POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8294, 24 September 1903, Page 3

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE

By Telegraph.

(From our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, September 23. «*« sensation of the afternoon was ths fetation of the Privilege- Connnittee's fZtfT which takes the unusual course of reporter who got the documents ?°nisaon, and warning the Press that this 2 3 of thing will in future be punished by for service in the gallery. Sf, premier, in moving the report, expressj%a admiration of the code of honor in irtt» amocg pressmen in these matters, but !° jrouLd haw them fined all the same. His iLcb was very brief, and no one said a *jj!fl£ on. either side, the- House passing the tioa unanimously. Were they ashamed f the position, or were they grimly determined to uphold their privileges T The ■JJpstion is debattd with some intereet outU. with a Waning to the latter view. The jSstic mode adopted is logical enough so Sja the Standing Order is .concerned, but. Ife fact remains that the Press is punish- £ for getting the public information of it" ought not in any way to be denriTtd for any reason whatever. *five Bdk of pi:h and moment were be- •— the HotKe at the evening sitting— STlrad-'s Monopolies Prevention, the Act -Amendment, the Land Act ConjjSition. the Crown Lands Amendments, tm£ the Crown Tenants Rebate Amendment. was no discussion, for they were all -jj a &cond time pro forma, and were •emitted to the proper Committers. Theeeant of the way, the Coastwise Trade Bill raofc possession, and kept it for the rest cf fat sitting, Most of the speakers ia the ifc&ate on the second reading—a debate fjiicfi stood adjourned from July 51st last, «earl)' two months ago—approved the principle of the Bill. The advocates of the San fiancisco mail service disturbed the position by "barracking" for their protege but a> majority that stood for retaliation shows dak perhaps, when the preference proposals come before the House the Freetrade like Mr Fowlds and Mr Bedford, will be in a small minority. The New Zealand Institute Bill incorjuates all the existing institutes into one Seneral institute, under a. Board of Governors, consisting of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, four members appointed jrthe Go vemor-in-Gboncil in November of act vear, two by each of the societies of fix fair centres, and oriui by each of the ot&>r incorporated societies, all in the, same month. The annual subsidy paid by the gtato is to be £SOO. The existing arracge--Biaife are abolished, and it is provided that their property, with the exception of the ia&onttory and mineral specimens, shall vest ji the new- institute, the exception to vest in lis Jlifesty for the benefit of the public. The friendly Societies Amendment' Acpermits all societies having a surplus and J certificate of competent authority that (bar scale of contributions is adequate to jjjnafer money from one benefit fund to Blither, but not otherwise. There is much speculation about the titasing Bill. The position is that the Government have prepared a Bill amending liu Electoral Acts, so as to provide for jtT polio in case of voided local option polfa, thus avoiding the deadlocks of last Jkcsion. This appears to have been a!! fewis intended, with the result of simply unending the law on the pressing point, taring- the larger part of the question for Botler session. Since then the; Government caucus has given two mandates to the Government for a general licensing Bill. ThatßHl is not drafted yet. and the matter Sands there. Wellington, September 24. The Times this morning publishes a dicuasd protest against the injustice of penaliiinsthe press~for publishing information •ju public had a right to, and the absurdity of not recognising that documents which are pwred to have been in outside hands cannot uiny longer regarded as confidential, and 5b futility of cautioning editors against .renting "extracts from contemporaries of which they cannot possibty know the stress. The *pectacle of Parliament opposing reasonable liberty to the press is. sra the Times, an anachronism. ; Be Animals Protection Amendment Act., ifflmducud yesterday, fixes the shooting seam com. May Is* to July 51st. It enfces lictraes for killing native game by a ffl penalty, fixes £5 as the license fee for oaising hares in protected districts, places liaises for deer shooting at the discretion ' of the Governor, and extends his power of mtrol over new Acclimatisation Societies. He majority of 15 for the Coastwise _ Ihde Bill, alias the retaliatory navigation Ibvib a House of 73 votes, including pairs. iesa that tlie preference trade resolutions \ ■ «tcertain of adoption.