Political Notes and Com meats.

Southland Times, Issue 13284, 10 August 1895, Page 3

Political Notes and Com meats.

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(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, Aug. 8. Sir Geo. Grey’s resignation by. letter has just been received by the Speaker. It reads as follows :—•• 7 Park Place, St. James, London, 2nd June, 1895. Sir,—Being incapacitated by illness from fulfilling my duties as one of the members of the House of Representatives I hereby resign my seat as one of the members for the city of Auckland.—l have the honour, etc.—G. Grey.” The signature is obviously that of a man who is feeble, very unlike that which used to be written by Sir George before he left New Zealand. Mr Buddo wants to know whether the Government is aware of the great destruction of fish that goes on in rivers and streams through the use of lime or other matter poisonous to fish. He suggests that either by legislation or by an Order-in-Council penalties should be imposed on those who use such means for destroying fish. The North Auckland H. and C.A. Board wants charitable aid to be provided for out of the consolidated revenue or each County Council to be constituted a Charitable Aid Board. This shows the state of things in connection with local government in the Auckland district. It is expected that the matter will be dealt with in the Local Government Bill, but this measure is not yet in sight, though the Premier said a fortnight ago that it would be in the hands of members within a week. Io is a satire on Parliamentary practice that a wordy, worthless, wearisome debate like that now going on on the Budget should be tolerated by the people’s representatives while local Government reform and other vitally important measures are kept in the back ground to an extent which is incompatible with a reasonable regard for the public interest. The County Council Conference has been postponed for a fortnight solely because the Local Government Bill is not yet ready. Mr Meredith says that the Government have no more to do with the state of the labour market than the Queen of Madagascar or the King of Timbuctoo. To-night Mr T. Mackenzie facetiously compared the Colonial Treasurer to Joseph of the Old Testament story, but Mr Carroll very cleverly took up the parable and showed that it was extremely complimentary to hs colleague inasmuch as Joseph was a most successful treasurer and a statesman who scattered plenty over Egyp% just as the Joseph who is our Colonial Treasurer is helping to do in New Zealand. Mr J. W. Kelly is introducing a Domestic Servants Half-holiday Bill. Some time ago the’Minister of Labour stated that he would accept no amendment of the kind in the Shops and Shop Assistants Act and as no other member seemed inclined to move in the matter Mr Kelly has brought in his little bill. Its object is to give all women servants a half-holiday in each week, the same as ehop assistants, say from 3 o’clock on the day appointed. The day will probably be fixed as that for the half-holiday under the Shops and Shop Assistants Act, unless where an agreement exists to the contrary between employer and servant. Mr Parata is asking for a return showing all the moneys due to the Native Land Court for fees and costs of issuing titles to lands owned by Maoris and' halfcastes in the Middle and Stewart Islands, also that the same be translated into the Maori language. The chief topic of conversation to-day has been Sir Robert Stout’s dramatic disclosure last night of the fact that the Canadian tariff used in the Budget as the basis of the commercial treaty between |New Zealand and the Dominion belonged to 1890, and had been superseded by the tariff of 1894, no knowledge of which is indicated in the Budget. It would seem, however, that the matter is capable of explanation. The Customs Department, in preparing the list of duties, appears to have copied the Canadian tariff of 1890 instead of that of 1894, a copy of which the Treasurer to-night Uid on the table. Dr Newman says the Government’s financial policy, which protends to- be one of champagne and oysters, is in reality pierety a thing of lemonade and periwinkles,