PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1920, 16 August 1888, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

(From our own Co-respondent.) Wellington, August 15. Mr Verrall has given notice to ask the Minister for Lands if he will pay, without further delay, £359, balanoe of £500 promised to the Ashley Road Board. The. same gentleman appeara to be ] waxing facetious, for he is et quiring from the Premier if anything oan be done to ' exempt cattle and sheep dogs from taxation, as is done m England, and whether the supplying of hame Btraps, under the : name of dog collars, by Road Boards ' cannot be stopped. 1 The Ministry will allocate £10,000 to be ' spent on village settlements. The Committee again considered the question of reporting re exhibits at the Melbourne Exhibition but have not finally drafted their report. The Committee have also taken the evidence of Count Jonffray D'Abbana, French Consul here, as to what steps oould be taken for mineral exhibits at the Paris Exhibition. The report on the whole question will be presented to-morrow. Replying to Major Steward to-day In the Houae as to whether Government intends to make any provision this session to enable labor tettlements to be established, Sir Harry Atkinson atated that Government Intend to place a sura of £10,000 on the Estimates for the pur- , pose. Regardlng'the further damage which Is reported at the Seacllff Asylum, and which a speoial officer is t d enquire lnt\ I learn from the Colonial Secretary that the damage is In the North wing, In , which It is found that there has been a subsidence of three lnohes In six months, , which It Is thought bears out the opinion of the arohltect that the earth la moving As showing the esteem ln'whioh he is held by the House, Mr Lamach is to be baDqoe'ted on Saturday evening by the mining members, by way of a "send off" to him on his early trip to Australia; and present him with an illuminated address from the miners of Kumara. Wellington, August 16. Rumors are afl >at that the Native Bills which will come on for the second reading m the Council to-day will meet with a warm reception from the Lords and probably be thrown oat holas - bolus. Government are notoriously weak m the Council, and the Lords out of "pure oußsedness" are objecting to nearly all Government measures. At anyrate the Bills, if not thrown out, will probably be hacked about In such a manner aa to make them unrecognisable, and the Natives will have gaioed their end after all. The Government now oount on a certain defeat by two or three votes over the mail questions, although they are moving Heaven and earth to get the 'Frisco Service retained. The Hon Mr McLean, one of the leading shareholders of the Union Company, which will be, of oourse, seriously affected by the abolition of the 'FriBOO service is working very hard to have the service retained, and he is recognised to be one of the best lobbyists m either House. The debate it is thought will last out the week, and very slight expectations are now entertained of the Pablic Works Statement being delivered this week unless the MaU debate should collapse with unforeseen suddenness. Mr W, P. Reeves has given notice to ask the Government to consider the advlsablensßs of recommending the substitution, m place of one or more of the subjects now taught m the State schools, a course of a reasonable amount of instruction on natural resources and features of climate, products, industries, manufactures, and the history of New Zealand. In reference to the aotion for libel whloh is being brought against the proprietors of the Auckland " Herald" by Mr Larnach, I understand that Messrs Wilson and Horton have wired an apology to Mr Larnach fo? the article complained of, and he has acknowledged the receipt of the apology, but has referred the proprietors to his solicitors. Mr J. O. Brown, who has been 111 for the past two months, was able to attend the House again to-day for the first time since his attack.