Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1149, 18 October 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1871.

Whether it be from design or a result pf mismanagement is of small consequence, but it is certainly true that the usual course of action in oiv Councils is to spend tlie gteat proportion of each session in more or less unprofitable dispussion, leaving the business of the public till towards the end, when members become tired out, and are anxious to return to their ordinary duties. The ponsequence i*, that notwithstanding the watchfulness of a conscientious ppposition, the Qovernment of the day has the actual passing of such measures as it desires to carry through pretty much in its own hands the ordeal of discussion which, by right should be imposed on those measures being evaded through the sheer exhaustion of members, who have expended their energy p,n merely secondary matters. In the Financial Statement of the Polonial Treasurer a remark was made pp the effect that the present session of jjjjp shqujd be known fii the

future a» the Retrenchmeut Session. XJnfortniiately for frim, it has since proved that there were not any sufficient grounds for such a statement, retrenchment being far enough from the Governmental policy. We are inclined to the opinion that the session will be more probably known as the Do-nothing Session—a term which would correctly describe its most characteristic feature up to the present time. A great proportion of the first half of the session was .occupied by the discussion of Mr Macandrew's resolutions for the amendment of the Constitution of the Colony —a discussion which was altogether unprofitable, no one supposing that anything could result from it. In fact, it was generally believed that the subject had been suggested by the Ministry as a means for simply occupying the attention of the House in the absence of any denned Goverment policy for its discussion. Then followed the Education Bill, on which the expectations of the whole Colony rested, only to be disappointed by its withdrawal after several nights' discussion on some of its earlier clauses. And so the session drags along towards its end - the proposals for additional taxation being brought forward when members are wearied out, and willing to agiee to almost anything, «o that the work of the session may be but brought to a close. The Government had nearly succeeded, in fact, in bringing on its proposals for the additional taxation of the colony in detail, item by item, without submitting the general question to the House in any way. To avoid this ordeal seems to have been the object of the Government. The question was brought to a crisis on the 3rd inst, when Mr Vogel proposed thac the Speaker do leave the chair in order that the House may resolve itself into a Committee of Ways and Means Tn speaking to his motion he indicated the particular items upon which the Government proposed to jmpose taxation, and on his concluding the Speaker intimated that on this motion a disciissiop. of any of those items could not take place. The consequence was that the House found itself in committee with particular details brought before it for discussion, the general question having been very cleverly evaded. Members, however, could not be coaxed into allowing it to lapse in that way and the discussion of the general question was permitted in committee. The fact is that the whole woik of the session has as usual been pushed oft till close towards the end. The members are becoming impatient and desirous of leaving, and as yet few, if any, of the Bills which the Government intend to put through the House ha\e been brought down before it.