Political Notes.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XVIII, Issue 3104, 26 July 1894, Page 2

Political Notes.

(From various sources.) Captain Rtiss< 11 agrees that public must override private welfare, and tb* no man should hold land unimpri** when oth< rs wanted it for —Tho average extent of holdiag* '* Hawke’s Bay aro not 7000 arres, sss the Fame gentleman, and as to the CberM estate he believed in two yearn* time fa settlers will not he able to pay theirlew . A strong con lomnntion of tho Mast** and Apprentices’ Bill comes from an expected quarter, the leading column* * the Lyttelton Times Tho p'-jper fi little to commend in it, except tho in I ** tion of th * fra nor The system of iodj* taring altogether it regards as a sor*i” of s rfdc m. Surely the a'ire of absorb is reached by c’ais - * 6, under which, our contempt r ry ssye, domestic ■ would have to bo apprenticed. Tho Minister for Lands had • f®* deal of indignant declamation on FrW against the gentlemen, ordinarily i® opinion devoid both of brains and rssps®' ability who express themselves under fa form of the editorial “ We.” It i* fa®* th it even the foremost of them, the t® 6l (hat wield tho thunders of the Times , get little out of it personally are thoy privileged to call tbom®e* f * “ honourable ” They live, on the trary, for the moat part, in obscurity, * die unknowu. The services that taj lender to their country may not, tor v that, be contemptible.

Referring to the issue of Bank of New Zealand stock, the New Zealand Times says : —Considering the quotations of New Zealand stock in the market, the State's guarantee for two millions with 4 per cent guaranteed interest, the proceeds to the Bauk ought to have been equal to par. At the price quoted, these will be slightly under. Tho underwriting and brokerage runs away with one and a quarter of the price, and the Stamp Duty absorbs one and a half. The not proceeds to the Bank therefor© will be ninety-nine and fiveeights, which menus that tho transaction costs the Bauk £,7500 more than it ought to do. “ I am not going to say to-night what I should like to say of the journalists of this colony.” Thus the Hon J. M‘Kenzie on the Lauds for Settlement Bill. The Premier says that M »jor Stoward, the ex-Speaker, has been the guiding spirit for ten years in bringing about the reform of the Standing Orders, which at last have been carried into effect. The Hon Mr Kerr would punish tho wife beater by long terms of incarceration, with the lash at frequent intervals. That, he thinks, would be a much more fitting punishment than giving his wife the chance to get a divorce. In some districts tho license fees derived from hotel properties are the subject of dispute by the local bodies, and Mr Cadman informed the House that a Bill to amend the Alcoholic Liquors Act, which the Government will shortly introduce, will set mat tors right. Meanwhile the distribution of tho money in dispute is to be held over.

Captain Russell and other Free Traders whose names were on the Tariff Committee which tho Treasurer proposed to set up with a view to ascertaining whether any changes in the fiscal policy ure expodient. declined to act, urging that it was tho duty of the Government to formulate a policy of their own, and not shunt their functions on to tho shoulders of a Parliamentary committee. Messrs Pirani and McKenzie (Buller), both Ministerialists, also protested against the tendency of tho Government to delegate their administrative functions to select committees. Tho motion for the appointment of the committee was assented to, a report to bo mnde to the House within a month.

A deputation consisting of Messrs J Vile, Wakeman and Kcoban, members of tho Pahiatua Borough Council, introduced yesterday morning to tl e Pre mier by Mr A. W. Jlogg, M.LI.R for Maetertou, laid before the Minis ter tho difficulties uuder which the Borough Council labored with rogurd to a proposed bridge across the Mangatainoka river, on account of the opposition offered by the members of the County Council w ho n fused to permit tho Borough Council to use the land which was vested in the former body. The Premier, in reply, requested tho deputation to put their grievance in writing, as ho could then refer tho matter to the County Council and find out their objections, j Subsequently the deputation interviewed Mr W. H. Halos, the Engineer in-Chief of the Public Works Department, who re- i commended the erection of a bridge, which would cost more initially than the one proposed, but would, in tho long run, bo less costly, for it would croes the river j itself, and alr.o the old channel. Moreover, if this proposal wore carried out, it would pro! ahly obviate the opposition of the County Council.