THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4169, 31 July 1874, Page 3

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Both Houses Lave sat during the month. As it is impossible to present even an abridged report of the proceedings of the two Houses, we give the essence of the business done in the following Parliamentary Notes : LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. LOYAL ADDRESS TO HER MAJESTY. A loyal Address to Her Majesty was agreed to unanimously by both Houses on July S, on the motion of the Premier, on the marriage ' of His Boyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. In the '.Representatives the Premier introduced the motion in a short but appropiiate speech, in which he spoke of the loyal feelings that had always been entertained in New Zealand to Her Majesty ; the tatsfacfon that the country as well as the Queen herself must feel in the fact that her children were all being settled in her own lifetime ; of the value of those alliances that had been contracted with the great powers; and of the interest which the Colony must feel in the marriage of the Boyal Duke who had twice visited this Colony, made himself popular, especially with those who had the best opportunity of knowing him, and still retained an interest in the Colony. The following is a copy of the Address adopted by both Houses of Assembly:—“Most Gracious Sovereign,—We, Your Majesty’s faithful and loyal subjects, the members of the House of Eepresentatives of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, take the first opportunity of submitting to your Most Gracious Majesty our heartfelt and loyal sympathy in the congratulations which have been already offered to Your Majesty by the less remote portions of Your Majesty’s Empire on the auspicious occasion of the Marriage of His Boyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh with Her Imperial and Royal Highness the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. Wo hail with pleasure an event fraught with so much importance to the British Empire, and so calculated, by the Divine Blessing, to add to the domestic happiness of Your Most Gracious Majesty. We would venture to add that the event on which we respectfully desire to present our congratulations to Your Majesty is possessed of additional interest to the people of New Zealand, on account of His Boyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh having twice visited this Colony. We desire to express our earnest prayer for the future happiness and welfare of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and to renew our assurance of devoted affection and loyalty to Your Majesty’s throne and person.” INDEBTEDNESS OF THE COLONY. A motion Mr. Waterhouse brought before the Legislative Council was to this effect: — “That this Council would see with regret anv increase to the general indebtedness of the Colony, except for the purpose of completing undertakings already authorised, until such time as the works now in progress are so far completed as to enable a reliable opinion to be formed as to the capability of the Colony to meet the annual expenditure thereby required, without having recourse to a degree of taxation which might injuriously affect the industrial resources of the Colony.” Last year, and the year before, we had long discussions on the larr'e amount of borrowing which prevailed, the” inability of the country to pay even the interest upon its large public works, and the general insolvency to which the country was tending. Several hon. members were clear-headed enough to see that most of this was “ much ado about nothing.” Now we had the whole matter put in the form of a moderately intelligible resolution, and members asked to say “yes” or “no.” It is only just to Mr. Waterhouse to say that on this occasion he was most moderate and unimpassioned in his statements and figures. The motion was “ lost on the voices.” MORAL HEALTH OP CANTERBURY. Canterbury, if the hon. members who represent the Province in the Legislative Council are not casting undeserved discredit on her, must be " The most distressful country That ever yet was seen” in New Zealand, as regards the prevalence of a particularly unpleasant species of crime—that of indecent assaults upon women and children. When the Offences against the Person Act Amendment Bill was before the Council on Wednesday, an hon. member from Otago moved the substitution of the word “shall” for “ may,” to make it compulsory upon Judges, when passing sentence upon offenders of that description, to order flogging as well as imprisonment. He was supported by an hon. member from Auckland, who stated that if he had not been too late, he would also have proposed to substitute the term of twenty-one years for ten years as the maximum period of imprisonment to which a Judge might sentence a convicted offender. Both hon. members indicated, if they did