PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7657, 7 June 1886, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

[bt telegraph.— correspondent.] Wellington, Saturday. LOBBY GOSSIP. If a stranger to the colony were permitted to pass through the members' lobby and to hear statements of hon. members, he would be inclined to think that Parliamentary Government, as carried on in New Zealand, had no special claims to purity in the election of representatives, or the administration of the executive. Ever since the defeat of Mr. Montgomery's motion nothing is talked of but how that important achievement was performed. I mentioned something of them in my last despatch, regarding such stories as the offspring of disappointment or discontent. I still prefer to think that the Government made peace with the economists by promising reduotion upon the sum total of the expenditure of departments rather than purchase the support of opponents by offering now inducements to them, or to their districts, but rumour is persistent, and members appear to concern themselves today with calculating what the crisis of the past week is likely to coat the country. Some hon. members declare that it will cost £100,000, others £80,000, others say £60,0u0 will represent the value of the advantages to be given to the districts whose members came to the rescue of the Government. But there are other opponents who say that the Government, certain of defeat, went privately to members and promised reductions to the extent of £100,000, showing that they could save by economical administration more than the member for Akaroa could economise by his motion. This section of the Opposition is as indignant with the Government as those who accuse them of downright corruption. They blame such tactics, and call them scandalous, forgetting that retreat is a legitimate resource in every kind of battle. It is said that the political sins of both sides to these compacts will be made manifest when the statement of the Minister of Public Works shall have been brought down. I cannot assume the mantle of a prophet, and say that it will be so. 1 can only refer to the rumours which are known to those who are concerned in the motives and the issues of the recent party fight. These rumours are current on every side, and I forward them to you as rumours, not as facts. NATIVE POLICY. The Hon. Mr. Ballance's Native Lands Administration Bill comes on for. second reading on Tuesday, and will test the strength of the Government in another direction. I forwarded to you an abstract of the Bill, which I understand is likely to provoke very strong opposition, although the Native Minister has taken the greatest pains to make the measure acceptable to the Maoris. lam informed that he has intensified the opposition of those who think that the native should be as free to sell a piece of land to a European as he would be to sell a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep or a kit of peaches, as some members put the matter. It will afford a field, I think, for the next Parliamentary skirmish.

REPRESENTATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SEATS. This subject has receded from the surface of politics for ths moment, but it is rooted in the minds of a large section of the House, chiefly the members for North Island constituencies. "We will not let them forget it," said a member to me this morning. "They must declare themselves upon itbefore the session closes." The same member informed me of the rumour which prevails in the lobbies upon this subject. He does not undertake to say that the Government has come to any decision upon it, but he is aware that though the matter has been discussed by the Cabinet, and that the nature of the discussion is well known to Government supporters, this proposal, which is said to receive the most favour with the Government, will certainly not be most acceptable to the House. It is in effect that the programme of Government business, or the present session, shall be completed and Parliament prorogued. The census returns will be circulated as soon as they are ready, but as the question of representation and redistribution of seats is a very large one, the House should have ample time to consider the whole bearings of the subject, not merely the numerical proportion of population in the several divisions of the colony, but tho relative considerations arising out of position, industries, property, etc. I understand that the following suggestion has been made by several South Island members, that there should be a select session some time after Christmas—say February or March—for the sole purpose of dealing with the subjects. There are not wanting hints that the distribution of seats should have regard not merely to the number of population, but also to the assessed value of proporty and to special circumstances, Having settled the representation and distribution of seats, the general election should take place about June. But this will give the full honorarium to members, who would no doubt find it useful if forced to accept a contest for their seats, and it would give them £105 for a second session in the same year—that is to say, £300 for the year. My informant was particular in stating that, although he was aware this arrangement had been discussed in Cabinet, he could not say whether any decision was taken in respect to it. I learn that some attempt will be shortly made to obtain from tho Government some authoritative declaration upon the subject, MAORI LITERATURE. Mr. Locke has given notice of a question to be put to the Government as to whether they will obtain from the Cape of Good Hope copies of tho manuscripts referred to by Sir G. Grey in the preface to the second edition of his work " Polynesian Mythology." Many of these manuscripts, nays Sir George Grey, were written by natives from the dictation of the most celebrated old chiefs, such as Te "leuhou, Rangihseata, Te Rauparaha, Patuone, Te Taniwha. The whole of the printed books in the Cape Library exceed 300 in number, and the manuscripts number 524, of 13,216 pages. Th*y include manuscripts collected or compiled by Sir William Martin, the late Bishop of Waiapu, Archdeacon Maunsell, the present Bishop of Wellington, and Mr. J. W. White.

