PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 221, 24 September 1904, Page 16

PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

THE Royal Commission on the land question will simply go from place to place, humbugging and wastof — Mr. Kaahau. * * * To my mind, the greatest slaves m New Zealand amongst the farming community are those who are bound nana strength of that tie is shown by the —Mr. T. Wilford. * * • In the past he (the Premier) was a man of indomitable energy and deteimLation and he grasped all difficulties T* way which compelled our adoration. Then his motto was WorK work! work!" now it is, "Shirk ' shirk I shirk!" and all his Ministers and party say "Amen"— Mr. Lewis. » • • During recent years thousands of pounds have been expended on publications—MoMurTan, Izett, Mr. Oseba— the greater part of which may be termed "literary garbage."— Mr. Lewis. ♦ * * The Premier, like Bottom, has made love to the people. The people, like Titania, have been blinded, and have encouraged his amorous overtures. He distributes gold broadcast throughout the land, and confers favours on its people. It is all done for the purpose of keeping his power ; but I venture to say there is a day coming when, as in the case of Titania, the people of the country will awaken and estimate the ■ Bottom at his true value. — Mr. Herdman * • ♦ Throughout this debate I have watched the right honourable gentleman, and I always watch him with interest. He is an artful dodger — he dodees more artfully than the immortal creation of Dickens. — Mr. Herdman. * * • I have no doubt the freehold is coming. — Mr. Lang. » * •■ How much does the honourable gentleman think was paid out of the Imperial Exchequer last year for services rendered by people in the .service of the Government ? No less than a hundred and fourteen millions out of n total revenue of a hundred and fortyfour Millions. — Mr. Flatman » « • I would not give a snap of mv fingers for a man who has not the ambition to purchase a home for himself. What has made the British Empire ? Is it the two or three little islands on the west coast of Europe? Not at all. If all our ancestors had remained within that little seagirt isle, where would England have been now? — Mr. A. L. D. Fraser. • • • Are we workers or are we shirkers? Government by Royal Commission ! I wonder what the old Liberals would have thought of a Commission being set up to inquire into the terms under which triennial Parliaments shouldi be obtained, or universal suffrage. — Mr. Moss. • * • It comes to this- that the only policy the Opposition have is that which was enunciated' by the member for the Bay of Plenty. "The only policy the Opposition have" — these are his own words, sir — "the only policy that the Opposition have is this • to place men in the House of Representatives, no matter who or what they are, so long as they will vote against Seddon, and then we will sift them into their proper places afterwards." — Mr. A. L. D. Fraser. • • • Mr. A. L. D. Fraser. — Now, sir, we had Mr. Taylor on the freehold. He commenced 1 , I think, by .saying that he had some experience of humbugs in the world, and that the biggest humbug he had ever met was the Right Hon. Mr. Seddon. He reiterated that he was speaking of a political humbug. An hon. member. — Colossal! Mr. A. L. D. Fraser. — Yes, he said "colossal" ; but I say the honourable member for Christonuroh City is the most monolithic and amphibious humbug I ever heard of. I say "amphibious," because he flounders on, "land just the same as on "water."

Mr. Lawry. — Theie is one case that was told me of a man who was appointed to value a beautiful estate. Mr. T. Mackenzie. — Who appointed him. ?—? — Mr Lawry. — This Government appointed him. If any other Government had appointed the officer he would piobably have been a good deal worse. He valued the estate, and the owner appealed against the valuation. The valuer was sent back to revalue the estate, and to try and arrive at a compromise. He walked through a paddock, and he saad, "Well, Ido not see very well how I can reduce the valuewhen the land grows grass like that," pointing to a paddock of oats just coming out into ears or heads.

A poisoned hand, with its cuie by Plantekoa Ointment, us advertised in this issue Mr. James Moore, Missioner to Seamen, asks us to call attention to the fact that Mr. Thos. Pringle will give an illustrated lecture on Japan in the new Mission to Seamen building, in Whit-more-street, on Monday, September 26th, at 8 p.m. His Excellency the Governor will open the Garrison Band and Football Association Bazaar on Saturday afternoon. Eight young Idles will danoe the Spanish bolero in the afternoon, and the tug-of-war at night will be contested by nineteen teams. The bazaar will remain open for seven days. Entrance tickets entitle holders to a chance in the art union, prizes value £150.

