WELLINGTON.

Evening Star, Issue 3902, 26 August 1875, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

[By_Tklkobaph.] (From our own Correspondent.)

Wellington, August £6, On Tuesday much amusement was created by Mr O’Neill’s unrolling a petition which reached from the gangway of the House to the Speaker’s chair. It was signed by three clergymen and 1,600 inhabitants of the Thames, and was to the following effect: —“ Your petitioners look with regret and alarm at any attempt made to induce your House to legalise the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sunday ; your petitioners believe that the Sunday will lose its character of rest and quiet, and its religious and elevating influence on the community, and will become a source of immorality in proportion to the opportunities given for carrying on, on that day or on any part of it, traffic in intoxicating liquors; your petitioners pray that no such opportunity will be allowed, but that if any change in the existing law be made it will be to make more effective the prohibition of liquor traffic” on Sunday. At seven o’clock on the same evening a division was very imminent. Mr Bunny, who spoke for an Hour by the clock, was just finishing up when Mr Reid handed him a written paper, whereupon Mr Bunny exclaimed; “I cannot do it; I have got a cold ; stay, I have a few points on which I can still debate.” So Mr Bunny proceeded to say that Hall’s Local Government Bill was a better Bill than the present, “which he had not seen.” As Mr Bunny had been previously somewhat scathing in his treatment of the abolition measure, this simple and apparently unintentional announcement produced, as reporters say “ considerable amusement.”

For the misunderstanding at a later period of tha debate each side blames the other. The Opposition charge the Government with attempting to steal a march, and to force a division. Mr Walter Johnstone was to have followed Mr Bunny, but at ten o’clock was not in his place, and nearly ten minutes elapsed before Mr Dignan rose as the result of a hurried conference between Messrs O’Rorke, Wood, and Sheehan, the only ones of the front rank of the Opposition in the House at the time. While he was speaking the Opposition held a caucus, and decided to negative the amendment, the object for which it was moved having been served. The main object of the Opposition is to gain delay, in the hope that the feeling of the country will change in their favor. Mr Stout is expected to address the House to-day. The following anecdote is related on the authority of the *N. Z, Times “ They have had a row in Otago about the high rates charged on the railway lines there for the conveyance of coal. These rates are double those charged on the lines under the General Government management ; for example, 2d per ton is charged on the General Government lines, and 4d on the Otago railways. The member for Bruce snatched a moment from the time occupied by him in preparing a new Constitution to write to Mr Richardson on this matter. Mr Kichardson replied that the Provincial authorities were the proper people to apply to. Mr Murray answered back that as Mr Richardson and the Government he belonged to were going to abolish the Provincial people he ought to look into this complaint. With some little show of reason Mr Richardson replied that until the Provincial people were abolished he could scarcely interfere—another instance .of bureaucratic despotism ! ’ The Hous'.o had a good laugh at Mr Luckie last night. In Vhe course of his speech he had spoken of dead corpses, and Mr Sheehan referred, to this blunder. Mr Luckie. ever ready to jump up to make a asserted that he had spoken of animating dead corpses, and was about to cite Shakespeare ai? an authority, but the double blunder was too f°r the House, which fairly laughed down the number for Nelson.

Mr Buckland let in some light upon that audacious statement of Mr Reader Wood that Auckland was financially sound, which the Opposition make so much of. When the member for Parnell uttered that statement the Treasurer wanted to rise to contradi t it, but Mr Wood protested against interruptions and proceeded with his arguments. When Auckland’s financial soundness was ridiculed yesterday by Mr Buckland, Mr Wood reiterated the statement, adding that at the time it was originally made, Auckland had L 3,000 odd to her credit at the bank. “Yes,” retorted Mr Buckland, “ but you forgot to tell the House that that morning the Colonial Treasurer had been obliged to advance you 1.6,000 to carry on the ordinary business of the Province, and this very L.3,000 was part of that sum.” The fact is, as stated by the member for Franklin, that that very morning Mr Wood, as Provincial Treasurer, drew from the Colonial Treasury an advance to enable the Province to carry on, and is now petitioning ad misericordiam for further assistance.

As the San Francisco contract is likely shortly to come under consideration, it will not be uninteresting to state that since it has been in the hands of the A.S.N. Company excellent work has been performed. The mails were very frequently delivered in the Colony days in advance of those by Brindisi and Suez—they have been delivered in Auckland in fortythree days, and in Dunedin in forty-eight days, from London ; while in exceptional cases they have been delivered in Auckland in shorter time than the mails via Brindisi were delivered in Melbourne. In a few days will be laid on the table returns showing'tha time occupied in the conveyance of the mails by each route.