PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2290, 4 August 1881, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

[Br Telbgbaph.]

[FEOM THE OWN OOBBBBPONDENT OF THE "PEBSS."J WELLINGTON, August 3. A despatch has been tabled from the Secretary of State to the Governor, intimating that in future the Crown agents were not to be employed by the colonies possessing constitutional government. Regarding New Zealand, Lord Kimberley says:—"While I have no desire to interfere with the arrangements under which the Crown agents are charged with the payment of interest on loans already issued by them, or with the redemption of these loans or their conversion into inscribed stock, I shall be glad to learn that your Ministers are able, without difficulty, to make other provisions for the transaction of all the business connected with any future New Zealand loans." On this the Premier made the following memorandum to the Governor :—"As regards any future New Zealand loan arrangements not involving the employment of the Crown agents will be made." A return has been laid on the table showing the effeot of the extra sixpenny oharge for telegrams at non-paying stations. Some results are curious. In almost every case the number of messages show a large decrease as compared with the - corresponding period in the previous year. But the revenue in nearly all inaf.aru.ni ntrViihif » nn inr-manfl.

Correspondence has been laid on the table relative to the San Francisco mail service, showing the persistent effort made by Mr R, J. Oreighton to procure American aid to the service, also the strong appeal from the contractors for fines incurred through late arrival at New York, owing to accidents, to be remitted, which both New Zealand and New South Wales firmly declined to accede to. The papers on the Suez mail service produoed chiefly relate to the practice of the London Post office to send by Suez letters not so directed, or even marked via San Francisco ; also oharging only sixpence instead of eightpence. The English postal authorities decline to increase the postage via Brindisi, but agree that letters shall not be sent that way unless specially addressed. The Melbourne postal authorities also objeot to extra postage oharged by New Zealand for letters sent to England via Brindisi as an infraction of agreement. To this the Hon. J. Hall replies that no suoh agreement was made by New Zealand, and that this colony loses eightpencs on every half-ounce letter posted via Brindisi, also that the subsidy for the monthly mail steamers between Melbourne and New Zealand is so heavy proportionately to the correspondence posted that it will not be continued. The accounts of the public trust office for the year have been presented to Parliament. They contain little of general interest, excepting a list of the securities in whioh the trust funds are invested, and this has been already telegraphed. The seventeenth annual report was also presented to-night. The figures have been anticipated by previous publications, and the information chiefly consisted of official details of little general interest. There is no political gossip moving to-day. The House was engaged on private members* business. There is no sign yet of the .Representation Bill being circulated. There is frequent communication between members of the Government as to the boundaries of their districts, which is still quite an open question and not likely soon to be settled. The estimates are to be gone on with on Friday,when the debate on the financial policy is anticipated. I hear that the Public Works statement will most likely not be delivered before Monday, when the Government will ask the House to sit for Ministerial business. The monstrous waste of time yesterday and to-day has inspired doubts whether the session will close by the beginning of September.