not state, that the crime alluded to was of but too common occurrence in their Provinces. Hon. members from Canterbury, however, were quite pathetic in their remarks to the Council on the subject. While they agreed with honorable" members who pointed out that there were degrees of criminality even in this species of crime, and that it would be improper to take away from the Judges the power of discriminating in the cases that came before them, they admitted that in Canterbury indecent assaults were of much too frequent occurrence. It , was stated that fellows were in the habit of haunting the neighborhood of isolated houses in the country for weeks and months together, taking' advantage of the absence of the men, whose , departure they watched, to insult the female inmates. In one case so long had this sort of persecution endured, powerless the authorities seemed to put a stop to it, that at last the family were driven from their home to avoid the insults to which the ladies were exposed. Other hon. members protested, that in this matter New Zealand was no exception, and that here—even in the remotest parts of the country—women were as safe from insult as thev were in any other country under the sun. The impression, however, was left on the minds of the few people who heard the discussion, that more protection for women was needed in the outlying portions of most of the Provinces, and most of all in rich and prosperous Canterbury. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. r NO ELECTORAL BILL THIS SESSION. In answer to a question in the House, on Thursday, July 9, Mr. Vogel stated that it was not the intention of the Government this session to bring in a Bill to alter the representation of the country." This Parliament had still another year to run, and the subject was not one to be meddled with lightly, : or because a few in-, equalities might exist, and- these in the distribution of the representation. CENSUS OF THE MAORI POPULATION. It was mentioned to Parliament on July , 8 in answer to a question in the House of Eepresentatives, that a census of the Maori population had been taken, and would ba 111! upon the table in a few days. ROAD FROM TAURANGA TO CAMBRIDGE. , There were three roads projected between Tauranga and Cambridge (Waikato) said Mr.. Richardson to Mr. Sheehan; in the House on July 7. The centre one was reported on as the best. The Native owners of the laud it would traverse for some time: objected to the survey of the Land, but these had been removed, and the survey would now be proceeded with, to ho followed by the construction of the road. The port of Tauranga, said Mr. Sheehan, was one of the best ports on the east coast of the North Island, and it communicated with a district which would yet become of great importance. SECRECY OP TELEGRAMS. A Bill to amend the Electric Telegraph Act has passed the House of' Representatives for its second reading,' The - objects contemplated by the Bill maybe briefly stated as follows :—To make offences against the Act more easily punishable ; to protect the officers of the department from being subject to actions for libel; to enact that telegrams shall not be considered as libels because of anything they may contain ; and to meet the power now exercised by Courts of Justice of ordering the eduction, as evidence, or the inspection of

telegrams with a view to the discovery of matter on which actions for damages might he founded. It was necessary under the existing Act when damage was done to a line of telegraph to prove that it was maliciously done. This, the Premier remarked, was always difficult to prove, and it was proposed to do away with that necessity. It could scarcely have been thought, it was also remarked, the operator who merely forwarded a message could be proceeded against in actions for libel; but that opinion was entertained by Lawyers, and it was tliereforo necessary to protect the employes of the department. Telegrams, it was held by the Government, should be treated as private letters, andno more subject to be regarded as publishing libels. The last object alluded to, but really the first and most important of the Bill, was that which related to the protection of telegrams from orders by the Court for unspecified telegrams between places named, which were merely roving or fishing commissions to lawyers to discover materials for legal suits. More than one case had lately occurred, it appears, to make legislation on this particular point necessary. The Government proposed that telegrams shall only be producible in Court as evidence, with the consent of the sender or receiver. It was stated in the course of the Premier’s remarks that at present the practice was to keep the originals of telegrams for a period of five years, lest the department should be called upon to produce any of them. While he proposed the Bill to meet matters as they existed, however, the