THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Evening Star, Issue 3551, 10 July 1874, Page 2

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

[By Telegraph.]

Wellington, July 9. In the House of Representatives, Mr Steward asked whether the attention of the Government had been directed to a difficulty which had arisen on the Maerewhenua Goldfields, and the case pending as between Messrs JBorton and M‘Master and Howe and party, on the subject of the pollution of streams by mining operations ; and whether it was theinteutionof the Government to bring forward a Bill during the present session dealing with the question of riparian rights.—Mr Vogel answered that it was not the intention of the Government to bring in such a measure during the present session. Mr M'Gillivray asked whether the‘Engineer in-Chief had made any report upon the harbor at Riverton, which he had visited during the recess ; and whether such a report would be laid upon the table of the House,—Mr Richardson said the Provincial Engineer had reported on the work, and the Colonial Engineer was ready to report as soon as informed tilat he was desired to do so.

In replying to a question put by Mr Williams, Mr Richardson said that the Government bad under consideration the question of erecting a new Court-house and Customhouse at Hokianga. Mr O’Neil asked the Premier whether the Government intended this session to introduce any Bill to amend the Representation Act, 1871.—The Premier said the Government did not intend to do so. The question was one which should not be interfered with, unless upon very good grounds, or something more than a few trilling inequalities. The following Bills were introduced and read a first time Bill to amend the Conveyancing Ordinance ; B 11 to. amend the Canterbury Domains Act,'lß72 ; BUI to Extend the l ime for Registration of Births in Certain Cases; Bill to amend the Marlborough Waste Lands Act. 18 -7. On the motion of Mr C. Parker, returns of imports and exports between New Zealand and Tasmania, between 1870 and 1873 inclusive, were ordered to be laid upon the table. Some debate ensued upon Mr Wakefield’s motion for a return of cost of providing the

‘ Handbook of New Zealand,’ distinguishing the literary labor and the cost of setting up the type ; also te state whether the type was d stributed or not. Mr Waktfield, m his remarks, sharply criticised the manner in which the 16ok was compiled, as not doing tuii justice to New Zealand as an united country, and not being put in such an attractiveforrn as would be likely to have a benefacial effect upon the class of men required by the Colony.—Mr Vogel explained that the trouble and labor entailed by the production °f the book had teen so great that, had he been aware of it before he took it in ban , he should not have readily bur-

dened himself with so onerous a duty It was impossible for him to do anything with the mass in manuscript. Only a few proof copies of ihe book had been stiuok off in New Zetland, though it was intended to have printed a greater number than was at first struck off. Unfortunately the type was broken up before the order was given. He

was sorry a larger number of copies had not been provided for the Colony, but he had been expecting that a supply would have been received from England before the session opened. He hoped they would be out soon for distribution.—The return being opposed, a division was called fob, the result being II votes for and 29 against.—Mr Vogel then said he would furnish a return of all the different payments mnifo on account of the book before the end ot the session, only a few having as yet been made.

On tho motion of Mr Sheehan, a return was ordered of all business transacted by the District Court of Napier since the appointment of the present Judge. * On Mr Gillies moving his motion for the production of correspondence relating to Judges Ward and Chapman, he thanked the Government for so readily and courteously acceding to the request.—The Premier hoped that the whole matter would be allowed to pass into oblivion as soon as possible after the information should have been supplied. He did not consider it necessarry that the doouments should be printed and appear upon tho minutes of the House ; but he would lay the necessary papers upon the table for the use of members only. -Mr Pox thought the quarrel between the Judges a very petty one as it stood, but it was not necessary for the public to interfere in it, as no complication or anything detrimental to the public interest was involved in it, though perhaps it might suit many Otago people to hear more of it; but one aspect ot the case which he thought the house should search more

mto was by what means the • Otago Daily Times became possessed of the contents of those telegrams, which were admitted by the Premier to bear a close resemblance to the originals. It was perfectly certain that there had been either gross negligence or a gross breach of faith by somebody, because he was assured that neither of those engaged in the quarrel had in their privatecapacity furnished tne information. He must, therefore, conelude that it found its way to the ‘ Times ’ through the Telegraph Dep.rtment, though he had no reason, from his acquaintance with the department, to doubt the honesty and trustworthiness of the operators in such matters. Mr Fox then referred to various ways by which telegraphic information sometimes leaks out, instancing a case where seme important financial information was taken off the wire in transmission by a parson listening through a wall, who took the substance of the message, and operated for speculative purposes. The Premier had -spoken of matters as if it was like the

