PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 176, 14 November 1903, Page 15

PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

THERE were nearly forty local Bills on the Order Paper, and he could not get one of the four of his before the House.— The martyrdom of Mr. E. M. Smith. * * * Three absentee estates in the City of Wellington are valued at £202,888. — Mr. Seddon. * * * I wish we had a dispute with the Upper House every twenty-four hours. —Mr. T. E. Taylor. * * Mr. 11. D. Bell, who worthily bears the reputation of being the first lawyer in this colony. — Mr. McNab. * * * It is not often, that the Opposition can openly and ostensibly point to services they have done to their country — And Mr. J. Allen ought to know. » * * In a country that has a mere handful of people — about the population of Liverpool — it is absurd to have two branches of the Legislature. — Mr. Ell. * * * It is wrong that we should go on as we have been for many years past- — piling up the debt of the colony without making any nrovisibn to pay it off. — Mr. Massey. They were fast drifting into the position which obtained in the Mother Country, where solicitors received veryhandsome sums for piloting measures through the British Parliament. — The Premier. * * ♦ It is currently reported that already the fishing industry is in that condition that a great Quantity of fish is destroyed every week so that the poorer people shall not get their fish cheap.— Sir W. Russell. » * • New Zealand flour was being sent away from the colony on the one hand, and, on the other, in order to obtain flour at a reasonable price, the people of Auckland and other parts of the colony had to import flour from San Francisco. —Mr. Hogg. * * » Members of the Upper House have been as such created by the Premier, and in that respect are creatures. The word "forlorn" may or may not be questionable, but the word "creatures" is by no means necessarily offensive. — Mr. Lewis. * * • As matters stood at present the permanent military officers with the monthly salaries were paid in full, even though they should be away owing to sickness ; whereas the non-commissioned officers and men had a paltry Is 6d a day deducted from their pay.— Mr. Barber - If the settlers themselves were given the money to expend they would have roads made so that they might be able to get away their produce to market That is what is the great fault of the Government, and what will kill it in the end — namely, its wretched administration.—Mr. Herries. * * * I think the Government have been discourteous to their supporters. The Government know that they have not got in this House a stronger suppoiter than I am. I have never wavered in mv support , but still, I think they are making a mistake in not going in foi a vigorous public works policy. — Mr. E M. Smith. * * * The member for "Wanganui was an old colonist w ho had fattened himself on the credulity of the tourists, and yet refused to give to the poor settlers in the Waimanno Block the money that they required for their roads. The honourable gentleman ought to be ashamed of himself, if that was not unparliamentary.—Mr. McLachlan. I hope the last speaker (Mr. J. Allen) and honourable members on the Opposition side of the House will not be hurt when I tell them that they have had about as much to do with lowering the rate of interest in this Bill as they had to do with the outbreak of the Transvaal war, the Mount Pelee eruption, or the troubles that now exist between Japan and Russia. — Hon Mr. HallJones.

The Hon. the Premier has asked the House not to pass the Wator Pow er Bill with a blot upon it. What blot? The blot of honesty.— Mr. Moss on a peculiar kind of blemish. # * * Until quite lecently the Upper Chamber was looked upon as being approved of by the Opposition, as repiesenting the last preserve of vested interests and privileges. — Mr. T. E. Taylor" Thousands and thousands of carcases of meat — beef and mutton — were being sent away yearly from this colony, and for the second-class meat that was kept in New Zealand a high price was charged. No doubt the colony emoyed the profits of a large industry, but at the same time the people were penalising themselves by living on a second-rate class of meat, for which they were paying as much as the first-class carcase was sold for at Home.— Hon Mr. Mills. * * * Many settlers, after years and years of labour in this colony, have thought fit and right to leave this colony for a short time, and to visit the scenes of their birth, and by so doing they are to be penalised to the extent of 50 per cent, on the amount of their taxation. For my part, I think that is wrong, and that there is no reason why a person should not be allowed to leave this country if he wishes to do so. — Sir W. Russell. # * * There was just a short extract from a paper called the "Mangaweka Settler" which he desired to read. It said ■ — ' A settler tells me that he lives in the Kuhatau Valley, and that he only gets a wheeled vehicle out to the town twice a year, once to bring out his wool, and again when his wife brings out the baby to be christened, and each time he has to brin^ a shovel with him to clear slips before a cart." Well, when they had settlers who could not get out of their sections, he did not think it fair they should spend money on scenery preservation. — Mr. Lethbridge.