PARLIAMENTARY SQUIBS.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 90, 21 August 1878, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY SQUIBS.

. ]*BT OTJB OWIT.COBEEBPOKDBNT.] :£[.!: .--:■• Welungtqn, Tuesday. triOn! ; !Friday- evening the Colonial Secretary moved the second reading of the Ex-. Council BUlj and m doing so took occasion to explain that ita object was to: place the Minister representing the Go-] ■ vemment m the Council; in the same position as before the passing of the Disqualification Act last year. ,By it the Minister -. *in ; -the : Council would be able to "get aßsis-: tance, jand haye - the work divided. The . furthe^rJipped: the. House would be considerate trad pass the Bill, at the sjime tifee appealiiig to those who had from "ex- ' perience known what an amount of work was ; to be done. The.measure generally did not meet that cordial; reception which evidently Colonel Whitmore had anticipated, and although there had. been no factual opposition, his feelings were ep wounded, that m a pei. ; he proposed; to allow itto lapse. He Assumed a martyred air, speaking more m •prrow than m anger, and the effect was .. than hon. members became duly sensible of . their, shortcomings, and each vied with the' Other m assuring the Minister, of their regret, -stating that their remarks hadbeen more of suggestion than objection. Thereupon the gallant Colonel smilod his sweetest, ttnd the Bill was read a second time amidst * Tolley of "Hear, hears," and cheers from . «11 ; aides of the Chamber. ">.': . .The same evening the occupants of the ■ Zipwer House were engaged m applying the ■-. pruningftkinife- to ' the Estimates, the first vjctjm sought to be offered. upon the altar: .. of ■ret^nchment being Sir William Titzher* beity and on tli? item" to ttie Speaker's •permanent salary (£400) £200 addition, a lengthened and warm discussion ensued. The flrat to iuclc .up liia sleeves and unsheath the Bealpvng-knife, was the member for Cherioti Mr Saunders,-7-who by the way, for "a now man; is never backward m coming fprward/ - A. new broom sweeps •cl^an/ and Mr jSaunjders.having but recently appeared before-^^hu Constituency, the pledges he then made on the hustings are •till' ringing m his ears;.: consequently hhre r took his^ stand for the redaction -oh -the platform of his .past vow. to keep a careful U'l-mptoeji -the '■' expenditure of public moneys. Mr Barton wa» of Vopiniou that ~ the social duties of the speaker could not; he performed^^for a paltry .-Bum, stating ;that- . nuiny clerks were m. receipt ota. gum equal toj '™& '.*&&!; to be given ;tp so high aih^ officiaL To. that, an unknown.legislatorinteTjedfeid' the 'remark' "that thoee duties only existed' for about five, months out; of the twelve, but" amidst ;^pud, laughter -Mr -Balrfen iiiquired if : fcr William Fitzherfcert was to ; be looked upbn^^ m the light of • ; rp^that; bloomed only m 'summer and remairied :io^ait of theyear;: T. he. Treasurer drew kttentipnL'tPtho salaries, paid: to the Speakerg of the various Legislative Assemblies m Australia, contrasting the ipresent salary with those, but the Premier :didjiot appear itp relish the comparison, asserttngthat |f ew Zealand had all i^^he' requisites for ;a leading colony— a^colony TJfrhloße: example was worth of being^ imt r^tated'.b'j [;■.^^ «t;her colonies,, instead of-fpllpw-ing^ m their lead. Mr Sheehan argued against the cheap-and-naßty principle, stating -that there were dozens of men m tHey colony^: whtt: be prepared to take the i Speakers chair at the reduced salftry^ or. even .for no salary it, all. There were men also who would be quite prepared to .occupy the Ministerial' benches on precisely similar terms, but such men, however, would not provfl; to be acceptable to the . ooiuStry. - After a number had spoken pro and cp», the House divided on the question, and the appropriation was carried ar ■ printed.: ; ,' = r- : i, - :: ; .. ','•' tl /.'"'V. . Af ter 'a sunj of £250, for the Sergeant' . at-arms,- .had been; quickly and. summarily disposed of, by being strui k put, the House • thenciwent into, the very -Ucklish and : delicate matter of appraisibg its own vajue This timeit;was the If oble Savage who tppk the initiative, but civih*9alidn' was too TnWeh for him,' and the itoption, by Mr Hori Kerei iTaiarpai . representative of 'Sothern .'Maori— -"That the item £21,573 • for expenses of: members of both Houses be •truck put,"; wag -lost on a divison by 47 to 17. Mr Saiindera, then, again took up the hall, .aivd: while anxious to reduce the honorarium to £100, moved^ a Tesolutipn that £150 should be the amount -pf con)pensation^' The; Attorney-General, m speaking . r against a reduction, said : : that fourteen members resigned last Session because they could' not offprd to attend, and unless^ membe^i frere paid they would lose gome' influential men. Certainly such an utterance coming from a. man like Mr. Stout, mijat be accepted aa a eineefe conviction, the position and eharteter of thd hpn. gentloman entirely preptudihg the idea that^ 'he was prompted by interested motives. It certainly -would be more satiafactory if the Government would bring m a Bill to finally sottlo a question which has^ been asubject for mock debate every successive Session.- The Premier announced that the Government had placed £200 on t ho Estimates, and that announcement seemed to h»v»somo weight m swaying lion, members, m Mv Saunderi motion was} on a , division, lost by a lnijge majority. , ; Tlio mattpr having; been •nlisfiM-torily. 'disposed of, Mr James. Evans Brown, a 's'i&einfc«>r hailing from Ashley,; m Canterbury .^•^.tljou£»ht he would pftii a ianee at certoin the' Upper House, and. he conse-&\3(iireni-ly moved—-?' .Tlini-. m the amount set .Mowir for the expenses of members, the sum ji^f X 0» ox^ienses of. the ten metnhors liwfaxito liepiktivp Ouaawl ro»iding,ia "Wei-

l^.S.onslxO'uld be struck. out." Mr. J. E. Bruvfn having been one of tlie members m tbd niinoi-i.ty-vvho had toted for the reduction m the expenses, Mr. Moss, amidst loud laughter, suggested that the expenses of th« seventeen members who hod voted for the former motion should be struck out, -where' upon Mr. Brown very quickly withdraw his motion. The next matter for discussion was one ■of an equally delicate nature s an item of £250 on account of Bellamy's. The hon. member for (Jeraldine, Mr. Wakefieldj was the first to bell the cat, m which, aa might have been expected, hie was strongly Buppoited by tho author of the Local Option Bill. His colleague m the Cabinet, Mr. Sheehan, was anything but complimentary ; to representatives/as He-asserted that the abolition of Bellamy's would result m a difficulty m keeping members m fche House, his whole. Bpeech;haying a tone of reproach, and strbngly reniihding his hearers of the utterance of the poet— "Dash the. eyes of the beggar that tries To- rob A poor core of his beer.'* ',-- ■■„.;. The member for Coleridge (Mr. Wason) spoke strongly against the item, but. ifc appeared his objection was not io much on account of the liquids as the solids. The hon. member is possessed of a keen sense of smell, and his olfactory nerves have repeat-" edly suffered considerable violence by what he characterised, m polite and chaste language, " the everlasting stink from r morning to night of cabbage water and onions." However, the House refused to be moved by the _ harrowing details, and the Bellamy men muster«t 29 out of •aHoUee of 5t