Wellington.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 1, Issue 66, 12 September 1890, Page 2

Wellington.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

Political

The Estimates have now been passed, the House sat on Saturday till 11 p.m. and on, ; Monday. •'Withmnch.'a recpyd,j it will be apparent that there is a determination to get through the business as soon as possible and ‘‘ go home.” The fact is that, members, are now anxious to get amongst their various ' constituents, for to those of. them at anyrate who intend to again woo the electors, the time is short,, and those whose seats are shaky are particularly anxious to get upon the war-path with-. out delay. Tuesday next is now generally fixed- upon: m thej the prorogation will take place,’and in anticipation a few of the members have already bent their faces homeward. A special sitting was held 1 on : Batur- 1 day to discuss the Federation but the- debate was adjourned’, until afternoon; when it, was-fuip j ther adjourned till the evening : ., : .oh account of the death, of Mr, Jones, member for Heathcote. Parenthetically, I may remark that the present Parliament has suffered unusual number of members who, have,, died) no fewer than five members ol the Lower and. seven of the' Upper House having joined/the' great majority during the past three years. With regard to the Federation;Debate, I may say that the. tone was decidedly, unfavourable to joining the Australian continent; The result: will ;probably' be that'some half-dozen representatives will be appointed to attend > the next meeting, of the Federal Council at Melbourne, m oro as a 4MI of courtesy than with : any idea j of : giving in [ New Zealand’s adhesion to the great scheme. The speeches of Captain Russell and Sir. G.. Grey ,on , the . subject were amongst the. best efforts' oFthb and to those of your readers who have access to Hansard they will well repay perusal. Physically, Sir George fallows signs of the wear and tear of advancing years,- but,‘mentally, his effort on this and other occasions during the' Session .proves'that he still retains hispristiue vigour. ‘ ■■

The Labour 1 Question^ Of -the progress' of, the unfortunate strikes you have been kept.fully posted. There'is 1 evidence that the' Unionists already regret the hasty step they tqok in knocking off work without sufficient cause, and: my opinion is that very soon the strike will collapse. The Union Steamship Company seem, to keep up their services very well, despite the boycott,, and it is stated.that; ; free labour is plentiful. Contrary to i the idea at one time prevalent, sup- ’ plies of food-stuffs are not at; all scarce; although ’somewhat -higher^;in price; Goal, Q 4 the qther hand r ia still very scarce, and several of opr factories are on short time' in- consequence,' while there is a danger lest the railway service may be still, further curtailed. There has been little to complain about so far as the conduct of the, Unionists is concerned, but there are signs that thedatter are becorning impatient, and are inclined, tq interfere with free labour that has taken the places of the strikers. It is sincerely hoped, in the interests of all concerned, that the attempt to, settle the, difficulty ffiy, jarbitration will succeed. /Genial.; j/ _>) ; I wired you on; Monday that qn the first of the fqqr charges against J. T. Robinson the jury found on Saturday afternoon a verdict of Not, .Guilty, after only some ten minutes consideration. The second indictmsnt .was proceeded with on Monday. Mr Jellicbe is acting for the defence, and in the _ course of cross-.euKaffiihatiph'.h.q gjv^ } some

—— ;pf the %itnesses for the prosecution a bad;.qukrter-of-an-hour. The indictt'erit’ proceeding on Monday charged with the embezzlement of of £lB on 17th October, 1888, and £6 10s on 31st December of the same year, the moneys of the Marlborough School Commissioners. Both amounts represented rents for sections at Kai4una f -S'leased.«from»Jih«iSchooLuCQm!L l missionersi; | It was asserted | that Swafford and Jones paid Oho £•!{£ to the accused, who gave a receipt for it upon the ukuah printed! form^-but the money was for in the icash book, and not paid into the Bank. ' The second amounti.of £sl los represented a money order sent to the accused'by'a(Mr oi*der%h&^j)j&d abcpunt, ..but . was not - entered, ,in .the . cash book, apd apparently a receipt, for the money had not been sent : the lee--see. The case was concluded on Mon-, day'' b^enirig,,ahd' 'deliberation returned’ a ‘verdict of" N6t i Guilty; The.-- Grown; Prosecutor o in*:, timated vthat ;; he would "enter &-nolle , firosiqui in the, other and . accused was ; dikcha%eff/• A