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New Zealand Mail, Issue 907, 19 July 1889, Page 16

It is understood that a Bill amending the Counties Act is in course of preparation, but that this Bill will merely rectify various minor defects in details without affecting the main principles of the Act as it now stands.

As the result of a deputation which interviewed the Premier onWednesday, Messrs Hobbs, W. P. Beeves, Perceval, Jones, and Bhoder have heen appointed a subcommittee to receive suggestions from fruit-growers as to the best means of checking the spread of the codlin moth. ’

A petition signed by Sir Robert Stout and numerous other residents of Dunedin, praying that the special settlement provisions of the Land A.ct of 1885 may be brought into operation, has been presented to Parliament. Mr Larnach has given notice to more that the petition be printed and circulated.

Owing tc the absence of several members who were down on the Order Paper for notices of motion, Mr Barron’s motion advocating the gradual extinction of the Property-tax came on rather unexpectedly op Wednesday. A division was taken op

Mr Moss' amendment condemningthe Pro-perty-tax in toto, and as this had in the first instance to be put “ that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question,” and the xvords to be omitted being all after the initial word “ that,” the result of the division in' which the noes were in overwhelming majority, was to leave nothing of the original motion but the single word * ‘ That. ” Nothing else was added, for the adjournment hour arrived and the House rose. It is deemed very doubtful whether this important motion “That” will come up again during the present session.