PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 165, 29 August 1903, Page 22

PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

I THINK the watchward of the Opposition must, be 'Ego. -lhe Hon. Sir J. G. Ward. Tlip Premier is a man who could not If I were to give a scientific lecture and show what we could do with a roal mine giving us electricity and gaeSesthe'rSult would astonish honourabfe members.-Mr. Ironed Smith. * * * The civilisation of any community ought to be gaused by the amount of Section women and children enjoyed? and he maintained that, as women and children were not now safe in this country, it saad very little for our civilisation -Mr. T. Mackenzie. * * * . The estimated expenses of salaries in connection with the Labour Bureau were only £3810. for which sum all the shops and factories were inspected and each inspector had quite as much to do as could be undertaken by any one man.— Mr. Baume. * * * We would shortly have a new Governor and the present was surely trie time to decide his salary. He was only voicing the opinions of the people ot his part of the colony when he said that they would be satisfied with a simplehvinc English country gentleman.— Mr. Harding. # Although I have lived a little longer than the honourable gentleman who is responsible for this volume of verbiage known as the Financial Statement, 1 must confess that m ways that are dark, and in political intrigue, I am a babe as compared with the honourable gentleman. — Mr. Vile's modesty. * * * He was beginning to feel himself that the Labour Bureau was. a most excellent Department for the officials connected with it. If one came to analyse what the Labour Bureau did, it w : as rendering small service to the country. It was to have become a national "registry-office.— Mr. T. E. Taylor. * * * Of what use were the developments of the Health and Tourist Department to the majority of country residents p A person 'in a bad state of health in these parts of the colony, and who wished to take advantage of Rotorua or Cambridge Sanatorium, had no chance, being blocked bv the number going from the towns.— Mr. Jennings. * * ♦ He knew that in many cases people had sent to the Labour Department for servant-girls, and he could assure honourable members that some who had been sent by the Denartment were beauties — regular beauties. He did not mean physical beauties, but beautiful characters, and so he could not let this opportunity pass without paying a tribute to this useful Department in Wellington.— Mr. Lethbridge. * • * The public never seemed to realise that all these messages of sympathy congratulations, and so on, that were forwarded at the time of an election were forwarded at the public expense, and he thought attention ought to be called to it. Ministers seemed to imagine they were masters of the public, instead of the public being their masters 1 . He noticed also the habit was growing up with Ministers of sending franked newspapers. — Mr. Massey. ° * * * A member had grumbled because money had been spent, as he said, in sending unnecessary telegrams all over the country. Well, he knew of one telegram which had been sent which was a great mistake. It was sent in connection with the return of the "Mapourika," to a "Mrs." somebody who was non-existent. The expense was incurred in sending a telegraph messenger over the country to find this "Mrs."; but the blame should not rest on' the Government, but on the gentleman who had not a "missis." — Mr. Witty's wit.

He believed the doctors got quite enough fees v, ithout making a charge of 10s per head on people travelling to New Zealand. — Mr. Hogg goes for the doctors. * * * I was in the position that I lost one election on account of my temperance views, though, on the contrary, I have won again on account of them, — Mr. McNab suggests that the people are ''unstable as water." * * * If a man is convicted of murder, and appeals 1 to the higher Court, he is not allowed to co on murdering until the result of the appeal is made known. — ■ Lucid licensing argument by Mr. T. E. Taylor, in re case® for Privy Council. * * * Then immediately the Premier coon as into the House, preens his feathers like any fighting-cock, and challenges the bird that does not want to fight. If there was a bird that was ready to fight, the Premier would want to smooth all down. — Sir W. R. Bussell. * * * And, with no disrespect to the honourable member for Christchurch City, I say that he would be absolutely unable to give an unbiassed opinion on the drink question or any question in which the drinking habits of the people came in. — Hon. Mr. McGowan. * * * Mr. E. M. Smith. — I shall always do my little best to make the country worth living in, and when I get my ■n arks> going and my coal-mines opened — when I have bestowed those blessings on the country which I have so long endeavoured to bestow on, it, I shall be satisfied, happy, and contented for I shall be nearing the goal towards -n Inch I have striven so hard. An hon. member. — Is it nneapr p Mr. Smith. — Yes, it is nearer than the honourable gentleman is aware. * * I confess that when I had perused the Statement, and closed the document with its flame-coloured covers, I remembered quite involuntarily the old adage. — The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be ; The devil was well, the devil a monk was he and I could not help thinking how very ill the Right Hon. the Premier must have been when he compiled the extrar ordinary document which I am now proceeding to discuss. — Sir William Russell, on King Dick's Budget. * # * He wishes to say that, personally, he did not object to Mahuta. He had often met him in his district, and knew him to be an intelligent native, and a fairly well-educated man. But that did not affect the point at issue. The fact was that the natives were now lesssatisfied than the- had been for years past. The natives were seething with discontent, except those in the Waikato. and solely on account of the slight that had been put upon them by the appointment of Mahuta. — Mr. Massey.

There were no justifiable leasons why school-teachers, who were paid for the services they rendered in piecisely the feaine way as other members of the community, should be given travelling concessions on the railways which were not granted to the community as a oody.— Sir J. G. Ward. * * * In one instance the license of a house with over forty bedrooms was refused, and not a single complaint had been made against it by the police, while on the other side of the street, the license of a house with only four bedrooms wasi granted. A license was actually granted to a man in Dunedin who has to get a woman into the house to mind the bar while he goes out for his meals. — Mr. Millar. # # * Well, I cannot help comparing the Right Hon. the Premier to a mosquito, with its incessant hum and its minute proboscis. Unfortunately, the noise of the hum and the pain of the sting is the least part of the injury, which is really more aggravating to the unacclimatised incomer than it is to those who have lived in the country, and know the Right Hon. the Premier so well. — Sir W. R. Russell discusses finance.