Parliamentary Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 6, 1 June 1888, Page 13

Parliamentary Notes.

Wednesday, a^rdU— Ministers were questioned in the House to-day as to the truth of a report that the Government had received twrf^ft! 11 i° m 0n l don announ cing the imminence of war, and warning the colony to be prepared for all contingencies. The truth IJ^""S 0 ™ W * B d ? nied ' K ut ' as ifc waß known tbafc Governor had actually received a cablegram of some sort from the Colonial Office, the denial was not generally taken as conclusive. Mr. Mitchelson, in reply to Mr. J M'Kenzie, promised that he would have the carnage of wheat on the railways charged for by weighf. Exception, however, was taken to his proposal to limit the weight of bags to 2401b5-a compromise being made by his leaving the matter ovefr for fiSw^f" 1 ? dd f cr £ tlon ; Th « motions *« the second reading of the Employment of Females and the Californian Thistle Bills were agreed Si 7 a £ ? motion for the second reading of the Divorce Extension Bill a debate took place, in which some points of a touching and some of an alarming nature were brought forward. But if the Bill finally passes matrimony will be made rery easy, and nothing in the world m wL? h Dre S eDtfch * nt . be mar »K*of disposing of adisagreeable KESiiS?^ a^ 18ltlon of a more agreeable one instead will £« ™J? ? li m&^ c Been ' But the fact Btated Mr. Adams, J?I!TC ?• *f effe - Ct Whe had received multitudes of letters, all to be kept strictly private, from married people actually dying for the passing of the measure seems somewhat calculated to disturb the iOiS^lh* ? ° ou P le8 ' Wh&t husband or what wife can be ESESJS .?* ? S° 8e anxious ePißtlese P iBtles waa not despatched by a traitorous partner? How reassuring it would be had everyone the XiwEf Tf* w F< Syd ? ey Taiwha °ga. who declared, for the •It \ a L° c H °° Se .' at he bimßelf was a P"ty personally interested-adding, with affecting suggestiveness, that habitual drunkenness should form another reason for the dissolution Mr w.n h Meantime ' gentlemen of the sentiments of Mr. Weller, Senr., may prepare themselves for much discomfiture, for there is a very fair prospect that ere long the widow in an aggravated shape will swarm all over the colony .—lt is rumoured that the Surveyor-General opposes the Central Otago line, and, among the objections urged, it is stated that in the land given to the syndicate would be some auriferous blocks and some tracts now returning to the Crown an annual rental of £48,000.

„ Owing to the occurrence of the Queen's birthday, the Chambers adjourned from Wednesday until to-day. •Nothing of any extraordinary importance has taken place.— The Council shows some disposition to oppose the Chinese Bill ; but anything that tends to make against cheap labour must be expected to meet with opposition from the aristocratic element of the Colony, whose energies have always been directed to the procuring and encouragement of such labour.-The Mining Act Amendment Bill waß vl g°T o ? sl y °PP oßed b 7b 7 Mr. Seddon, who has two Bills of his own -the Mining Partnership Bill and the Schools of Mines Bill— to introduce. The debate was adjourned for a fortnight.— The Slaughter nouses Bill received some opposition, as likely to destroy or injure tke business of small butchers, who would not be able to pay the fee ©f £25 imposed by it. The claim implied in Mr. Taylor's argument that the matter should be looked at from a colonial rather than a local point of view may be disputed, if the meaning of the honourable member is that the interests of the Colony would be served by giving a helping hand to capitalists and companies at the expense of working-men. The motion for the second reading was agreed to.— me Uhmamen of Auckland have petitioned Parliament against tneir race generally being discredited by statements made in the House and prejudice being permitted to interfere with their arrival or standing in the Colony.— Several Members are said to make their support of Mr. Pyke's Catholic Schools Bill conditional on the extension of its provisions to all other schools independent of the State— to which Catholics would certainly have no objection

Tuesday ag)tll» — In the Council to day, Sir George Whit more gave notice of a motion for calling out the militia, owing t the unsettled aspect of affaire in Europe.— The Minister of Lands o* anßwer to Mr. Guinness, who questioned the Premier as to whethin GoTernment were inclined to adopt the liberal system of setter ment prevailing in the Argentine Republic, said that the circulestances of the Colony would not at present permit of any more mliberal system than that now in use.— The Financial Statement was made by the Colonial Treasurer. It includes a proposal for a considerable increase in the tariff, a duty of 2d a pound being imposed on tea. It is summarised by the Treasurer as follows :-" We find that after the reduction of our ordinary expenditure by £233,000 the expenditure which we deem neccessary is some £70,000 for the year more than our income from our present sources of revenue ; that to s*°™™ ?° hoolfl and Public buildings from revenue an additional £60,000 is required ; that to continue the subsidies t« local bodies, ana to pay them all from revenue, as must be done if they are to be paid at all, another £64,000 is necessary ; and that to pay the balance of last year s deficit of £128,000 a sum of £58,000 must be provided, this year, and the balance in the succeeding year. Adding then these several amounts together, we find there is required to balance revenue and expenditure, £56,000; to provide for schools *2& JK? bll ° i £60,000 ; to provide for subsidies, £64,000 ; total, £180,000, and £58,000 for two years on C on nL x v* year ' 8 deficit of £12 8.000, To provide this sum of •ijTmi c P r °P° sed additional customs duties estimated to I' the e3timate P rove correct we shall have a surplus of £17,000, bo that the margin allowed is not too much. The comet * ce c ™i remember that last year the property tax was increased oy *,fos,uuu, bat no alterations were made in the customs duties. I would desire here to call particular attention to the fact that of this £180,000 now propared to be raised by additional taxation, £107,000 is for subsidies, and £15,000 for defence- Hon. members will no doubt fell with the Government that the proposed additions to our

Jo^rnnwi" B*s^"8 * s^" a^r consideration, it is found .ecessary to continue these subsidies, it is clear money must be found .