ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 341, 17 September 1875, Page 3

ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

"I am a rogue if I do not think I wa3 designed for tho helm of State ; I orn so full of nimble st.rntcgonis, tlmt I should huve ordered affairs, and carried it ngainst the stream of n faction, with us much ease as a skipfter would lavor against the wind.—"Tho Goblins." Everybody who has not an unlimited amount of time at his disposal must be in a considerable stato of fog as to the position of tho Abolition battle. To the most careful observers this battle has probably appeared spasmodic. In reality it has not been so. After the Bill had been read a second time a short breathing space was given before it was moved by the Treasurer to go iuto Committee upon it. On Tuesday the wind-up to the fmaneitfi. af-ter-piece was accomplished—Major Atkinson replying as best ho could to the figures produced by Messrs. Montgomery, Donald Reid, and Header Wood, winding up by tho statement that " tho Government intended to abandon nothing, but would steadily press the Bill on, feeling that a large majority of the House and the country desired it to be carried through this session." On the same occasion Mr. Macandrew made a last appeal to have the Bill remitted to tho country. Ho said tho Treasurer pretended to have discovered tho philosophers' stone, and could make something out of nothing. If in two years' time Otago was to show a deficit of £13,000 under all tho able administration of tho Gortbral Government, it was a bad look out for tho Colony, towards the whole revenue of which Otago contributed one-third. When the glamor thrown over tho people passed away, they would see, when they had "hot a sixpence of their land fund left, what was the real meaning of this Bill. The only way to save a little of their land fund was either to borrow more money or apply the pruning knife to the gigantic system of central administration —cut away the California Service, and abolish the Native and Defence Departments. He challenged the Government to go to the country, and announced that he would oppose the Bill at every stage. Mr. Eeid also said that they could not possibly pass it. He, for one, was prepared to sit there for six months until the Bill was amended to his satisfaction. That finished Tuesday night, the Bth, the House going into Committee—after the Chairman, Mr. o'B.orke, had first spoken strongly against the Bill—and at once reporting progress. The understanding was to go'on with the Bill at 2.30 on Thursday. Accordingly on Thursday the House wdnt again, as the term is, into Committee. The ordinary form would then bo for tho Chairman to take the clauses seriatim, reading tho side-head-ings, and declaring each clause in turn carried, unless challenged by a negative voice, or stopped by a proposed amendment. Mr. Sheehan at once in this case rose and mo*ed, " That tho Chairman, rc-

port progress." Heporting progress means simply going out of Committee, tmd the Chairman reporting to the Speaker.what progress has been made with the measure or bill sent to his Committee for consideration. This was a polite way of , burking the whole thing. Of course Mr. Sheehan's motion could not be carried j nor would it be intended to .divide on it, five minutes being ample for a division. The object of the motion was simply to have something to talk to, and put off tube. This is a course perfectly Parliamentary, but it is never resorted to except to defeat a tyrannical majority, Or in a case where a perfectly incapable Government has lost entire control over the 'House. Sir Donald M'Lean again took an opportunity ,to say the Government "vrould not be satisfied with passing certain, clauses: —they intended to have tho Bill, ttnd nothing .but the bill itself, t6 which they adhered fully and strictly as, they had always stated." This was on •Thursday, and so decided a. statement ap,pears to have strengthened, the Opposition V determination, to impede the Bill by small talk. Mr. Sheehan spoke till § p.m. Mr. Fitzherbert spoke on various Bubjects in a low tone till twenty minutes „ to eleven, exclusive of an hour's adjournment. Mr. Montgomery then suggested a cpmpromise that the Bill should not be proceeded with until after the general election. Mr. Williams, Sir Donald M'Lean (wbo refused Mr. Montgomery's < offer), Mr. Gibbs, and Mr. O'Ncil spoke shortly, followed by Mr. Swanson, who Btopped at twelve p.m., intimating that " his time was up." Mr. Keador Wood followfed, and said the. Opposition were prepared to go on speaking in relays till they had attained their object. He, for one, would bo found at his. post at eight o'clock next morning. The squads would not particularly hurt themselves—would not die on the floor of the House —but would take it easily, and if need bo lull tho Government to sleep. They would jkeep on these tactics till the parliament had died by effluxion of time. Ho apologised to the House, this being the only time he had risen to speak when he had nothing to say. Mr. Stout followed, and it is supposed spoke till 6.30 Friday morning; certainly till daylight, speaking to the point. The House then adjourned till 10 a.m., when Mr. Sheehan again addressed the Committee for an hour, followed by Mr. Donald Iteid till one o'clock At 2 p.m. Mr. Ward spoke till 2.20, followed by some desultory talk abSut the* mace. At 2.30 Mr. Speaker entered, took the chair, and opened the House with {>rayer. The question then was, what md become of the Chairman of Committees ? and it was warmly debated. Then Mr., Stafford lectured Mr. Stout, and Mall- • jor Atkinson lectured all round, breathing defiance at every utterance. At 5.20 Friday evening the Committee again adjourned to meet at the usual hour, halfpast soven. Mr. Murray then spoke till ton minutes past eight, when the Opposition whip checked him to allow the Go- • vernmenfc to report progress. The Opposition thus drew first blood. The Native Minister then in tho House said it was desirable that the present state of things should terminate. Certain proposals had , been made to the Government—he would ask the House to adjourn till Tuesday. The Government would consider these proposals, and he hoped that by that time . they should all meet in a better temper. Sir George Groy, and Messrs. Fitzherbert, Macandrew, and Eollcston havo ■ been appointed to conduct tho negotiations for the Opposition. The final result, if arrived at, will be found in our usual telegraphic column.—Mr. Stout was fool-hardy enough to draw ' upon himself the indignation of Messrs. Reynolds, Mervyn, and Shepherd. He attacked them as voting for the Bill because it Was unlikely they would be again returned. Each of those members rose in turn to answer the member for Caverpham. Mr. Shepherd informed the House that he represented tho opinion of nine-teen-twentieths of his constituents in this

