WELLINGTON NEWS NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10033, 26 April 1894, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS NOTES.

(I'bom Oob Own Gobbksfondbnt.) •„• •; ; Wellington, April 25.

THE VALIDATION COBET,

■ What may ba termed the Barton incident is still exercising the mind of the Premier, who is now at open odds with the Press Association on the subject. I may here say that I have learned on excellent authority that Judge Bartonhadnogroundforthestatementthatthere had been delay in setting up the Validation Court. The Native Minister has throughout, I believe, been mo3fc aoxious to get the court to work, as will, I am sure, be proved'when the official acts of the department come to be disclosed. Asa matter of fact the first case set down cannot come before the court until the 11th of May, and except the formal appointment of a clerk and interpreters there is nothing to be done. The registrar, the only executive officer) was appointed in March] and the minor appointments will be made in a few days. I append the Premier's letter to the manager of the association. It speaks for itself, but a perusal of the whole correspondence might, obviously alter the complexion of the case :— Dear Sir, —I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 21st inst. Your agent has seemingly misunderstood what I said when refusing him information the other evening, and he has eyidently.not informed you of the whole of the circumstances connected with the matter. It was somewhat late in the evening; I had left the Club Hotel, and was proceeding in the direction of the Wellington Olub when your agent accosted me in the street and asked me if I had any newi. I replied, " None of importance," and that if I had any I would not put myself out of the way to give it to the Press Association Until the agent at Gisbprne had rectified the injustice that was done to the Government, bj,the marine? in which he . had treated my reply .to Judge Barton's remarks as £iven ,to the Liberal Association at Gisborne. As 1 stated to yourself personally, your agent at Gisborne published in the paper with which he is connected a condensed report of. what.l said at the interview with the Liberal Association, and the least he could in fairness have done was to have transmitted the same to the Press Association papers, especially as he had previously, sent a full report of Judge Barton's, remarks upon the same subject. What I complain of most ia that when I asked if he had sent a full report he answered me in the affirmative. You may, .then, 'judge of my surprise oa arriving at Napier to find some two or three lines in the papers, and even this reference was vague and childish. Had this been the first occasion on which grave injustice had been done to the Government through the United Press Association

