THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1895. POLITICAL NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2582, 7 August 1895, Page 2

THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1895. POLITICAL NOTES.

With which are incoryordte£ the Wellington Indepenaunt, ccta&ished 1845, and the New Zealander *

[R.A.L.] 1 To-day the House ife l&mso of mouririhs. All foci that a gT£*,t personality ha# ftone from among us. ’One of : th.e jucnVf old who woro great in the cdtincila'Of tfco nation, gone to his decant, leaving thp legacy of a'jjSaiitt exauEplo. 3?he hushed and avte&,‘hs it always is on etK-h Occasions. The Premier Uads the House to tho proper expression. does it cpl&ly, in subdued tones. Ho regrets that is obliged to notice an attack on tho Government, to which he replies with emphatic denial. And then • daes justice to a groat memory. i ; The Loader of tho Opposition taki»s tlte 1 House <eo. tho same rood with ■rirfcll. 'cfcodo!*, expressions, warm, and sytfipathfctic* instinct with deepest respect Mr Bod contributes thfe l 6*s'erienco of tho Supremo Omo, whWfe 'ths traditions of the who is gone ate t&o very highest and tho aficCtiori for him the very warmest. Nos tot his experience of the old ■political tiUio when tho giants made history and made our high political tradition. He was with them, and ho remembers tthat wanner of men tlioy wore, and how they did their work. His conclusion 5s that hC hoVCt mot a man more entirely faultless as a man ! than Christopher William Kichfnond. j The House, satisfied to at its feelings of deep respect and sympathy and honourable remembrance have been expressed, adjourns. evening. . Afftt* dinner the House is crammed in e very part to hear tho financial discussion, about which tho whole town has been talking' expectantly for the last fortnight. ThC p opular supposition is that the . liCfedor of the Opposition is going to the talking. The popular turns out to bo wrong. Mr begins the talking, moves to go into supply, and does his full hour. “ hard,” He elucidates points in the Financial Statement, in the tariff, _in the reciprocity treaties, in various interviews by various Oppositionists, in numerous articles and published statements, in mail contracts and cable proposals; in fact he anticipates the Opposition criticism—in other words, takes tho wind out of the enemy’s sails. , Naturally there is a good deal of Skir* hushing. The skirmishing is Chiefly with Sir Robert Stout, but Others have an exchange of shots at short range. “Ugly words* fii*!’* says the Treasurer, addressing Mr Duthie. Hon member alw.Vyh used hard words. “Seizure,” for ’oxUUiple. “ Seizure of Sinking Funds,”. whVfch makes so great a, figure in his “ mtotftSbw,” published a day or two after the Financial Statement. There has been no seizure, sir. A brisk fire of “ Yes, there has I” is poured in from the Opposition in front, and there is in suppect a succession of volleys of emphatic assertions from the flank, where Sir Robert has taken up a commanding^position. The Treasurer will rhako it very clear presently. ■’; ■ 4 v! : ' . i “ Nothing is,ever clear in tho pubUiaad figures,” comes from ■ Ciutha in a togiilar growl. “ Nothing is over clear to thci hon tfieiUber,” retorts the Treasurer, who is in fine,fOtm, fightablo, as they say, and pleasant, though determined withal. His tototfc 5s greeted with a good deal of laughter at expense, Turbid stream W)una rugged recks. .

No, sir, continues the Treasurer, ‘ flourish*’ ing his blade in the. direction of his &&nk, thrusting palpftfely at Sir Robert’, \tho is in command of the flanking party*And ready for" close quarters. No, air, n® seizure. , Sir Robert flashes back a counter—“ Going to seize.” ' | • Tho champion takes aim, and thepo 5s a bold rally between them., Which, is :it, sir? Have we seized, or have wo not s(^zCd ; ? After some fencing, Ssi' Robert' S6ea hn opening in tho adversary’s atihHt. Ho rises majestic, and delivers ‘k 'florco, rapid thrust. “You have ..kea/ied improperly, illegally and without W&trant ” the sinking funds referred to in the Budget. ' Ho is sustained by a sharp fire’of‘ derisive laughter from the, ; front,;' the,, Opposition, intimating by every sign and sound t that He has got Some, arid’ making' capital^ Without Pnd. I ■ '

The adversary sticks firmly, to Jps, guard, and makos play back witli his weapon. What you say woliaye done is under, your own law, Tho hou member is entirely misrepresenting mo.

. There are cheers and counter cheers, and the champions chaff, each other with brief changes of pleasant banter,* at ’the Y&A v of: which the Treasurer delivers a Vigorous lunge. He will quote a great lawyer, since lawyers seemed to nave some effect upon this House. Sir Robert Will respect his authority : mast respect him ; let him listen. Whereupon ho quotes a speech of Sir Robert’s delivered tfa 1886. In reply, he declares, to a criticism just like his own of tho other day. That speech declared triumphantly in the hon gentleman’s very best manner that tlie paying over of sinking fund in tho manner now com-plained-of-was not only good policy, but directly according to law, the law passed at the request of the hon gentleman’s own Government ; that anything else would have been improper and illegal in the extreme. And now, sir, he takes up exactly tho opposite position against us. ’ Sir Robert makes strenuous practice in parrying, this sword play j but the Treasurer'gobs rapidly ‘on regardless, and Sir Robert keeps up a fire of growling contradiction.