Junius Betters, or the Man with the Iron he , felt certaiQ . if the House would follow the matter up, they would succeed in stripping the iron mask from the brazen face of the right person, and discover the means by which the telegrams appeered m the ‘Otago limes.’ Mr Pox referred at some length to another telegram mystery in which the same paper figures. Ihe information had been supplied by its Wellington correspondent, and he regretted h.s connection with that matter, during his visit South. He felt compelled to characterise the affair in such a strong term as a doubie-dyed transaction. Unfortunately they had never yet been able to discover how that know! dge escaped the Government ; but he had no doubt he would have been able to do so had the correspondent m question earned out his threat of entering an actwn for libel. He was sorry he never was afforded the opportunity of extracting the evidence regarding the channel by which the information had leaked out, by means of judicial examination in the witness-box. and so discovered the guilty party. It was clear that, unless the recipient had been guiltv of sheer negligence, there must have been gross negligence on the part of the department. Hei hoped Mr Gillies would more for a committee to inquire into the higher parfof the question. It was one in which the public was more directly interested, and it would enable the House to discover whether the affair was the result of a breach of confidence, or want of precaution on the part of the recipient. After referring to the case of Macassey and Bell, ne said the telegrams should not be kept, any more than the letters left in the fost Office, and, except in the case ef business telegrams involving large monetary interests, all should be destroyed as soon as possible.—Mr Gillies hoped the members would not be led astray by the ingenious speech of the member for Rangitikei, but would ascertain whether there was any truth m the charges of gross favoritism made by one Judge against another. The telegrams, though called impudent forgeries by one person, were admitted to be substantially correct by another. As for the insinuation made against the department, it was the first time he had beam of such a thing in connection with this case. The mover had said the Otago public felt considerable interest in the question, but on public grounds alone it was impossible a question involving such grave ohar«e, should be ullewed to mu/mto produced d ° cumei * ts were ordered to be

ti The Nelson Loan Bill was read a first

vSSjZSS?* m for Drafts of the following Bills, sent downbv f R T m t^ n ft ® Vernor . were reported to o J* r i *~; 8111 to amend the Supremo Court Judges Act, 1858; Bill to makelW and th A ta J hahmenl of State Forests, there W B?! l° a f ° f /\ venue derivable toThlT^i ß^ 1 t0 atneQ d the Law relating fid Acb t0 a “end Westthe Q 18 ? 3 5 Acfc for amending the Post Office Saving Banks Act IBfi7 • fsTO* 0 re£>eal NeW Zealaad University Act,’ The House then adjourned. m legislative Council, Mr Waterhouse—in moving that in opinion of the Coutfcil the of sdlinS and disposing of land, under the >ew Zealand Settlement Act, should be regulated bv ot the General Assembly, Su i ‘“ 4 power waßleftinthrhimdo of < thro l0,1 “ :r ■«ent. He inttanoed t“ acres in the Waikato nl 01 V )U »V UO might have been the W « &t tions with Yesey in ar S e quantity of land iu the VlikLfi ♦ another regulation. by ticnary powers should be limitjf *