reports I might, perhaps, have let it pass, but it is a fact that a very large number of the agents of the Press Association are connected with papers which are hostile to the Government. Whilst regretting that this should be so, the fact still remains. The public have a right to expect that ,as a Piess Association partiality should be set aside, and that the gentlemen acting as agents for the transmission of news should be fair to all. A great responsibility rests on them when actiDj as your agent?, If they fail to impartially do their duty the responsibility of continuing such i state of things rests with the association. Under the circumstances I hope you will clearly understand me when I Bay that I have no desire to withhold news from the association; for it is well the people of the colony should have the fullest information on public affairs; but so long as the Qovcrnment ■is treated unfairly by the Press Association, I at all events will not put myself about or facilitate in any way its getting information. In conclusion, 1 certainly think I ani entitled to know what explanation your Gisborn'e agent gave for misleading nle when he said he sent out a full report of what I had said to tha Liberal Association deputation in reply to Judge Barton's remarks. Had he informed me that ho had only sent a few lines I shoull then have known what to do. As it was, partiality was shown to the detriment of mjself and colleagues. THE UNEMPLOYED. In accordance with the request of. the Premier, made yesterday, numbers of the unemployed desiring work presented the.nselves at the Labour Bureau to-day for registration. Up to 3 o'clock 43 names had been recorded, and of these but six were new registrations. Mr Seddon, while handling the men with firmness, showed genuine sympathy for their needs. What is really needed in the Labour department is a system of registration that will classify applicants, so that honest workers may be discriminated from " wasters " —the unemplojed from the unemployable. This must be a work of difficulty without the co-operation of the police, and their intervention would certainly provoke resentment. THE rUEMIBIt AND THE POST. The Premier has quickly withdrawn from his untenable attitude towards the Evening Post, and the foolish incident has not helped to clear the mystery of the Fox correspondence, though it probably adds to the discomfort of the dilligently-sought culprit. Here is what the ofa-nding journal says this evening :—" In order to determine tho large question of public as well as private interest involved in the assumption of a power on the part of the Premier to exclude whom he likes from the Government Buildings during office hours, we have- taken counsel's opinion on this point. This was as follows:—• Opinion; lam asked to advise whether there is any power in the Government to exclude persons from the Government Buildings in business hours. The Government Buildings contain various offices that are by law open to the public, and there ii therefore no power to exclude from the Government Buildings persons who may be desirous of calling at such offices on business in tho lawful hours when such offices are open. If persons are by force excluded from such offices they would, in my opinion, have a right of action against those who excluded them. —Robert Stout.' Since the above was in type we have been informed that the Ministerial order excluding representatives of the Evening Post from the Government Buildings has b;en withdrawn. Comment is unnecessary." The frozen meat trade. I recently voiced a note of discontent of shippers here to the effect that in consequence of the New Zealand Shipping Company having accepted so much frozen freight from Australia there was a glut of 60,000 carcases locally in store awaiting shipment. To this the company take exception, and desire to say that the last steamer sent by them to Australia was the s.s. Waikato, in November, when there was not sufficient frozen meat available in this colony to fill the mail steamers. To have detained the Waikato hore until meat was available for her would have involved enormous loss bath of time and money. My correspondent wishes to say, further, that the New Zealand Shipping Company have carried out all their frozen meat engagements from Wellington, and, in addition, have provided spact for nearly the whole of the dairy produce exported from the colony this season. Figures are then quoted to show that to the end of March of the current season tho New Zealand Company carried from Wellington aud Canterbury 165,063 sheep of an average of 601b, as against 130,149 carried by the ShawSavill Company. This shows to tho end of March a balance in favour of tho New Zealand Company. But I have been at some pains to procure the frozen meat freights of the two companies from all New Zealand ports for the season. They tell a somewhat different story, and, apart from any possible feeling of rivalry between the companies, an interesting one. Here are the number of carcases averaging 601b, according to the returns of the freezing companies:—

New Zealand Shipping Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company. Company. Aorangi 11,25fi Rangatira ... 21,521 1 Duke of West- Mamari... ... 46,161 minster ... 27.971. Tainui 30.387 Rimutaka ... 24,87(1 Gothic 65.241 Ruahine ... 42,733 Perthshire ... 2(1,600 Duke of Suther- Maori .61,731 land 40,331 Doric ... ... 32.1W Kaikoura ... 22,135 Hinemoa ... 22,3!» Perthshire ... 11,327 Pakeha 45.000 Deduct Perthshire 11,327 Total 180,687 Total... ...341,000 THE STOUT PETITION.

The motion for the release of tho £200 lodged with the petition against the return of Sir Robert Stout as a member for Wellington City I was get down for hearing before the Chief Justice to-day, but was postponed. The subjoined paragraph from the affidavit of Mr Edwards, filed in the present application, will be of interest to the water party, who will no doubt conclude that the "divers persons" referred to are all members of the wicked whisky party. Thi3 is what Mr Edwards has to say:—" The whole of the said sum of £200 was provided by divers persons interested in tho election for the-said electoral district of the City of 'Wellißgton as and by way of security for the costs, charges, and expenses which, under and by virtue of the above-mentioned act or any rules made thereunder, should become payable by the above-named Robert James Lindsay and Joha Kobelt, who had not and never had any, neither of them has or ever had any, interest whatever in the said money."

It is stated that the striking off of electors' names who did not exercise their rights at the licensing elections is becoming general throughout the colony, though no exact official information is yet obtainable. :

A QUESTION FOR THE DOCTOR.

Would it not be desirable to consult the doctor 03 to which aoap commends itself to our uses, as so many skins are ruined past redemp tion by inferior soaps ? Peaks' Soap is recommended by tho highest skin authorities iv Iha world. Dr Redwood, Ph.D., F.C.8., F. 1.0. whobo opinion is uninipsacliable. Bays, "I have never come across another toilet soap which so closely comes up to my ideal of per* faction."