LOBBY GOSSIP,

Observer, Volume II, Issue 44, 16 July 1881, Page 486

LOBBY GOSSIP,

Everybody almost connected with Parliament is suffering from some form or other of catarrh. Some get it in the throat in the form of quinsy and bronchitis ; some in the lungs, like poor Home, our well-liked Sergeant-at-arms ; and some into their spleen by a flowing down of the humour of discontent. Pool- Home, by the way, has had a narrow squeak for his life. What is wanted is some patriotic fellow to be found to burn down the House of Representatives and let us get a stone instead of a wooden structure erected. The timber of which Vogel's father-in-law had the building constructed has shrunk like Vogel's policy, and the wind comes in searchingly through the chinks and crannies. Some of the members of the House assert that it would be no trouble to construct a draught-chart after the manner of meteorological charts, showing how the draughts circulate at the different hours of the day and night. Some of the newspaper fellows talk of setting fire to the bulding, but the Speaker advises them to wait until the Government go into the fire-risk business. Atkinson's speech on Local Government was called " making ropes out of sand." On Tuesday Mr. Wakefield was distinctly told that he was not to have a portfolio. We may with good fortune perhaps find the Licensing Bill sent out of the House at the latter end of next week. I am afraid that man Levestam is fast becoming a nuisance in the House, talking about things he does not understand. It is considered probable that Messrs Bryce, Atkinson, Moss, Reader Wood, Ormond, and one or two more will go Constitution-mongering. Any man who comes forward and leads the old Provincial party on the road to Provincialism will lead them to victory. Sir George Grey's proposal to turn our mountains into deer parks, and to train our volunteers into being good marksmen, tickled the fancy of Mr. George McLean highly. Dr. Wallis informed the House that he would rather see New Zealand drunk than dishonest. He did this when protecting the publicans' interest. Beer and the Bible both begin with a " b."

