LATEST WELLINGTON NEWS.

Waipawa Mail, Volume 5, Issue 517, 28 August 1883, Page 2

LATEST WELLINGTON NEWS.

(by telegraph.) (from odr special correspondent.) "Wellington, August 27. There is much comment in the lobbies to-day, over a report that evidence was given before the Darga-ville-Atkinson committee this morning, totheeffect that £250,000 of insurance funds had been lodged in the bank of Now Zealand on deposit for two years, at a low rate of interest, thereby giving that institution a great advantage over other banks.

Thera was an Otago “ free fight” in the House this afternoon, over the Otago Harbor Board Loan Bill, and some warm sparring between Messrs Eish and Green. The Bill passed its second reading, and is now being discussed in committtee The Civil List Act Amendment Bill (Mr Connolly) aims to amend the Civil List Act so far as relates to the salaries of the Judges of the Supreme Court. It provides that instead of the sum of £77ooannually appropriated for the salaries of the Judges, the amount shall in future be appropriated as follows : Annual salary of the Chief Justice £2OOO ; annual salaries of four puisne judges £IOBO each. Sir George Grey’s Restrictions Extinguishment Invalidation Bill will cause some talk. It deals with native lands, and provides that where Crown grants have been issued to natives of of any land, such land being inalienable except by lease, no other alienation shall be possible ; and in cases where lands have been parted with, in any manner or for any consideration, in spite of the alienation clause, all such transactions shall be absolutely void. Messrs Smith, Buchanan, and Sutton applied to-day for, and obtained, a copy of the interim report of the route via Hawke’s Bay of the North Island main trunk line. Its general effect is that the features of the country along the projected line by way of Ripia valley, as suggested in the “ Elliman” report, did not correspond with what Mr Williams had been led to expect ; as, although the valley itself might offer a good line of road or railway, the difficulty was to get into the valley, owing to the high land between it and Napier. Another valley, nearly parallel with that of the Ripia, is said to offer facilities for railway

The exploration between .\a ~ Taupo has not yet been completed, a party of men having been left to cut lines through the bush.