GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Kumara Times, Issue 588, 15 August 1878, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

[press agency.] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wellington, August 14 In replying to questions, Mr Macandrew said the Government did not propose to go into every case of persons employed an railways who .suffered mpirv in the execution of their duty, l.my intend to deal with every cm' cm its merits. Road Boards ami Municipalities weie to have Gazettes if.e.—The report on the condition of lunatic asylums'’in the colony was in course of preparation. The Government announced they did

J*?t intend to bring in a ConstabularyBill this session.

Mi Fox moved for a return, giving all parti solars regarding the mode in winch Government buildings were insured during last year. Agreed to. Mr Fox then moved for a return containing all particulars in regard to the distribution of Government advertisements ; the amount of tenders accepted and not accepted ; also return of all advertisements published by authority of Government officers without tenders having been called for. The hon, gentleman referred at considerable length to the many complaints to be seen in the Press of the colony with regard to the partial manner in t which the great bulk of Government advertisements was given to papers that supported the Ministry. No other Ministry did so ; certainly not the late one who always called for tenders and left the Government Printer to decide which to accept. This led to a long and animated discussion.

Mr Stout said the hon. member was wrong in his facts. The New Zealand Times got all land transfer notices, and the New Zealander got none of them, in Dunedin the Evening Star, a strong Opposition paper, got Government advertisement#. '

Mr Joyce suggest**! that the Government should fix a rate, even if low, and at that rate all papers in the colony should get Government advertisements interesting to their districts.

Mr Macandrew said he experienced no end of annoyance over the advertising question, and wished some plan could be devised by which all parties would be satisfied..

Messrs iM'Lean, Barton, Turnbull, Thompson, De Latour, Bowen, Moss, and Feldwick, all spoke on the matter. The debate was interrupted by 5.30. August 15. On the House resuming at 7.30 p.m., Mr Whitaker, in a s|)eech of two hours and a half, moved the second reading of his Representation Bill, explaining its machinery and principal provisions very minutely. He claimed for it to give a wider franchise than the Government Bill, to have more simple and effective machinery for registration, polling, and representation, to be comparatively inexpensive as compared with the present system, and to be able to letuin a Parliament that would be an accurate reflex of the public mind, not m-rely of a majority of that mind, but of the different shades of opinion of minorities as well as of majorities. Mr Stout only replied to such portions of the Hon. members speech as he would not be called upon to answer when replying to the objections raised against his bill. He then went on to show that the member for Waikato was quite mistaken in supposing that his scheme would succeed in getting minorities represented, : and contended that if it did, representation of minorities would be a bad thing for the country.

Mr Barton followed in a speech of nearly two hours, in hostile criticism of the bill, which he looked on as merely an ingenious ruse to alienate support from the Government, so as to displace them in favor of one that did not represent the majority of the people. The debate continued until 12.25, when the House adjourned.