publicity given to land transactions.—The Colonial Secretary said the statute gave the Governor in Council power to make regulations for the disposal of all lands, except by actual sale, provided they were published in the ‘Gazette.’ Seeing that a large discretion was necessary during the r-cess, he thought the Legislature should not arrogate too much authority in such a matter In re gard to the sale of a large quantity of swampy land in the Waikato, the money bad been used to make valuabe roads through the district itself.—Colonel Kenny asked if the names of all persons interested in, and circumstances of each transaction should be published. He had heard of land so’d by the Government at a low price being repurchased by a Melbourne firm at a much higher rate, and converted into valuable property.—The Colonial Secretary said the information could only be supplied by a resolution being passed. It would be as absurd to mix up the names of all private persons interested in land transactions as in the repurchase by a Melbourne firm. He would like to see much more swamp land taken up in the same way.—Mr Wate> bouse, in reply

said certain discretionary powers should be left to the Government, but they should be stringently debarred from having any option ss to giving publicity to all transactions, or as to the minimum price por acre. The motion was agreed to. Mr Waterhouse moved, without remark, that copies of all correspondence and tele* grams which passed between the Government and Judge Ward, in reference to Judge Chapman, be laid on the table,—The Colonial Secretary said the Government had no objection. {From our own Correapndent.) July 9. The telegram Mr Shepherd referred to in the House appeared in the ‘ Auckland Star ’ of July 2. The Speaker’s reply was, that having been shown the telegram, it was right to say its terms were insulting; and that were the matter in his power, he would most certainly exclude the author (cheers) from the reporters’ gallery ; because he held it to be at least due to members that protection from such license and insolence should be afforded them. Mr Fox, in moving for copies of instructions issued to Resident Magistrates on Licensing Boards, asserted that, if those officials were publicans or were in the publicans' interest, they could not have devised better means than they had in the creation of districts to prevent the proper working of the Act.—Mr Vogel said the Bill the Government were introducing would only cure defects in the existing system, leaving

it to the House to say whether other legislation was necessary. He complained of the enormous cost of advertising applications. Mr Shepherd instanced a case of a parson convicted of sly grog selling attending on a licensing bench. On Mr Gillies’s motion for the production of Judge Ward’s alleged telegrams, Mr Vogel expressed a hope that the time had come when toe scandal—for he could call it nothing else—would be forgotten ; therefore lm hoped it would not be deemed necessary to have the papers and telegrams bound up with the proceedings of the House. The papers would be placed on the table as early as possible.—Mr Fox concurred, hoping the matter would sink into oblivion. As it stood it led people to meddle with it, and as the current of justice was not likely to be disturbed, the quarrel might safely be left to vanish into obscurity. It was apparent there was some channel between the telegraph department and the newspaper, and it was the duty of the House to take steps to discover it. The public must be convinced of the inviolability of telegrams. Mr Fox also referred in bitter terms to a former case, in which he himself was concerned, making a savage attack on Mr Gillies, and saying that he never regretted characterising the latter’s conduct as doublydyed. Another matter that had been overlooked was the production of the telegrams in Court. Judge Chapman’s order was highly improper and unconstitutional. The Government proposed to introduce legislation to effectually prevent the production of telegrams in courts, except with the consent of persons interested, -Mr Gillies (Auckland) defended the expediency of keeping telegrams, and also condemned the action of Judge Chapman in making the order. He said it was absolutely imperative to have an inquiry, after Judge Ward’s emphatic declaration that the published telegrams were impudent forgeries.—Mr J. L. GilUes, in reply, said when the telegrams were produced he* would apply for a committee to investigate the whole matter. It would be for him to consider what further steps it would then be necessary to take. The new Electoral Bill provides manhood suffrage, with six months’ residence; miners’ rights qualification to ceass after September, 1875.

Mr Waterhouse’s motion re no further increase of loans is postponed till Tuesday. Mr Wakefield has given notice of a Property Income Tax Bill, Mr Reynolds of the introduction of the Dunedin Gas and Water Loan Bill; and of his intention to move the House into Committee of Ways and Means on Tuesday, to consider the following propositions ; —That after July 1, 1875, the duty on Colonially distilled spirits be 7s : after July, 1876, 8s; after July, 1877, 9s. In reply to Mr Stewart, Mr Reynolds said the Government would erect a lighthouse at Moeraki, the department having reported it more suitable.than Cape Wansbeck,