POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10444, 21 August 1895, Page 3

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE.

(From Oub Own ConRESPONnENT.) '■-... YV-ixiNGTON, Augast-0, THE BANKS COM_Ii.T_,EE.

This afternoon was devoted- wholly to a disj cu-psion on the proposed addition of the names j of Messra Pinkerton, Fraser,'and Miliar to-the of the House on' the banking question and to the report-of the cotnmittee. usat-it be a secret committee. - To both pro-{io-al< there was strong opposition, the question of the addhiun of the names; being o«ly carried by the votes of Captain Russell and Mr. Buc-hsnau. As to the question of the proceedings being secrot, the Premier; was a good de6l ■question.d to know what-was meant. Thoi Hon. Mr Larnach, for instance, twice asked if hon. members would be supplied with such statements and balance sheets as might be sup--p!Wd tothe jcint-committea, and-if the reports aod evidence would ba circulated! arnoi^f members: To .neither/of these queries; did tho Premier - vouchsafe any answer, and -this: want of direct-ess apparently ''impelled" Mr -Boil;' to a very earnest and '.forceful, riecliu-ation towards the end; bf: the discussion tbat he would not accept the report of any coramittte without the evidence, and,he1 would vote ( ag'-in'st any] resolution' of the committee unless he knew the reasons upon which it was based; This announcement by so strong a'legal light,; so just a man as Mr Bell, made a 'very evident imprVssion npon/the House, and the general approval that was voiced all over "the Chamber:'must" have- made -it clear \ to the Premier that there; can bo ho conbealment in this busineYs,' and jindeed,- Mr Seddon - himself iOs-ied to-day,'as on Friday, to; have xio heart in thi: basineSs,'Vnd quite; itedisposed to fight anybody ou the • eubjeot: . Mrs Gr.: W. Russell, too, had to persist in aakkig- if ithe joint! com-: mittee was to cotfsider auy "question of banks'; am»lgamation,and at leugthMr Seddon said that persoualiy fee.was against amalgamation, which satisfied Mr Russell apparently., But it -iyilt be* observed that the Premier did not s»y he was op- - posed tO the absorption;of any-other bank or the purchase of the Shares and; tiusinessof auy other bank bytbeßankof New Zealanrf, which is what I bslieve is metct. The.leader of the Houae was not at his but iv defending the new appointments, and proved a peal of satiric laughter ■when he loftily declared that in such a mat.ti.ithey must avoid party considerations, and no one should be appointed to such a oom.-_ric.ea whose .mind wag .already biassed. .T_t>j naturally provoked some reference, by, interjection and otherwise, to the presence oh the committee of the Hon. G. -M'Lean, who.'c appointment has provokedthe resentment of many members, and is" otherwise r. gtrdfd s»s » tactless proceeding, calculated to hinder asatisfnctory..solution.of the difficulty. • Mr Maslin, who is not a humorist, stimulated the House tj mirth .by assuming that aa it. was to be a secret committee he supposed the secret would be belt-f kt-pt by enlargirg it. He thought the' Premier a. very astute person ; .yet he tad admitted beiug misled last year, and sh might the committee be misled. Dr Newman declared tbat it was evjdeut, from the corapositpou of the committee, that then- opinion would be agaiust the opinion of the House upon the qnett-.ou of lha disclosure of tho'evidpnee to tmi-ibers. Mr George Hutciii»on , quoted precedents in-con-Beetion with the Bapik ot E-gland to show that the proceedings of, the committee must be disclosed, although there would be no occasion ,to mention auy names. . Every .member must justify his.vote, both to bis consoienije and his constituent-), and to