NOTES FROM THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1874, 21 October 1887, Page 14

NOTES FROM THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.

By Peakl Pen.

First Days of Parliament— lmprovements in he Empire City-Discomfort Experienced by Visitors-A Word to Members' Wives— Maoriland not in the Australian Federation. Wellington, October 10. Met for the due " despatch of business " are the Lords and Commons, with their attendant train of journalists, big and little, and many visitors from all quarters of the colony; and I (suppose we might, like th« chief clown in a circus when he first bounds into the ring, exclaim, " Houp, la ! here we are again ! " Not that I would have anyone draw this inferonoo that there are auy political mountebanks in fcbid august assemblage. Ob, no, nothing of the kind, only " here we are again " for the second time this year, and great things are expected to be performed by Messieurs the legislators, and one can only hope that the country will not bo disappointed in the result of the present session. There has been such a piece of work over the elections, that the outcome of so much turmoil and talk ought to be of a character to compensate in some measure at least for past shortcomings. Well, we will hope for the best, but one cannot help wondering Which of these men will talk the greatest stuff ? And which proclaim himself the biggest muff ? In truth it will be very hard to tell, As but a few get through their duty well. Everybody appears glad that Sir Maurice O'Rorke has again, for the fifth time, been reelected Speaker of the House of Representatives, and certainly none could fill the office with more dignity. How most thoroughly to fleece the Philistines would seem to be the chief aim of the " genteel people" who condescend to let lodgings to members or visitors during session time in this city. The most exorbitant prices are asked by these people, or at least some of them, for anything but comfortable apartments. Clearly they foelieve in " making hay while the sun shines," €oc they must, I'm sure, make a rich harvest out of the strangers who are compelled to seek a decent abiding place for the time amongst them. Gentlemen also complain of the wretchedly inferior accommodation to be had in the hotels, where they are obliged to congregate in large numbers. It is a wonder that some enterprising individual does not erect a really firstclass hotel in Wellington, something after the style of the Grand Hotel in Dunedin. I should think such a speculation would turn out a highly remunerative one here. Apropos of buildings, there have been several fine ones erected here lately, which are really a credit to the capital, for they are substantial structures, and not of the flimsy matchbox type "for which this city has hitherto been famed. In the premises erected for the Equitable lusura?ice Company, Oamaru stone has been used with excellent effect. The front of the buildang is exceedingly handsome, and in its pure whiteness quite throws into shade the dingy, ugly grey of the adjacent buildings. Another ■compact brick edifice is the new Government printing office at the other end of the Quay. It is nearly finished now, and will add one moro to the list of fine structures in the Empire City. — — —— Were I the wife of a member of the House of Representatives nothing would ever induce me to permit my lord and master to attend sessions of Parliament without taking me with him to attend to his comfort and moral welfare. Honourable members who do not take their wives to Wellington with them, it is said, get into all manner of mischief while plunged into the vortex of that fashionable and fascinating ..city, *»nd yet members are always grumbling, and pretend to be dissatisfied with their life in the metropolis, while at the same time they are developing all sorts of shockingly irregular habits, which will cling to them. They will .eventually return to their homes and families dreadfully deteriorated in character, owing to <their long exile from the reign of order and cnethod, under whose benign influence they have hitherto been kept in peace and safety and well out of the reach of all the snares and -wiles which beset our honourable legislators when called to the high position of conducting tbhe business of the country. Members' wives should reflect upon the various and awful influences to which their liege lords must of necessity be periodically exposed at the seat of government, amongst the very least of which may be enumerated those of log rolling, lobbying, and others of a like kind. Is it any wonder then, that before the session draws to a close, it becomes lamentably apparent, not only io those immediately concerned in the welfare ot particular individuals, but even to the most superficial observer, that the moral tone of hon. members is no longer at the highest? And all this, I doubt not, is the result of a temporary suspension of domestic influences. Be warned then in ttoe all ye fair ones whose husbands are in the rwzks of our most honourable statesmen. Go with your lords to the Empire Oity by all means, and look after them well when yon ace there; and above, all things, do not lose sight of them more than you c#n possibly help. It has been declared by high authority that members' wives ought to have free access not merely to the ladies' gallery, where, as from an ©yry, they can gaze upon their lords from afar, but to the lobbies, the committee rooms, Bellamy's, the library, smoking rooms, and the rest, so that not only might they be informed whether .members were really engaged on the business of fthe country when they said they were, but have ♦them also at all times under the hallowing int?lu6uce arising from the possibility of a sudden urruption of those who have the best interest in <their moral welfare and in their faithful discharge of the onerous duties of their high posir ifcion. It is a common remark that when a mau becomes a politician he is lost; he liesunblushingly, you positively cannot believe a word he says, he is capable of any aefarious deed. But there is nothing in politics simply, to produce these unlh*ppy results, in fact dt it not the politics, they should have an elevating and ennobling influence rather than otherwise, omy as a rule they iiayen't, /note is the pity. HowesEr, no w, at the •commeneament of this summer session of 1887, I send forth this timely warning to thGS© Jadies <who may have lingered behind their lords, advising them at«H hazards to hasten after them to the Seat of Government lest they fall into all tmsnuer of unorthodox habits. Thank goodness the elections are over and .done with, and the great wave of " talk " that fcas recently swept over New Zealand, overwhelming and nearly driving mad every sensible iperson in it, has at last rolled itself off into the •bosom of the Pacific or elsewhere, nobody cares •eo-that it has but gone, clean gone, from off our ■shores. Perchance the political atmosphere will ibe a trifle Clearer now—and that, at all events, be a gain in every way. How is it, I won«

der, that in Australia so little interest is manifested in the political affairs of this colony? Some few there are, of course, who follow the political fortunes of New Zealand with due attention, but they are but a small minority. Perhaps the deep water that divides oar land from theirs cuts off, in some measure, political interest. However, be that as it may, one thing is certain, namely, that there is but little community of feeling between the two, not so much, I should think, as there must have been some 20 or more years ago. ♦• Australasia " is, after all, only a word. The reality is " Australia " and " New Zealand," and these, I flm inclined to think, will always be two, not one. Australia will grow into greatness and empire, and Sydney and Melbourne will be its London and New York. New Zealand will be organised differently — insular, not continental, with half a dozen small capitals instead of one large metropolis. Then life with us must inevitably be on a smaller, quieter, but perhaps more enjoyable footing. We shall never have that great eager rush of life that Australia will most certainly have. But, on the other hand, we may live longer, live happier, and therefore have no reason to regret the difference. But, stay. I am drifting into political prophecy, and that is quite outside the province of " Pearl Pen," who, although holding discretionary power ts deal with matters grave or gay, as errant fancy or sober circumstances may direct, does not at the same time profess to be a very wise or profound politician. By the way, why, I wonder, are some of the West Coast M.H.R's. likened to savage animals ? Are they more ferosious and bloodthirsty than are other hon. members, or what may be the reason ? For instance there is The " Buller Lion " still untamed By Munroe, or by Bell ; Who'll work his crafty schemes until He sounds his own death knell. Then there is burly Mr R. J. Seddon, of Eumara, who last session was referred to in a newspaper article as " the performing bear of the House," a notion that tickled the "bear" himself immensely ; for Mr Seddou is a manly fellow and not put out by trifles, so he enjoyed the joke, and only retaliated by declaring that, as the writer was a lady, if he only had the pleasure of knowing her, and found that she was nice, he " shouldn't mind giving her a hug." So much for the bear. j