Premier expressed an opinion that the time was not far distant when the electricians would remove all difficulties as to the position of operators. A LIGHTHOUSE AT MOERAKI. The port of Oamaru, if it does not get all that it wants, in the matter of a lighthouse, is likely to receive such an amount of attention at the hands of the Commissioner of Customs as will satisfy it. In answer to Mr. Steward, who asked why a lighthouse had not been placed on Cape Wanbrow, in accordance with a resolution of the House, Mi - . Reynolds read an official report as to the ports of Timaru and Oamaru, which stated that the former was situated in a deep bight, and was not approached by any vessels but those which were bound there. The same remark applies to Oamaru. The soundings as the former was approached were regular, and though those off the latter were less so, they were still such as clearly to indicate the approach to the shore. A lighthouse on Cape Wanbrow would be of no advantage to vessels making the land there ; but there was a reef lying off Moeraki, there was a reef known as the Pish Reef, which avas dangerous to the navigation of vessels bound from Port Chalmers to the Northern ports, which had to go near it, and it was therefore proposed to place a light at Moeraki. Mr. Steward stated that such a light would satisfy the people of Oamaru. THE MURDERER OF SULLIVAN. A question was put in the House on Friday as to whether steps had been or were being taken to bring the murderer or murders of Timothy Sullivan, in April, 1873, to justice. Mr. Yogel stated in reply, that the matter had not escaped the attention of the Government. Native matters required great delicacy in treatment, and he avas not at liberty to give any information on the subject. SIR GEORGE ABNEY. "When the Supreme Court Judges Bill avas before the House on July 1-1 for the second reading, Mr. Vogel took occasion to refer to the case of Sir George Arney, for avhom insufficient provision had been made, seeing that Sir George had come out to Neav Zealand under large expectations held out to him by Mr. Labouchere, avho avas then Secretary of State for the Colonies. Mr. J. E. Browne thought that a neav Bill should be introduced to regulate the scale of retiring alloavances to Judges. A LONG AND STRONG PETITION. A large number of petitions, on a avide range of subjects, averepresented to the House on Tuesday. Among them avas one, the presentation of which by Mr. O’Neill, the member for the Thames district, occasioned some amusement. It avas from a very large number of the hon. member’s constituents, and prayed for representation more in proportion to the importance of the district in Parliament. The hon. member as he described its prayer advanced toavards the Speaker’s chair, unrolling the petition as he aa-ent along. Its length avas thus shoaam to exceed that of the floor of the Assembly. , AN UNFORTUNATE aVIDOaa'. A someavh’at unusual petition avas placed before the Honseof Representatives on July 14. It is knoavn that in the beginning of the avar with the Natives at Taranaki in 1861, a number of settlers avere murdered. The avidoavs were pensioned, and those of them avho survive —if all of them are not living—have been regularly paid the money annually ever since : avith one exception. One of the avidoavs, avho had a family, received her pension for tavo years,, but it avas then stopped. The avoman was not in a position to obtain correct information on the subject, and supposing that the other avidoavs had been treated in the same avay—that the pensions, in short,. had been stopped—she struggled on avithout making much inquiry, and had succeeded in rearing her family respectably, unaided. She had but lately learned that she had been treated exceptionally, through avhat cause she did not know, and she noav prayed that her case avould receive favorable consideration from the House. SUPREME COURT JUDGES. The gist of the Bill noav before Parliament to amend the Supreme Coairt Judges Act, 1858, is contained in the folloaving clause :—“Ea’ery Judge of the Supreme Court, holding office during good behaviour, who having served, avhether - continuously or not, fifteen years and less than tvventy-fia'e years as Judge of the Supreme Court, shall resign his office after having attained the age of sixty years, shall, after the passing of this Act, be entitled to a superannuation alloavance of one-half of the amount of his salary at the time of resignation.” THE MARRIAGE LAIV. Marriage avith .a deceased avifo’a sister was the subject of some discussion in the Legislative Council on the motion for the reading of the Marriage Laav Amendment Bill. Members seemed to shear considerable apprehensions as ,to the possible effects on the morality of tho people of Neav Zealand of the passage of the Bill. The hon. gentlemamvho represents the Government in the Chamber, and is himself a member of the Ministry, was