Political Prattle

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 45, 19 January 1912, Page 8

Political Prattle

Alter lisbiiig unsuccessfully for tin pv.jplo's vote, Ward tias «idw to Lak< Taupo tmiit-tishing. ■* * *

If is rumoured that when 1)]<? llnw->' assembles in February, Ward will not try to carry on. but will resign without waiting lor a vote (jl inj-fOiilident'c.

Despite all tin 1 statements to the contrary, there will be no chant*: in the Cabinet when Parliament meets. The samp inefficient Ministers will adorn the Treasury bonclu's.

A southern paper "tips" Hon. T. Mackenzie as the future leader of the Liberal Party. t • •

As tile" parties stand at.present, the party from which the Speaker is selectf?t] means a great deal to that body. If tho "Grey Knight" accepts the Bpeak■pTship, and with Wilford absent, Ward'jsm is in a sorry plight indeed.

Talk about land monopoly in New Zealand! In Mawke's Hay five persons h01d'428,000 acres, 16 1i01.r805.1i00 acres, 48 hold 1.280,0(10 acres, and 128 people hold 1.848,000 acres. In Otago and .Southland 40 persons hold 3J million *cres. and 26 holdings in Canterbury j;xew<] two million. "God's own" appears to be most effectively cornered by. the land slwrk.

A large native, meeting has .boon called for January -li!) at Waahi <Mahiita's .settlement) to consider the position of Dr. Pomare, member for Western. Maori electorate it lx'ini; atieyed that■lμ. , is not eligible to sit as a Maori representative -owing to being a quart* reaste.

'Die lour Maori representatives in the House of Representatives compare more than favorably with their whiteekinned colleagues. Pomare, Buck, end JVgata are. university graduates, whilst t'arata is a shrewd business man ii> the land-sharking trails.

Concerning tlio Nelson telegram regarding a sinistor charge which, as the result of a land transaction, may ♦'rente a vacancy in the Ministerial following, the •'Star" says editorially :— "Now, there has been no land transaction of any sort—certainly nothing of Ike kind ijiut lmimyted' the Hine rharges. ilut soinutlnnii bus been allowed to tmmrpire about * dramatic discovery of a transaction in which the sanies of three men who sat in the last Parliament are unpleasantly handled. There" is one of tlieni wlio'fs still entitled to write 'M.P.' after his name. The transaction with which iiis name has been associated is ha id to have arisen in connection with the passage of the Mining Act Amendment Hill of last session: hut whether or not there lias been y'raft'— l'o-r that-,, nakedly, is the averment against the trio—is A matter unquestionably for searching investigation at the proper time and in the constitutional way, for the honor til' Parliament soenis to be involved. 'Tht'' allegal 'on cannot lie passed over in (silence ; it must either he lormulatcd And proved or it must he *hown to have been concocted for a sinister purpose. Rut, in justice to the Parliamentarian whose name has been aseoeiated with the allog-a-tioti, it must be Raid in fairness that he has given, a wont emphatic denial to the. story impeaching hi? personal honor, and courts the amplest- possible ini|iiiry. The matter is certainly too serious to rest where it does at present, but the ])ext move in the face of thai positive denial must come from those who are fa.id to be in possession of the all* , pied incriminatory evidence. Developments will consiinly be awaited with the utmost ciiriositv."

(JtimiH'ss of (Jrcyiiioiith is non - tho "fathoc" <>)' th<' New Zealand .Parliament. H'i k was ticst sworn in on Aujj;. 19, has sat in nine I'nrliaineiits. i»)id atteiidrd 38 .sessions.

A groat Opposition gathoring will be held in Auckland at the end of the month. Afr. Massoy and many of his •npporlers from all parts of the North Island will be present.

Sirjoe slnti's that the iiK-roaw in r<>TClttii- ditrili!4 the last nine dkiihlis. toinp;irid with the corresponding poi'ioil of the i)rcvious year, was £ ; WB.BR-1. Taking tin , I' 2 calendar months ending on i)< ri'inlier 31, and comparing iheni with the year 1910, ho ascertained that last year's rtnvinu had uone up by £9iis.f.">.

