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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIIL, Issue 213, 17 October 1878, Page 2

The Wellington correspondent of the Napier Telegraph writes under date September 28:— If the House of Representatives only goes on as quietly to the close of the session as it, Im« hitherto done, it will regain iiiuoh of iIH lost prestige, and will be able to lift up its head aa a model Parliament, lnflteiid of the floreo lighting and bitter wrangling, mid foul abuse of last session, there 13 pcupo ai|d fjuiotncßs, ami even wh.en warmth has been imported iuto the discussions there has been no unseemliuess in it. The Speaker's ruling has been very rarely disputed, and no member has been called upon to apologise to the House for any misconduct whatever. Qn uo single occasion has either side talked against time to defeat a measure but minorities have always quietly and gracefully yielded. The uoisy, turbulent, unceasing talkers of last session appear to have exhausted themselves, or to have become ashamed of themselves. Mr Rees, Mr Hislop Mr De Lautour, and others who last year were always violently talking and gesticulating, now sit silent and quiet in their seats Even the irrepressible Dr Hodgkinson is this year tamed down. On behalf of the Ministry, Mr Stout does much talking, and is always ready with long, elaborate, impromptu replies to Opposition questions). Hjs replies are very clever, but are spoilt by their cleverness— they are too apparently special pleadings: he is so evidently a lawyer defending a weak case, glossing over glaring faults and bringing iuto strong relief petty, favorable facts, that his replies always suggest doubts that all is not right— they are too good. As a Parliamentary leader he cannot be called a sucpess; he has no happy knack of soothing wounded feelings, ox of ;pouring oil on troubled waters. Some of his speeches greatly irritate both, fqeuds and fooa. Mr Kh.pch.an, op the other hand, rarely falls to please, llu vises and says the strangest things, he tells qiiplea9an.t things with a rollicking, jaunty, Irish humor. If Stout said the same things everyone would be offended, but they only laugh good-naturedly at Sueehau'a harangues,

The correspondent of the Taratmki Herald, who is known to be a member of the House, and hitherto a strong Government supporter, writes :—I gave the Government credit lately for having developed a new feature in the Ministry—that is, of having a stiff backbone; bat I fear now that the backboneofthisMinistry,likeallMmistries,cannot withstand pressure, but collapses at once. The worst feature, however, in this case is that the pressure did not arise so much in the House as outside the House. The power outside made them knuckle down. The jibbing of a few members in the House could easily have been set right by a subsequent vote, it would have consolidated the party; but by flinching at the first blow in battle, they earned the pity of their friends, and the scorn of their opponents. The N. Z. Times of Saturday says :— A masterly advance backwards is now the political order of the day in Cabinet, and on the Government side, in the House of Representatives. Mr Sheehan, an adept in party tactics, may be able to cover the retreat if he be permitted to command the rear guard, but all the baggage is lost, except Ministers' " seats ; " of these it cannot be now said that they are in an honorable condition, but yet they are considered to be worth saving. A more complete political fiasco was never made by any Government siuce the Constitution Act superseded the old despotism of Governor Grey. On Thursday night the annual Parliamentary sacrifice, known as " the slaughter of the inno-" cents " began, and order after order on the Paper was discharged, or withdrawn or dropped. That is the beginning of the end of the session. Our late Governor get3ahard hit from the Presbyterian Church J\ews. Sir James Fergusaon, it is noted, had. a hereditary if not historic connection with the Church of Scotland; yet during the time he occupied the vice-regal chair in New Zealand, he never once identified himself with his countrymen in the matter of public worship. This singularity of conduct was often remarked upon, but in charity it was believed that mere concern about being uppish could not actuate so great a man, and that as a matter of principle, most likely he had exchanged the Presbyterian for the Episcopal Communion. But if there was any principle guiding his ecclesiastical preferences, it must have been nearly akin to the Vicar of Bray; for at the last meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, we find Sir James Fergusson in his place as one of the representative elders. We respectevery man's conscience (say our contemporary), however much we may differ from him in matters of religious opinion; but respect, we think, is hardly due to any man who can make his worldly position the measure of his religious profession ; who can turn hig back upon the Church of his fathers the "one day, and take his seat in the place of honor she foolishly assigns him the next. Referring to the effects of the late famine in India the Madras correspondent of the London Timet writes :— An Indian population generally 'shows great elasticity in recovering from the shock of ordinary, calamities, but this famine has left a terrible mark on the country, and the rebound is not so rapid as we could wish. In trade there is nothing doing, nor can we much wonder at the people dealing but sparely in Manchester goods when they have been " cleaned out " by having to buy food at such high prices. I see that, without reckoning the amount of food brought down by the railway from Bombay and Central India, the imports of grain to the ports of the Madras Presidency from October, 1876, to December, 1877, come to more than a million and a quarter of tons. Before this grain reached the consumers its value must have been equal to from £14,000,000 to £15,000,000. The people cannot buy, and the famine has deprived them of anything to sell beyond a few hides of their starved cattle. Then, again, the great mortality among the labouring poor has resulted in enormous areas of land remaining uncultivated. From all the famine districtsjthe same tale comes in of diminished area of cultivation, diminished collection of revenue, diminished consumption of salt, and of the Indian poor man's lnxuries, toddy and arrack. All these effects of the famine would slowly right themselves if we could only have a favourable season or two and get rid of the plague of locusts and insect life that now prey upon the fields, and drive the ryots to despair. I fear, however, the present season will not be a satisfactory one, and that famine relief will still have to be a heavy item of expenditure for some months to come. The Pennsylvanian railroad is trying to economise in the fuel used on its locomotives, by giving the firemen half of what they can save out of a given amount issued to them each month. Revolution is threatened in New Grenada.

