POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12472, 1 October 1902, Page 6

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE.

•. A GOVERNMENT CAUCUS. (Fkom Ook Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, September 30. At a meeting of the (Government party held to-day, it was decided to agree to the discharge of a number of bills from the Order Paper. This was subsequently agreed to by the Hostiee. Thus leaves the following bills on the Order Paper: — Methodist Ohureh of Australasia in New Zealand, Assets Realisation Board, Lands, Railways Aut.horiea.tion, Milita.ry Pensions, Legislative Council Act Amendment, New Plymouth High School Board Leases, Public Warlcs, Workers' Compensation for Accidents, Municipal Corporations, Native and Maori Land Laws Amendment, Pharmacy Act Amendment, Public Health Act Amendment, Xauranga Educational Endowment Reserves, Inebriates Institutions, Factories Act Amendment, and Referendum; On behalf'of the party, the Acting-Premier expressed regret at the retirement of Mr Carncross, and stated that during tlio time that gentleman had been in Parliament he had commanded the reject and confidenco of those opposed to hi'ni. Members endorsed these sentiments, and expressed the •hope that though Mr Carnoross was retiring from the House, he would not be very far away from them by and by. Mr Carnoross *sicnbwkdged the compliment, and expressed keen regret at the severance of ties which hod been sir. plea-wit to ham in. the past. During his membership of the House he had given and received many 'hard knocks, but he had never mad© an enemy among members. The ActingPremier brought up the question of New Zealand being represented at die South African Exhibition. Members were of opinion that the colony should be represented 1 there. Major Steward, a-s the oldest member of the party, expressed his congratulations to 'the. Acting-Premier for tho way in which he had conducted tho business of the session, and ajso paid a high compliment to the Minister 1 of Public Works and the Native Minister for the valuable work they had done, remarks which were generally endorsed by the party. The Acting-Premier referred to the financial position of Uie colony, and gave the party an assurance that all the requirements of the colony were provided for for some time to oome. He also' expressed the opinion that a considerable portion of the last Joan should lx» floated in the colony, and congratulated meonbera on the fact that we are to u very large extent independent of the London money market. Sir Joseph Ward also referred to the question of the Midland railway debenture-holders, and said it was possible tho* this session a proposal would be submitted to Parliament to enable a settlement to »o carried out which would be alike satisfactory to the debenture-holders and honourable to the colony. RETIRING OPPOSITIONISTS. The members of the Opposition met together this afternoon to make presentations to Messrs F. Pirani and J. Hutchison, who are about to retire from active politics. Ivir Massey, who acted as spokesman, eaid the Opposition desired to express their appreciation of the good worjj those two gentlemen had done while they'had been members of tli? Rous,*. They had earned.a colonial reputation 05 kesn, able, aud earnest politic ansi and honest and straightforward men which those w'lio had been associated with them knew that they thoroughly deserved. No men would be more missed in Parliament' than they, and in time'to come they would be glad to have them bo*fh back in the House. Mr Massey presented Mr Pirani with a gold watch and Mr Hutcheson with a silver fish and dessert service, at the same time, wishing them every prosperity. -Mr Pirani said lie had only done what he deemed to be hi? duty, and lie was very pleased to know that no matter what action he had taken in Parliament he had always had the "approval ot those with whom he was associated and those who ■sent him there. He could not say anything about tho future, but ho assured them that no one felt more than he did the Bang of parting from politics. He trusted that in the near future he should be able to return again to politics and do work which ho thought every man who had love for his country must find it at his hands to do. Mr J. Hutcheson also thanked the Opposition for the presentation, and said that if at any other time he could seek) the suffrage of his fellow citizens, when he was not in a position to know hope or fear, he believed his destiny would bring him back to politics. But unless that- time should arrive, he felt he would be better out of them. Sir William Russell then handed to Mr James Allen a handsome silver flower vase as/a present from tho Opposition to his daughter who is to be married to Mr Montgomery, an ox-member of the House. Mr Allen thanked his fellow members on behalf of Miss Allen. The health of Miss Allen and Messrs Pirani and HutchePtm wai> drunk in champagne, lii proposing the health of the two retiring members, Mr Allen said he specially regretted their departure, as the presence of Mr Hutcheson had given the. party what it had never had before—namely, the representation of labour. Mr Hutcheson, when responding, raid he felt that, the party would ha.ve been much more successful if they had not held themselves so much aloof, as it wore. THE CORONATION CONTINGENT. You have already published the purport of the difference of opinion that arose between the Treasury and the Auditor-general regarding tho charging of £3000 in connection with the expenses of the Coronation Contingent, the draft for this amount having been sent from South Africa to London by Major Pilcher. The Treasury wanted the amount charged to the general imprest account in London, but the Auditor-general was very clear on the .point that it should have been charged to unauthorised expediture. The matter was settled in the usuar way in regard to such difficulties—an opinion favourable to the Treasury's contention from the Solicitor-general, ,and an Order-in-Cmmeil sanctioning the payment in terms of that opinion. You have also publishcct tho fact that a meeting of Government supporters, convened by way of orotest, endeavoured to interview Sir Joseph Ward on the subject, but were refused an audience. Subsequently, when the matter was before the Public Accounts Committee, it came out that the Coronation Contingent was likely to prove a somewhat expensive luxury. It was telegraphed to you that drafts for £5000 had to be met in connection with the expense of the .contingent. To-day the Public Accounts Committee reported to Parliament on the matter, and a discussion (a precis of which will be given by the Press Association) sprang up. The trend of the debate to-day leads one to the conclusion that the question of the, audit of the public accounts is likely to be one of more than ordinary importance in the country aud Parliament before many years have passed. I'u the closing hours of the Parliament, when everyone is anxious to get away, members were found anxious to fully debate the question. The discussion was noteworthy for several things. Incidentally it came out that the Coronation would cost the colony £10,000 or more. It also transpired that Mr George Fisher, the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, nad voted against his party in the committee on this particular matter. Further, the report drew from Mr Hornsby, a prominent supporter of the Government, a very damaeiug criticism of certain methocts thai had been adopted; and, lastly, Mr Fishei, another strong Government supporter, condemned Mr Seddon's action in the matter of sending' such an expensive contingent. Sir 'Hornsby, referring to the meeting or Government supporters convened by him, justified his action, and complained that the position had been quite misrepresented by some of the Ministerial newspapers. He also complained that since he had called tha.c meeting he had been "bull-dozed." lie has boon met with opprobrious epithet and threatened. "So great t, hold,"' be added vehemently, "has this cuwe of ' party' got upon members of the House that whenever a, man does what he thinks right and proper this ' party' risw up «.» a ghost in his path. First of afi * member is cajulcd, then threatened, ana thett ' bull-dozed.' " He made a vigorous prowsii against this heaping up of expenditure, „ great part of which was wasteful, illegal, and dishonest, and should not be allowed to go unchallenged in that House. Mr Fisher was even more emphatic than Mr Hornsby. Mi- Fisher is certainly by far the finest speaker_ in all the Parliament;-. He compels attention by his oratory— the unexpected beginning that at once arrests the attention of the House, the quiet commencement of a sentence after the rising inflection with vliioh he often ends the previous sentence, and, .above all, by his rotund ventre and dramatic pauses. This afternoon his speech was in the main a denunciation of Mr Seddon and of " Seddonism." "What is that dread," he asked, " which prevonte people saying what they want to say wherever tho uame of Riohard John Seddon Is involved?" And then he went on. to say they had been told they nni/st not ipeak of an absent man. For his part, he wished the absent man were pro-

