JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 526, 29 July 1881, Page 2

JOTTINGS FROM "HANSARD."

I MR HUTCHISON ON COASTING STEAMERS. j The Treasurer wanted a strong case to be made out against insufficient manning of Sinai steamers before he would even think of disturbing his rest in that political iotosland, whore it was always afternoon, and where one could fancy hiivi, undor the spell of the sea, murmuring to himself in those soft and dulcet tones of his, — " Weary the wandering fields of barren foam." Dow't trouble him about small steamers. He (Mr Hutchison) suggested a wreck as a strong case ; but the Treasurer was not sure that <i wreck would bo a case sufficiently strong, beeaufse it might not be caused by the want of bands, but by tho want of something else, end dead men could give no evidence. UK HOLMES ON I'RNCING, Thoro was another reason why & Fencing ('ill should not hn deferred Junger than t!:e i.>rsseiiV n-:r-E;or., and that was this : A largo uuiiiho , -; of t,!ig ruufe in Canterbury and Oiisgo would ha< opened on deferred psymcrta, and for purchase in iiio ordinary iv;u/, :'n 188:0. The vivna in Oingo which \y;.sihi bo v:.' throw r; o};ui. numbejed sevcuty-

one, and represented over two miMions of acres. He iielievod the purpose of the Government was that these runs should be cut up into smaller sections and sold under the deferred-payment system or otherwise ; and it was very dosirable, if not absolutely necessary, that a fencing law should bo passed before that took place, for honorable membera must know that rothing so completely deteriorated stock as running in common. If persons could not compel their neighbors to fence boundny-linea, those who wished to keep their stock up to the best standard would be placed in a veiy difficult position. Those were considerations which should weigh with tho Government. MR READER WOOD ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. The people come here, they ask for bread, and we give them a etono in tho shape of debates and constitutions ; they . ask for money, and we give them institutions. Sir, the money is the thing they want. That is the practical question. It is not the institutions, it is not the constitutions, but it is the money that is absolutely requisite ; and the money must be found in some form or other. What form Ido not know. (Laughter, and " Hear hear.") Does any body else know? Is not that the very nut that is put down here for us to crack—that my honorable friend the member for Clivfc said we could not crack, but were to talk about—that we were to talk about it here and to relegate it to the constituencies themselvee to crack, when the constituencies have sent us here to do that very thing ourselves ? DR GRACE ON THE CIIRISTCHORCH DOCTORS. A copy of it, (Medical Practitioners' Association Bill) with a covering letter, had been sent to every registered medical practitioner in the Colony of New Zealand in the year 1879, and in all cases where replies were received the measure was approved of, with some trifling suggestions which had since been embodied in the Bill. The only part of the colony from which no replies were received was the Provincial District ot Canterbury. The professional cohesion existing in that district was so slight that professional men there had not the courage to take any line with regard to a matter affecting the general interests of the profossion ; or, in other worde, the minds of medical men living there were so concentrated upon there own peculiar difficulties that they had not a moment of time to spare to deliberate upon the general interests of the profession. MR MONTGOMERY ON PLURAL VOTING. At present one man may exercise ten votes, and it is my wish, and, I hope, that of a majority of the House, that ftt a general election a man may only vote in one district When the Qualification of Electors Bill was before tho House I failed to carry my proposal, in consequence, I think, of an observation that fell from the honorable membor for Grey and Bell, who urged that the proper place to make the alteration v;as in the Regulation of Elections Bill, although he agreed with me in the principle that an elector should only have a vote for one district. I therefore ask my honorable frierd, if he has not changed the view he then hold, to assist me in giving effoct to the object which I have embodied in my amendment. I trust honorable members will see that this is an exceedingly important thing-, and that it is very unfair that one man should have nine or ten votes while another, holding an equal amount of property, should only have one. It is not the value of property held, but the manner in which it is distributed, which gives a man a number of votes under the present law. I therefore hope that my amendment will bo reconsidered, and carried into effect on the preeent occasion. SIR W. POX ON MINORITY REPRESENTATION. Another point has been raised during the discussion on the Bill, and wo have had a dissertation on the principle of the Hare minority proposals. I must confess I do not sympathize with that view at all. I look upon it from a common sense point of view. It seems to me like taking a waggonload up a steep bill: you have a pair of horses attached to the waggon to pull it to the top of the hill, and then you attach another horse to the tail of the waggon to pull in the contrary direction. AN EXTRAORDINARY LETTER. Keplying to Dr Wallis, Mr. Dick replied that the Governor had referred to the Government a letter Which complained that, owing to responsible government, abuses in the Supreme Court, Freemasonry, and the Bank of New Zealand, the writer could not obtain redress. He presumed that was the letter to which the honorable gentleman referred.

Mil HURSTHOUSE ON MEMBERS , CONSCIENCES.

1 venture to think that if honorable members will vote upon the motion in accordance with their consciences it will be carried by a large majority ; but I have no such hope that honorable members will discard the interests of their particular constituents and do what I maintain is justice to the colony at large. I have no hope that this motion will be carried.