Manawatu Hearald. TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1898. The No-Confidence Motion.

Manawatu Herald, 5 July 1898, Page 2

Manawatu Hearald. TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1898. The No-Confidence Motion.

Captain Russell's amendment to the Address-in-Reply waa put to the vote on Friday evening when twentyfo:n" members voted for it and thirty against it, thus causing the motion to bo lost. We do not suppose the Opposition expected any other result, as the way the House is composed it cannot be expected that members who are in it from the valuable assistance rendered by the Government at their election are going to vote against their backers, more especially as another election is well in view. It little matters whether the money to be spent on the Go vernment buildings is wise, or neces .■=ary, or not so, it most certainly was not understood th»t the country would be entangled into such an expenditure when a vote of £7000 was only asked for, and the excuse pul forward by the apologists of the Government's action, that the old building was found too decayed to stand, is of no value when Parlia ment wa3 to meet so soon after such a discovery had been made. This expenditure stands however on a footing with all other expenditure made by the Government, and that is on the sweet wills of the two men of any standing in the Ministry, the Premier and the Minister for Lands. The other Ministers count for noth ing, and we doubt if they ever give a thought to the members of their Party. We have not had an opportunity of taking a cheerful view of the prospects of the Opposition, as they have not yet said or done anything to show that their power in the iand is increasing. Before a change of administration can be effected a deal of labour will have to be spent on the education, politically, of the voters. It will have to be made clear to them that it is in their band 3 to send as their representative to Parliament one who goes there merely to vote at his party's call, or one who should so act that he runs the risk of being styled a " rat," or a member of a Left Wing, or any other term which it may please an annoyed Minister to term him. This vote for building, the origin of Captain Russell's amendment, would not have received the sanction of country representatives had they felt themselves free agents, but they were elected to support the Ministry, and so what the Ministers vote for, .they must vote for. Who is to blame ? This, we think, can be easily answered by laying the blame mostly upon the elector?. At the general election a candidate is ques tioned and worried as to giving a definite (statement as to which side ho intends to support, and he can hardly turn round during his term of office. The electors are thus to blame, but they may fairly urge that it is the action of the present Ministry svhich hag forced the position upon them, for they have unceasingly dinned into the ears of the electors the need of supporting the Party, and to train them up in the way they desired them to go, have thrust candidates upon the constituencies and done their best to get them returned. One good turn deserves another, and a Ministry v?hich aids members to the handy salary of £240 a year, for three years, has very, little fear of these men being so ungrateful as to turn them out, more especially as it would mean turning themselves out. Thus have our politics sunk, and unless a radical change soon takes place will sink even lower. Each party is to blame, the party in power is now called " Seddonism " instead of Liberalism, and the Opposition is Captain Russell, instead of— what? A.s long as the battle rages as to wlrch man shall be leader so long will electors return representatives to support men instead of measures, and the present evil state of things will prevail. II there is any section really interested in a platform which they like to term Liberalism, it would be well that certain definite planks should be agreed to, beyond the suggestion or dictation of any member in Parliament whether Minis! er or Member, and so should the Opposition act, and then at the next general election it would be possible to return members pledged to measures and not men, who would be free to turn one set of men out of office if they thought they could put in others who would carry out the planks better than those in power. We very much doubt if any of the private members on either side of the House know what they desire to achieve if a change did occur, unless it might be, on the side of the Opposition less interference in elections by the Government of the day. If this should be a feeling strong within them it seems possible that they could easily illustrate it by introduc ing a Bill in which Ministers should be restricted from, at any rate openly, advocating the cau*e of any candidate, and also from visiting a district within a couple of momhs of an election. Parliament has a precedent for such a Bill as there is an Act which is supposed to guard a voter from undue influence of beer

or bribes on the part of a candidate, and if the Opposition really thinks the Government have lately been guilty of such action? they can do th-ir best to stop it, in the future. Thj real doubt ia whether the Op position have such a desire, and this ecu be set at rest by prompt action on r heir part in the House.

