PARLIAMENT.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1280, 6 August 1883, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

. ■ « Wellington, 4. Three new Bills were introduced in the House yesterday and read a first time. The Treasurer than moved a resolution telegraphed on Thursday re Dargaville's charge of corruption, ask ing for the appointment of a , Select Committee to investigate them. He commenced by stating that he did not propose to avail himself of referring to the debate on Tuesday last. It seemed to himself evident that everybody in that House must desire that where serious charges are made against the Government those charges should be immediately sifted to the bottom, or withdrawn absolutely and unconditionally. He had felt it incumbent upon himself to mow tihat the very grave . charges that had been made against himself and the Premier last Thursday should be at once investigated, and on Tuesday he challenged Mr Dargaville to have an enquiry into the matter, and Mr Dargaville accepted the challenge, but was apparently unwilling that the enquiry should come on directly, because he proposed his motion for an enquiry for such a day that it was impossible that it Qould come on at all this session, refusing to take the discussion on a Government day, though" He^The-Treasurer) offered him one. From -this it would appear that Mr Dargaville w&s desirous that the charges should" not ba investigated at all (Mr Dargaville no. ) It was clear that the speech which that hon. member delivered was one carefully prepared. The wo^d^%^e«''nb^Wsi r ds used in the heat of debate, and the' whole burthen of the speech from beginning to end was that he (Major Atkinson) was not the Colonial Treasurer, but sat on the Treasury benches, not by virtue of the confidence reposed in him by a majority of that House, but was retained there by a commercial company trading in this Colony, and was kept there for the purpose of furthering the interests of that company, and that he could not retain his seat one minute except as a delegate of that company. He, (Major Atkinson) was not the Colonial Treasurer, he was merely the accountant of that company to do their bidding. That being so, the hon. member, evidently believing that to be the case, for he could not make such a statement without believing it (Mr Dargaville hear, hear). Theu, if that was the case, the hon. member was bound in the interests of morality and common justice to have an immediate enquiry, for it was perfectly certain that if the charges were proved he (the Treasurer) was wholly unfit to sit there. He continued a very long speech in this strain. Mr Dargaville replied in effect as follows : — He said it appeared to him thp.t a loss had fallen upon that House o^ a rather serious, but, he hoped, riot altogether irreparable kind. The ornament of the House, the bulwark of the Government, the pride of members on the Ministerial benches, and the terror of evil doers, was lost — the hon. the Treasurer had lost his head. That was his (Mr Dargaville's explanation of the very humilitating position in which the hon. gentleman found himself at the present moment. He did not mean, to say that the hon. gentlemen had literally become decapitated, but his reason seemed for the time to have abdicated her throne, offended, probably, at being called upon to lend herself to the unworthy efforts being put forth by the hon. gentleman, and spleen and vindictiveness had usurped that throne. What was the state of the case 1 An hon. member in the course of an ordinary debate, without infringing any rules of the House, had charged another hon. gentleman with class legislation and other misconduct of that kind — warmly so, he did not hesitate to confess, because it was his nature, when he was convinced that he had right on his side, with power and influence arrayed against him, to speak warmly and unmistakeably, but altnough he had spoken warmly he had not exceeded the bounds of courtesy, so far as they had been customary to be observed in that House. It' lip had clone so, who was more adroit than the hon. gentleman in picking up a member, '

particularly a new meiuher. He was ] quite prepared to stand by the language he" had used on the occasion in question. Fortunately, he had ample notes of what he had said, and would read thoso notes. Before doing so, however, he would at once say that this appeared to him to be a most extraordinary and exceptional proceeding on the part of the Treasurer. He had framed his own indie tin entj. appointed his own jury, and then asked them to say "Am -I guilty oi' not' guilty." He described /the *circuro, stances Connected with the passing of the Pablic Debts Act, of 1867, and said the Bank" of New Zealand* KaS paid their solicitors, Messrs Whitaker and Russel, £10,000 for services rendered in connection with the passing of the Act. It was a matter of almost public scandal at the time; He (Mr Dagarville) quoted from the speech, of. the late Dr Feaiheiston in reference to that Act, comparing Major Atkinson Dr Featherston said, "so excellent a man is he as this Hyperion to a satyr." (Opposition cheers.) [The Treasurer : Read v the division list.] They were' giants in those days, and the hon. gentleman was very small fry in those 'days, and pigmies/" had to take" a back of terror. Now it was getting worse every day, and . the people of the Colony ought to know it The present motion, being a party question, he might have very little hope of justice. He respected the House, however, and would snbniit himself to its decision. Several other members also spoke, and the motion to appoint the Committee was carried at 1 o'clock this morning, after seven hours' discussion.