The Premier gave a ball last evening, at which the wealth and. beauty of Wellington city were assembled lam told about 250 of the " elite" were present. Mr. Levinsam gave the House to understand that he liked private bars in hotels, where men could go and drink, as Dr. Wallis said, "on the sly," but denied the soft impeachment when challenged. The Governor's despatcli to the Imperial Authorities dealing with the West Coast native affairs having been suppressed for a season, I hear that a fictitious copy of the despatch, which the Ministers refuse to produce, is now in preparation for printing and circulating. Mr. Sheehan made a good hit when he imagined a Licensing Bench composed of Messrs. Fox, Saunders. and Speight, and a better one when he told these distinguished advocates of temperance that their honorarium was partly paid out of the Custom i levied on spirits and the license money paid by publicans. I am inclined to believe the law of libel should be amended ; for a man is going to be tried here for libel although he is at present in England, and likely to live and die there. I allude, of course, to the case of Griffiths v. Johnson, from Blenheim. I saw Johnson off when he went to England, and he said " Let Griffiths fire away until he is tired." Considerable interest has been felt in Mr. Hursthouse, the Government whip. Once he declared himself last night a Conservative. All his party claim to be Liberals, but yet they have a Conservative whip. Now a Conservative avowed in New Zealand is a rare animal, and he invites study. This Hiirsthouse is tall, young, fair, not bad looking, loud voiced, bucolic in tastes and habits — one of the men a leader of party has to educate into shape, and | todrill into perfect order. When the House on Friday night affirmed the principle that spirits should not be regarded as an article of exchange for native lands, Sutton, of Hawke's Bay, shewed the consistency of his life and the sincerity of his convictions by voting with the minorityThere has been a poor fellow called Tressider here who has on several occasions made his escape from the Lunatic Asylum, and been advertised for. It is now proposed to find him a seat in the House of Representatives, so that he can be found when wanted. Various estimates have been made of the cost of lawn tennis to the Colony. Many of the members of the Legislature devote the larger portion of their time to perfecting themselves in the fame. I may refer to this subject again before the issolution, as the men who practise lawn tennis may be regarded as proficient in croquet. Dr. Wallis has made a fresh advance on democracy pure and simple. The voice of the people only must prevail when the voice is just and wise. When the desire of the multitude is for what is wrong it is to be unheeded. The Doctor is to be the judge of what is right and wrong, even though he be in a minority of one. This is the fullest development he has of a system of representation. Sunday, the wicked say, the AttorneyGeneral devoted to fixing up the electoral boundaries, arranging them so as to favour the next election, all Dargaville having been thrown into Rodney. Seymour George will stand for Waitemata, Allan McDonald will go for Marsdcn, and Rees for the East Coast ; Whitaker, sen., for Waikato, and Tole will be sent up there. What Grey would like would be to fight the Attorney-General for the Christchurch seat. There was great fun over the plan showing the distribution of seats getting out to soon. The Government wanted to hold it back for further cooking, but the newspaper fellows got hold of it by some means or other to the Government's intense disgust. All that the Ministry have engaged to hide was the details of their "highly satisfactory" caucus. In this case Atkinson made the whips swear them all in. Wakefield is supposed to concoct and write telegrams for the Timaru H- raid. I, before this, drew attention to the contrast between the two members for Grey Valley — Weston and Reeves. Wakefield recognised the contrast also, and after alluding to the trim dapper and dainty Weston speaks of his unkempt colleague. Now Reeves combs and oils hia locks with the same care and tenderness as Ben. Disraeli did in the days of yore. So much for the " unkempt" Grey Valley man. When that illustrious scion of the House of Robinson called Hercules departed from New Zealand to England en route for Kafiirland, Lady Robinson the Fat communed within herself what souvenirs she should leave behind her among the shoddy aristocracy of Wellington. After much cogitation she collected all the broken delf she could find at Government House, and all the worn-out tennis balls she could gather together, and presented them prior to her departure to all the sorrowiug tribe of Halls and Johnstons left behind her. The precious relics bestowed by the obese Jew moneylender's daughter are religiously preserved by the recipients, to be handed down as heirlooms to posterity. Mr. Driver, on Wednesday, moved for a committee to inquire into railway management, and report in a month. All this people know from the papers of course, but I am going to tell my readers why the committee was thought i o be appointed : — A member of the Legislative Council whom I know very well has had many axes to grind for many years. He is as conscientious and consistent as the Vicar of Bray. He often travels on the railway, more frequently from having a free pass than he . otherwise would. He curries favour with those in authority on railway matters, and it is said gets more goods carried free on the railway than his own precious carcase. There is a member of the civil service, no matter what his name is, or where he resides, who has an awkward fashion of putting horns on men's . heads, and some times the horns becomes so patent that the world can see them. Well, the civil servant did what the Legislature did— got things carried on the railway which he did not pay for. Of course the trial was too hard for legislative flesh to bear and this Vicar of Bray politician being a Government supporter went to the minister, and told him that if . they would not move for a committee of inquiry into railway management he would do so. Then Oliver put up with the result known. I was thinking of telling this story a week or two since, but thought I |might as well wait for the denouement of the parliamentary comedy. It is a part of my religious convictions and practice ever to go to a show or a concert unless I : have the misfortune to ' be trepanned into taking some daughter of eve there to exhibit a new dress ior a hat. Carey, however, who has produced here ' the " Pirates of Penzance," insisted on my going in, if only for an hour, to hear the Murielle girl or woman, whichever she may be. She comes irom Southland, and knowing what political duffers the Southland constituents sent to the House, I felt not an unnatural curiosity to see what they could send us of a different gender. They may send us what varieties of the human family to the Legislature they please if they send us a girl or a woman occasionally after the Mugrielle pattern. She is not only nice to look at, but sweet to.hear. A clear cut head on a well but not too fully developed bust lends piquancy to a somewhat petite figure. The shimmering gleams of he"r light hair is subdued to the tint the ■ dyer's hand works. It gives her a girlish appearance—a qualification for a successful actress not to be overrated. Merit in a young woman has a higher exchangeable value than in the old, and this Murielle woman can sing. I have heard everyone who has done so, or tried to do so, in New Zealand on the stage, and I never cared to hear any woman a second time, save the Tasmanian girl, Amy Sherwin, but I , would go again to hear Murielle. She has a wonderfully sweet voice, fine in timbre and large in compass. The "Pirates" ran here twelve nights, and they had on the twelfth night one hundred and fifty pounds in the house.