequences of any within living memory. Apart from the Land Act, the session has not yielded a single measure of tile slightest importance, and it has developed a tendency which promises to revolutionise the whole machinery of debate. "When the session opened it was obvious that Ireland would be the great subject of attention, but even all that was promised for Ireland has not been achieved. The Irish County Government's Bill, proposed with a view to making self-governing rights more appreciated and widespread, was abandoned. But in addition to it there were dropped a Corrupt Practices Bill, Merchant Shipping, Thames Conserraucy, Corn Returns, Bankruptcy, and Public Educational Endowments. No English or Scotch business, except the ordinary routine of administration, has therefore been attempted. The tendency to which I allude is that of systematic obstruction. It has now become quite clear that a section of the Irish members will neither work with Whigs nor Tories. They will only make their presence felt in Parliament in order to secure the Home Rule of Ireland, for which the different Irish parties arc variously fighting, from the method of dynamite to that sanctioned in the speeches of the agitators. The power of suppression exercised by the Speaker early in the session showed what might be done in a case of emergency; but that is not felt to meet the circumstances. Seme force of procedure which will leave the power of control still more firmly in the hands of the Speaker, so that business may be facilitated all along the line—that is what is hinted at. But whether it will be the foreign device of cloture, or what it is to be, has not yet appeared. It seems certain that the rules of debate will next session be made much more stringent than they have ever been known to be. As it happens, the new members of the present Parliament have had few opportunities of speaking. When the session opened there were several Liberal members, with good reputations in the country, who were expected to add to them by debate. But the discipline in the Liberal ranks has been so strict that unnecessary speaking has been curtailed. And the Land Bill has been so complicated that few members were able to tackle its provisions with effect. There are thus no new reputations either rising or risen. When it is asked whether the one great Act of the session is to have the remedial influence upon Ireland that was anticipated, it is impossible to answer in the affirmative. For one thing, the tenants understand the reform so badly that it has been found necessary to placard an explanation of the Act all over the country. But the Land League has already stepped in with its explanation. Mr. Parnell, for example, has just declared, in the lieat of an election contest, that the Act has merely raised a house of cards which awaits demolition from the toe of the Laud League boot, and in a few days a great Land Convention will assemble at Dublin to administer the kick. Nor are outrages on the decline, and from the we3t and south of Ireland serious disturbances between the soldiers, the police, and the people are constantly being reported. On the other hand, headed by Mr. Joseph Cowen, M.P., some of the extreme English Radicals are joining their cry with the Land Leaguers for the release of the " suspects" now in Kilmainham gaol. What the total effect ol the session may be on the country it is impossible to tell. In Lincolnshire and North Durhamshire two vacancies have been filled up by Conservatives. That, however, may rather be interpreted as a return to the theory of protection by the farmers. They have been reduced so low by bad seasons and alien competition that many of them are coming to believe in the necessity for a readjustment of tariffs ; and, among the minor lights of the Conservative party, they are finding leaders. Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Salisbury are, however, more or less pledged to free trade. At the conclusion of Parliament six new peers were created, making in all forty-six which have been created by Mr. Gladstone. With the exception of Baron Reay, of Reay, in the peerage of Scotland, none of the new peers have received even a momentary interest. They are all men of high political respectability, without the slightest claims to distinction. Baron Reay has, it is anticipated, an important diplomatic career before him. Within the last four years he has como to be known as a social reformer, on moderate lines, as a student of European politics, after the manner of Mr. Grant-DufF, and his tranference to St. Petersburg, in the capacity of ambassador, has been much discussed. NEW ZEALAND INTELLIGENCE. An exhaustive article appears in the Contemporary for this month by Mr. Arthur Mills, who claims to have the most recent intelligence about New Zealand, where he travelled for years on business engagements and for the purpoße of observing all phases of your civilization. It is fairly enthusiastic, emphasizes the fact that in the course oi three years the current of your national life entirely changes itself, and enlightens the English public fully on the well-worn sub-

eats of imports and exports, national debt, &c., &c. In the Field some of the most rare and curious birds of these islands are described by W. D. Hay. His tart is, " Nature compensated .New Zealand for the want of indigenous land animals with a very singular class of birds. The characteristics of these are the absence of wings, immensely strong legs and claws, and hair like feathers." From which he discourses upon varieties of the Dinornis, Patapteryx, and Aplornis. He holds that the native birds, like the Maoris, are greatly on the decline. Here is an anecdote he tells of the wakawaka : " Travelling once in company with an old Maori who had fought against British troops years ago, I spoke to him about a pair of these little birds that, as usual, were fluttering about us, ' Ah,' said he, ' they are little spirits that come to see what men are doing in the bush by day, and go back to tell God at night. To-night they will say : We saw the pakeha and the Maori together in the bush ; they ate of the same, and drank of the same, and slept together in one blanket like brothers. And God will say—it is good. 1 " The following is a local notice of the new steamer Westport : —'' Previous to sailing for New Zealand, this steamer went down the river on a trial trip. She is a handsome vessel of 500 tons burden, 155 ft. long, 22ft. beam, and lift, depth of hold. She is 420 i.n.r. Her speed proved considerably over what was anticipated, as she ran the lights at a mean speed of 11 knots per hour. The Westport was built to the order of Captain Williams, coal merchant, Wellington, New Zealaiyi, by Messrs. Murdoch and Murray, Tort Glasgow. She was engined by Messrs. Muir and Houston, of this city. The Westport is a sister ship to the s.s. Romeo, which left Glasgow last year for Manilla, and is admirably adapted for the trade she is to be engaged in, being fitted up for 20 first-class, 32 second, and a like number of steerage passengers. She is equipped with all the latest improvements, both as to gearing and the securing of comforts to the passengers. At the trial trip there was a select company on board, who at a luncheon heartily pledged 'Success to the Westport,' which sailed on Tuesday for New Zealand with a full complement of passengers."