DUNEDIN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1508, 4 June 1873, Page 2

DU N E D IN.

♦ •■ . .•' fFROM OTJR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] May 24. The crises in the Provincial Council culminated on Monday, when it was. prorogued by his Honor the Superintendent amid a scene of confusion and turmoil which almost baffles description. ' When, the Council met on Monday, after some formal notices had been given, Mr Tolmie rose and made some explanation regarding the state into which affairs had got, but was interrupted by " points of order;" and, after some squabbling, a message from the Superintendent was read, in which his Honor gave, iis r reasons : for desiring an immediate dissolution; : of the Council. Then ensued a little disorder, during which another message from his Honor was handed to the Speaker, but which, he did not seem to receive in the usual manner of such documents, and placed unopened on his desk. Mr Reid had been addressing the House when the interruption took place, and the Speaker intimated to him to go on; but immediately arose a storm. The supporters of the Government seemed to be aware' 6i the nature of the document -which had been laid before the. Speaker, and cried out against what he was doing. But he would not be gainsaid^ and eyen threat- ;- ened to : take any member into icustody who withstood his orders... But the other side maintained that there was' no Council, no^Speaker, and the row went on^^tau^ tually order was restored, Mr/iss|w appealed to the good sease of line "Councillors, and Mr Reid waß allowed tojufie his attack on the Government, w^M^^b j wound up with a motion for adjournnj.^'-'X Mr Fish at once rose to reply ; but Mr \ Speaker, haying let the Bide with which k he sympathised have their say, "ordered Mr Fish to take his seat/ and then read the message he had received some time before, which message prorogued the Council. In thus doing there is no doubt that Mr Speaker behaved with extreme partiality, and he has been publicly accused of it. But he as strenuously denie s it, getting out of the difficulty by the ingenious loophole of the documents being differently addressed. However that may be, the Council is at an end. Dissolution was applied for by telegraph, and by yesterday morning's paper I see it has been granted. Against the dissolution a memorial, signed by 29 members of Council, has been forwarded to the Acting- Gover, stating reasons why, in their opinion, there should be no dissolution, but that the Council should go on with the business. This was transmitted by telegraph, so as to be heard along with the Superintendent's request, by the Government, but as we 3ee without result. So now we aro in for a general election. The writs are expected by the Lady Bird on Monday, and as there is no time to lose, on account of the Assembly meeting early in July, the shortest possible time will be allowed to, elapse for the return of the_ writs. Public opinion is a good deal divided as to the propriety of the step taken by his Honor, and the Reid party are very noisy over it. They maintain tb,ere is no question to gQjto the country upony no good party cry ; that the'iwhole thing is a merely personal matter; and lay all the blame on the Superintendent, But they forget that even if it* be a personal matter, the personality cannot be all on one side, they are equally to blame. It is not yet known whether Mr Macandrew will have any opposition, but rumors are afloat that there is a man in the dark who will come out at the proper time. The rumors of war arriving daily by telegraph from the North gives a rather gloomy tone to Colonial politics, but as we have two Cabinet Ministers in DuW din at present, perhaps things are not §q bad as they seem, as, if so they would be off to head-quarters at Wellington. Mr Mr Reynolds is to address ths electors here this evening, when he will like^get some enlightenment on these matters. "Mr Stout, M.P.C. is to address the Cav.ersham constituency on Tuesday, and'as he is one of Mr Reid's principal henchmen, the.late Provincial squabble will get its deserts in full. .•-..■■: The City Council at its usual meeting on Wednesday evening had a regular onslaught on the Water Works Company. The breach between the two bodies has ,been gradually widening, and it appears now at its widest, the Council threatening to start operations for a new wateir sceme. This little affair also has a good deal of the personal in, it, the Council fancying their dignity had been wounded by the refusal of the Company to sell the worir, the Councillors being swayed a good deal by _the Mayor as usual. A proposed petition, to be publicly signed, was ; read by the Mayor, but. tt contained so many misstatements that it is calculated father to injure than support the Council i$ typif doings. In these things, it is. best; Jp.bfj honest, and it is not unlikely, now that things have gone so, far that a saje of fhe ~ works on fair terms may be effected. ; ' An engine; was started , on the Ciutha Railway the other day, and has since been employed hauling ballast-waggons to and fro. The rails are now laid a good distance from town, and but for an unfiuished bridge or two, the first section will very shortly be complete and ready for traffic. Further out, beyond the Chain Hills tunnel (which is going to be a very tough job), the line is making rapid progress. Very little, however, has yet been done to the bridges over the Taier and Waiholu, or to the one over the Ciutha, at Balclutha, all of which will be <= big jobs, and take a longtime to finish. We have had a very fine week of weather up till yesterday, when the wind jumped round to S.W,, and blew a gale with smart rain shower. There were a few peals oE thunder last night. The Naomi, from Liverpool, is at the Heads, with a large cargo, consisting mostly of hardware. .