PARLIAMENTARY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 201, 23 August 1872, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

Wellington, August 23. Mr. Reeves replied last night to Mr. Reid re? lative to the railway contracts. Mr. Curtis supported the resolutions. He said that Mr. Reeves had clearly admitted that the Brogden contracts largely exceeded the necessarycost. He severely criticised the action of the Government relative to the Nelson railway, and. showed that the Parliamentary vote had been greatlv exceeded in the contract for the Picton and Blenheim line, and that the amount to be paid for it was unnecessarily large. Mr. Bathgate (Otago) opposed the resolution in a strong speech. Mr Collins compared the statesmanlike and temperate speech of Mr Stafford with those that had been delivered by the members of the Ministry who had left all details to their followers. He went on tp condemn the Ministry for exceedr ing the powers given to them hv the Parliament, and" for ignoring the votes of the House, and referred especially to the San Francisco service, the Brogden contracts, and the Chinese labor circulars. The Government, he said, appeared to have no guiding opinions or policy, and did not in anv way attempt to lead the House He insinuated that their majority last session was due to the expectations held out relative to the appointments to be made on the Board of Works, and referred to the subsequent political appointments they had made. He spoke of Mr. Reeves' speech as being very weak, and convicted Mr. Bathgate of glaring political inconsistency. It was not so much a change of policy as of administration that was required. He referred to the Ministerial tours, and said that their expensive style of living and traveling was enough to create suspicion. With reference to the Broeden contracts, he said there' were some of them that had been let for £3,500 that might be sub-let for £1,700 a mile. In the railway at Napier, unnecessary deviations had • been made in order that it might pass through Mr. Ormond's property. He then read the following returns, showing the payments made by the Government to the newspapers for advertising : — Nehon Colonist, £482 15s. Bd.; Examiner, £58 ; Thames Guardian, £89 3s. 6d., Adnertiser, £7 17s. 6d. ; Wellington Independent £731, Post £408 ; Hawke's Bay Herald £135. Telegraph £58 ; Lyttelton Times £415, Press £284 ; Ross News £61, Guardian £3 ; Grey Argus £350, Star£\s. Mr Katene (Native) opposed the resolutions. Mr Reynolds also opposed them. Mr Murrav (Otago) supported them. Mr Steward (Oamaru) opposed. Mr Rwanson (Auckland) sweepingly condemned the Ministry, hut approved of their Native policy, and said that if they weathered this storm it would be entirely due to Mr Maclean. He demanded that the Ministry 6hould make some clear statement of what they proposed doing. Mr Maclean moved the adjournment of the debate, and will spaek to-night. If he holds out a prospect of joining the new Ministry, the defeat of the Government is inevitable, if the contrary, the result is doubtful.