PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &c.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7074, 17 October 1884, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY PETITIONS, &c.

[By Telegbaph.l

(from obb own cobbespondknt.)

Welunqton, October 16.

The petition of poor old John Stratford, the first European settler who landed at Wellington, has been disposed of by the Public Petitions Committee. That body presented a report to the House to-day, signed^ by; the Acting Chairman. After stating the;circumstancea of the case the report concludes" with the following lugubrious paragraph: "lam directed to report that owing to the petitioner having died since the presentation of the petition, the Committee have no recommendation to makOi" ~■..;•■

The exertions ofMtW, C. Hunt, or "Shotnver Hunt," as he is familiarly termed, to obtain a reward for the discovery of the Thames goldfield have not been crowned with any striking amount of succbes. The Goldfields Committee presented the following report on Mr Hunt's petition :—" The Committee having taken evidence in this case, endorse the report of the Goldfields: Committee of 1872, on the following grounds: (1) That a thorough investigation was made into the claim of the petitioner by a special commission of the Auckland- Provincial Council ' (entitled tha Goldfield Reward Inquiry Commission) in 1870; which Commission reported unfavourably of the petitioner's claim; (2) and also, that the Thames goldfield had5 already been proclaimed before Mr Hunt's alleged discovery was made. The" Committee are therefore unable to recommend that any reward be paid tJ the petitioner." ~ " '- , : ; -

Two measures introduced by Mr Guinness, M.H.R , have been circulated. The Coroners' Juries Abolition Bill provides for the holding of inquests by coroners alone, without tho-aid of a jury.. ."The Armed ,Cons.tabulary,_Act 1867" Amendment Bill provides that the Armed Constabulary may exercise the franchise. V •- ■ • :; ■■■'•■ ";. ■*.>.-.'>

The Public Petitions Committee' have referred to the consideration of the Government the pefition of Jane Cummock and others, of Dunedin, against- any alteration in the Employment of Females Act. -' The Public Petitions Committee to-day reported on the petition of Thomas M'Gann, of St. Batbans, late a sergeant of the New Zealand Constabulary, praying for compensation. ' Thei Committee report that they see no reason to alter the resolution come to in the session of 1882. - .. . . *

The Goldfields Committee, reporting on the petition of Patrick Newman, state that he is one of the pioneers of the West Coast goldfields, and has undisputed claims on the Colony. They therefore refer his petition to the Government for favourable consideration.

A very good illustration of the difference between day-work and_piecework is given in .1 petition sent to the House from the unemployed of Christchurch. It appears from this document that the men were first employed at trenching on Borne of the Canterbury railway plantations at 43 61 per day. Finding that this was costing something like £42 per acre, the Government offered it on piecework at £18 per acre. It was then found that some of the more expert men earned thus as much as 8s per day, and the Government still further reduced the price to £lft per acre. Recently these men were transferred to Little River and given piecework at formiDg an embankment 12 feet high. The material was obtained from the bed of the lake. The men described the great hardships" suffered from working constantly in the wet, and stated that so far from refusing 4a 6d a day for the work, as stated by the Premier, they merely petitioned !the Government to pay' them the amount, as working on piecework they found they could only make 3a per day_ on an average. They state that their only desire is that the House may be acquainted with a fair statement of all their grievances, as some of the hon. members seem to think that they are a class of idle, lazy men, while in fact they are respectable, bard-working men in unfortunate citcumstances. The petition is very temperately worded, and speaks highly of the consideration shown by the Government officials.