THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1111, 2 August 1882, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1882.

THOUGH of late years it has been customary for Parliament to waste a ! great deal of time, and then rush important measures through at the last moment without giving them anything like the consideration that their importance demand, better things were hoped of the present House, but we are sorry to say that this session lias been but a repetition of the last, the same party squabbling to the entire neglect of the public business, the same longing for' office onthe one hand, and determination 'to stick to it on the other that characterised proceedings last^year, has been reproduced in this, and to complete the simile, we are now told that all the business is to be concluded in ' three weeks', and merribers*\fe then to v be gJi^py. away. he ..the .case, the rushbfjlegisljpJbiQj must'Ke'eveh greater than that /at vh^lose 'of the' 'session^ .fast yea^'fp^^tK^.|xceptioti of %r Bryce's Native Reserves Bill, 'and' the Leaseholders Qualification Bill, on which a good deal of feeling was snown, no really important measures have yet made their way through the House. Local Self-Government, Bankruptcy, and a host of . other questions of most vital moment have not been touched on, and the Loan .even has not been definitely agreed on. . The Government, without doubt, have- been chiefly to blame for the delay. They have been so occupied in watching their political enemies that they have had no time to set out anything like "a bold or denned policy. They have really clone nothing, and their inI activity has no doubt alienated many of their supporters. With respect to the goldfields, the promises made by the Minister of Mines on his tour, are likely to go for nothing, inasmuch as, up to the present time, nothing has come of them, nor seems likely to. The reduction or abolition of the gold export duty was opposed by Ministers, and lias been shelved for the session, the chief grounds being that the Government did not see their way clear to njake good the same amount to local bodies, and without it the latter could not carry on necessary public works. Suroly in the comprehensive measure that the Treasurer has promised, which is •to set at rest for ever the vexed q lies* ion of Local Self-Government he might made other^^jvovision-,. wi"Jreby~aii^"acfmi^tltliy uirjust tax could have been repealed, and its retention only attempted to be justified even on the ground of mere expediency. The whole position that the Ministry has taken up during the session, has been, in the highest "degree, unsatisfactory. They have hardly dared to call their souls their own, have been ready to cut and carve their own proposals to suit those of the Opposition, and have been particularly courteous in this respect to the Knight of Kawau. It is true that they jumped upon the ex-Governor in relation to his Constitution Amendment Bill, but eveu in that they displayed great want of genex-alßhip, and also a degree of conservatism that shook the faith of more than one of their . previously steadfast followers, Jt was not opposing Sir George Grey's Bill only, but 4he manner in which it was done, and the evident disinclination shown to meddle in the least degree

with the fossilised antiquities of the Upper House that caused the defection. The result of that division showed them that the House would no longer be played with, and, though they may be said to be now secure, the warning has not been thrown aw.ay. It is well that things are so, for a change of Government just now would mean delay in the business of the country, postponement of needed legislation, and great public loss and inconvenience. The action, however, that has been taken by a few of the members of the House, who have been disgusted with the torpor of the Government, and have uninistakeably shown their dissatisfaction by recent votes, has been most unfavorably commented on by the extreme section of the Ministerial press, and hono have come in for a greater or .more undeserved scathing than our own member. He has been accused of seceding from the Government ranks on account of the promise of a portfolio in the coming Ministry, but the promise [ was proved to be all moonshine, and the whole story a fabrication worthy of its author, F. A. Whitaker, son of the Premier and member for Waipa. Other equally truthful charges have been made, none of them having the smallest or slightest foundation in fact. Mr Wcston has been, ever siiice his election, zealous and earnest in his endeavours to serve the district, and the. mining industry generally, and his gradual secession has been occasioned by the causes referred to above. The result of the danger that the Government has been placed in by the secetlers has been most marked. Within the last few days they have made \eal -efforts to get on with business, and have actually done a little, and there seems a hope now that they will set as vigorously to work as they should have done long ago. The spur has been applied, and work may be looked for, thanks to unexpected opposition. Mr Weston and others have done good work in this respect. With regard to the course Mr Weston has pursued, the district has the fullest confidence in him, and the electors may feel sure that in acting as he has done lie has had good reason, and also that in every respect as hitherto their interests are in safe keeping when entrusted to his hands.