WELLINGTON.

Dunstan Times, Issue 490, 8 September 1871, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

(from our correspondent.) August 23, 1871. Very little business of importance has ns yet been undertaken by the legislature this Session. Honorable members seem to devote their energies to obtaining a large supply of literary ammunition with which to fight out the great battle that is expected to take place very shortly. There seems to be a strong feeling against the San Francisco mail service arranged by Mr. Vogel. A good many members appear to think that an equally effective service might have been obtained for a much less expenditure of public money. An opinion is also prevalent that the work done by Mr. Vo. el in America and England could have been done equally as well by the Agent General, Dr. ” Peatherston. Mr. Vogel has not however yet given any account of his mission (owing I believe to tbe fact that the necessary papers have not been printed, there being a disagreement between the government printer and Lis understrappers), and it seems scarcely fair to form an opinion upon what he has dons until we have heard what he has to say. An amusing scene took place in the House of Representatives yesterday. Mr. Collins rose to put the following questions standing in his name on the notice paper to the Prime Minister : “ Y'ho'her any urgent necessity existed for sending the Honourable Colonial Treasurer to England, when Dr. Featherston was so shortly to follow as Agent-General for New Zeal inch Also, what was the expense of Mr. Vo:el’s embassy, and how and by whom tbe duties of bis Oepa tment were fulfilled during his absence ? and said that his question was not dictate 1 by any in feeling towards the Government but that the public wanted to know when this sort of thing (the sending homo of special missioncis) was likely to stop. That the fact of their being able to do without the Colonial Treasurer for so many months was suggestive of the idea that they could do without him altogether. The Premier and the Colonial Secretary rose repeatedly to points of order, and the honorahie member tried very hard to put his remarks in such a way that they could bo received amirs roars of laughter from the House, but could make very little head way, and at last the Colonial Secretary rose and o jected to his putting the question at all, as it evidently could not bo put without raising dehateable matter. The Speaker was about to give his ailing, when Mr. Vogel rose and aske the Speaker as a personal favor to allow the honorable member to say any thing ho liked, hut the Speaker

sail he could not do that. Eventually, however, Mr. Collin* was allowed to read his questions from the paper, but was not allowed to make any more remarks. The Premier said he would endeavor by answering the honorable member categorically to shew him how he should have put the questions. He then said “ yes ” The expense of the f rip will be made manifest in the same way as the bonnrab'e member for the Hut, (Mr. Fitzherbert) Parnell, (R. Wood) and Timaru, (Mr. Stafford) have been. The work during his absence has bsen performed by his colleagues in the ordinary way. Our member (Mr. Shepherd), seems to be working hard and well, he is on the public petitions committee and the gold-fields’com-mittee, and is very seldom absent from his seat when the House is sitting, some of the papers try to write him down, but he will soon got over tha*, when it is seen that he docs not deserve what they say, and that the reports circulated against him here have been spread by a clique that have persistently opposed him in the Provincial Council By the bye—The telegram to the Otago Daily Tihies as to the Plousc bring counted out when Mr. Shepherd was speaking is quite false—Several members tried to obtain a count out, but failed, although members so trying stopped some of the members in the lobby, Mr. Shepherd was allowed to finish his speech. It will probably be interesting to your readers to see the names of the Gold-fields’ Committee—they are, Bradshaw, Curtis, Gillies, Hall, Hauglpon, Harrison, Macandrew, Mervyn, O’Neil, Vogel, Shepherd, and Creighton. You will see by this, that Otago is well represented. All questions respecting the gold-fields are, or will be referred to them. Everybody is looking forward with very much inter: st to the dis mission of Mr. Macandrew’s resolutions in regard to radical changes in the government of the i olony. They were to have been brought on last night, but his Honor got them adjourned until next Tuesday week in order to give Members more time to get up the subject. The resolutions are as follows : 1. In the opinion of this House, it is expedient that the Provincial Legislatures and County Council of the Middle Island he abolished, and one Provincial Legislature substituted in lieu thereof. 