PARLIAMENTARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7062, 23 August 1894, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

(From our Special Reporter.) Wellington, last night. A MONSTER PETITION. One of the largest petitions presented this session was laid on the table of the House this afternoon by Mr Wi Pere. It. was signed by 3410 natives, in favour of his Bill, which provides for a committee system of administering native lands. NAPIER-WAIROA-CI9BORNE ROAD. The A to L committee refei to the Government the petition of Charles Gray and others, who pray that provision may be made for the completion of the main road connecting Napier, Wairoa and Gisborne. I understand a substantial sum of money will be placed on the Estimates for this work, but the bulk of it will be expended Between Napier and Wairoa. THE TAKUF QUESTION*. At to-morrow's meeting of the Tariff and Industries' committee, Mr. Earnshaw will move, " That in the opinion of this committee, the Government should at once deal with the Tariff on the basis of remitting duties upon necessaries of life, and making adjustments necessary to remove the anomalies existing in the present Tariff." THE DIVORCE BIT/L. The Divorce Bill occupied the attention of the Legislative Councillor the greater part of the afternoon. Colonel W hitmore, who moved the shelving of the measure, said it had been condemned in all parts of the colony, its provisions being very lax. Hon. Mr McLean and Mr Stewart said there was an absolute necessity for an amendment in the present law. Hou. Mr Bonar characterised the Bill as dangerous, and said it wa3 impossible to make it a reasonable measure. Hon. Mr Bowen feared the Bill would attack the stability of the family, on ■which the whole social system depeuderl. Colonel Whitmore's motion was lost by 18 to ]5, and the Bill was committed. Hon. Mr Pharazyn moved the rejection of clause '), which equalises both parties as to adultery. Hon. Mr Oliver held that in fairness to women they ought to equalise matters, and now that women had votes they would not long allow the present state of things to continue. Hon. Mr McCullough said every church recognised by its marriage services that the sexes were equal, and he thought it time to remove the great unfairness under which women labored. Hon. Mr Stewart said that with this clause, residents of other countries might claim the benefit of the New Zealand law. The motion to report progress was lost by 18 to 14, but the Council not being disposed to make further progress, Sir P. Buckley moved to report progress, which was agreed to without dissent. COMPLAINT AGAINST HOUSE COMMITTEE. The House Committee were brought to I book in the House this afternoon for allow iug Bellamy's to be used for a semi-political gathering, where a large number of rejected candidates at the last general election assembled, and gave vent to language disrespectful to the Government and to the > Liberal party. The question was raised by Mr E. M. Smith, who said he spoke, not on personal, but on national grounds. Mr Seddon said the Government could afford to treat the remarks made at the meeting with indifference. He considered the Parliamentary buildings should not be so used. Tho steward of Bellamy's should not be called on to compete with the publicans. He had heard that the steward had been beaten down to a price which would entail a loss. Mr Allen emphatically denied this stat ment. The steward had mad© his own charge, which would give a profit. The Premier later on said the steward informed him the price paid was 30s per head, but he was requested to do it for leas. At a later stage Captain Russell said it was to his mind contemptible that such a question should be brought up in the House, and that hon. members who choose to entertain an old fellow-worker, and recognise the esteem in which they held him, should be subjected to such remarks. Mr Allen, who characterised the Premiers statement as mean, unkind and ungenerous, mentioned that there was a rule that members could eutertain their friends at Bellamy's when the House was not sitting. The discussion on this trumpery subject lasted almost the entire afternoon. THE CIVIL SKRVICR. The condition of the Civil Service formed the subject of a lengthy discussion in the House this afternoon. The Premier asserted that the service had every confidence in the present Ministry, more po in fact than they had ever had in any previous administration. The Civil Service was a credit to the colony, had confidence in the Government which employed them, and in the members of the House. Captain Russell, in replying, said that if members of the Civil Service were to come forward and make complaints, as to the indignities to which they were subjected, the inevitable result must be loss of office— hence their silence. When Mr Seddon was in Opposition he was always ready to ruthlessly apply the Premier's knife to the Civil Service so long as he could score a point against a political adversary. The battle of the estimates for years showed that. THE ORDER PAPBR. There are now 84 Bills on the Order Paper of the House, 47 being Government measures, 22 private members' fads, and lo local Bills. There, will be a large slaughter of innocents before the session terminates. DOUBTFUL MINISTERIALIST. Mr G. J. Smith must in future, says the Minister for Lands, be marked by the Whips as " doubtful." FAIR RENT BILL. The Minister for Lands reported last night that the Government will bring in a Fair Rent Bill next session, which will apply to eternal, as well as perpetual, leases. FKEE SCHOOL BOOKS. Mr Flatman asked the Minister of Education to recommend that all children attending the primary schools in the colony should be supplied, free of cost, with one copy of each book required during their term in each standard. The Minister in reply said that there was no money in the public chest to do what was desired. To-day.— Major Steward's Shearers Accommodation Bill will be made a Government measure. Twenty-two members of the Temperance party in the House met, and eight more were accounted for. A sub-committee has been set up to go into the Licensing Bill and report to a later meeting. PARTY (iOVERNMBNT. " Party Government " was the subject under debate in the House last night. Major Steward, in moving the second reading of his Elective Executive Bill, quoted a lot of lengthy opinions in favor of the principle of the Bill. Messrs E. M. Smith and Roderick McKen/.ie opposed the Bill for the reason that it would interfere with the graud policy of the present Government). Mr Saunders said the present system of party government led to a one man Government, government by an autocrat. The Minister for Lands argued that Switzerland was behind the colony in proI :;ve:Aii >'• reforms, a statement that was sirongl;y opposed by Sir Robert Stout, who niiii'iu a \stiong speech in favor of the Bill. Tley , ) fiAfu have a Legislature in which each man was nren 10 vote according to his conscience in-V pledges. The colony should have its ;U)le;Wt mm as executive officers, not dominated l»y any faction or party. To make the Bii'l complete it should provide for a Referendum, for the appointment of members to tfye Second Chamber, and for a Fraud Commhuti finance, public works, etc., auf'J v-^iaving Ministers. The Premk 1 ? ' tuunted Sir Robert Stout with being a itin'iplo of party government, pointing to 'lisV votes this session being consistently wills, the Opposition, and quoting old speeclhos of his in which he strongly supported '.paity government. He (Mr Seddon) siiid tiie present system was conducive to government, and an elective Executive vcmld lead to intrigues and log-rolling. I Sir R. Stout explained that the party would not be üboHshled by the Bill. Mr O'Regan said Vie was a firm believer in the Bill. It was ft viue stion whether a dog should wag his tail/or the tail wag the dog. Whether they ij&d «v elective Executive or

not, they would always have a party, but a party divided upon principle, not upon men. Messrs McGowan, Hogg, and Morrison spoko against, and Messrs Massey, Pirani, and Crowther in favor of the Bill. The second reading was negatived by 27 to 21. The House rose at 1 a.m. J THE RAILWAY BILL. Though the Railways Bill provides for the retention of three Commissioners, it by no meaus follows this ensures a continued management in their hands, with the aid of the Minister of Railways as chairman. A large number of Government supporters are very much dissatisfied that the Bill has not gone the whole hog for State control, and the probability is that when in committee, a proposal will be made by Ministerialists in that direction, and it may not unlikely be accepted by the Premier. The Council would more likely swallow a Bill providing for absolute State control than tho last clause of the present measure, which says that in any future session, on resolution of either House, an Order-in-Council shall be issued vesting the railways in the Government.