The total number of men employed at tfr 5 great Government dockyards, Portsmoith, Devonport, Chatham, Sheerness, an,l Pembroke, is about 22,000. Tt is believed that polo was first introduced into the Army in 1869 by the lOlh Hr.3sars. The game was played in Persia long before the Christain era. Electric tramways and launches have been installed in the Paris sewers. Twice a month, on 2 Wednesdays, visitors are admitted to the number of about 1,200, although the applications are nearly always far more numerous. What is probably the most venerable piece of furniture in existence is now in the British Museum. It is the throne of Queen Hatsu, who regined in the Nile Va ley some 1,600 years before Christ. The new band started in town is advancing rapidly in numbers and musical ability. As some five or six of the old members are good musicians the band is able to play some marches, quadrilles and other dance tunes, and the younger members are coming on well. The band is a private one, each member finding his own instrument, and they expect soon lo fi'l a long felt want, at the customary charge. The Whangaroa takes a load of 167,000 feet of white pine for Sydney, being the largest 'oad she has yet (aken. The Americans are a go-ahead people as the late cablegrams prove, as they have decided ou the retention of the Phillipine islands before, they hive set a .foot, on shore. It seems a bit previous. The bridge (?) on the Monto.) i\>:il, at Elkins corner, is n i their a thin •of h?auty or a joy for ever, it really bmvj cN:i;t y ihe revers'J and is a work which dtti.vs forth language both s rong and deep. Much intt res' is being shown about the work to l'.t on 1113 Motoa estate, as a number of men hava been to the homestead to see the specifications. We here of auothcr flax mill about to start in town, an alotmeut of flax having been secured on the Motoa estate. Mr Westwood, Senr., has opened his new shop as greengrocer &c, and an advertisement sets forth some tit-bits he keeps on hand. Our attention has been called to the very poor yards provided at the Shannon ferry, which are not equal to retain stock except the poorest and weakest. It is time the County paid some attention to this place as there is a good deal of stock crossed there. We have a 1 so been asked to mention that the punt requires cattle gates on it, the ones on the punt being only useful for sheep. The number of passengers carried on the New Zealand Government Railways from the Ist April to the 25th May, 1898, was 787,060. an increase of 30,935 over the return for the correspondent period of 1897. An English paper says it is well known that the Queen entertains for President Faure feelings of genuine esteem and respect. The President on his part constant'y expresses his profound veneration for her Majesty. The Alexander Palace at Muswell Hill, has been re-opened, and on the Bank Holiday nearly 100,000 people visited it. All who have fruit trees would do well to test the depth of soil over the roots by the stem. In course of digging the earth soon gets piled-up around the stem to its great disadvantage, and if they roots are found to be covered more than an inch or so, the soil should be removed. The late Mr Gladstone's favourite flower was the white rose. As evidence of the patriotism which at present animates all classes in the United States, it is worthy of note that nineteen sons of millionaires are serving as common sailors with the fleet. Mr Sims, of Providence, a millionaire many times over, is acting as chief engineer on board one of the United States cruisers. The old adages says that when a man goes a borrowing, he goes a sorrowing. On the other hand we find that when a government goes a-lending somebody wants to go a-mending their tariff, as Mr Hogg has given notice to ask the Colonial Treasurer if he is aware that money is freely advertised, and is easily obtained from private sources on large estates, at from 4 to 4& per cent., and whether, in consequence of this and in view of the cheap price of money in the principal markets of the world, he is prepared to justify the continued exaction of 5 per cent, interest from the Crown leaseholders and settlers who are taking advantage of the Advances to Setters Office?

Tenders are invited by Messrs Kemp and Jupp for the building of a barge. Plans and specifications can be seen at Messrs T. Westwood and Cos. store. Tenders close on Thursday. Mr Haraer has scoured the agency for seeds sold by Messrs Nimino and Blair. He has also in stock the proper dressing for fruit trees as recommended by the Department of Agriculture.