PARLIAMENTARY ITEMS.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1807, 5 December 1879, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY ITEMS.

[By Telegraph.]

[from otjb correspondents.] WELLINGTON, December 4

Tho last chance of getting any of the private members' Bills through the House was destroyed by Sir G. Grey and his party last night. Tho whole evening was lost, as the two previous privato members' nights had been, by twaddling about one of the manifestoes that ho has been preparing for the next stumping tour. He seems to expeot tho Houso and country to forget the fact that, when his opponents demanded a redistribution of soats, nothing could induce him to take a step in that direction. And now that a newly elected Parliament, an absolute want of time, a pressure of imperative business, and the straining of every nerve to save the credit of tho country, make its consideration quite out of tho question, he has become suddenly zealous for it, and talks of tho redistribution of seats as tho only liberal measure of any importance Mr Hall held him up to scorn with much ability and more than his usual fire; but an anxiety to got on with tho private members' work kept niOßt of his party silent, so that the talk was nearly all on one side. Mr Turnbnll took tho opportunity to give tho House three financial statements until he provoked a reply from Major Atkinson, who made him look exceedingly small, and showed that ho was supremely ignorant of tho whole subject, and quite unable to understand the plainest statements in the papers before him. Like Sir G. Grey, he was quite uuablo to see which sida of the account a Bum of a quarter of a million should be placed on. Major Atkinson would probably never have noticed anything ho said but for tho fact that Sir G. Groy cried " Hear, hear," to all his greatest blunders.

Soon after one this morning tho Houso was counted out, having beon cleared by a succession of eloquence from Messrs Hislop, J. B. Fisher, Moss, and Harris. There was an unusually large number of members in tho building at tho time, but as new busineßs could not be enlered on after 12 30 they did not ehooee to keep a House to hear such trash on a bogus motion. Much of the afternoon had been spent in discussing the way of curtailing "Hansard," in which tho "Hansard" reporters were much flattered and the newspapers much complained of. Messrs Heslop, Soddon, J. C. Brown, and Lundon wero evidently very sore. Mr Hislop is annoyed with the wide career of his " jackass." Mr Seddon complained of the number of H's that had beon attributed to him. Mr J. C. Brown seems to have an unpleasant recollection of the way he lately figured in the House as a newspaper correspondent, or "a man named J. C. Brown," and Mr Lundon in a good humored way said that the newspapers quite neglected him, and that but for " Hansard " his constituents would havo no opportunity of knowing what an ablo representative they possoßsed. The proposal to tax coal afterwards led to an amusing protection debate. It was talked out at 5.30, and thus though eighty orders of the day stood on the notice papers nearly the whole will now drop, and much of the work of the session produce no result. The whole afternoon has been lost. A wild debate took place upon the election telegrams, in which, as usual, the abusive speaking was all on one eide, and which was only terminated by the hour of adjournment. The evident object was to prevent any of the telegrams being laid on the table at all. Major Atkinson's speech on tho Property Assessment Bill was a heavy one. The worst he has made on that subject this season. Mr Ballunce's was a well-prepared effort, and tho best he has ever made. It was really good for the first forty minutes, after which he made some very gross misstatements, as to tho anticipation of former loanß, although he fairly admitted the accuracy of Major Atkinson's statements as to the extent to which the proposed loan has been anticipated. The speech was received with great delight by his party, and was certainly a great improvement upon any of the Grey, Montgomery, or Turnbull financial dreams, that tho House has lately been bored with.