JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 522, 15 July 1881, Page 2

JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

SIH G. GRICY ON THE LAND QUESTION,

Now, penitents (Ministers) appear before us. They should have enteral this House in white sheets and with tapera in their hands. They should themselves liavei made this confession, insteoil of doing it by the mouth of the governor. I would rather have heard the confession from themselves that such a system was not for thn advantage of the State, and that it must now be altered. But how late is their penitence ! [low many thousands of families have been injured ! Had these runs been cut Mμ —had they been divided into small runs—how in my young couples would have been plnced.in a position o.C comfort and independence! For years the country has been robbed of great wealth through the use made of these extensive juns—by the way in which they have been occupied—by j;reat wealth hping acquired by a few individuals to (he impoverishment of (he mass of the people. I cannot trust the persons who have done that as lit'iii,'; likely to bring forward the bold and well-conceived measures which are necessary to ictmrlr the evils they have been iiiitruim-ntal in producing.

MB WAKEFIELU IS AMUSED. I was amused by one little item ii the honorable member's speech wb-* hi was referring to the Canterbury runs -anused and pleased. He told us that if hose runs were cut up a largo number of "jeung couples" would very likely be settld on them in a short time, and soon. Veil, Wγ, we are so little accustomed to any chancre in tho honorable gentlenan's speeches, there is so much of the/fiune thing over and over again, even to the very w»nlsi ho uses, that I was aujised and pleased to have these young couples introduced to me. On all former occasions he has always spoken of the chilcren whose future would bo destroyed and fortunes frustrated if these runs were not cut up, and I am glad now to see that; he has gone a little further back.in point of time, and brought the young couples on the scene before introducing the children. It hifl always struck me that, if tluse iiiriH were cut up and divided amongst ihe children whom the honorable gentleiian is so fond of, they would not be very veil oianaged ; hut now these young couflee have I eon brought on tho scene wo bejin to get a clearer view of the honorable gentleman's plan of settlement. Sin GEO. GItEY IS CRITICAL. There is one point more in the Governor's Speech to which I wish to alludo bofort I remark upon its omissions. The Governor is made to say—and a very affecting appeal was made to us upon that subject by tho mover of the Address—that he trusts by God's bleseing that the stability of our institutions will be secured. Now, Sir, I trust that by God's blessing they may be overthrown. Absolutely. The honorable gentleman who seconded the Address said that God, in Hie goodness, would secure their stability if we trusted in Him. I believe he was altogether mistaken. Ido not like to hear the actions of the Divinity spoken.of and foretold by individual men. They allege their own wishes as being the wishes of God. That is it. They change His nature. Sir,it is better not to put things on such grounds as that. I say our institutions oughf not to be maintained, and I trust New Zealand will not allow them to be maintained. The Hon the Premier may sit and laugh with his hands in his pockets. There is plenty there. So they may laugh, so they may triumph at the present time, so ! they may believe that the wealth which ia wrongfully held back from the people is for ever to be so held back. I saj that a time is coining when a demand will bomade that nil this shall be rectified'; and that time is coming throughout the world. It is not only hero. ; MR WAKEFIELD 18 SUGGESTIVE; Mr Wakefield—Sir, the honorable gentleman who has just sat down has blamed us on this side of the House for expressing wishes which wo believe to be in Record with the wishes of God. I am boiind to , say it has often occurred to me the honorable gentleman's wishes were prompted l from a totally different direction.* It occurs to mo that a great ptrt q£ tiie speech we have just heard was inspired not from above, but from belowr-f-'froin that legion which id the source of all mischief. •■ MR WAKEFIELD Aβ '" CANDID F.flENol" : Last year the honorable gent ti.nan , came down with a scheme which I havo not got over yet. I hope be will lifever bring down another like if. If lie does I trust that in tin meantime he will improve, the iiiaringL'inuut of the lunatic usyhmjs of tin l colony, hiir.itiHi,' th.-y will lie the jmly retrett lor those who hive :o study another scheme lik' , th t. The honorable trontle man I am sure never intended this House' to study it at all deeply. What he wanted l was for us to give it up in disgust ati about the third paragraph, and let it drop l quietly. Well, he di.l drop it. we know, nnd m quietly that I do not think any- [ body was aw..re of it. The great, scheme for making adequate provision for local ..finance was quietly withdrawn, and everybody s;iid, " Good-byo I God you! Never let us see the sight of you again." That was tho end of his scheme. DR WALLIS DISCONTENTED. ■ Last year we hail a fresh banquet of Bills of considerable variety. This year there is not to be any such banquet. This year we are to subsist on what we may -term, in my native language, '-canld kail bet again." That " cauld kail het again," 'which is good Scotch, consists of the Representation Bill, such as we had last year, the Regulation of Elections Bill, the Licensing Bill, the Charitable Aid Bill, and seme other Bills. MR HURSTHOUSE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. There are soma few exceptions, but I consider it will come to this: that the General Government will have to take • over tho main roads and bridges, leaving the Road Boards to maintain the by-roads and carry out other similar works in their several districts. The present double- '' barrelled system of local self-government is very unsatisfactory in this respect. THE CAPITALIST FINDS A FIUEND, " Sir, the capitalist has been a good colonizing agent in this country, and to me (Mr liursthouse) it is a matter for deep regret to see so many men of all classes of society in New Zealand pointing with tho finger of scorn at the men who have done more to colonize this country than half of those composing the masses that hare been poured into it. What is the use of labor without capital, or cap'tal without labor? They must go hand in hand, and it is mere clap-trap, a mere electioneering cry, to talk about the capitalists ruining the working classes and putting tha whole of the proceeds of their labor into their own pockets. Sir, the working-classes have had a very good time of it up to the present. SIR W. FOX ON THE LIQUORSELLER. The interested trafficker keeps in such a state of perpotual watchfulness that he acquires a skill and a degree of cunning which no policeman or bawd of policemen can overcome. If a constable, however, happens to come down on a liquor trafficker when he is in the act of breaking the law, and, in taking him before a Magistrate who is not likely to be influenced by tin grandeur of the trafficker whom he is called upon to sentence, succeeds in getting a small penalty inflicted, why, it is like the smuggling trade. Everybody knows that if a smuggler can run one cargo in out of tliree it will pay him for the loss of the other two. So it is with tho publican who gets fined once o.r twice in the year, while he has broken the law every day of bis Jifo.