IN THE GALLERY.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3774, 20 August 1883, Page 2

IN THE GALLERY.

Members returned to their duties on Monday a J ternoon after having had a look at AVellington's goldfield, after having seen all. sorts of valuable specimens, and. beheld the glory of a crushing battery, learning much from men who have never scon a mining field in their lives before, but Avho arc able to talk all the more ou that account, and Torawhiti was brought to their recollection immediately the House met by Mr Fish giA'ing notice of a. question in reference to it. Tho debate of the evening Avas on the Premier's position as a bank director or director of a public company. Sir George Grey has been blundering over figures all the Avcek. My advice ahvays is to every man to leave figures alone , they seem easy to handle, but have more pit falls than any other subject that could bo selected. MrTurnbull, in his oavu emphatic way, with that bending ef the head and tAvisting of the body to Avhich he gives way, till at times you seem to hear him Avink, being too far aAvay to see, hit the nail on the head, as he very often does, and does neatly too, only the hammer is ahvays visible, which is a mistake, Avhen ho said the Premier should be like Ctesar's wife, above reproach. As for the rest of members Avho spoke, they spoke, as thoy nearly always have this session, on strictly party lines, and so a good reform was lost. I am afraid certain members are stereotyped in their speech. AVc all remember the letters of our grandmothers, which began invariably Avith the remark "■ I take tip my pen to let you knoAA',"'aiid Avhich as invariably wound up, "avc arc all quite avcll at present, 'arid hope" &c. So it is AA'ith honourable members' speeches. I would undertake to furnish a decent report of a debate Avhere twelve given men should speak, and all I would require to bo furnished Avith would be the order in Avhich the members spoke and the subject. Tho pot phrases could be draAvn out of a hat and arranged promiscuously, a hat being required for each speaker. Then the House began voting the dollars, aud that is Avcarisomc in tho extreme, for reductions aro opposed by Ministers for all sorts of reasons, and if the reader had all the reductions that Avill be carried out—l am not speaking of A'oted out —this session, his wealth would not be very troublesome to him. On Tuesday moro money matters made me miserable, though a little 'relief was granted me by discussing native affairs. I am afraid native affairs arc to mo what figures are to most men, a mystery. According to many members all the capital f,Q acquire large tracts of valuable land 'is unlimited bj-tiee—syjffpll is riQt so scarce as some kinds of capital—a botjle of good grog—Avhich is not so plentiful as some pcoplo's noses Avould lead us to infer— and tho necessity of sleeping Avith strange bedfelloAVS for a'short timo. Others again assert tfiat no companies dealing in nath-c lands havo made money ; that, on tho contrary, no amounts advanced on native lands have far exceeded this value. AVhich vieAv ;a correct I know not, and, as I am neither J