2. That such Legislature shall consist of a Lieutenant-Governor and Provincial Council both elected by the people. 3. That the Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected for years, subject to tbo approvel of the Governor of the Colony. He shall he liable at any tim ■ to be removed by tbo Governor on the representation of two thirds of the members of the Provincial Council. He shall have power to dissolve the Provincial Council when he shall see fit ; and shallexercise'all the functions which devolve upon Superintendents of Provinces by virtue of “The Yew Zealand Constitution Act.” 4. The first Provincial Council shall consist of the 45 members who have elected to represent the constituencies of the Middle Island in this House. The duration of said Council shall be five years. 5. The Provincial Legislature constituted as aforesaid shall have full and absolute constituent powers of legislation upon all and every subject.affecting the peace, order, and good government of the Middle Island, save and excepting the following, viz. : (Ist) The imposiiion or regulation of Customs Duties. (2nd) The establishment or abolition of Civil or Criiaial Courts, or alteration of the Criminal Law. (3rd) Tne regulation and establishment of postal and telegraphic communication. (4th.) Regulating the laws of bank- ,, ruptcy and insolvency. (3th.) Regulating marriages. (Olh.) Affecting lands of the Crown. (7th) Regulating the course of iuhoritanoe of real or personal property, or affecting the laws relating to wills. Any such legislation shall not be subject to be controlled or superseded by any act of the General Assembly of New Zealand : provided always that such legislation shall not he repugnant to. the law of England : provided also that the Governor of the Colony shall have the power of vetoing t all such legislation at any time within two months of the date of the passing thereof. 6. All public revenue in the Middle Island, from whatever source shall be ah initio the revenue of the Province, and shall be appropriated by the Provincial Legislature ; subject, nevertheless, as the first charge, to such contributions in respect of the general liabilities of the Colony as the Colonial Legislature may from time to time determine. 7. All expenditure to be incurred by the Middle Island by means of “ The Immigration and public works Loan Act, 1870.” shall be determined and administered by the Provincial Legislature ; and the proceeds of such loan applicable to the Middle Island shall be lodged in the Provincial Treasury. 8. The various existing Acts regulating the sale, letting, and occupation of the Waste Lands of the Crown in the Middle Island shall be repealed, and one uniform Act substituted ; such Act to be based upon resolutions of the Provincial Legislature, 9. There shall be a distinct account kept of the territorial revenue derived within the limits of the three original Middle Island Provinces, and such revenue shall be expended within the limits of such Province in such manner as the Provincial Legislature may determine. 10. The proceeds of aT lands which have been reserved for educational purposes, within the three original Provinces of the Middle Island, shall be devoted exclusively to the support of schools within the limits of the respective Provinces in which the land is situate. 11. The Colonial Legislature of Now Zealand, asatpiescnt constituted, shall be re-

modelled, and shall consist of:— (1.) His Excellency the Governor. (2,) A Legislative Council of 20 members, one half of whom shall he elected by the Provincial Council of the Middle Island, and ono half by the Provincial Councils of the North Island, in such proportions as shall be heareaftor determined. The members of such Legislative Council shall he elected for ton years, and none shall be eligible for election unless possessed of property to the value of at least 3,000f. free of all encumbrance. (3.) A House of Representatives consisting of members, to bo elected by the people of both Islands in proportion to population. 12. As respects the Middle Island, action of the Colonial Legislatureshall be confined exclusively to questions of federal concern, and to those subjects enumerated in No. 5 of the foregoing resolutions as being ultra vires of the Provincial Legislature. 