PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

Evening Star, Issue 3280, 25 August 1873, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

(BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.)

Wellington, August 10, The prayers having been read, and a few petitions presented, a message was brought in from his Excellency Sir James Eergusson, which the hnn. members received standing. The object of the message was that LSOO per annum should be added to his salary, mak-

ing it equivalent with that which he had received iu fair South Australia It would help to swell hie pension, should he live to become superannuated. Mr Vogel said the additional LSOO per annum would make our Governor’s salary equal to that of Governor* 1 of other first-class Colonies. '! he sum would bo no increase on the expenditure, as it would bo deducted from the allowances. The Governor lacked room in the present Government House, and wished to obtain the use of Lowry Bay estate. Now, Mi Bunny is the Boanerges of the House, and every member heard him say that the allowances obtained by the late Governor amounted to about L 9,000, including cradles, harness, servants’ liveries, materials for archery, and articles of so eminently a domestic character that the member for the Hutt, later on in the debate, excused himself from again enumerating them. >So Mr Fox had something to say about newspaper reporters and their canards, and what able editors would make of the subject, but had found from investigation, when he held office temporarily, that the rumors were entirely without foundation. _ Mr Stafford reviewed the whole subject, stating that the practise arose from the days of Governor Gore Brown, and had increased to the present. While he had been a Minister, requisitions had been sent to him for articles, such as saddlery, &c,, which he was compelled to refuse to sign or accede to. The question of Lowry Bay residence was then again brought to the fore, and Mr Backhand said it should be made a present to his Excellency. It had cost the Colony L 15,000 already, and LOGO per annum to maintain ; was let for L7O yearly ; was dear, from his knowledge of farming, at the price, and he was prepared to raise his voice against the Colony incurring another penny in expense in its maintenance. He had been at the residence twice, and therefore sjpoke from a knowledge of the place. There Was then chat about travelling expenses for the Governor, and the expediency of such expenses being paid by the General Government; and, as near as I could judge, a sum of LSGO was suggested as sufficient to cover such amount of expenditure ; when the member for Dunstan said Otago bad already paid L7OO towards Governor Bowen’s expenses, and was corrected by our Superintendent saying audibly L 1,400 ; and so the Bill was read a first time. Mr M'Oillivray brought up Orepuki and Riverton for distinction. For the former he wanted money for water supply, stating that the auriferous natuie of the country, now sparsely occupied, was such that it would equally support a population of a thousand miners as' its present number. It was a matter Worthy of inquiry whether half a dozen people in the House knew where Orepuki was situate. 1 heard the Orepuki representative of the Mining Conference, on his return from Dunedin, state that he was looked upon by his brother miners as a man from an unknown land ; and that only Macandrcw and Haughton infix; City know where' Orepuki could be found.” Then about 'Riverton, M'Gillivray wanted to know whether Government would let the engineer report on the possibility oi improving Riverton Harbor. He told the Government that Riverton was the third port in New Zealand for the exportation of grain; that it had a larger timber trade, would have a much larger one, and demanded consideration. The questioner obtained cold comfort on the first thing demanded; but was told that should the Superintendent of Otago again require tbe attendance of the engineer when again in that neighborhood, Riverton should benefit by his advice. There are threo clerical gentlemen in the House, beside the speaker, who attend to devotion ; Canterbury owns the one, Otago the other, j Wellington the third. The nature of the I ouudiug of the Southern Provinces enters

into the appearance and manners of two of the members. He of the Knglish Church is jovial in appearance, apparently qualified to hunt a fox, crack a bottle, be a good companion, and a th iviug agriculturist, as well a sound divine. The straightlaced strictness of “seventhly” appears in the cleric from f-tago, who still retains all the mannerism of the Auld Kirk of Caledonia. He has the suave impressive manner of the pulpit—emphasising sentence and point when necessary. The Wellington spiritual adviser of the House is tall, gaunt, grey, bald ; has a lawyer kind of utterance and manner, and spends his time and energies in fighting political windmills and toll-bars. They are an unique trio—representative men of three separate clerical types. The Canterbury man, however, is the beat adapted for politics of the three. The Timber Floatage Bill, of which I wrote you yesterday, came on again to-day for second reading. It will be apparent from Hansard that I managed to get at the gist of the Bill from the opposition it received, and it was only read a second time from its being referred to a Select Committee.

At 7.30, when the House mot, the most amusing scene of the session took place. Some of the estimates for the year had been passed in the short half-hour before the - peaker left the chair for dinner ; and when it again mot, every member nearly in the House complained of his electoral returning officer having either been reduced in the rate of his pay, or having ceased to receive any pay at all. For an hour or more the amusing badgering of the Minister of Justice continued, who took it remarkably well. An hour passed away, repartee succeeding repartee—rejoinder following rejoinder ; and then the amount was passed. The Commons are always jealous about their right of talking when sums of money are being voted away, but the talking generally avails not, md the Estimates pass out of the House as they entered it. One benelit of representative Government is that members know the merits of the servants of the Crown in their own particular districts, and also know somewhat of their laches. Hence they can mete out praise or,blame accordingly. It is wearying listening to dry chat about passing money details that everyone knows will pass intact; but the thing after all ia only a parish arrangement, every vestryman looking out for his own ward.