Political Notes and Comments.

Southland Times, Issue 13503, 21 July 1896, Page 2

Political Notes and Comments.

[By Telegraph.] (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, July 20. The payment this afternoon to the Speaker in good bunk notes of the fine of L5OO imposed by the House on Mr Watson, President of the Bank of New Zealand, is acknowledged on all hands to be a distinct triumph for the Government. An important precedent has been created and the dignity of Parliament has been upheld. It is of course difficult to say what would have occurred had Mr Watson not paid the fine, the opinion of Mr Bell, admittedly one of the smartest lawyers iu the House, being that no means exist whereby the House could have recovered the amount of the fine. From the firm stand Ministers have taken in the matter many consider that the fine would have been recovered even though special legislation had been found necessary. It is pointed out that the fact of Mr Watson having paid the fine does not in any way get over the difficulty that might arise on any future occasion if a person fined refused to pay. Members generally are of opinion that Parliamentary privileges should be more clearly defined by statute ; also that all oaths of secrecy should net be held binding on a witness before a Parliamentary Committee. Meanwhile the question of the moment is— What is to be the next development ?— which question will in all probability be settled at to-morrow mornings sitting of the Banking Committee. The tine was paid into the Treasury. The purchase under the Lands for Settlement Act from the Assets Realisation Board of the Arowhenua and Albury estates in Canterbury, the area of the former being 4600 acres and of the latter 19,000 acres, should go a long way in the direction of satisfying the earth hunger which for a long time has troubled that provincial district.

Friday night’s debate was one of the severest tests the Hansard reporters have experienced for some time. The House sat from 7.30 until nearly 5 o’clock next morning and at 5 o’clock the whole of the speeches were ready for the printers, subject to members looking through them. The erasure by the Speaker of certain portions of the speech he made when justifying his interference on the occasion when the Minister of Lands was compelled to withdraw certain terms made use of by him respecting a person not a member of the House, has opened up the whole question of the desirableness or otherwise of members being permitted to even correct their proofs. It is considered that with an efficient Hansard staff there should be absolutely no necessity for members correcting proofs of their speeches. The Agricultural Department expresses considerable surprise at the action of the New South Wales Government in prohibiting the importation of swine from New Zealand. It is contended that the colony is free from swine fever, and it is difficult to find any reasonable explanation of the step taken by New South Wales,