be unnbled vto do that he musi have placed osfore bim and read every bit of evideuce adduced before the Committee : a^; which the House expressed such very strong approbation as to make it cltar. that -thu memory of the surprise legislation- of- last year ia • bearing fruifc,. and that this . time hou. members mean, above all things, to know tho reason why. > ,- THE TARIFF.,', i The member for Clutha hus'given notice of an important amendment on the Tariff Bill when in Committee—viz, that 'steel engriivirgs, oil and water colour/ paintings, orgwis for , ohurch use, salt, fencing wire, ■ binder twine, fla*-,sheeting, brown ,holl_nd, fnrfar, union shmiu_B, cotton shirtings, m&:z»ua _nd cornflour bs admitted daty free. Mr Mackenzie is quit'i prepared to show wheie the revenue now received^ from the articles he hat uiirudd, which are so much mWise by _ur _ pioeuting public, can be obtained without taking an additional penny out of the pockets ot the consumers. THE SHE3P OF THE COLONY. Tho Minister laid upon the tablp to-day an interim return of the sheep of the colony o-i { the 30 „• April last. The total uumbsr for 1895 , is 19,767,308, as„ agaiust 20,230,829 for 1894, , showing a decrease as compared v/ith last year . ot "163,521. The Canterbury and Kiikjuii _ dittr.ct shows 5,5b9 035 as complied with b 744,668 Ust yt-.ir. being a decrease ot 185,633. Tm.' 0u.150 district -.bows 4,303,652 f.s ugvin«t . 4,429,227 last year, bcm,j a decrease of 1)5,575. TRADES AND LABOUR. ' THE UNEMPLOYED RELIEF WORK- 1 1 The General Committee meeting of tho , ) Unemployed Relief Works Association was hold ■ on Mondiy afternoon; p-«s*nt— "VUs-pi* J C Jtfitcaell (in the chair), T. W Kemuthome, X.' t Chixholm, T. BrowD, X "Kftnn-»y,'_ud G. P. ; Farqnhir (hon. bee). The Chairman reported lhat Mi- Pizey had - beeu apnoinrod secretary of the astoeiation, i_ > place of Kti Brueu. I "1 he amount ot money expended on various I works to dat» is £2717, or two-thirds of the • amount which it is eipi_cted will be.available. i (Pts United Prfss Associaiion.) " Chkisichobch, August 20, \ At amf etimj of the W>nter Work Fund Com- -__ mittCß t<i-day thp- Mayor s^id the to'-al amount • collected wm £1125 15t 3d, and the baUuco of ,iums Rllocat-id to tho various local bodiea was • vtiy smaU. The committee -were .ibout the • end ot their tether, and unless more \ money was provided a co-nmettcemenfi J wtth the d<frch_r<<iu£> of* the m-in would bave to b- made Contribution cards h«.ve been sent to Christchurch _nd Cant-rhuu Clubs - t.nd Christchurch Working M ea ' h Club. The l»8t r.amed had prpviou-ly conlnbutr-d £25, and ou the list just s< nt m ta-re was £1 6-j Gd. Tbo ; list trom tha other two clubs had bsen rp(urn/-d c witnout the scratch ot the pen. Since tbe !a-t meeting a IcHci had been received From Ml- G s ,1 Smith, .VI II R Thf leUer eaid m effect thsf, lhe Government were^di-s^tished with tbe v t.y iv which tne fund vas e_{,eud^d. He (t.V mayor) had 'replied at length denying th.c 1 siUeirations and giving a st-itement of the work dor.c by the mea empio>ed and tho money J «pfat. Ihe venous 10-^il bodies submitted 1 returns ot work done It, was decided lo fotword oopies to Mr Smith, and that about 50 J men at present employed snculd be discharged 3 A resolution his been passed by the ezocn- ' ttvo ot tbe New Zealiu d Workers' Un'o.l 5 re^rftting thiit the Goverj'insut could net oc*^ - its w.y rlcai to establish a ritate batik instead ot b ihter'ui! up institution's whose exut-nce it 4 is alleged, is reccgn.s<>d by tho toilers of this (nlony to be deirimental 'to tbeir welfare " Men ii. Hall Jones and Tanner w« re con^ralu--6 Utcd oA tbeir sdvrcocy ot thr- works's c^_ss '< during the debate on the Financial Stat< meat