PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 5, 6 August 1874, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Wellington, July 25, Nothing very startling has taken place in the House since last I wrote you. A good deal of business has been got through, and a large number of measures of more or less importance have been introduced. ELECTORAL BILL.. You are aware that an Electoral Bill was a part of the Government I>rogramme, as enunciated in his Exceleney's speech. The Bill was intro--duced very early in the session, but it has not yet been read a second time, It is in charge of Mr. Reynolds, who made a very weak speech in support of it on the occasion ot moving that it be read a second time. - The Bill proposes to supplement the present franchise by adding to it manhood suffrage. It is not proposed, however, that persons residing in a district, and who would therefore rote under the manhood franchise, should be able, in the event of having a property qualification, to record a second vote in the same district under that qualification. The property franchise will only be available in districts in which a person has this qualification, but in which he does not reside. It is evident that the Government have not carefully considered the franchise question. The fate of the Bill is very doubtful. It will not please the Liberals of the House, who wish a manhood suffrage pure and simple; neither will it please the Conservatives, who do not relish the idea of infranchising a large body of men who have no stake in the country. There are a -great many new arrivals ; the Bill would confer on them rights which their very short experience would prevent them from exercising judiciously. EXCISE DUTIES. The greater part of a day was occupied in discharging certain resolutions •brought forward by Mr. Reynolds to increase the excise duties. In the year 1861 a bill was passed, providing that the excise duties should be only one half the import duties on spirituous liquors. This Act was passed for the •express purpose of encouraging the manufacture of spirits in the Colony. Relying on the good faith of the Legislature, two distilleries have been established—the one in Auckland, the other in Dunedin. These distilleries feel that this proposal on the part of the Government is an attempt to break faith. They say they could not exist under the proposed increases. The argument advanced by the Government is the great loss, to the revenue which the distilleries occasion. This loss, however-, is one which doubtless was foreseen and ■calculated upon at the passing of the Act. The loss to tha revenue is more -apparent than real. The hands employed at the distilleries contribute indirectly to the revenue. The grain consumed has cost a certain amount of labor to produce it. A portion of the money paid for this labor necessarily _nds it way into the Treasury. I am inclined to think that this action of the Government opens up a wider question, one which is to some extent fraught "with alarm to the country. The Government say the excise duties are a great loss, or rather, that they cannot afford the loss which these duties •entail. The Governihent wish money ! money J In order to increase the revenue, they are willing to do away with the distillation industry which, it may •be said, has taken root in the country. The increased taxation of late years, and the possible increase of taxation in the future, may have the effect of crippling manufacturing enterprise. If we desire to be a manufacturing people we must do all that we can to keep ■down taxation, especially in the articles •used in manufactures. THE CHAMBER OF THE HOUSE. There was a long and rather amusing •■discussion on Tuesday regarding the ■chamber of the House of Representatives. The members on the left hand of the Speaker's chair were almost all -sitting with their hats and great coats on ; some also had mufflers about their necks, as i£ they were sitting on the box-seat of a coach. The weather was •certainly very cold outside, but this was no reason why the chamber — which is heated by pipes through which there is a constant flow of hot water — should he so cold. The Chairman of the House Committee explained that the ■heating apparatus was so much out of order that there was no help for the present state of things. This pleasing piece of news he accompanied with the equally pleasing suggestion that members might, by means of wrappers and great coats, be able to keep sufficient ■animal heat in them as to be able to froceed with tbe business of the country, t appeared, however, that things were -scarcely so bad as they had been represented — that the contractor for heating the House had, contrary to agreement, •allowed the fires to go out; that it would take some time to get the air of the chamber -up to its usual temperature, but that this was simply a matter of time, probably a day at the furthest. Sir John Wilson, in speaking to the <mestion.of the great cold and drafty character of the chamber,, illustrated in - his own person the truth of £fis remarks and the remarks of former speakers. The hon. gentleman was not only ■dressed in a style -that would almost do. -credit to climate, but his voice was~so:ho>rse he could scarcely make himselj*_tfelligible. . /

