POLITICAL NEWS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10526, 6 August 1910, Page 1

POLITICAL NEWS.

By Telegraph. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, August o. —Railway Comparisons.— It. is cxnected that some interesting pa pens will be presented tp Parliament soon embodying the inforination collected by the Manager of .Railways during his recent visit to Australia. _ It is understood that the information will cover passenger and , freight rates, wages, and' other items that v."ill be especially interesting in comparison with New Zealand figures. —State Loans to Farmers. — A request has been made by some of the country members that farmers who obtain loans from the Government Advances. to Settlers Department shall be allowed the privilege of securing progress payments upon their improvements. Tlie Government has promised that this shall be done, and it is also in favor of giving preference to Crown tenants as against other borrowers, seeing that- tlie holders of Government leases are placed at a disadvantage compared with freeholders when borrowing. —Land Swallowers' Condemned.— The financial debate was enlivened by a speech in Maori by Mr T. Parnta, the Southern Maori member, who availed himself of, the services of an interpreter and made a vigorous speech, in the eorrse of which he replied to the bitter criticisms of Taranaki members on the Maori race. It was then that a broad smile overspread the features ot the interpreter, the 'Hojis. J. Carroll and A. T. Xgata and Or Buck; bui whatever Mr Parata may have said it was reduced by tlie -interpreter to the statement that Tnrar.aki members did not know what they wore talking about. Later in his speech the .Maori ineinbev referred to the -.Opposition as the land swallowers and the swallowers anil breakers of their oath, who while in power in 1868 had broken their word ro the native's and had failed to show themselves true ra,ngatirns,