sent. They were not discussing an expenditure of £3000, but of £15,000, which they would' find the Coronation Contingent would cost before they had done with it. Better, he said, had it been for Mr Seddon had he not mado that fatal trip to South Africa — fatal to his English projects, whatever they may .'have 1 been. What, ho asked, had the Coronation Contingent been doing since the 9th of August? His London papers answered.the question for him. The Princess Te Raugi Pai : had engaged a concert company with which she was singing in England, and the members of the Maori Contingent were dancing hakas at these concerts.—(Cries of " Oh!" and laughter.) Was that, he asked, what the Coronation Contingent went Home for? And who was to pay for that. In conclusion, ho stated that his duties as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee had become so unpleasant to him that he now wished to announce that he would not become a. member of that committee again. This, briefly put, is a description ot some of the salient points in one of the most interesting debates we are likely to have in the dying houre of the present Parliament. PATENTS OFFICE. The thirteenth annual report of the Registrar of Patents states that the number of applications for patents and' registration of trade marks during the year amounted to 1511, a, number considerably in excess of that of any previous year. The total number in 1891 was 813, .so that the business of the office has almost doubled itself in the past decade. Local inventors are again, well to the fore, the numbei of applications received from residents in tho colony being 658, as against 602 in 1900 and 563 ia 1899. The revenue of. the office sihowa a sl.igfit falling off, being £3366, or £30 less than tor the previous year. SUPPRESSING THE TOTALISATOR. The Publio Petitions Committee, reportnig upon •a, number of petitions 'asking for the abolition of tho totalbator, makes the following recommendation:—"That, m view of the large and influential representations made by tho 143 petitions praying for the abolition of the totalisator, this committee recommends the prayer of the petitioners to tho earnest consideration of the Government."