WELLINGTON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1609, 8 September 1874, Page 350

WELLINGTON.

(FBOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT,) |:"' 31st August At 2.30 this afternoon the straggling members still left here—barely sufficient' to form a quorum—will assist at the obsequies of the session of 1874, in manyrespects the most remarkable of this eventful Parliament. Short as it'was, it saw several shitts of wind, and the political barometer at times fell alarmingly low, Lut with the exception of the breeze over Provincialism, the proceedings have been on the whole very equable. On the now famous debate, which terminated so abruptly, and so ingloriously for one side, there was a great deal of indecision and some overfine finessing. It had been given out, pretty authoritatively too, that Mr Fitzherbert was going to speak at a certain time. The hour came round, but the man did not. Upon another occasion the debate was adjourned on the understanding that he would speak at the beginning of the evening sitting. There was another disappointment. It was then stated that he would not speak until after Mr Stafford. The result was as you already know—a sudden call for a division, an utterly disconcerted party on one side, and an agreeable astonishment on the other at finding themselves to be in such an unexpectedly large majority. The most sanguine had not been prepared for such a denouement. But this was not the only surprise. Everyone knew that Fitz had been primed and loaded for a week past, and was ready to go off like a hair-trigger. His chagrin is said to have been in proportion to the amount of acrimony and rage he had been prevented giving vent to. Not to be done, however, he came down with his resolution for a dissolution of Parliament, but the very wording of it showed that it was merely a personal emanation. It is true that the day before it was tabled the leading members of the Opposition, including, besides the mover, Messrs Beeves, T. B. Gillies, Macandrew, Reid, and Sheehan, met in caucus; but the next day Gillies hied him back to Auckland. This was significant that the fray would not be of importance enough to induce him to take part in it; and when other members of the party were asked if the resolution was meant to re-open the whole question, a shrug'of the shoulders was the only answer. When the motion was at length moved, it was done in a way so unFitzhcrbertian (to coin a phrase for the occasion) —so briefly ; it was so tame, so placid, and platitudinal, without a Bparkle of personality or feeling of any kind—that all were more surprised than ever, until they heard the amendment the usually.obstinate old Superintendent made on his original motion. That explained all. ' It was seen that his teeth had been blunted for a mock combat. It appears from what was whispered in the lobbies that for once his friends—he does not generally tolerate advisers—prevailed upon him to forego the pleasures of his peculiar prolixity and his dear desire to annihilate the Premier. A half-hour was the time allowed, and the speech was to be of the mildest Parliamentary pattern. The injunctions were carried out to the letter, and subsequently tho old gentleman took credit for having set a good example (he might have added for the first time this session) to the Premier. This will explain why the debate was so short. Mr Stafford . delivered himself gracefully and effectively, as he generally does, and unmistakeably in favor of the amendment of the Premier, as everyone expected who knows anything of his political career. The burden of the speech was, "down with the provinces, North and South." A notable feature of the session was that, like all its predecessors since the initiation of the Public Works policy, a pretext was found before it closed for a sort of parliamentary free fight. Upon this occasion a very harmless motion of Mr J. L. Gillies was seized upon. He asked for a specific return of the actual amounts disbursed among the provinces of the million and a4ialf which Mr Vogel a day or two before stated had gone as concessions to provinces to enable the plans of the Government to be carried out at all—in fact, neither more nor less than buying off their opposition, when stated fairly. The Premier admitted as much when replying to tho motion, and said that the combinations capable among the nine provinces were far too strong for any Government to resist. Such a frank admission was soon seized upon by the Provincialists and made the most of, and some very invidious conclusions were drawn therefrom. Reid made a point when he said that it any other member of the House had imputed such unworthy motives to the Government as had been admitted by its chief he would have been reprimanded by the Speaker. The horn member for Avon, who maintained an unruffled composure up till that time, burst out like a geyser in a torrent of scalding words. M'Glashan tried to damp the excitement by moving the adjournment of the debate, but the honorables determined to have the little shindy out. A good-humored rally, however, from the Premier, set things right, and the motion was withdrawn without any very satis-_ factory answer having been elicited. The only other interesting passage was when the Lords, threw out the Railways Bill, solely on account of the two clauses providing for the purchase of the BluffWinton line in Otago and one in Canterbury, by the General Government. The Premier expressed his deep regret in the most sympathetic words, that the Bill should be thrown out. He really felt for Otago (and all that kind of thing) but could not help it, and that he would not peril the other railways in the Bill by sending it back to the "other place." There were long faces amongst the Otago men, and for once the Superintendent and his Secretary were like Doleful Jemmies, as they might well be. It appeared that having considered the sale of the railway a settled thing, contracts had been entered into fof tlie ppnsthiction of "brunch railways, to be paid for out of the purchasemoney ; and visions of clamorous con-