The Ministerialists • 'shout' with- • laughter, and telegraph to one another every sign of delight in the satirical department o£ the Parliamentary arsenal. After i that the Treasurer goes through to the cwd, vigorously carrying the ! war into the enemy's country.’’ ' ' ; When he hari done, Sir - ‘ Robert i makes personal explanation. Ho reads report of his 1 remarks as to seizure. ■ Not the general ’ sinking funds ; 1 he referred to the sinking fund accrued under the Loans to Local Bodies, which were not in existence when the Act relating to the : sinking. funds was passed by his Government. He makes a gesture of triumph and sits down wrapped in virtuous wrath. The Loader of. the, Opposition, thereupon demurs to going on' with the debate. Two tariffs, one in the Budget, one now ; two different sets of circumstances, of the .second of which we have no notice. Will the Treasurer give us a, copy of the figures ho has used. Not a copy of my notes, sir, says the brisk Treasurer, who intimates that be knows a trick worth two of that. The skirmish threatens to become general. The Premier rather adds fuel to the fire by chaffing the enemy. My hon friends seem, sir, to be bewailing the fact that my colleague has knocked the bottom ont of the Opposition ease.. The fire burns up a little at this, and crackles, and in the midst of the crackling Mr Mitohelson suddenly gets up. The crackle resolves jtself v inito a ’clapping of hands, and the debate gets away. Mr Mitohelson begins by' repeating the complaint of his leader, and then proceeds to plunge- the country and the Houso and himself into an abyss of gloom. Ho makes, only ohe thing clear,’vizi, that everything is'.wroug. Surplus a vanishing quantity to begin with. Bed rook in sight—remarkably hard and uncomfortable. Fearfully bulky Statement, bulkiest on record: meant to catch the casual reader, but nothing in it. In some respects just like the statements made by the Treasurer in London to ■ deceive the public. Up gets Mr Ward as smartly as any terrier, going straight at the lugubrious man, with a snap. Are we to have statements made in this House accusing Ministers of making statements to deceive the public here and in London ? . Mr Speaker intimates that certainly not—and intimates to Mr Miehelson, who promptly substitutes “mislead.” But before his people have ceased firing their congratulations Mr Speaker,takes another pull at Mr Mitohelson, who ■“ bows to your ruling, sir,’’ and the incident ends. The ploughing up of the Gulf of Despond oontinnes. The millions of debt, including the . sinkihg-lfunda ••seized, the.“ stockings ” of the people which were thought to be full but are empty, the—failure of the muohvannted new departure in the timber trade, the j extravagance • of. .buying;.. a .-new, ■, cable steamer, these and"'miny 'others are ‘turned np ont of the Gulf of Despond and turned over again into the Cimmerian darkness of pessimism,-into-whieb Mr Mitohelson himself presently 'subsides. ’ ;; Mr Pirani follows with an accurate, .little map‘of the Oppositionist’s course through the Gulf of . Despond—drawn on the. dry land with aplairifew flowers of rhetoric hero arid there to adorn.it i in praise of the Budget. Mr Pirani can’t see how' Mr Mitohelson has made any valid objections.. Last, year he talked of nobbling votes; of a deficit, of wild oat proposals, of tho alternatives,of bubbling or bursting. This year there is- not a word of those things. Government has not burst, it must therefore bo bubbling. There are prophecies—e.g., Mr Mitohelson could not see that a 3J per cent, could realise more tnan 97i- Where is that prophecy now? Ho follows this lino oyer his map ; advises the hon gentleman to give up croaking and see good in something. As to the sinking funds, how can the hon gentleman add them to the excess of the consolidations as newdebt? Surely that is counting a portion of the excess of thd consolidations twice over. The map exhausted, and sundry figures read and commented upon, Mr Pirani finishes with the gentle firmness that distinguishes him. Mr Dnthia takes np the fighting on I tho other side, beginning by making, protest against tho tactics of the" Treasurer to-night. But he is sorrowful in a sarcastic fashion. “We can’t teach .the hon gentleman manners.”

Protest comes sharp ; Mr Speaker inter-, vfines. Mr Duthie defends himself. “Wfl haven’t the ability and tho information,"Sir, to; teach the hon gentleman.’’ It-won't do, however. Mr Speaker- wants withdrawal, and there is withdrawal. . Mr Pnthie . then -heckles the Treasurer’s figures; heckles them, at great length. He breaks off every now and then in order to point‘but “one" of many bogies " which’’ the Treasurer, ho says,has put -into the Budget —for the sole purpose of-knocking them down. r When he takes the surplus in hand, he has a'small Budget Statement of his own,; he dilates on it; the Premier calls out “ Put it on tho table.” “ No, sir; the Treasurer wouldn’t extend, that courtesy to us; we shall not extend it to him.” , After that digression ho -settles into that

Budget, reads it at tke rate of knots, and when he has got himself, into a jfine state of perspiration he produces a deficit of ,£50,000. And just as he has whittled the surplus into adeficit the sup»per hour interrtrpte'bin*.

' AFTER BUPPER. Mr Duthie ends after the' rrekl With a funeral oration on dead ' Mr Hogg upholds tho Gcrverpfi?eTit, and Mr McGowan does the eaifib. These two all the 'the enemy. At ten minutes to Ithh debate is adjourned, on the,motion of Mr E. M. Smith, not without a few shots of protest for information and various formalities. Nevertheless, the adjournment is for half-past 2.