A few iliiys a,no » party of Wellington. Huliusiasts, jH'ovidrd with a neat-ly-written <-,\rd, visited the residence of the I , rime Minister, and, without rinnijiji (he. door boll. they fixed ihe card Oti tin l name plat-p. \<'Xt iiioritiup;. tvlion Sir Jos<'])li wtilkfd f>ul to have a look ai tin* weathor, lie round thai his official reside nee. no longer bore t-lio iiante "Awania." Tn tho iiicdit it h.nd .become ''Fraiiklyune." One of tlw midcr-jj.ariloiifirs had a bus.v live niinllUw, and l.he old urder was rostored dol<»]<! visitors arrived. But that evening a pot of Jmnetst paint wax utilised. ftnd t.liv name ''Awariiii" was effivtivHv •Wit*vat4»d.

Sonio important railway reforms wtire foreshadowed by tlio U<ni. J. A. Millar at a meeting in Dtmodin. !!<• nu'iitioiwHl that in«tnicti"iis had alr«';\dy yiwn to lit iin> carnagos with the cross fonts now in utse in tho first-class, and to provide separate eon\<'iii<'U<e.s tor Mnales. II" was prepared to *>x<'hij«- all children nndnr live years (it ir<nn payment <>l' fares, aiid to favorably consider the matter of halt-fares between live and twelve years, but lie could not seejiis wa % \ to L:ivo the police tho benefit of Jr. passes, though he would extend the privilege of a first-class pass to all rnilwavmen who had been in , tlie employ of the Stale for 20 years ami over. The list of persons entitled to free passes was sufficiently heavy already, and he wished the taxpayer to understand clearly that if the railways wore meant to pay their way he nmst lx? assisted in resisting the demands of this nature. He was determined that tho users of the railways, and not the general taxpayer, should pay equitably for the privHeges they enjoyed.

It. is rumoured. that ex-member of Parliament C. H. Poole, who was violently pushed out of the Auckland City West constituency by that son of the sea, J. H. Bradney, is about to return to Ya/nkcoland. It is said that he has been appointed lecturer over there for a certain tourist and immigration agency, at a salary amounting, in Lngbsli money, to something like £15 a week. The engagement, it is stated, is for three seasons, whatever that may mean.

The session will be a short on*, perhaps no more, than a week. The tirst division in the House of Representatives will settle the burning question whether the Government has a majority or not, and whether Mr. .Mas&ey and his party- are to change their quarters to the Government benches. At present prophecies are valueless. The Independents, the Labor men, and tlie member for the Western Maori seat bold the fate of the Go\ emwent in their hands. Their votes will turn the scale when the uo-ronfidenre division comes; it will be a history lnalini; division.— "Fiee J, a net.

Tn the Tasmaninn Legislative Assembly, Kwing. M.L.A.. hap introduced a Cix'rcion Bill which the Premier is supporting. It is said to be even more drastic than the Coercion Acts of other States. Mr. Ewing says his "object is to deal with agitators who foment strikes." "They should be. dealt with as criminals," he declares. There was once a goat that \indertook to butt down a. stone wall. When the operation was over there wasn't any goat left. He had butted himself out of existence. The same thing is likely to happen to the political goat of tlu Ewing type.—"lnternational Socialist."

The Arbitration Court of Wost Australia awarded 555. as ihe miniimim Avaye in the hairdre6eing trado. Some sliops immediately raised the charges to their customers, whereupon the union demanded an increase on the arbitration rates, pointing out that the wayos board in Melbourne had fixed tho minimum wage for a hairdresser at <jOs. weekly. The men's demand for a conference under a threat to strike has elicited from the masters' association a notification that a prosecution under the Arbitration Act wi). immediately follow any strike.action.