tractors and disconcerted workmen were conjured up. The only way out of the difficulty without Government aid was admitted to be the sacrificing of the best portion of rural land left to the province, and which it was intended to settle on the deferred payment, system. The Premier was of course asked to read the other House lesson for once, and sit upon them. The invitation was respectfully declined. "What is the good of an Upper House at all if we can ride roughshod over them in that way," was the reply. The difficulty was,, as you know, got over by the device of bringing in an Advances Bill, which the Lords looked more kindly on ; and so Otago has got off with a severe scare, and a practical lesson that, big as she is, Otago is not New Zealand yet, and must not" count her chickens before they are hatched." The Ward-Chapman business will end in a bottle of smoke.' There will be no Royal Commission—no three guineas or five guineas a-day to fatten commissioners who would stick to a good thing like a barnacle to a ship's bottom, and put the country to an expense likely to be unsatisfactory to all but themselves. The evidence is printed, but it won't be published, and all the naughtiness which it discloses, and the good deal more which it suggests, will not be likely to gratify that portion of the public with a prurient taste. The Government are to take up the matter and sift out the awful wickedness which the Joint Committee scented afar off, but could not come any nearer to than the poor sweep who smelt at the door of the cookshop the savory cooking going on inside. But Governments are not much given to making examples of people, and I don't think anyone in this case is likely to be pilloried or to undergo a sort of moral tarring and feathering. Even if there were any probability of such a thing happening, those most likely to be the sinners would no doubt find friends at Court. 2nd September. The Provincial Government are apparently feeling a financial pressure. The grant in aid of the Education Board voted last session still remains unpaid, and is likely to continue so for want of the necessary wherewithal. The operations of thu Board have consequently been paralyzed. Nor is this the only direction in which provincial services are affected injuriously by the impecuniosity of the Provincial Government. To make matters worse, it is stated by those likely to be well informed, that the only way to meet the formidable overdraft at the bank is by the sale of more land, and we know what that means. It means the disposal of the most available.of our broad acres for a few paltry pounds to meet the more pressing exigencies. No possible' land sale can do much more. For the last week or two the Provincial Government have been negotiating with the manager of the Australian and New Zealand Land Company for the purchase of £20,000 acres in the Puroa block; and it is now pretty certain that the negotiation has closed ; for need is an irresistible driver. The terms are said. to be these :—l2s 6d per acre for the land, and £IO,OOO to be spent in improvements and in locating seventy families on 100-acre allotments. It is also intended to throw into the market some 44,000 acres at Akiteo and Pahau, chiefly pastoral land. The legions of the Agent-General still come pouring in, and the nervously cautious are becoming alarmed at the consequences. So far, it is satisfactory to note, there is no complaint of plethora in the labor market. The city has surprised everyone by the sponge-like capacity of absorption it has shown. The greatest inconvenience has been that of house accommodation, and thereby carpenters have profited greatly. Houses, sometimes" hardly perhaps worthy the name of tenements even, have been, and still continue to be, run up upon every piece of land obtainable within the city radius j but there is still a great deal of inconvenient crowding. The out-districts in the Wai* rarapa and on the West Coast have found room and a fairly remunerative employment for a large number, but it is felt that these growing settlements have not yet been properly worked, and that by judicious management and a little exertion a very large number of immigrants could be speedily and beneficially dis* tributed. It has been currently reported during the last week that a leading officer in the Stamp Department has been suspended, in consequence of some grave irregularities in connection with his official duties; and although the fact is pretty certain, it would scarcely be charitable or fair to mention the name at present* After all, the allegations might not be sustained by the inquiry now going on, or prove to be of a merely trivial character, which, for the credit of the publiG service, all would naturally hope. [by electric telegraph.] 7th September. Major Atkinson was to-day gazetted Minister of immigration, and will probably receive another portfolio. The New Zealand Times on Saturday stated that the Maoris had well paid for the mistakes of former Governments by the confiscation of their lands. The Government wish to obtain a lease of the Murumutu country, owned by Tareha, Renata, Topia te Aroha, and others. White people here are offering 6d per aero for twenty-one years. Tho Government hare given Kemp £3,500 to scatter broadcast among his people; while southern landsharks are trying to obtain his block at threepence per acre for twentyone years. This place is now crowded with idle immigrants.