WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 29

W ELLINGTON.

AT, Wam>anui on Wednesday, Edward Hackett was fined £10 for supplying liquor to a prohibited person. James Mahoncy was fined £1 for procuring liquor during the currency of a prohibition order, and Charles Smith £4 for a similar offence - . % There were 18 deaths at Wanganui m August, including nine persons whose aver-, a<*e age was 75. There were 45 births. A meeting of settlers at Feilding appointed a committee to deal with the rabbifc pest, and formulate a scheme to check the spread of rabbits in the district. A deputation representing ,346 school committees of the -colony waited on the Pxemier on Monday, and drew his attention to tho need for an amendment in the Education Act in the direction of making more explicit provision for the consolidation ot committees by the Education Boards m the appointment and removal of teachers. Tho Premier agreed that the matter was of considerable importance, and that the present condition of affairs needed alteration There should be something more definite than now prevailed. If committees were to have powers they should tc defined, and if' their duties were- to be merely perfunctory the Legislature should say so. He was satisfied that committees should have greater powers than now, and that there should be a higher- authority to settle disputes. He advised the deputation' to embody its request in a petition to Parliament. At St. John's Church on Sunday the Rev. Dr Gibb referred to the recent action of the House of Representatives in adjudging him guilty of a breach of privilege. "I suppose," he said, "many of you expect me to say something concerning; the remarkable breach of orivilege debate in the House the other evening. It was in many respects a very remarkable debate. If a member of Parliament proves false to his promises, you may, it seems, go into his electorate and plainly tell his constituents, as that involves no breach of privilege; but, marvellous to relate, if you venture to intimate your intention to the person chiefly concerned, you are guilty of an offence against the laws of tho House. Well, for "my part, I utterly fail to see the point which a. maioiity of the House apparently sa-w clearly, and in like circumstances I will a?ain do exactly what I did. The fact is t'-afc it is time, and more than time, for the promoters of the great crusade for the restoration of the Bible to the publio schools .to speak, straight out," and to insist that promises made to them shall be kept. It has come to a "precious pass in this supposedly free community if a man may not speak out his convictions about Parliament and its members without let or hindrance. And yet I do not think that anything bettor for the cause could happen than that an effort should be "made io restrict freedom of speech. But that will not happen There will be no martyr made. Neither bonds nor imprisonment await the boldest champion of our cause. Aa a matter of fact, the laughter which gieeted the statement that the dignity of rhe House had been vindicated shows clearly cnoug-h how the matter was regarded by Pailiament itself. The whole thing is absurd. The discussion, however, revealed a remarkable vocabulary of vituperation, ancl a dictionary of slang might be enriched by culling some of the choice expressions that were used by_ one J or t\\ o members concerning the bold', bad man who had dared to invade the sacrosanct privileges of Parliament. I have, however, it was said, been sufficiently punished. Well, well! I have had a good deal of quiet amusement out of that statement, as doubtless so have you. The collcetioii will be taken up, and the choir wiil sing the anthem ' Blessed be the name of the Lord.'"