We all know how easily one subject of conversation, from the principle of j association of ideas, leads to other j subjects tq^ which in some way or other j they are related. How easy to glide from the low temperature of the chamber to its bad accoustic properties. This , course the members followed. There can be no question that the chamber is a very bad place to hear in. Members complain that it is much worse in this respect than it was last year. This may arise from a new arrangement of j the forms. The red curtains with which the chamber was surrounded last session have not improved its accoustics; and besides, some members have complained that the red glare of the curtains has a very injurious effect on the eyeI sight. All these things go to show that the chamber of the House of i Representatives is a very unsatisfactory room. The defects seem incurable. The place where the Speaker sits is unusually exposed to currents of air. To protect him to some extent from these currents, his chair is draped on three sides with these abominable red curtains. As one I member remarked in the course of the I discussion, the Speaker's chair looks for | all the world like a k Punch and j Judy box. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT. On Tuesday night the Treasurer made his usual Financial Statement. The House and galleries were well filled, as they always are on similar occasions. As the Statement has been widely circulated, the public can form their own opinions regarding it. To enter on any discussion as to its merits would take more time than I can spare, and more space than you could well afford to give. I may say, however, that I understand the Statement is generally acceptable. Members are not inclined this session to be very critical. I would not hazard a guess as to whether there will be a discussion in the House on the Budget. It is probable, however, that though there may not be a special debate, yet that many j points of the Budget will be brought | under the notice of the House in dis- j cussiDg other subjects to which they are more or less allied. These remarks | apply equally to the statement made on Friday night by the Minister for Public Works on all the matters pertaining to his department. This statement, as your readers will admit when they see it, was remarkably clear. Mr. Richardson took up first of all the railways, beginning with Auckland in the north and ending with Otago in the south. The subjects of roads in the North Island and in the west coast of the Middle Island, of water-races on goldfields, and of public buildings, followed in the order I have named them. All these subjects were brought before the House in a plain and business-like | manner. With respect to the Clutha [ and Mataura line., in which a large number of your readers are interested, Mr. Richardson gave the House, about ten days ago, some information, in answer to a question by the member for the district, Mr. Thomson. He supplemented this information in his statement. It appears that the surveys and working plans for the portion of the line between Mataura and Clinton are ready, and that tenders will be called for immediately. I dare say the greater number of your readers would have been better pleased had the Government intended to proceed first with the section between Baiclutha and Clinton, as a large population is located in the country through which this portion of the line runs. GOLDMINING BILL. Mr. Shepherd, member for Dunstan, has figured in the House pretty prominently this session. On Wednesday last the order for reading the Goldmining Bill, introduced by him almost the first day of the session, came on. This Bill is opposed by almost every goldfields member. There can be little doubt that this is owing partly to the unpopularity of Mr. Shepherd. He attacked several members very furiously, particularly, Mr. Brown, of Tuapeka. i When the : B]ll went before the Goldfields Committee, this Committe were of opinion that before the Bill should pass into law it' should be widely circulated among the miners, who are the parties chiefly interested. They brought up a report to this effect. Mr. Shepherd was very wroth. He made a furious speech on the goldfields members, to which some of them replied. The House, however, is getting so accustomed to this sort of thing on the part of Mr. Shepherd that it listens in apparent good nature, and almost looks on his effusions as a matter of course. Mr. Shepherd is a man who evidently possesses good ability, but this ability is in a great measure rendered valueless by his overbearing manner. POLYNESIA. A large Parliamentary paper relating to the islands of Polynesia has been laid on the table. It may be, recol-" | lected that a rumor got abroad" a few months ago that Mr, Yogel intended to | ask the consent of the House to borrow several millions for the purpose of securing to New Zealand the trade of the islands of the Pacific, The money part of it^ however, is not quite so extravagant, although in the estimation of most people it is extravagant enough, j He proposes to guarantee to a Company interest on paid-up capital to the extend ofLl,000,000; I have not time to comment on this scheme. It is wild enough at first sight, is it not? a