PARLIAMENTARY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 210, 21 August 1875, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

Wkllixotow, Thursday. The If oust of Represent .lives mtt at -2 30 p.m. Mr K'eeves complained of the insufficient clerical assistance allowed to the Committees. ','"■'• The Speaker explained that there was an unusual amount of Committee work that session, but he would endeavor to remedy matters. ' ' Mr Wood complaiued of the backwardness of the Government printing. If returns were wanttd to be printeJ t^ey had always to wait some days before getting them. TiieSpeiker said that printing al>o had been exceptionally heavy, ami that it had all been required in » very limited time, and thai ?o supply the neraand would have taxed the re's urces.of a much larger establishment than the ; Government office. Mr Greightim thought the Government committed an injustice to the master printers of ;h-; colony by offering frie passages to priners to come there in session time. He would like to ?ce a'l provincial work done in the different provinces, ana General Government work put" up to public tender. Mr Luckie said there were not enough printers in the colony, and one office in Auckland had absolutt'lyto teach the trade, to girls. Air Reevesfhougln the Government would do well to introduce a number of printers aniongs! the'imniigrnnis. The Government p-omised to enquire into the matt- r, and if they deemed it advisable they would en.'eavor to introduce some, The m»tter then dropi>: d. '■ he abolition d» bate was then resumed by Mr Mervyn, who strongly t-upported the Bill, and promised to endeavor to facilitate its pa cage through the House this session. Mr O'Conor follbwe i, and though he gave only a discriminating approval of the Bill, he said that he would render what aid he could in setting it pissed through the House, mainly because the Bill went in the direction of «c ting real local self government for the people and he bad some liope that from what the Government had said already they would be prepared to accept such suggestions and amendments in Committee as would adapt the Bi 1 to the requ reupenta of the people. He touk a strong objection to nominated officers being appointed by tlie o Government, us likely to lead to an abuse of patronage on thu eve of a geneni election; he also objected to the way in which it was proposed to deal •with the iand fund, but on the whole he thought the provinces would be beuefitted by the proposed change Mr Bas iau strongly supported the Bill, lie uever in hia part of the country had heard but a single word against abolition, aad that came from a Provincial officer. The House, adjourned till 7-30, when Mr Fitzherbert was expected to speak. Saturday. Mr Fitzherbect resumed the aboiiiiou d<. ■ bate at 7 - 30 last nighi and spoke until 12-30, when the Hous^ adjourned. He traversed the principal arguments urged by toe Government and us supporters in i* very discursive speech, with a redundancy of illustration, lie denie-l that ihery had been any conflict between cntrali^n and provincialism, and said that tlie latter had done more to create a rauoual feeling in the colony thm anything

else. He described! the flo»nci«l proposals aa vicious, nad referred foi the equivocul position f>t Mr Stafford. ; The real object of the Bill was to get possession of the land fund, so as t'> bo able to ; offer a specific* security next titMetho colony wanted to borrow, which niuat-be soon. He described the colony as noy heintj; find having bean for rome years, in v state of intoxication, the result ofan unpre,ei<-nted financial etimulu*. In con* o u«ion, ha warne 1 Ministers tint the passing of this Bill would be rebelled against by the people. Mr Buckland moved the adjournraent.