PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1143, 13 December 1879, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

Wellington, December 12. In the House of Representatives today. Mr. Andrews asked if they will take the necessary steps to extend the money order system to L2O instead of LlO, as at piesent.. jMr. Hall replied in?the negative. The postal statistics did not warrant the department inljelieving that the concession was required for public convenience ; moreover, it would be! impossible to; get foreign post offices to recognise the innovation proposed. 'i no 1 Jr.".-:o Harbor Board Empowering Ijiii w;i3 committed. Jii'. ..fjM-uuirew said that if the Board agreed 1.. :uniw borrowing powers to the extent oi 000, the House would be comniittiiiw it ;i egregious blunder.

-Some uinciixxioii then took place. Mr. Barioii moved that the amount be restricted to 100,000. Mr. Thomson moved that the amount be L 50,000. On the question that the amount be restricted to L 50,000, a division took place. Ayes, 18 ; noes, 28. The amendment for LIOO,OOO was then put and carried, Mr. Maeandrcw moved the insertion of a now clause to the efleet that portion of the money should be spent on the entrance to the harbor.

The House divided, the result being— Ayes, 25 ; noes, 27.

Jin jor -Atkinson moved the second reading of the Customs Duties Bill. After a little discussion, the House divided—Ayes, 41; noes, 21. The Bill was accordingly read a second time, Mr. Hall read tlje following cablegram, just received from London ; —" Premier, New Zealand, —The loan subscribed more than twico over ; list closed. We congratulate you. Until wo found it imperatively necessary, we delayed giving a guarantee that we would not bring any loans on market for three years. —Loan At: exo'S, London." The Customs Duties Bill waa then eonsideredV December 13. • In the House last night, The public works estimates were proceeded with. The vote of the Minister for Public Works Department was passed without substantial alteration. During the discussion, Mr. Kicliardson said there was a paragraph in the statement of the Minister for Public Works tq which he toi k objection. It was said that there had been a large expenditure for the purposes i-f relaying the main lines with new rails, and, before the present rails could be replaced, they would be so much worn that it would m-t be worth while to put them 011 another line; but when those rails were laid down the railways were made i-f a light nature, with a view to cheap lines, is. 1 irder to.-pen up a large extent of country, and 110 sooner had they been opened than the public insisted upon greater speed without waiting for improvement • ■f the lines, and heavier engines than the line had been intended for, conspquontly injuring the lines. They now had trains running at a speod equal to that of the neighboring col.-nies. He regretted that there was 110 reference in the statement to the renewal of these lines. The H cise rose at 3.30 a.m.