Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1878.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 202, 4 October 1878, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1878.

It will be seen hy our telegrams that the Government were last night beaten by a majority of two on the Beer Duty Bill. There appears to have been some misunderstanding with regard to pairing, three members having voted against the Government who were said to have paired with absent members, but this is denied by them, as they say that they paired ouly on the Land Tax Bill. Had the three, who arc said to have been absent on the strength of their pairs, voted, the Government would have had a majority of one, but against this Mr Turnbull says that he voted on the Government side iv error, which reduces the result to a tie. On Tuesday night in the debate on the Customs Tariff Bill Mr Ballance took occasion to deny the common rumors that the Government intended to drop the Companies Income Tax aud Beer Duty Bill. He stated that the Government considered then* main principles in their policy, and would, of course, staud or fall by them. Having been, as a matter of fact, defeated on the Beer Duty Bill, we presume that Ministers will send iv their resignations. We notice that the uames of Messrs Curtis, Gibbs, ancl Richmond do not appear in the division list. A meet iso of the Railway Committee, appointed at the recent meeting was held this morning, when a list of questions to be put to Mr A. D. Dobson, who is now in Nelson, was drafted, and a telegram was sent to the Chairman of the Inangahua County Council asking for certain information. Tiiekk was v siugle case heard at the Magistrates' Court this morning, {that of En tage v. Moore, in which the plaintiff sought to recover damages for wrongful dismissal from the ketch Ocean Bird. Mr P. B. Adams appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Fell for the defendant. The plaintiff declared that he had received his discharge in a proper manner from the mate, and next day refused to go on board when ordered by the captaiu to do so on the ground that he had been discharged. 'The mate was sworn, aud said that he had been ordered by the captain to discharge the plaintiff, and consequently had done so. The captain, on the other hand, swore that he had giveu no such orders. The evidence on both sides being so contradictory, the Bench gave judgment for the defendant.