LENGTH OF THE SESSION. Most members believe that the victory obtained by the Government on Thursday night will have the effect of shortening the session. The more sanguine say that it will not last more than six weeks from the present time. But the Public Works Statement has yet to be submitted, and there is sure to be considerable discussion on many of the items. Those members who are eager for retrenchment will assault the Statement from every possible point of vantage. Those who want more expenditure will have much to say concorning the suffioiencos of the existing proposals. Tbe Loaußill will be down on Tuesday, and if, as rumoured, Mr. Bryco should move that the amount be one million instead of a million and a half, there will be a good deal of discussion upon that point of divergence from the Government proposals. Then there is the Redistribution of Sflats Bill. All these measures will provoke much criticism. Then there is to be added the opposition to the native policy. The session may not be longer than usual, but there is a good deal to suggest that it will not be much shorter. Sir R. Stoat, at all events, will allow no time to be wasted which can in any way bo occupied with public business. He has given notice of motion, " That after Wednesday Government business have precedence on Wednesdays, and that the Houso shall meet on Mondays, at half-past seven p.m., for Government business only." THE KERMADEC ISLANDS. Sir R. Stout has given notice of the following address to the Queen, to be forwarded through Hi« Excellency the Governed "May it please your Majesty : We, your Majesty's loyal subjects, the members of the House of Representatives of the colony of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, beg to express our great satisfaction on learning that your Majesty has been pleasec, to order that the British flag be hoisted on the Kerinadec group of islands, and we now respectfully pray that your Majesty will be further pleased to order that those islands be annexed to this colony." Some further papers presented to Parliament on the subject of this recent acquisition would almost suggest that the advantages of the gift will be very doubtful. The following is the account of these islands by the Under-Secretary to the Admiralty:"The Kermadeo Group are four in number, lying about 600 miles N.E. from Auckland, and "some - 250

miles east of a direct line from Auckland to Fiji. Throe are very small—mere high rosks or islets. Raoul, or Sunday Island, is a volcanic island 1680 feet high, well wooded, and about 12 miles in circumference. The islands are all far apart from one another. There are three open roadsteads at Raoul which can be used according to the direction of the wind, which is variable, Landing is never good. When Captain Belcher surveyed Kaoul Island in 1854, one American family was settled upon it, but it is believed now to be uninhabited, a volcanic eruption having caused it to Lj abandoned. Dangerous sunken rocks are reported at different points to the S.W. up to 100 miles distance." THE TWO KNIGHTS. The personal opposition of Sir P. Grey and Sir R. Stout is becoming more marked every day. It was manifested yesterday in rather a curious way. I have already informed you that Sir G. Grey's motion " That the House concurs in the report of the Pacific Islands Committee," was shut out by a desultory discussion upon another motion which lasted from the commencement of the sitting until the adjournment for dinner. The matter croppsd up yesterday in the following form :—lt was neoensary that the House should be unanimous to enable Sir G. Grey to bring on his motion out of its position in the order paper. The Premier vetoed such precedence, but promised Sir G. Grey an opportunity of bringing his motion before the House. Sir G. Grey complained of this delay, and said he was in receipt of frequent communications on this subject. This elicited the following reply from the Premier: He advised Sir G. Grey not to put any faith in the telegrams he received on this subject becauso it had been shown how fallacious they were. He knew of one telegram sent to Sir G. Grey which, as he had been informed, was incorrect. This brought Sir G. Grey to his feet, denying that his telegrams were incorrect. He complained of the manner in which Sir Robert Stout had referred to the Premier of Victoria. One Premier, he thought, should not speak disparagingly of another. The House was silent during this interchange of amenities, and the matter dropped. RAILWAY TARIFF REFORM. The committee to inquire into Mr. Vaile's proposal for a reform of the railway tariff will sit on Tuesday. The committee has been granted upon the petition of the Mayor and burgesses of Hamilton, and 700 - other settlers. The subject is somewhat recondite for any other than railway experts, so the inquiry will tend to dispel a good deal of obscurity that hangs over fares for long and short trips and the charges for railway freights. It will be a contest between Mr. Vaile and the general manager of railways in New Zealand. THE MEMBER FOR WAITEMATA. Mr. Hurst was a passenger to Auckland to-day by the s.a. Wairarapa, having obtained leave of absence on account of ill-health. He has paired against the Government for the session. THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS. Mr. Meuzies, in the Legislative Council, has tabled a motion in favour of reading the Bible, without note or comment, in schools. The discussion will be taken on the motion next Tuesday. JUBILEE. The committee of both Houses of the Legislature, to consider the most appropriate means of expressing loyalty to Her Majesty on the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty's accession to the Throne, will hold its first sitting on Tuesday next.