JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 524, 22 July 1881, Page 2

JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

MR UiND.'> 0\ . M,- ', WHICH V.'KiL is ' . ' • . , i, .1 v sE. o;ui thai 7 . no! ihi Jlou i? vhere it is a comni'j i ' i \ .m .. i'l'iubei to say that hunduds of tlioiLv.nn-, ot pounds have been bpent and misappropriated ? I have been voting here for moilajtifbr the-, South and other places without'living the slightest idea oi what the moiifywis for.' One night a sum of ,£750.000 was-'voted in five minutes when there were only a dozen members piotsent, half of whom were asleep. If I went to my constituents and they asked me how that money was spent I could not toll them. It is not surprising that New Zealand is poor. The way they vote money in this House is marvellous. MR MOS3 IS PATHKTIC OVER DEAD. PROVINCIALISM. The Premier has told ub that the measure he has brought forward now is necessary because Provincial institutions have disappeared. They have not disappeared, except in the sense in which Banquo disappeared, and Ministers will..find ■■that, like Banquo's ghost, they will perpetually rise and occupy a seat beside them. Ministers cannot shake off the recollection ■ which the people hive of those institutions, They will iind that tho people feel keenly the difference between the inefficiency of the present institutions as contrasted with the efficiency of the institutions' under which-they lived and prospered for a quarter of a century. MB WATERHOUSE ON THE MARRIED WOMEN'S PROTECTION BILL. Upon this subject he was'told not many months ago that the effect of that law in J Hawko'a Buy had been that large numbers of Maori women absolutely refused to enter into the married state, because by "doing so the land, which was under Crown grant, became subject, .to. European law, and they were deprived of it. He was also very much struck with a remark of a similar character with reference to the . operation of the existing law in the island iof Jamaica. Prior to the abolition of i slavery it was usual for men and women lo hold property, of course with the con?. i curreuco of their masters, in their own i right. But when they, found after the , emancipation that by marrying they si.b- ----: jocted themselves to the law's relating to , property, they protected tbeir property by i refusing to marry at all, and lived in a • state of concubiriege. So that if. as the [ Hon Mr Scotland said, there was something s to be said on his side of the question, there i was also something to be said on the other. MR REEVES DOES A LITTLE BLOWING ON THE CHINESE IMMIGUANTS BULL. [ In the part of the country he had the honor to represent —and he thought he 1 could safely say it was probably the most intelligent portion of New Zealand—they would be quite content to pay £10 and consider it as nothing nt all ; it would be ' a mere bagatelle. lie trusted the House 1 would view the matter in the same light as he did, and agree to the 'recommittal of the Bill. If he were an employer of Chinese labor he could bring five hundred or a thousand Chinese into the country and think nothing of paying the -810 penalty. They should endeavor to protect this county against a great influx of the "yellow agony," and he trusted the House would agree to have the Bill recommitted. MR SCOTLAND EXPLODES ON THE CHINESE IMMIGRANTS BILL, It does seem strange that a Chinaman should be naturalised and then, because he happened to come over to New Zealand, should be made to pay a poll-tax of £10. It may bo that he is of the Mandarin class ; that ho has been accredited Ambassador to the British Court ; that he!; has enjoyed high honors : and yet when he cornea out to New Zealand for the purpose ot seeing the country he is at once pounced upon and made to pay a tax of this kind. It U \ simply degrading. It is treating such ft j man like a dog. Nay, worse than nineteen dogs, because nineteen dogs cm go at large in tho colony on payment' of £9 10s., whereas these Chinamen will have to'pay £10 each. DR. POLLEN FOLLOWS SUIT.' When a man has worked up to his waist in a swamp in reclaiming lands in the interior—when he has done work which no white man can be induced to do, he carries back to his own country the small pittance ho has saved,— why should you. complain of that man doing what he likes with his own, any more than you should complain of our doing what we like with what belongs to us ? He does not take away the improvements which lie has helped to make, and which have added permanently to the general wealth, nor does he take away the profits of the owner ot; the land, but he takea the missorable savings of his own hard labour and ' wre'ehed existence, and carries them back to his own country. Do we not do anything uO that kind ourselves, only upon a grander scale ? MR. STEVEN'S IS KOAROKLY LOGICAL ON THE REGULATION Ol'' ELECTIONS DILL. . Tho clause in the Bill appears to me to bo extremely objoctioEable—l mean the provision for what is called the representation of minorities. I do not know why minorities should have representation because they are minorities. The best thing they can do is to develop their abilities and power, and put themselves in the position of being n majority. They must other-wise bear patiently the ills that come to all in their turn. Sooner or later, every side will be in a minority, and soma time or other it will bo in a majority. The upshot of the matter, in my oponion, is that it is exceedingly undesirable to allow such a yrov7.iov. to appear on the Statute Book Tiic;-3 >.-; nothing fc'o satisfactory as tho pr-.x-.eiva Hon ol! tiie power of majorities. Mil. :;.pEIGHT CRITICISES. Tlie hanorable member for Rangitikei , lis 'i i ' 'O urth llnre'i system. Ido 7101 '>i i ' ' wid he does not tell us why ' i ' i o that, owing to the many ii lv his in ■■ serving his 1 ' in bed Mr Hare's I c m (rude idea with i ■' i h i that the rep- < i i ' i i \ ai like hitching : i ill i o a rait to help it ■ i • i i ' ■ i >' i inappropriate. ! i l hidij i • winch he likens ( i 11 i m ' i 11 ict whatever in ~ i i n i it ue cart, but the i > i * i , h\q a very direct t n l • 1 v md well-being, ( t, a i[i i i t pull the cart ( > <-i it th ih > k i C-.U}. The hon r j<-. I r* ti i. 'it, it ill completed " i f , - i i ritv his a perfect { j ii i d ih to mako it- l 1

MR. READER WOOD ON THE £10 DEPOSIT Why should not any man who desires it come forward to represent any constituency in this House without having to deposit a single sixpence? Ho may think when he offers himself tint his views are such as the public will be glad to accept. He comes forward and he states those views. But, if a considerable proportion of the electors do not think with him and support :him, the unfortunate man is fined £10 for ventilating: his opinions. Ido not see why he should be fined. As it is now, a man can come forward ; he can get persons to sympathize with him; he can he nominated he can state his views, and stand his reasonable chance of election. What harm is there in all this ? I have known men who have thought they stood a very good chance indeed of being elected ; they believed their views were such that the constituency would be glad -to.-accept-them"; but they ended by polling very few votes. If they were nominated in accordance with the provisions of this Bill, they would be fined- £10 for their temerity" in' venturing to become candidates. MR. BUNNY LOOKS TO THE POCKET. Another roason why I think public nominations are objectionable is because they add to the expenses of the candidates. I trust the Hpuso j will}! as far as possible, reduce these expenses, which, especially under the triennial system, are very heavy indeed, and which are increased by open nomination, coaches-and-foars, open public houses— (No, no.)—lt is all very well to say " No, no." but candidates have to pay for those things. We do not know much about it at the time, but we have to pay for it afterwards. 1 trust the Government will stick to their Bill, and that they will do all they can to lessen the expenses of candidates. If this is not done the result will be that the representation of the country will be entirely in the hands ef the wealthy class. The last Wairarapa ple'ction cost my colleague, myself, and the 1 other candidate over £1,300 ; and I know | that the election of one of the members for 1 Wellington City cost him over £800.