PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1850, 25 May 1888, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

♦ (From oub own Cobrebpondent. ) Wellington. May 24. fhe Bouse haa been utterly deserted throughout the d»y, most of the members having gone out of to wo. This evening, however, In view of the Governor* ball, the number of members about Is ft little larger, and It is anticipated that, both at the ball at at the hvfo to-morrow, nearly all members of both branches of the Legislature will be present To-morrow, •Ipo. it Is expected, will be a dull da 7, aa it s fa 'not -generally thought that the financial' Statement will be delivered till Tuesday, if it is then ; and several members have gone out of town for a few days m consequence. Mr Duncan and one or two other pepiresentatlven amused thetnielvea by propaeding to the Halt this afternoon to procure specimens of the Galifornlac thistle. Daring the debate on the second reading of the Oalifornian Thistle Eradication BUI Mr Duacan asserted that he had seen the destructive thistle- growiog near the Hutt railway station, end this brought to his feet Mr Fi'zberbert, the member for Hatt, with an indignant denial that the weed had made its appearance m his district, though he ntively admitted that he had never seen 4.1 — n,u«. • - - me okuiurman tniatle, and could not dist;»" r "* l - v " * , r ..- B »»ui[ rrom any other variety, an acknowledgment which provoked peals of . laughter. To prove his assertion, Mr Donoan procured two specimens: of the

weed from tha Hutt, whlo'i are now hanging m the main lobby, and the length of root is extraordinary. In view of the ei'cums'anoa, sorao wag has named the thhtle " FtzHerbtrMc." Mr Vincent Pyke's Roman Catholic i StHbola Bill, which has just been circu- £ Wed, provid 8 thatev^rv Roman Catholic echo"] wh'ch 13 c ndticted m accordat C 9 with the provisions of tlr> Education Act, and has an av r omge uttendanoa of not less than fifty pupils, shall le entitled to receive cap fa'ion al'owance equal to twothirds ot that gmnted fo public schoo's Correepondcn c which his been laid on the table of the House thows that the j Prrniier, m telegraphing to Sir H. Parkoa ' an to the inability of the Qov fnment to Bond a Minister as a delegate to the Chinese C^nferonce, intimates that the only way m which the presence of : New Zealand Ministers cou'd bo secured/woald be by holding the gathering m this colony. There is nothing to show that this pro posal -will be accepted, aod it ia not very probable that it will, as there is a rumor that the Government will ask Sir John Hall to represent the colony at the Con ference . A deputation appointed by the Wellington Typographical Society waited on the Colonial Secrecary last eveningin reference to tbe right of Government employeea to hod office m Trades Unions. The. depu tation was introduced by Dr Newman, who warmly supported the efforts of the deputation. Tbe deputation elated that a member of their Association had been required by the Government Printer to choose between resigning his position as Secretary of the Association, or as a member of his composing staff, it being j contrary to the rule of the establishment for any workman to hold office' m the local Trade Union The Hon Colonial Secretary stated that he had no previous knowledge of the existence of such a rule, and promised to enquire into the matter, and communicate with the deputation subsequently. Wellington, May 25 I It is now generally understood that the Financial Statement will not be delivered till Tuesday as it has not yet bien before the Cabinet., and it is thought that the Premier wlil require Sunday and Mon day to enable htm to put the finishing touches to it. I learn that the probability ia that In making tbe Statement as to protective proposals, Sir H. Atkinson will put it that the increases In the tariff are only for revenue purposes and this being the case, if Government, are defeated on the Tariff, they can't ask for a dissolution. In any case it Is aatfo'pated that the Eiectoral Bill will not be got through this session, as members do not appear to appreciate such a big change without more discussion than can be given It.