The Fielding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1897.

Feilding Star, Volume XIX, Issue 108, 3 November 1897, Page 2

The Fielding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1897.

POLITICAL.

Thbrk can be no question that the country is becoming sick and tired of the silly way in which th« business of Parliament is now being conducted Day after day the members give vent to " Windy vapourings" in abuse of ea'jh other, while the last thing they seem to think about is doing the work f>r which they are paid by the longsuffering and too indulgent taxpayers. No man will ever accuse the New Zealand Times of being anything else than a warm supporter of the Government, and yet the following is what our contemporary said yesterday on the subject of tho present session : — After carefully weighing all that has been said and done since the " blessing of Uod " was asked upon its labours, we can only say that this session of .Parliament has been to the country and its people a mockery, a delusion and a snare. The opportunity has been taken by hon members on both sides of the House to air ther petty persona! grievances, and to get rid of saved-up rancour from the election contests of last year. There have, of course, been a few exceptions, but these have ouly gone to prove the rule. Ministers liave asked in vain that the business should go on ; they have been met with tirades of abuse based on the re-uits of spying aud slandering outside vh«* walls of Parliament. The whole thing is pitiable in the extreme, and may well cause the people of the country to exclaim, " A plague o' both your houses." We do not pretend to say that nil in this extract is true, although it bears internal evidence of conviction based on fact. We venture to say, however, had the Premier in the first instance adopted a more conciliatory tone towards members, whether of his own party, the Opposition, or the Left Wing, all of this " pother " would never have happened. He threw down the gauntlet, and — bo doubt very much to his surprise — it was taken up willingly by foeroen üb!e and willing to meet him on all points. It is absurd to attempt to throw th« whole blame on the members of the Opposition, although they have, with an energy worthy of being devoted to a better cause " k«pt the evil game alive." Still we agree with our contemporary that the session has been so far " a delusion and a snare " and the people are awakening to a knowledge of the position.