matter, and taunted Mr. Stocxfc witli luring won his seat by the skin of his teeth. As a representative really of eleven people he should not throw dirt at others who had represented districts for several years. Had such observations come from the member for Tuapeka he would hare treated them with contempt, but that the member for Cavershum should hare used such vulgar claptrap he deeply regretted, and by using it that member had greatly fallen in his estimation.— (Loud cheers.) He next turned upon Mr. Brown, whom.he described as a scout of the Opposition, and charged wiih diametrically opposing the wishes of his constituents. After describing Mr. "Wood as a political weathercock,hewent on to any of Mr. Macandrew that he had doho more than any man to bring tlxe affairs of the Colony into an advanced state of rottenness, because he would do anything to secure the land fund of Otago. The land fund had been sacrificed to lavish money on settled districts; sales of land had been pledged for three years in adrance. Mr. Mervyn, more angry still, hurled bacjk the insinuations of the member for Caversham, who lie said had been guilty of a gross piece of impertinence, Being called upon to withdraw the expression, he did so, contenting himself with saying that it was very wrong for that member to accuse another of misrepresenting the opinions of his constituents. Mr. J. C. Brown had previously rubbed tho sore. He had said : From my knowledge I am, not surprised at their constituencies refusing to re-elect them ; lam not at all surprised at tho action they hare taken in supporting this Bill. They took an active part in tliß recent Provincial Council elections in Otago, and were rejected by very large majorities. Their constituents took the first opportunity of sending those honorable gentlemen about their business. There are twelve members from Otago supporting this Bill; seven of them have, been rejected by their present constituents at the late Provincial elections. These members are known as the authors of Rejected Addresses. I challenge any of those honorable members to deny the statement Xam now taking. If any one denies the accuracy of the statement, then I will give tho names of the honorable gentlemen I allude to.—Poor simple Mr. Wales, ho has simply to ask and receive—the truth of course! One thing ho said tho honorable member for Port Chalmers laid great stress upon wa3 his surprise that representatives from Otago should support this Bill, in consequence of the manner in which it distributed the land fund. "I took occasion to ask the Government a question with regard to this matter. There is no question that the Bill is not perfectly clear on that point; but tho assurance of tho Government was that they would assent to any amendment that would make that matter a.3 secure as it could be,' and then ho went on and gave in on the whole question saying oracularly, " I believe there is not so much in the form of Government under which we lire as there is in the men by whom the Government is earried on." Dr. Pollen kindly approved of the Pollution Bill, provided that all costs of compensation should be charged on land revenue. In plain English, that localities should be laid under charge for the amounts awarded. He also did his best to prevent the Otago "Waste Land Act passing with what success we do not yet know.—Tho fruit thus early blossoming on the Tree of Centralism is not reassuring. Perhaps a happy _ frost may yet blight 'its youthful precocity. Our readers .will remember that last week we drew attention to the new theory of " equalisation of land revenue." • Hansard now enables us to show how Mr. Stout put it. He wanted to know—" Who is to pay tho £IOO,OOO Treasury Bills which the Colonial Treasurer is to raise annually ? Who is to pay .them? Will it not come from the revenue,? It is the.same thing as going to a wealthy inaix who has got a large amount of moniy from land—you go to him, and say; i" You keep your rents aa long as you please, but you must pay all the interest at once." That is what thi3 Bill means. The Treasury bills may go on at £IOO,OOO a year, but at the end of the year it must come out of the Consolidated at once. It is simply saying to the Province of Otago: You may take your land revenue ; but out of your Consolidated revenue we will give assistance to all those Provinces that have got no land revenue at all. This is a very peculiar system of conserving their, land revenue—such a peculiar system of conserving their land revenue that, if it was applied to social life, there is no man, however rich, who would see or recognise the justice or the necessity of it. That is the kind of security that is being given to our land fund."