PARLIAMENTARY ITEMS.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1801, 28 November 1879, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY ITEMS.

[By Telegbaph.]

[from ottb cobbbspondents.J WELLINGTON, November 27.

At a caucus meeting of the Opposition today it is understood that nothing definite was decided upon. It is stated that twenty seven Opposition members have enrolled themselves as in the Young New Zealand party, and commence operations next session. Among the petitions which have been presented to the House within the past few days is one by Mr Sutton from four Napier Maoris. The following are the principal facts set forth :—That the petitioners, among others, were guarantees of land occupied by Messrs Watt; that in 1877 a new deed was agreed upon, by which they gave a clear conveyance for the sum of £17,500; that the said money was paid to Messrs H. R. Russell and J. Sheehan ; that an understanding was come to for dividing the money into individual amounts, and that no accounts have been rendered ; that large amounts have been paid into a bank by Messrs H. R. Russell and J. Sheehan as trustees for individual members named in the bank book ; that since that date these sums have been wrongfully withdrawn from the bank, and have not been used on behalf of the owners, and that in fact the persons (named here) used moneys not their own, or at all events have not paid over or accounted for it. The petitioners state that in contequence of all their money being thus dealt with, they are without means of proceeding in tho Courts. The Natives have memorandums under the hand of Mr Sheehan showing the amounts belonging to each of them, and they have bank receipts for large sums of money, but that they find their money is gone, and that no one is prepared to show them where it has gone. When receiving a deputation from the Chamber of Commerce to-day, Major Atkinson said under the serious financial difficulties of the colony the Government could not afford to lose any revenue. _ They must have m >ney, but they were anxious to raise the |m:>ney in the way which should least inoonv« if nee trade. The deputation pointed out that in Victoria there was no duty on packing

cases, and further that the irregularity in regard to packing cases was a matter of serious inconvenienoe to merohanta in malting their calculations. Mr Thompson observed that one manufacturer put twice as much goods in a packing case as another did. Yet in both cases the duty on the packing case was the same. Mr Nathan showed that this did away with the ad valorem principle altogether. It was a duty by meaaurement not by value. The Married Women's Property Bill provides that a married woman shall be capable of holding, acquiring, alienating and devising real estate as if she were a femme sole. The real property of women married after this Act comes into force will be held by them as if unmarried, and real property acquired by them before the Act comes into force is to be held as if they were unmarried. A married woman's earnings are to be deemed hor own property, and her deposits in Savings Banks to be deemed her separate property. Personal property coming to hor is to be her own. She can effect a policy of insurance. A husband is not to be liable for his wifo's C3ntracts before marriage, but a husband and wife may be sued together when either contracts as agent for the other. She is liable to insolvency, but may make settlements on herself before marriage.