The Evening Herald. MONDAY, SEPT. 22, 1873.

Wanganui Herald, Volume VI, Issue 1903, 22 September 1873, Page 2

The Evening Herald. MONDAY, SEPT. 22, 1873.

The Victorian Parliament is at the present time enacting a part similar to our own Assembly. The electoral Bill, over which the Lower House had taken both time and pains, was unceremoniously rejected by the Council, and,' as in our own case, the representatives inthepopularChamber seem inclined to support the Ministry with considerable unanimity. The Upper House in Victoria is elective, and surely the fact will have shown the reformers in this Colony that a nominee Chamber is not the only body likely to be obstructive, it appears to us that reconstruction is necessary, hut to be effectual in preventing crises and dead-locks, it must proceed on the principle adopted in the United States, where the power of veto in the President is limited,, by a provision in the Constitution that the Senate can pass any Bill over his head by a majority of twothirds. If the House of Representatives ' had the power of passing a measure which had been rejected by the Council by a two-thirds' majority, difficulties between the two Houses would for ever disappear. In order that our readers may follow the'line of action of the Victorian Government we take the following from the Australasian : " The. rejection of the Electoral Bill by the Legislative Council has brought the Government face to face with a serious difficulty, and the attitude of the Ministry on Wednesday night showed that the difficulty was felt in its full gravity. The attention of the House and the Government was called to the subject by Sir C.

G. Duffy, who asked the Chief Secretary what course the Government purposed' taking in the position of affairs which had arisen. The reply of Mr Francis was reasonable and cautious. He said that the difficulty of the question was increased by its criming in so unexpected a form, and great judgment was required for its consideration. The Government had not

yet had time fully to consider the course it should take. On this Mr Higinbotham rose and delivered a speech in denuncia-

tion of the Council, arid made suggestions as to the means to be taken to bring that body into proper subjection— suggestions that were felt to be wild and unpractical even by that lion, gentleman's political friends. MrHiginbotham had a marvellous plan, understood only by himself, of bringing the Council to terms by means of a measure for imposing taxation more heavily upon large properties. He also advocated a tack, " a genuine, a real tack" ; but the recommendations of the lion, member were too heated and too incoherent to evoke much sympathy from any part of the Assembly. Mr G. Y. Smith spoke with sense and moderation, pointing out that as the rejected measure affected constitutional matters, it was one which the Council had the full right to deal with in the exercise of its co-ordinate powers." The Chief Secretary made au elaborate statement, as Mr Vogelhas done, and in further reference to the position the same paper observes : —" Mr Francis was very calm, and cautious, and moderate in his statement on Thursday night as to the intentions of the Government in reference to the questions raised by the Council's laying aside of the Electoral Bill. He complained that the Council had not taken the trouble to criticise the measure it had so unceremoniously thrown aside, so as to put on record its views on the subject, that the Assembly and the Government might have known what were the provisions to which most objection was taken. Under the circumstances, the Government would take steps to have the bill restored to • the notice-paper of the Upper House—the manner in which it had been dealt with allowing that course to be adopted—so as to elicit from the Council a distinct and definite expression of its opinion on the subject of reform. He also stated that it wasrthe intention of the Government to make the question of the reform of .the Upper House the chief and foremost point in the. appeal to the country to be made at the'next election. With the exception of a speech from Sir Charles CJavan Duffy and one from Mr "Berry, animated by the narrowest party spirit, the sentiments and opinions expressed by the House were moderate, and it was evident that there Avas rather a desire to obtain a satisfactory settlement of tlie difficulty than to precipitate a conflict between the two branches of the Legislature.' Assuming, as we may fairly assume, that a similar spirit will be shown by the Council, thero is no reason why such -a settlement may not be arrived,at as will be acceptable to both Houses and I to the Government."

The Hawera-Waihi races are apj>ointed to take place on the 4th and sth December.

A telegram states that Mr John Hare, Clerk of the Bench at Napier, is to be removed to Wanganui, Mr Duncan Guy to take Ms place.

A .newspaper war has taken place in Victoria between two of their representative men, Mr O'Shanassy and Sir G. 0. Duffy. " The matter arose (says the Australasian) out of some references by Sir C Gr. Duffy in a speech, in the House, and Mr O'Shanassy, desirous to reply, committed what the result has proved to be the great mistake of transferring the field of battle to the columns of The Are-us. In a letter, written in a very offensive strain, he replied to the statements made, and in this fashion :—" But the whole of this is innocence itself compared to his reckless and mendacious statement that I proposed in 1858 to increase the number of members to 93, and that I actually put my name on the back of a bill for that purpose as stated above. I thought when I read this, in view of the actual fact, that the statement was something akin to delirium. I never brought in a bill to increase the number of members of the Assembly to 93." When Sir 0. G. Duffy read this he must have exclaimed, in the words of Cromwell at Dunbar, " The Lord has delivered him into mj hands." In his letter in reply he quotes this statement, and gives name and date of the Electoral Bill introduced in 1858-!), dividing the colony into districts for 93 members, and endorsed, '■' Brought in by Mr Chapman and Mr O'Shanassy," who were then Attorney-General and Chief Secretary. He proceeds in the niost agreeable manner : —" I will not characterise his narrative in the above extract as ' reckless and mendacious, ' for I never employ'the language of the gutters ; but I have placed it side by side with the actual facts of the case, and leave it for judgment." So far as the controversy has gone, Mr O'Shanassy has had nothing io boast of. His adversary has been as far superior to him in his arguments as in his literary style. As Mr O'Shanassy left this colony for Sydney the day on which his own letter appeared, we have not yet got his answer, and shall have to await it —possibly for a long while."

.To-day. (Monday) is,the begining of the Jewish new year 5634. ■ .

The Borough Council meet to-night to take into consideration •• the Engineer's report o/i the Water question.

We learn with pleasure that John Gann- '' ning Esq., of Napier, will attend the next show of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association as a judge of sheep and cattle. Mr Canning-has a high reputation on the East Coast as an excellent and impartial judge. The University of Dublin has conferred upon his Honour Sir W. F.Stawell the degree of Docter of Laws. Saundei-s''News-Letter of '.Tune 20 chronicles the fact' 'in the following; terms: —" The summer commencements were held yesterday, aiul it is most gratifying- to observe that whilst, the University of Dublin decorate straingers she is is not unmindful of her own alumni. Amongst those on whom the senate conferred the honorary degree of LL.i). was a distinguished Irishman, who has for many! years filled with great ability a high judical office in our colonies—Bh- William Foster Stnwell, Chief Justice of Victoria. This eminent judge, on his return to his native country, after a lengthened abscene, has receievb from University one of the most signal marks of its appreciation which it Ciin bestow, and we have no doubi tlmtthe honour yesterday conferred upon him will be regarded by Sir William Stawell as one of the most gratifying incidents of lr is public life." It is announced that brandies of the National Bank have been opened at Hamilton, in the Waikato, and at Coromandel Gold Fields, making in all -tf branches in full operation. .' .;;