WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 November 1933, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

DERATE ON N.Z. BUDGET

THE MAUNGATAPUA MURDER

(Special Correspondent).

WELLINGTON, November 14

• The Prime Minister sees no reason! why the present session of Parliament, should not. be prorogued by the tht end; of the waning year. The Budget presented' oh Thursday, of last week was. not of a provocative character, and four of five days should be sufficient for its disposal by a business house. -Whether or not the Government will be able to dispose, of this formality in so short a time remains to be seep; but a good deal will depend upon the tact of Mr Forbes and his colleagues in facilitating the progress of business. There certainly is a good deal of work ahead, but probably much of it can wait. . Among the many beginnings and endings that have befallen the lot of the Hon J. A. Young, the Minister of Internal Affairs, none would appear to I have made a greater impression upon him than did the appearance of HisJ Grace-Archbishop Redwood at .the open- 1 ingyOf.'St. Joseph’s Home at Silverstream yesterday. There are many tributes to this dear old man,” said the politic-) ian, “and the blessings of God have been abundantly bestowed upon him. He has lived 95 years and 8 months and- yet,.; a young man in his thoughts and his service, he never seems to grow old.” .. It is a delightful picture that never wanes.

Mr T. 0. List, the chief of the. Rotary Club, has .been giving information concerning an infliction imposed upon some parts of the South Island. “As Mrs List and I drove down from Gore on Thursday evening,” he told a reporter who had suspected his profession, “we saw countless rabbits playing by the roadside.” The reporter mentioned that the- rabbits were first liberated in New Zealand at Sandy Point, a few miles from Invercargill. “Well,” said Mr List with his ready retort, “ a rabbit ought to appear on the coat of arms of Invercargill.” As a matter of fact the rabbits seen by Mr List were descendants of rabbits brought to Nelson bv Alfred Boniett, the noet politician,, in 1842.

} The correspondent who wrote to the morning paper the other day, correctly as be thought, stating that Mr O’Regan’s account of the Maungatapu mur-. der was a little premature, was wrong .in assuming- that he was the only living witness to the trial of the three murderers. There still living in this Dominion at least ten people who saw the three murderers that were hanged and- one that was ultimately released. Though I was only a youngster of nine at-the time I saw the three men coming to and going from the jail. I read the papers published in Nelson and or three or -four 1 occasions I succeeded in seeing the men at close quarters, looking bad enough, as I remember, to prevent me inclining towards their avocation.