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New Zealand Mail, Issue 606, 15 September 1883, Page 18

The Parliamentary session of 1883, closed on the 6th instant amidst the tacit jubilates of wearied Cabinet - Ministers, Government officials, and Press men. I he session was one of the dullest on recor . This was due partly to the fact that there was an usually large number of dull members returned at the last election, in preference to candidates of greater calibre, and partly also to the circumstance that the session was neither one immediately following a general election, when new men would be expected . to speak on new topics; nor was it one immediately before a general election, when experienced politicians would be strongly ventilating the views they intended to advocate shortly afterwards at the hustings. Still, though the session was uninteresting, we quite concur with the opinion expressed by .Major Atkinson on one side of the House, and by Mr Seddon on the other, that it was by no means unprofitable. Not merely were there several excellent measures which became law, but also—and this was almost equally satisfactory-many follies were excellently well avoided. Indeed, it may fairly -be contended that almost everything which was done m the way of legislation was done tolerably well. The Financial Statement and Public Works Statement were brought down so early in the session that it was impossible for the Opposition to complain of needless delay. The hrot, although a little too much encrusted with figures, and painted in rather too bright a tint, was distinguished in the mam by that sober and laborious accuracy for which Major Atkinson’s annual budgets have been for some years credited, both inside the House and out of it. ihe Public Works Statement also was a worthy companion to its financial brother, and was well received, even by the Opposition, though no new works of importance were proposed to be begun for the present. Of the Bills passed early in the session, the present Bankruptcy Act is one of the mosti important. This Bill embodied all those changes which mercantile men, Chambers of Commerce, and solicitors practising in the civil courts, have deemed “°st efficacious for punishing fraudulent, debtors, and for quickly and cheaply dividing the assets in insolvent estates ihe new Act is certainly in accordance with mercantile public opinion, and vve trust that all the good results expected may flow from it, though we hope rather than expect, that that will be the case The Confederation and Annexation Bill, though only permissive m its character, was another move m the “<? direction, by providing for confederation for the purpose of joint annexation of a y of the Pacific Islands, if thought advisable, either for purposes of trade and settlement, or as a protection against their occupation by foreign powers, either as naval stations in case of war, or as convict settlements in time of peace. 1 e Bills with reference to native affairs we , admirably clear, brief, and practical. Ihe Native Lands Act Amendment Bill, m accordance with unanimous Maori sentiment, prohibited lawyers from practising in the Native Lands Courts, and also ensured good faith and cheapness m native land transactions, by disallowing, uncier

penalty of a heavy fine, all dealings in native land, where the titles had not been previously determined. The Native Com. mittees Act was another judicious reform, entirely in accordance with Maori sentiment, and an improved edition of the Bill brought in by Mr Tompana last year. It gave power to Committees elected by Maoris, and consisting entirely of Maoris to act as Boards of Advice to the Government in matters relative to titles to their own lands, and also to their own disputes in some other matters. These two Acts will tend greatly to secure increased confidence on the part of the Maoris m European legislation respecting their own special affairs. .. . It is not necessary here to particularise all the other public Bills of - minor importance which have boen passed during the present session, though several ot them are of a decidedly useful character. Some few, wo regret to say, though calculated to do good, after passing through the House of Representatives, were thrown out by the Legislative Council. Foremost among these was Mr Rolleston’s Lands Act Amendment Bill, an excellent double-barrelled measure, for extending the leasing principle to pastoral lands, and thus preventing the accumulation of largo landed estates ; and also providing against dummyism like that lately practised in Otago. Ihe Law Practitioners Bill, throwing open the practice of the legal profession to all competent persons in the general public, and the Affirmations and Declarations Bill, designed to substitute affirmations for oaths in the law courts and elsewhere, both of them good Bills, and the questionable Members Expenses Bill, were also passed m the Lower and rejected in the Upper Chamber. We trust the first and third will again be brought in next session, a id then beiome law. With regard to the local Bills of the session, scarcely any statement could bo farther from the 'fact than that of bir George Grey this week, that there has been no time for these to be properly considered, because the Government measures occupied cverj; night in the week except one. Any person who chooses to look down the Order Paper for any day of the pastsession will seethatit is completely overloaded with Local Bills, notices of motion respecting purely local affairs, and questions about local grievances or proposals. In fact the excessive provincialism of our New Zealand Parliamentary debates, and our eternally reiterated motions of want of confidence in the Government on grounds of policy long since considered and exploded, are among the blots on our annual meetings of I arliament. We'regret to notice also that our Parliamentary debates are steadily becoming more and more violently personal, the Auckland and Otago members being the chief offenders in this respect.