WELLINGTON NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6185, 13 March 1888, Page 2

WELLINGTON NOTES.

— ■ ' ♦ f w [By TBijBar.APH.3 [fbom oue own 'oobeebpondsnt.] "W ELF.INGTON, MAsdH 12. During the «/ ime o fthe Stout-Vogel Government we r^ere accustomed to read shrieking arfcu J e8 in certaia organs about the wicked ex/ >raya g ance o f the members of the Ministry i n fc n8 matter of travelling, llie-e same journals have no shrieks now for the patfr y power, and yet the travelling uichic A tionß of Ministers do not apPear to V j abated one jot. Mr Mitchelson, who has jn6t. completed an extensive tour « *£ <V " est Coast> lßft again **>•&&? for the Soutb . Nobody 6eem3 exactly to know w har J iii s business may be in the Middle Islf ,ud, and it is only vaguely asserted that £* goes on a visit of " inspection " south as Y*r as Invereargill. TTpoa *»*■» return from ' che South, Mr Mitcheleon ia "billed" to undertake a long and tedious, and, I may add, costly journey through the interior of the North Island, via the Hot Lake district, to Auckland. Accompanying the Minister of Workß to-day on his journey South was Mr Hislop, the Colonial Secretary. What hiß particular b usinesa may be I am not able to inform you, and that is a grave admission for a correspondent to make, but as he is accompanied by his private secretary,it is fair to assume . that lie will also send a voucher to the Treasury, for doing which his party were wont bo strongly to denounce the Stoufc-Vogel Government. Then Messrs . Fergus and Fisher are contemplating a journey North, both, as I understand, on " visits of inspection," as far as Auckland, where the former takes his departure for Australia, to look after some private business. lam wondering whether next session there will arise a Thomson to call for a return of Ministerial travelling espenees. The list of additions to the Commission. o£ the Peace will have been forwarded to you through the ordinary channel. . Tie list i 8 a fairly long one, and I am not going to take very strong exceptions to it, The conviction, however, is forced upon me that there is a preponderance of names with a West Coast (North Island) address, and when it ie remembered that the Hon Premier's constituency is in that direction, one is tempted to ask if all these gentle* men are invested with magisterial honour and power for the sole reason that they are the fitfwer of the nation. One case which tends to make one doubt the bond, fides of the appointments is that in which the Chairman of a recent candidate's Comr mittee tb appointed to the Commission of the y^ace by the Ministry of which the said recent candidate is now a member. I d/j nob cavil at any appointment now my.de, bat I want the organs that Bhrieked a. couple of years ago to Bhriek now. Talking about Justices, you have, of course, heard about the trouble at the Gore Police Court, where the local Justices retused to Bit with the. Mayor, who waa appointed by virtue of his office, and that when three of them sat together, they quarrelled and made a scene, because the Mayor thought he was really Chief Magistrate of the town, and asserted his right to sit as Chairman of the ' Bench. It appears that there is likely to be an enquiry into the matter by the Justice Depart meat, who, I learn, were very unwilling to place the said Mayor on. the Commission of the Peace at all, tor what is considered good and sufficient reason. The papers were withheld by the Department for some time, and I understand the advica of the Crown Law Officer was obtained in tha matter, but nothing could be done, as statutory provision existed for the appointment by virtue of the Mayoral office. Several other Mayors are in the same poßition, and the Government, recognising the incongruity of the position, and deeming it undesirable that any man, be ne Mayor or anyone else, should preside as Magistrate in a Court where, but a short time ago, he figured as a brawler and disturber of the peace of our Sovereign Lady the Queen, are considering the advisablenesa of bringing down a Bill next session dealing with the question. It is anticipated that the Bill will propose to repeal that part of the Act constituting Mayors cc ojjicio Justices of the Peace. You will have been informed by the Press Association of the changes to be made in police administration in the Colony by the amalgamation of district! and the retirement of two of the present Inspectors. One of these retires fall of years and honour. I allude to Inspector James, whom many of your readers will remember as Commissioner of Police under the "Wesfciand Provincial Government in the palmy days of Hokitika. He goe3 out of harness with the best wishes and kindest remembrances of all who .know him. The other retiring officer, Inspector Sullen, now of Napier, i 6, comparatively speaking, a young man. Your readers both in South and North Canterbury, at Timaru, I think, and in Marlborough, have also an acquaintance with this gentleman. B c retires on compensation allowance. Inspector James has earned his pension. To-day a deputation waited on the Minister of Education with reference to some library matter in which the' evening paper edited by Mr Wakefield had differed with I the Government. The deputation produced the Evening Press article, and all the hot I blood of all the Fishers leaped through j tbe veins of the Minister of Education. [ To use a colloquialism, "all the fat waa in j the fire," and the Minister of Education treated the deputation to an exhaustive dissertation on the journalistic sins and omissions of Edward "Wakefield. The interview is reported nt length in the eyenizjg papers, and the dignity of the Minister does not appear to have been at all well conserved. Wabefield on. the Honorable George to-morrow eveai&g ought to- be entertaining. The political friends nnd sympathisers, of the Hon John Bryce have been collecting money with which to tfivo him a testimonial. A large sum, it is understood, has been, collected from all parts of the Colony. and the presentation is to take place at as early date. The. Queen of Sweden is very unpopular ab bouitv She once boxed the ears of a maid of honour, daughter of a Norwegian statesman, and Stockholm caanqt forget or forgiro it. '