somewhat indulgent to his curiosity, putting a question plainly across the table as to avhether there avas any particular scandal avhioh the passage of the Bill avas intended to cover? To this supposition the answer avas an indignant “No.” The hon. gentleman, hoavever, insisted that in South Australia, avhere it avas laavful for a man to marry his. late wife’s sister, it avas possible for him to marry his niece instead ; an interpretation of the law which droav from the hon. the proposer of the measure the explanation that it was not his oavn but his lato wife’s niece which the law of that Colony permitted a avidower to take to avife. To all the objections taken to tho measure the hon. gentleman who introduced the Bill (Mr. Waterhouse) replied that hon. members did not remember the purport of the Bill, which was- not to legalise marriage with tho sister of a deceased wife, but to recognise; as legal, marriages contracted ; legally in Great Britain or any of the: British Colonies. “They avould,” he said, “see nothing in tho Bill but marriage with a deceased wife’s sister’’—to which some hon. gentlemen replied asscutingly with a marked “hear, hear.” To the argument of Mr, Waterhouse, it was replied by Dr. Pollen, that to recognise marriages .as legal, consummated in other Colonies where the laav .was different from that of Neav Zealand, avould be to encourage breaches of tho laav, by inducing persons situated in the relationship contemplated by the Act to go to one or other of the Australian Colonies, and there enter into marriage which might be found illegal from imperfect domicile. Tho arguments of the 'opponents of the Bill were ingenious, if not not very sound. Two amendments were proposed—one, that tho BUI bo read a second time that day six months; and the other, that the date bo fourteen days. On a division, tho numbers avere equal—ten on each side; and tho hon. the Speaker gave his casting-vote, so that tho Bill might again come up for discussion. The motion has since been avithdraavn.

THE REPRESENTATION OP THE COLONY. Some discussion has taken place on the .representation of the Colony in Parliament. Mr. Sheehan proposed a motion 1 to the effect that a readjustment of the re-' presentation avas necessary; that it should take effect at the next general elections ; and that the Government should, during the recess, take tho matter into consideration, avith a vieav to the preparation of a perfectlymatured measure to be submitted to the House next session. The hon. gentleman thought there were quite a sufficient number of members in the House. He did not propose to increase the number of members, but considered that a redistribution of seats avas absolutely necessary. It avas possible that, through such a redistribution, Auckland might obtain an increase of voting poavers, avhile it avas notorious that the South Island avas not adequately represented. Haaa’ko’s Bay, he also thought, avas under represented, avhile Taranaki and Wellington were over represented. He also noticed that in the Province of Auckland there were 25,000 Natives, who avere represented in the House by one member only. Mr. V ogel, in reply, remarked that there avere other considerations beyond those of population only to be considered. Even on that ground, hoave. cr, Auckland might suffer from a redistribution of representation. For example, avhen the representation was last adjusted tho population of- Auckland avas 62,000, and noav it av..s not more than 69,000. In Taranaki the population then avas 4800, and noav it avas 5500. In Wellington, in 1870 it avas 25,000, and noav it avas 31,455. Haavke’s Bay then had 6000, and noav 9700. Nelson then had a population of 24,000, but it noav had only 22,000 ; avhile Marlborough had groavn from 4700 to 6200. Westland had increased from 13,500 to 14,900, hut Canterbury had groaam enormously, her population in 1870 having been only 40,000, aahile noav it avas 61,000. In the same time, Otago and Southland had groaam from 70,000 to BS,OOO. He thought there avas a feeling of chivalry in the House aahich avould prevent it from reducing the number of members of the less popidous provinces, the tendency always beingto increase rather than to reduce the numberof membersof the House. The hon. the Premier promised that the Government avould consider the subject during the recess, and moa'ed the previous question. On a division, tho amendment avas earned by 33 to 30. FIRE BRIGADES AND JURIES. The exemption of members of fire-brigades from serving on juries has been discussed. A desire avas shoavn generally to extend to members of those bodies the privilege they sought. The question, hoavever, avas to distinguish betaveeu members avhose names avere enrolled on the lists of brigades merely to enable them to claim the privilege of exemption, and those aa'ho avere really bona fide members, devoting themselves to the interests of the public. