HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 2855, 18 September 1875, Page 2

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Sept. 17. The House met at 7.30, when the debate was continued on clause 5. A. long discussiou ensued. On the motion of Outhbertson, that Southland, including the Municipality of Queenstown, should be made a Provincial district, Macaudrew said he would support it if it included Dunedin. A warm discussion followed as to whether Otago or Southland benefited most by these Provinces, which only terminated by Cmlibertßon withdrawing the amendment. Clauses 6 and 7 passed unamended, and with little discussion. Clause 8, for vesting certain powers over land and property, now in the hands of Superintendents, in t'ue hands of the Governor, gave rise tv a discussion which occupied the remainder of the evening. — Atkinson, in the course of bis explanation of the intention and object or the Government, said they were abolishing what he considered the: worst form of Centralism. — Grey immediately rose and delivered a long harangue, rebuking the Treasurer for insulting Provincial institutions, and denouncing the Government for aces which were unbecoming and unparalleled in the British Empire. • He cited an instance where a General Government agent was offered a douceur, in the form of a share worth £2,000, in a prospector's claim, while the negotiations for opening the lield were pending, and when the agent declined to take it, it waa given to a clerk in hia office. The Government had an amount of funds at their disposal which, considering the smallness of the population, was unexampled, and their great power was improperly exercised both inside the House and out of it. He could cite many instances, and could prove all of them, and he boldly asserted as his firm conviction, that the chief reason for the Government hurrying on the Abolition Bill was with the hope that those charges now pending against them might be shelved ; in fact, he almost despaired of bringing them to light. To show the extravagance of the Government, he referred to £4,000 being advanced to Yogel at home. — Bowen and Atkinson intimated that it was not a proper time to go into these questions, but when the time came the Government would shed all possible light upon every charge made. In the course of further remarks by Grey upon the same point, he made some offensive remarks respecting the position of Luckie towards the Government, but upon being called to order, apologised. — Gibbs and Wakefield remonstrated against the impropriety of Grey persistently making damaging charges against the Government, while they were still not proven. It was un-English to consider a man guilty before conviction. — Macandrew proposed to amend the clause so as to place the control of education in Otago in the hands of the Education Board. After considerable discussion, the Treasurer prevailed . • upon Macandrew to withdraw his amendment, upon the promise that the Government would introduce a clause placing education throughout the colony in the hands of Local Boards. Upon clause 10 being put, Reid commented upon, the three new clauses (28, 29, and 30) to be added to the Bill as a sort of compromise to the arrangement between the Government and the Opposition. Those clauses, he said, bonnd the Opposition to agree to Provincial Councils not meeting again, and to no new contracts being entered upon. But as he understood it, no such arrangement had ]

been made, and he for one would object, i and would prefor going back to the fovnier position of parties, and fight the matter out till February. — Stout and Sheehan took similar views of the arrangement, and expreastid their determination to resist. —After ' explanations from Rolleston, McLean, Fitzherbert, and Montgomery, it appeared that the misunderstanding was im:roly<)the split- ; tins* of a straw, and the clause vraa passed 1 without reporting progress, as was first de- ' manded by Stout. The following clause passed without discussion. The House adjourned at 12.40. 2.30 p.m. Maori Representation Bill introduced and read a first time. A considerable portion of the afternoon was occupied in discussing question of privilege raised by Fitzherbert, who called : the attention of the Speaker to what he said I was tampering with Press Agency telegrams I by the 'Southern Cross,' and by which I words were put in the mouth of Sir George ; Grey which he never used. Fitzherbert | quoted what he called a garbled telegram, i which made out that Grey used treasonable words against his Queen. He quoted from * Hansard ' to show that no such words had ever been used by the hon. gentleman, or sent by the Agency, and said the words must have been altered in the printing office. Cheap telegraphy was a boon, but with such practices he thought it was like libelling public men at public coat. The hon. gentleman commented in very strong terms upon the offence.— 'Lnckie made a very spirited reply. He quoted from a number of papers and from reports of other than Press Agency to show that the interpolation did not alter the meaning of the original words of the message, and maintained that all were almost identical in meaning. Luckie read a telegram from the managar of the ' Cross ' to say that the alteration was made in the ' Echo ' office ; the ' Cross ' only copied. He also quoted from the ' Evening Post ' a statement that Grey and Wilson, the two men in the House specially marked by the Queen, were most given to the use of treasonable expressions. — Fitzherbert made no motion and the maiter dropped. The remainder of the afternoon was occupied in discussing the 12th clause, but no progress was made ; Stout and Murray being most marked. in raising objections.