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It is always awkward (says the Anttralasian) when men who have besn very loud in denouncing ihe . existing order of things come into a position in which it is within their power to make the alterations they have clamoured for, but prefer to ignore all that they have said, and take things quietly as they are. An. amusing instance of this kind occurred lately in the New Zealand Parliament. Mr Johnston, who has a knack of asking highly inconvenient questions, the ofcher day reminded Sir George Grey of a speech he had made at Dunedin, in which he had asked his hearers if the new institutions of the colony " were such as became free men." What Mr Johnston wanted to know was, " Whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce such institutions as in their opinion became free men?" Now, this was neatly, pointedly, put, and it presented to the harebrained Premier in a very delicate way the sharp horns of an unshunable dilemma. But a dilemma is nothing to a man like Sir George Grey. He mounted the stump at once, assumed the responsibility of the words, but, instead of answering the question, talked at large in oracular language, which had no reference at all to the point at issue. Still the point remained, and Mr Johnston scored one of it. Full value for our money, no matter of whatsoever kind the article may be that we purchase. The inestimable blessing of b6ing restored to health by the use of honest and reliable medicines, can be procured by a moderate outlay. The reputation gained for " Ghoixah's Great Indian Cokes " since their introduction into New Zealand, warrants the assertion that they have not their equal as reliable restorative agents, (See testimonials, and get the medicines of any chemist.) Flobimhe !— For the Teeth and Breath.— A few drops of the liquid "Floroline" sprinkled on a wet tooth-brush produce a pleasant lather, which thoroughly cleanses the teeth from all parasites and impurities, hardens the gums, prevents tartar, stops decay, gives to the teeth a peculiar pearly whiteness, and a delightful fragrance to the breath. It removes all unpleasant odor arising from decayed teeth or tobacco smoke. "The Fragrant Fioriline," being composed in part of honey and sweet herbs, is delicious .'to tha taste, and the greatest toilet discovery of the age. Sold everywhere at 2s. 6d. Prepared by Henry G Gallup, 493 Oxford-street London. 1019 Valuable Discoveby for the Hair.— lf your hair is turning grey or white, or falling off, use "The Mexican Hair Renewer," for it will Positively restore in every case Grey oa White hair to its original color, without leaving the disagreeable smell of most • Restorers.' It makee the hair charmingly beautiful, as well as promoting the growth of the hair on bald spots where the glands are not decayed. Ask yonr nearest chemist for " The Mexican Hair Renewer," prepared by Henry C. Gallup, 493, Oxford-street, London, and sold everywhere at 3s. 6d. per bottle. 910 Advicb to MorHBBB ! — Are you broken ia your resc by a sick child suffering with tha pain of cutting teeth ? Go at once to chemist, and get a bottle of Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. It will relieve the poor sufferer immediately. It is perfectly harmless and pleasant to taste. It produces natural quiet sleep, by relieving the child from pain, and the little cherub awakes " as bright as a button." It soothes the child, it softens the gums, allays ail pain, relieves wind, regulates the bowels, and is the best known remedy for dysentery and diarrheas, whether arising from teething or other causes. Sold everywhere at is. l£d. per bottle. Manufactory, 493 Oxford-street, London.