POLITICAL NOTES.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 336, 10 August 1889, Page 3

POLITICAL NOTES.

[fbom oub own cobbibpondknt*] Wellington, Thursday. At the evening sitting Mr Mitchelson laid on the table the Public Works Statement. Instead of reading it the remainder of the sitting was occupied with the Representation Bill, which was eventually read a third time and passed. On Wednesday afternoon the House was occupied chiefly with a discussion arising from the refusal of the Government to agree to the appointment of a committee to report on the correspondence between Government and Judge Ward. During the discussion Mr Fisher said it was utterly hopeless for Judge Ward to expect justice from one member of the Ministry, referring to the Colonial Secretary. This statement was strongly resented by the Premier, who said that if the House entertained such an opinion M that the Government were incapable of dealing with the Civil servants of the colony, the duty of the leader of the Opposition to table a want of confidence motion at once, with the view of testing the feeling of Parliament on the subject. He refused, however, to believe that any such feeling was entertained by the House as that a high officer of State could not receive justice from the Government. Mr Ballance afterwards referred to this statement, and Baid that Mr Fisher must have good opportunities of judging as to the truth of the assertion he had made. The member for Wellington South replied, looking at the Colonial Secretary, that he (Mr Fisher) was in a position to substantiate the statement he had made. Mr Larnach and other members also pressed the Premier to agree to the Committee of inquiry, but Sir Harry firmly refused, and finally the matter dropped. Mr Ballance, however, expressed his intention of using every constitutional means to go behind the correspondence and sift the matter to the utmost.

Wellington, last night. Yesterday afternoon the sitting was occupied almost entirely with a discussion on the case of Chemis. It originated with Mr Hutchison asking the Premier whether there was any precedent for making public the documents relating to that case. The Premier replied in the negative, but expressed bis willingness to lay the papers on the table if the Hou so desired. Mr Hutchison then commented on what took place in relation to Chemis. but the Speaker ruled that the exercise of the Governor’s prerogative of mercy could not be discussed by the Houce. At the evening sitting the Municipal CorK rations Act Amendment Bill, empowering rporations to erect gas works private Gas Companies already exist was read a second time. The Public Works estimates contains the following items: —Main road—Tauranga to Napier via Taupo, £2400. Roads to open up lands before sale—Tologa Manga-to-Kerau, • Tologa to Arakihi, £6OO ; Ormond to Opotiki, £5OO ; Ormond to Waiapu, £400; Waiapu river to Oil Springs, £350 ; Wairoa to Rotoka Karanga, £2OO. One of the latest lobby reports is that Mr Fitzgerald will not return to the colony, and that Sir Harry Atkinson is desirous of being appointed to the office of Auditor and Comptroller General. Of course the Ministers deny there is any ground for the statement. The House will not sit on Monday afternoon, but on Monday night there will be a sitting for the transaction of Government business. Only the Civil Service classifications will be passed through all stages this Session. The Bankruptcy Bill, and Charitable Aid Bill, wiil probably be included among the slaughtered innocents. By 21 to IS, ' the Council carried Mr Wilson's motion for a Select Committee re the WardHislop correspondence ; the Attorney General strongly objected to the motion. The session may not after all have so peaceful an ending as was anticipated. Though no positive decision has been come to on the matter, the opposition are seriously bfionsid ering the idea of proposing a No Motion, and the Ward-Christie is the peg on which the Motion will be based. Should action sesult, and if the Government’s conduct is challenged in the House, the attack will be led by Mr Larnach. Later Mr contention with Christie. He denied he had interfered with the administration of justice in any way in the matter or had used threats to the Clerk of the Court to induce him to refrain from carrying out theinstructiona-of the Judge. A long discussion ensued, which was interrupted by the dinner adjournment at 5.30.

Sir John Hall withdrew his motion in regard to extending the franchise to women, bo as not to create further complications at present. It is very satisfactory to find that one of the measures which the Government intend pushing through the House this session is a Dill that is most urgently required, namely, the Registration of Electors Bill, which provides a proper system of enrolment of electors, and the effect of which I have already sent you. The strictest secrecy is still observed as to the deliberations of the recent conference of delegates from the Metropolitan racing clubs. I understand, however, on'good authority that the totalisator rules were practically not interfered with at all by the meeting. It appears from the annual report for 1888 Of the Inspector of Lunatic Asylums that the total of insane persona in the colony in that year was 1681, a decrease of 14 since the previous year, when the total was 1695. In the introduction to his report Dr Macgregor deals With the problem of chronic and incurable lunatics, and relates the experiences of England, America, and the Australian colonies on this subject. He quotes from Dr Manning’s paper to show the evils of the present system of overcrowding. He advocates the establishment of separate asylums for criminal lunatics, whose presence in the ordinary asylums is most mischievous. Much of the trouble of the last two years in the Auckland asylum Was due to patients of this kind. The following important resolution, which has been passed by the Stock Committee of ths House, will be of interest to your country readers “ That no flock-owner residing in any clean district shall be compelled to brand bis sheep with any other mark than his registered earmark, anything in the Brand and Branding Act, 1880, to the contrary notwithstanding,” Legislation will of course be required to give effect to this resolution. The Native Land Courts Act Amendment Bill to be brought in by the Government provides for the appointment of an administrative officer to fix the sittings of the Court and arrange the general administrative business of the same, it also contains provisions as to rehearing, and amended proriaion. as to survey charge, and for the Validation of the purchase or lease of undivided share, after subdivision by the Native Land Court. The bill further provides that any errors or omission, in any decision of the Court may be amended on application to the Chief Judge. Partition may be made on the application of any person claiming to have an interest by way of transfer, conveyance, er lease.

The principal amendment provided by the Native Lands Frauds Prevention Acts Amendment Bill makes restrictions in deal, fog with land owned by more than twenty grantee, applicable only to land passed through the Native Land Court since August, 1888. Although a majority of the Legislative Council do not like the abolition of the plural vote, no violent opposition is likely to be shown to its incorporation in the Bepresenta. tion Bill, and the clause will probably be retained, Mr Oliver tells me he thinks of moving in the direction of prohibiting paupers and those in receipt of charitable aid from voting, At the last general election a notorious agitator named Jack Graham put fifty inmates of the Otago Benevolent Institution on the Caversham roll and conveyed them to the polling booth. Th. Dunedin Herald speaks as follows of tbs Hon. Mr Hislop :—“ It is not his fault ib*t be was born with fewer brains than fall to most of bis compeers, but it is certainly Unfortunate for the colony of New Zealand that we should have for Cclonigl Secretary a gentleman wtmse intellectual ability is so Utonaldereble, 1 ’