PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1912, 7 August 1888, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

(PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

WELLINGTON, August 6. Mr Gordon has returned from a visit of Inspection to the Mahakipawa goldfields, and his report is of a favorable nature. He expresses the opinion that a payable goldfield exists m the locality, and states that of 200 men on the ground 00 are on payable gold.

The estimates will be the first buslnoaa for to-day ; it 1b Anticipated that nearly the wbole sitting will be ocoupled m Committee of Supply.

Nothing is definitely deolded yet as to the delivery of the Public Works Statement, but it is generally thought it will not now come on till Thursday, and that the debate on the 'Friaod Service will be taken on Friday,

la connection with this matter the Auckland members claim a majority m favor of the continuance of San Francisco Mail Service, The majority claimed ia not a 'targe one, but it is admitted that the Government proposals may have the effect of either Increasing the number or reducing it to a minority. At present the belief la that the Premier's proposals will be decidedly m favor of the service.

In connection with the rumor of calling Major Campbell to the Uppar House, I understand that nothing has yet been fixed, but there is an ld':a that if it should come to pass, an effort will be made to give the position to a former officer of the tlouse ; but who haß now entered into their bußlneßS, the said peraon being a son of a prominent politician and a oo,mparatively young man, The feeling Ib that, should a vacanoy arise it should be filled by ordinary promotion, and that Mr Stowe, olerk to the Legislative Council or Me Friend, clerk's assistant m the House should be raised to the position. Government have received a oable menaege to the effeot that tha Midland Bail nay oontract had been signed and eoaeld by the Company m London, the Directors having met on Friday when they decided to accept the last proposal mads by Government.

A further meeting of the Opposition will be held to-morrow morning, when it Is hoped that such steps will be take a, as will place the parly on each a baala that they will oonatltuta a respectable and consolidated minority of the whole House, of whioh, however, they will form the strongest individual aeotlon. A misrepresentation as to the result of the meeting of the party jon Friday has been Bpread about m some quarters to the effeot that they had deolded to call themselves the <' constitutional " party, but lam assured that nothing of the sort was passed. There is no deßire for any fanoy title of that sort. Beyond the fact that It was decided to appoint a Committee to superintend the affairs of the party, nothing was really done at the meeting, and practical business will really be transacted to* morrow, when it la anticipated the leader will be chosen and Beven gentlemen eleoted to act as a Committee. It is' now contended the party haß profited by the experiences of Thursday, and Mr Walker's amendment, whioh has had the effeot of hardening them np, while I am osaared on the best authority that those who were prevented from voting With the party on that occasion, regret the clroumstanoa of the amendment being of a aurpriae nature, and that they were not as a whole : oonaulted, prevented them from giving ' their vote, as their party loyalty would have liked them to do. Mr Walker took a certain responsibility on his shoulders by tabling the motion, and that It was supported by so respectable a minority goes to show that it was based on soucd principle, and deserved more consideration than it reoelved. Several members who voted with the Government vowed they did so because they were averae to any amendment which was takon m the light of a no-oonfidenoe motion. The Opposition aa a party refrained from bo treailng It, consequently foroes were unequally distributed. These faots were fully shown at the j meeting on Thursday at which explanations were made by several members of the party who voted against the amendment, whioh to a great extent acoounted for the large majority of the Government, and the upshot will be, it is believed, ihat the party will ba much stronger than before. Up to the present the Opposition have bean demoralised by the support they were compelled to give to Government during the passage of the Customs Duties Bill, Inasmuoh as they bad to toa the mark.

On the question of the New H»rbor Bill, the Opposition will have the cooperation of the freetrader*, and the probability! Is that Government will be defeated upon It, but It will not be made a ministerial question.

The Freetraders have declined an Invitation to be praaeat at the Protectionist banquet. The banquet promises to be In every sense a success, and It fa atited that from 600 to 1000 people will take part, Including the leaders of the Protection movement throughout the colony. Everything that Is to ba uaed at the banquet will be of local manufacture or production. Larger quantities of Unnecessary supplies have been (jousts foe the ogoaiioa,