PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8608, 2 July 1891, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. WEDNESDAY. The Council met at half-past two. WEST COAST LEASES. The Select Committee was, on the motion of Mr. Booklet, appointed to inquire and report on confirmed leases on the West Coast of the North Island, and the remedies to be devised in the circumstances. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL BILL. On the motion, "That the Legislative Council Bill fro into committee,' Dr. Grace spoke in opposition to the Bill, which he considered was not required. Mr. Shrimski said he did not approve of the Bill, but thought its merit should be considered in committee. ! . Mr. Booklet 'having replied, The motion for the committal of the Bill was agreed to. ..... In committee, Clause 2, limiting the minimum age of councillors to 33 years, was passed; an amendment, by Sir George Whitmore, to fix the age at 45 being negaAn amendment on Clause 3, "That the tenure of office be ten years instead of seven years," was agreed to by 17 to 9. ■A new clause moved by Mr. Buckley, providing that the Act shall not come into force until the Governor shall issue a proclamation, was passed after; discussion, and the Bill was reported. The Council rose at 4.4-5.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wednesday. The House met at half-past two p.m. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. . Replying to questions, it was stated that iu view of the proposed reduction in postage the Government could not consent to allow local bodies to send their correspondence free of postage that the Government did not propose to put a sum on the supplementary estimates to enable New Zealand to be represented at the Tasmanian Exhibition; that the Government did not intend to introduce an amendment to the Contagious Diseases Act this session ; that no modifications had been made iu the Government banking arrangements beyond a slight one in regard to bills of exchange. •—^ PERSONAL EXPLANATION. Mr. O'Conor moved the adjournment of the House, to enable him to give a direct denial to the statement made by Mr. Fish in a recent speech at Dunedin that his (Mr. O'Conor's) vote was doubtful on a certain occasion when the fate of the Atkinson Ministry was hanging in the balance, and that after the division _ the esport-Nga-kawau Bill was brought into the House. Mr. Fish replied that he had no intention of casting any reflection on the hon. gentleman's character. THE FINANCIAL DEBATE. The Hon. John McKenzie resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. He denied that Ministers had disclosed Cabinet secrets in the case of the Flanagans, as the Cabinet meeting that decided the matter was held ten days after the statement appeared in the newspapers. With reference to the attacks which had been made upon him for dispensing with the services of the chief clerk in the Land Office at Wellington, when he had only six months to serve to gain his pension, he pointed out that that officer had become bankrupt some years ago, and it was provided by the Civil Service Act that a member of the Civil Service who sought the protection of the Bankruptcy Court was not entitled to a _ pension unless he was reappointed, and Mr. Stevens had not been reappointed. The Government had been accused of dismissing 82 officers and appointing 92, but he did not know where these figures came from. In 1890 the total number of officers in the service was 2350, whereas at the present time the number was only 2315. He ventured to say that when his term of office came to a close, the officers of the Land Department would respect him as much as any previous Minister who had had charge of the department. ' The debate was interrupted by the halfpast five adjournment. The House resumed at half-past seven. Mr. McKenzie said the removal of Commissioners of Crown Lands had barely cost £500, and not £2000 as stated by Mr. Richardson; and even if they had cost £2000 it would be cheap to the colony. He defended his action in appointing Mr. Ritchie as head of the Stock Department, and he ventured to say that When that officer had had time to effect the reforms he proposed, hon. gentlemen opposite would be very glad of the change that had been made. All the statements he had made as to inspectors using their own horses : and charging the Government for th »m. and also as tb charging rent for their offices, would be borne out by returns which would be.placed on the table. Referring to the Spence case, he said serious charges had been made against Mr. Spence by the bushel, and the reason why he had not dismissed hiin was because he wished to be peaceable, and thought by removing Mr. Sper.ce to Westportthat officer's name would not be dragged before the colony, as it would be if he were dismissed. He read a telegram from Ranger Campbell, of Invercarßill, respecting charges made against him by Mr. Scobie Mackenzie, and the reply was that he was quite prepared to submit himself to the hands of a jury, and he should abide by the results. Mr., Mitchelson thought it a shameful thing that the evidence taken before the Public Trust Commission was made public from day to day, not only in New Zealand papers, but he understood also in the Australian colonies. He regretted the tone that this debate had taken, and thought ,the personal scenes they witnessed session after session should not be continued. Seeing that the taxation proposals would not come into force till next April, he considered it was quite likely that before that time the Government would have seen the error of their ways, and would decide to continue the property tax with some modification. He should like to know why the sudden desire hail arisen for bursting up large estates. Had not these estates been acquired in a legitimate manner, and if it was necessary for Government to acquire them why not do so in a proper manner, and in the same way as land would ba taken for railway purposes '! Speaking as a former Postmaster-General he said the Io3S by the reduction of postage would be £50,000, not £40,000 as stated by Mr. Ward. The reduction of telephone charges would also result in considerable loss to the colony. Mr. Earnshaw strongly supported the Government policy, and contended that none of the Opposition members had really criticised the Financial Statement. Mr. Harkness intended to vote for the land and income tax, but he did not mean by that that he should vote for all the Government proposals with reference to taxation. - - Mr. Mills (Waimea, Picton) said the proposals of the Government met with his approval. Mr. Meredith moved the adjournment of the debate, which was agreed to. The House rose at forty-five minutes past one a.m.