13. That a respectful address be transmitted jto bis Excellency the Governor, to the effect that he may be pleasedto cause the foregoing res- olution to |be embodied in the form of a statute to be sumitted to_ the Legislature. Mr. O’Neil has given notice that ho intends to move, That the duty on gold be reduced to Is. instead of 2s. Cd., and that the price of miner’s rights be reduced to 10s. If this be carried, I fear we shall get less than ever out of the Chinese. Auo. 28. —The mail, per Phoebe, was to have closed yesterday, but has not closed yet, so I will add a few lines on a personal matter. The first two or three days after I arrived here I sat in the strangers’ gallery ; but from there only one-third of the house can be seen, and consequently 1 could not tell what mem 1 er was speaking. This being the case, I obtained, as I then thought, all necessary permissions to give me the entre to the reporters’ gallery, On Thursday last 1 went into the gallery, and took my seat by the side of a gent (I use the term advisedly) who appeared to be reporting. The said gent made some remarks to the effect that I had no right there. I replied, “ I believe I have a right,” and inform'd him of the steps I had taken. Said gent gave me no information, but wont out. In a few minutes the said gent returned and resumed his seat. Almost directly afterwards the door was opened, and 1 was called out by a gentleman on the staff of the House, who asked me if I had a ticket from the Sergeant-at-Arms. I replied, “No” and then explained to him what steps I had taken—He then informed me that it -was necessary for me to obtabi a ticket from the Sergeant at Arms, I said I would do so, and returned to the gallery for ray hat. As I went in the said gent looked up and grinned, I of course was very grave. In a few minutes having informed the Serjeant at Armsofthe permission I had obtained from the authorities, I received the necessary ticket and returned to ray seat in the gallery. The said g'nt this time did not grin, but looked very much chagrined, he however kept his spleen bottled up until it found vent in the following paragraph in the Evening Post We wish to draw the at ention of the proper authorities to the improper use to which the Reporter-’ Gallery of the House of Representatives is put. Persons who wish to pass away an i lie hour listening to the proceedings, whose position or friends may not enable flicrn to obtain an order f or tire Speaker’s Gallery, seem t-> have nothing to do but to wait on tbs Sergeant at Anns and represent themselves as the special correspondent of the Hong Kong Newsletter, or the Timbuctoo Gazette, and immediately they are supplied with a card of admission to the Reporters’ Gal'ery. Of course the Sergeant at Arms would not suspect any one so applying to him of being guilty of mis-representation, neither would we wish to do so ; but in order that no invidious distinctions may be made, and at the same time no admissions granted to persons not entitled to it, we would suggest that each applicant be required to produce hia authority from the journal ho is said to represent. It is by no means easy work for reporters to sit in the confined gallery allotted to them, and attend to their work from two o’clock till midnight; and this work is rendered doubly hard when, by reason of crowding, a crampe I position is necessitated. The gallery is only just large enough to accommodate those who are bona fide representatives of the local press, and whoso duties compel them to visit it. If space is to be given to all who may claim to represent obscure country journals, a gallery to hold thirty or forty persons should be erected. ” This morning the following paragraph appeared in the Advertiser; —“ We are always glad to record instances of journalistic enterprise, and one of a very marked character lias just reached us. An Otago up-country journal rejoicing in the name of the Dnnstan Times, and published, we believe, at a place called Clyde, is actually, so much interested in the proceedings of the Assembly as to have despatched a special reporter to keep it informed thereupon. At least, wo believe, that a gentlemen has claimed a seat in the Reporter’s Gallery, in capacity of special reporter for the Dnnstan Times. We shall anxiously endeavor to procure files of our no doubt, widely circulated, and well-known contomEorary, but wo fear its enterprise will not e duly appreciated, for we fancy few people beyond a few Otago miners, have ever seen or ever heard of its existence ” It is rather amusing to compare the last mentioned paragraph, when it is stated—speaking of th a Dnnstan Times, “we fancy few people beyond a few Otago miners, have over seen, or ever heard of its existence," —with the leading article in the same paper, in which these words appear—speaking of the member for the Dunstan, “ho is the representative of a large and important constituency,” As the Dunstan Times is the principal paper in the Dunstan district, surely it must also represent a “largo and important constituency” and ought, and probably is, r«'ad by many people all over the colony, though perhaps by not quite so many as the Penny Advertiser and the Penny Evening Post.