laud jobber nor land speculator, worse luok, I am not going to bother myself by making enquiries. v _On AVednesday the House did not meet 1 till the evening.' The previous eveningmembers had sat an hour and a half longer than usual, and so to get square they did not meet till the evening. On the samo principle, I suppose, as the man Avho got to AA'ork an hour late, left an hour earlier so as to got straight. Mr Smith, Avho during the Avcek has been a shining and a burning light, then moved that a vote be put on tlie estimates for public libraries. It was private members' night out, and thoy Avere out with a vengeance. I suppose over forty gave their vieAVS on things in general from a literary point of vieAv, and dealt particularly AA'ith libraries. AA r ellington and Dunedin had a set to, Mr Hutchison for the former, and Mr Fish representing the latter. 'If not edifying it avus diverting, and that is something in those days. The former oven had a little joke at the expense of that estimable gentleman the Colonial Secretary, for he assured the latter a novel was not at all a bad production very often, and if he Avas not mistaken that gentleman had been reading ayclloAV back the previous evening. Though second hand and stale, to such a state have avc come that the joke ivas appreciated. After a long debate, and AA'hen the object of the long debate had been attained, tlie motion Avas carried. Thursday Avas devoted to the land tax. The great bill Avhich has been on the paper for many Aveeks, which Mr Montgomery Avas going to pave tho Avay for, Avhich tho Colonial Treasurer Avanted to debate right off Avhen first given notice of aviis throAvn into the debating' arena by that great loader of tho people—Mr Smith. He spoke, as ho always speaks, with A'igor, though fidgets himself in speaking, and fidgets you hearing him. His aspirates are throAvn about promiscuous like; some are dropiped, but the account is kept pretty square by those picked up, but -with, all Bits faults there aro scores of avotsc members than the man Avho represents AVaipaAva ; ho does not bore you, ho does not speak often, and he is brief. Then Sir George Grey made a wild speech, in Avhich Aye heurd once more of the unborn millions and their rights, in AA'hich avc heard of lioav our serfs—that is tho most of ourselves—fare, how Aye arc oppressed, how a certain family is becoming fabulously rich, lioav the colony is going to ruin, lioav things will never be right until the Civil Service is reduced. This speech Aye have heard half -a - dozen times; sometimes it docs for one text, sometimes for another, and Avith a section it ahvays takes—the strangers Avho croAvd the galleries. Perhaps they don't attend regularly, and so to them it is novel; let us hope so. AVc all remember the story of the parson who used to go to his hamper of old sermons, from Avhich he took one and preached it. Ho-made a mistake once; he was preaching to a fashionable congregation, and in his hurry had taken a sermon Avhich had been delivered when first Avritton to tho inmates of a gaol, and so Avas slightly incongruous. lam afraid the constant preaching to bald-headed men of the unborn » millions thoy arc never destined to sco can-*'? not be altogether interesting. SomehoAV it must to them be just a avco bit peculiar, just as Avhen a great spiritualist in a raihvay carriage aviis saying that in the other place times Avould bo highly pleasant, wages Avould bo good, there Avould be no strikes, and no scarcity of employment; every man Avould follow his calling. The quiet man Avho ahvays sits in the corner said ho did not see that that could apply to him. Tho vigorous advocate of tho now system said there Avere no exceptions, and wanted Avell left alone, but one of an enquiring turn of mind enquired what tho quiet man did, and I reckon tho propagator of the now system aviis quietly taken back, AA'hen the answer came he aviis a coffin maker. AVc had a personal explanation from Mr Green, a thing by no means novel, in reply to an attack from Mr Fish, but I think the best speech Avas made by Mr Moss. Some one had remarked that it Avas useless discussing such a subject at such a period of tho session. Ho enquired if that was not ridiculous, after the House had only met seven or eight Aveeks, to talk in that manner. There Avas not a Legislature in the Avorkl that got through as much business in so short a timo as Ncav Zealand-—to Avhich the Colonial Treasurer replied Tasmania —and if they had to stay five months they ought to see that their business aviis properly gono on Avith, aiicl members should not be hurried in tho Avay thoy Avere now. Tasmania aviis but a poor thing- to throAV at the peaker, Avith a population of only one-fourth this colony, but the star of that island is at present iv the ascendant. I venture to doubt if any one of the colonies at the present moment, in a quiet Avay peculiarly its own, is moro prosperous than the little island, so much older than this colony, and therefore requiring less legislation for its small population. There is no doubt Avhatcver that the legislation of this colony is worked at much too high a pressure. Members devute far too many hours per day to politics; it Avould bo much better for the country if the House sat fewer hours at a stretch and sat moro days. If members are paid thoy ought to be prepared to sit in a more leisurely manner, adjourning at midnight at latest. After the debate on the land tax question, the House had four hours at the estimates, and though tho economically inclined tried their best to cut doAvn and do some cheese-paring, no success attended their efforts, except knocking two thousand pounds off expenditure for tho Hinemoa during the ~ year, -which will in all probability not bo attended to. On Friday avc had a novelty, a curiosity. AVc saw a long-headed Scotchman trying to surpass Claude Melnottc's description of tho Lake of Como. All the corruption, all the trouble to Avhich honourable members arc liable and exposed to is caused by AVellington being shut in on all sides, aud Avhat is necessary is a specially built Parliamentary town aAvay from any, largo city, tAvcnty miles from anywhore, and then all woidd be couleur de rose. Oh, yo gods ! Just imagine lioav it would suit some of our legislators twenty miles from all the social conveniences, parties, balls, concerts, &c, for which AVcllington is famous. Plow would such a town exist Avhon Parliament Avas not sitting. I presume it Avould be surrounded with a larg-o Avail, the raihvay could be disconnected if necessary, and so, when the Governor ordered the good little boys to go home to their wives and families, he would turn tho key in the door and Avalk ofE with it. Tho toAvn built on tAvo thousand acres Avould bo a grand place when shut up. If it had not been proposed by a Scotchman I should have looked upon it as a joke, one of Ain- rccnt Pykc's amusing shots, but, "Sweet Edinbro' I smell thee now," tp prfljicum such a thing seriously, to carry it out _by taking a division on it, iiarroAvly escaping defeating Government on it, and yet they say Scotchmen aro devoid of humor. My ideas havo received a severe shock, and as I saAV preparations for voting more dollars I found I was wanted elsewhere than iv the Gallery.