Political Notes.

Southland Times, Issue 12328, 22 September 1892, Page 3

Political Notes.

(By Tklk<;k.wh.) (from ocr own correspondent.) Wki.un<:tov, Sept. 20. During the debate on the second reading of the Public Revenues Bill yesterday considerable confusion seemed to prevail in the minds of members as to the genuine purport of the bill, and when Mr Rhodes sat down after making a serious appeal to the Treasurer to explain to the House what the effect of the bill would really be, Mr Valentine rose and declared that there could be no doubt as to what was intended. The Financial Statement itself, he said, made the matter very clear, for it emphatically declared that when the guaranteed debentures were released by the substitution of Treasury bills in their place for the purpose of satisfying the Bank of England, the proceeds of the debentures would go towards paving off the amount due to the Public Works fund, which was secured by these debentures, and when the balance or surplus was to be used for any other purpose found desirable. This purpose, hesaid, would befound to bethe provision of the L 200,000 for public works which was intended to be provided out of the surplus revenue for the year ending 31st March next. Mr Ballance, in his reply, declared that the power asked for to issue half a million Treasury bills only meant that he would be able to redeem the guaranteed debentures, but when urged to say what he would do with the bonds when redeemed, he gave an evasive reply to the effect that they would be used in connection with public works, &c. Th 8 is held generally to bear out Mr Valentine's conteniion. That gentleman has all along declared that the (Jovernment meant borrowing notwithstanding their statements to the contrary, and it is maintained that the Public Revenues Bill gives colour to hiß contention, especially when the Treasurer intimated that he asked for power to issue LIOO,OOO of Treasury bills in addition to the sum required to redeem the guaranteed bonds. The draft amendments made in the Electoral Bill were submitted by the Statutes Revision Committee to the Legislative Council to-day. The clause imposing a month's imprisonment on any shipmaster who refuses to allow a seaman to go ashore to vote is qualified by the provision that the refusal must be unreasonable before the master can be liable for punishment. A w >man elector is to receive an elector's right in virtue of registration before the issue of a - writ ; the ballot paper of a woman voter is *to be given to her after the day of nomination instead of after the issue of a writ ; the provision that a woman's ballot paper only shall be sent to the returning officer by the postmaster receiving it is struck out and replaced by a clause making it incumbent upon the postmaster to send to the returning officer, immediately after the close of the poll, the names of all the electors who shall have exercised the right to vote at the post office under his charge. The committee have stipulated that any woman who may not have received an elector's right shall not be prevented from recording her vote at a polling booth in the ordinary way. The committee struck out the word "female" wherever it occurred, and substituted the word " woman." Sept. 21. The Land Bill was before the Lands Committee of the Legislative Council again today when, I understand, that the Committee got as far as the end of clause 99 ; several earlier clauses however beingfpostponed. I understand, further, that among the amendments made by the Committee those most Important were as follows :— (1) to clause 57 a new subsection was added pro\ id ing that the deposit on applications for small grazing runs shall be one pound and five shillings per centum on the cash price of the land ; (2) clause 87 (which disqualifies married womeu from being selectors) was struck out on the motion of Mr Stevens ; (3) in clause 89 the penalty of two years' imprisonment for a breach of the Act was struck out and a fine ' of LSOO or one years imprisonment substituted.