POLITICAL NEWS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4112, 25 September 1884, Page 3

POLITICAL NEWS.

[by telegraph.]

(From our Special Correspondent.)

Wellington, This day. The debate on Mr Moss's amendment on the financial statement was continued on Tuesday night till the hour of adjournment. The speeches On both sides showed clearly on tho one hand a 'distrust Of Sir Julius

f Vogel, and on the other a determination tc t break up the vested interest Major Atkin- _ son is supposed to have in the government 3 of the country. From the Ministerial side - the attacks on the late Government were ,■ : entirely directed against Major Atkinson, . his old colleagues being overlooked as very ; small potatoes. Messrs Holmes, Bevan, ; Ballance, and Montgomery all made gooc > speeches from their side of the question, but I all who were not led away by the glitter oi ; Sir Julius Vogel's financial statement could • not listen to Mr Bryco and Mr Rolleston i without being convinced that the realini terests of the colony would be better pre- . served in their hands than in those of men who would make a splash for merely tern, porary purposes political or personal, as the i case may be. Those who are older in the Government of the colony arc well aware of ; this, and would throw over Sir Julius Vogel to-morrow if by so doing the overthrow of Major Atkinson could be assured, but in the present state of parties this is impossible. The existing Ministry are therefore safe for the session, and every one is agreed that the debate on the financial statement, though serving to show the temper of the House, is practically a waste of time. Those who are not reckoned among the personal^friends of Mr Ormond are never weary of dinning into the ears of visitors from Napier that that gentleman occupies a very backseat indeed, but those who are behind the scenes are well satisfied with his position. There is no cause just yet for the counsellors of prudence, and for them to fire shots when out of range is to throw powder and ball away. When Sir Julius Vogel is got rid of it will bo time for them to come forward. If prudence in borrowing, in pushing on public works, and in a liberal system of settling the waste lands were popular at the present time, then there would havo been no

change of Ministry. The personal feeling against Major Atkinson, however, blinds the House to the desirability of prudence in the administration of public affairs. Under the present Ministry economy can scarcely be looked for, and any thing in tho shape of sweeping Civil Service reform is out of the question. It was amusing to hear the repeated references to the loss of Major Atkinson's bill for the reform of the Civil Service and the report of the Civil Service Commissioners. It might have been supposed, from the severity of the remarks, that the late Premier was the only man in the colony who was able to devise a scheme for reducing tho service. The report and the bill were said to be public property, and as such should havo been at the service of the new Government. In all probability, however, the present Ministry are very glad that they havo not inherited such an unknown legacy. Yesterday afternoon, before the debate was resumed on the financial statement, Sir George Grey moyeel the first reading of his bill to provide that Justices of tho Peace shall be elected by the people. If this bill becomes law, which is not in the least likely, wo might have men on the bench who used to grace the magisterial chairs in the early days of Victoria. One gentleman in that colony who was elected several times Mayor of Melbourne kept a public-house, and was the most popular man of his time. He served the best liquors during the day, and at night sat on a cask and played a fiddle for dancing parties in his house. If popularity is to be considered a qualification for a seat on the bench, the best fiddler, or the singer of the best song may yet hope to attain a position to direct a jury to discharge an indictment for murder, because all the witnesses were too drunk to say whether the deceased killed himself or was clone to death by somebody else. The Napier Harbor Bill will be probably delayed in the Upper House for a clay or two in consequence of a petition signed by six persons praying that it be not passed. Tho petition was presented on Tuesday, and yesterday the bill was referred back to the Local Bills Committee for further evidence. It is understood that, if the Hon. J. N. Wilson had been a little more energetic, the bill would havo been reported yesterday, but now that it is sent back to the committee the probability is that it will be delayed till Friday. When it docs come before the Council the chances are that Mr Waterhouse, who is reported to be dead against the bill, will move that it be referred to a commission of engineers to report on the feasibility of tho scheme. There is no doubt that Mr Kinross's presence here at this particular juncture has had the effect of a brake on the wheels of tho progress of the bill, and has given Mr Ormond considerably more work in the lobbies. There is, however, little doubt that the bill will pass in spite of the opposition, the petitions against it having been signed by so few individuals. It is known sufficiently well throughout the whole of the House that a harbor at Napier is not only required for the proper development of the resources and industries of Hawke's Bay, but as a harbor of refuge between Wellington and Auckland. Opposition to the work is completely nullified by the fact that tho people of Hawke's Bay are willing to pay for what they want, and stand tho loss without running to Parliament to help them out of responsibilities in event of failure. Your readers have at all events the satisfaction of knowing that Messrs Ormond, Smith, Russell, and Locke aro lo} r al to tho interests of tho districts they respectively represent. The synopsis of Wi Pore's bill, wired to you yesterday, was only made from a proof sheet, and has, 1 understand, been somewhat added to since first shown me. Unlike Mr Locke's bill, which aims at facilitating the means to complete transactions already in hand, Wi Pore's is a measure to radically alter the existing system of dealing with native lands, and as such should certainly be regaidcd as a policy measure. I need scarcely say that with Wi Pere's name to it tho real author is Mr W. L. Rces.