Mr. F. Webb, a specialist, who has for the last two years practised in Chnstchurch, is now located at 62, Cuba-street, the window of which place of business piesents a remarkable appeaianoe. It contains 1 several thousands of letters which Mr. Webb tells us he has received from patients who have benefited by his treatment. Many of these letters 1 are addressed from fardistant places — even London. Mr. Webbs system makes it specially easy for country patients to receive treatment, as he asserts his ability to diagnose complaints from patients' written description of symptoms. * • ■» The "Press," in referring to Mr. Webb, says, among other things: — "In all over nine thousand cases have been dealt with by bis system of treatment throughout New Zealand, and during the eighteen months Mr. Webb has been established in Christchuroh he has treated close upon fifteen hundred cases. One strong feature of his system is that if does away with the necessity for surgical operations' im a large number of cases when such operations are usually considered necessary. He has removed from the human body various growth®, which are usually only removed by means of operations. • * • "The esteem in which Mr. Wfebb is held by his patients in this city was shown on Monday afternoon, when about one hundred patients and expatients waited on him and presented him with an illuminated address and a gold medal. The address, which is artistically designed, and is signed by 83 persons who have been benefited by Mr.

Webbs system of treatment, refers to Mr. Webbs skilful and valuable services performed in this city and district during the past twelve months. * * * "Recognition is also made of the many gratuitous services rendered by Mr. Webb to patients m straightented circumstances, who have received his special attention and care, altogether apart from any mercenary considerations The gold mtedal which accompanied the address bore the inscription : 'To F. Webb, from his patients in Christchurch. "

Mr Watkin Mills is due to sing in -Elijah" with the Sydney Philharmonic Society on Octobei 27th. Professor Powell, the foreign-looking gentleman with the chin beai d and the polish, round here with the WoildsEnteitainers, will be round here again soon, at the head of his own company. * * * Iloof-garden shows were all the rage in Noo Yark a while back. Now thp novelty has fizzled. As you may have read swell society prefers something lower now. New York upper ten recently crowded to a show held in a new underground aewer. * * * There are fifty-one names on Bland Holt's "Flood Tide" programme. There is the usual horse-race, but what really wins thte appreciative roar is the house that seta, swept away by real water, with the pale hero and 1 his girl dinging to the drawing-room chimney. * • * Miss May Beatty, who is about five feet in height, was seen m Melbourne convening with Miss Abomah, the dark giantess, who is three feet longer. Any musical comedy that had Miss Beatty for principal "boy," and the other lady as her lover, would be a huge suocless. The Pershkoffs, a troupe of Russian dancers, are doing a "turn at the bydneyTivoli. The. four girls included are very pretty, and belong to the plump and pleasing type. None ot them look as if they had ever been ridden over by Cossacks. No, I doiit think they are coming to New Zealand * * • Paderewski was hissed a few months ago at the Chatelet, Pans, bv three young men, who consider that the piano as an instiument, does not harmonise with an orchestra, and that concertos written for that combination of instruments are bad art. After much litigation, it has been decided that every Frenchman has a right to hiss. * * * Reported that Madame Melba was paid £7000 to bottle up some of those glorious notes of hers into a phonograph for the use of the public at large, and that her crystalline, flutelike tones may be handed down to posterity. She sang in all some fourteen items into the instrument, so it works out at £500 a song— a very satisfactory rate of payment, I am sure.

Seriously feaid that a London in an age 1 intends putting on a play called ' The Garden of Eden " Costume details 1 enquire some anangement. • * * London is going silly on Yankee musical burlesque. Things ot the "wang" type are all the lage. "lhe Prince of Pilsen" has got a film hold ot modern society at present. Signouna Duse thinks the English stage w ants ref 01 ming. How ? By killing off all the English actresses and actors now alive. The Signouna seemt, to be possessed of the cntical faculty. -}<: * * Bland Holt is superstitious He changed the name of his drama "Taken from Life" to "The Romance of Life, because both times the play had been produced under the fonnei title homeon in the cast had died. "+ + ~ The American Tiavesty Stais include 'The Big Little Princess." 'TwnlyWhirly," "Quo-Vass-Iss, "I 0.U.," "The Roundeis," "Roly-Poly," "The Beauty Shop," "Rubies and Roses," and "The Paiaders," in. their lepeitoire. Abomah, the eight-feet-high AfioAmencan giant-ess, now filling a niche on a t' other-side bill, didn't know theie was money in length until Bainum weeded her out of a Carolina church choir, and got her to diaw heTseilf up to her full height for dollars. She has a light soprano voice, and experiences no difficulty in reaching the high notes She could reach them even if they weie on the top deck of a tram-cai .