PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12070, 13 September 1902, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

[BY XICLEGEArit.— SPECIAL COERESrOXDEST.] Wellington-, Friday. TALES OF WOE.

The troubles experienced at the last election through the machinations of some of those opposed to him were enlarged upon by Mr. E. 51. Smith this afternoon. His chief complaint appealed to be that someone sent a bogus telegram, as he. described it, stating that •'Smith has joined the prohibitionists." With great wealth of detail the member for Taranaki described how he had traced the telegram to its source and confounded its sender. He strongly urged the Acting-Premier to accept an amendment to the Electoral Bid prohibiting such tactics, bat when Sir Joseph declined. Mr. Smith remarked, with much cheerfulness, but evidently with a full sense of the duty he owed his chief, •' All right; I'll put it in the waste paper basket." Referring later to Mr. Smith's complaint. Mr. Haselden said that his case was not half so had as what happened when he stood for Patea. when *' the Right Hon. Richard John Seddon sent a telegram to every paper in my electorate, and had it put in near my speech, stating what I had said was absolutely untrue. ' The House shuddered.

FISH AND FLESH. The, subject of members' elect ion expenses was discussed during the afternoon, and something was said about the. failure of candidates to send in the. return of their expenses to the returning officer within the statutory period. Mr. Masscy pointed out that although, alter last election, no less than 11 candidates committed a breach of the law in this respect, only two were prosecuted, among lliem being a member of this House who had occupied a scat on the Opposition benches. In this connection lie suggested that even the Premier himself had not complied with the law. The Acting-Premier said Mr. Seddon had publicly denied that charge. Mr. Massey went on to say that at any rate the return had not- been included in the list furnished to Parliament, find the returning officer, in explaining its absence, never said in so many words that he had received it. However' that might lie. it seemed strange that only two candidates should have been prosecuted and the other defaulters allowed to go free. It seemed like making lish of one and flesh of another. Sir Joseph Ward denied that the Government had given any instructions as to who should be prosecuted. That, retorted Mr. Monk, with considerable point, confirms the complaint that a large class of men who have been appointed by this Administration have been very negligent in carrying out their obligations under the Act under which they held office, '.the fact of returning officers neglecting to do their duty should be sufficient to bring about their immediate dismissal.

REGISTERED MONEYLENDERS. A return of the number of persons in each provincial district who have registered trader the Moneylenders Act of last year shows that in Auckland there were 24, Taranaki four. Hawke's Bav eight. Wellington eight. Marlborough, Nelson, and West land nil. Canterbury 20, Otago and Southland 17, total 92. THE PACIFIC CABLE. A Bill to extend the provision? of the Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899, was introduced to-day. It provides for a Now Zealand contribution to extensions or deviations of the Pacific cable, subject to the approval of such by Parliament. Sir Joseph Ward explained that a deviation was proposed from Fanning Island to Honolulu. This would give an alternative service via America in event of the long stretch of cable between Fanning Island and Vancouver breaking down.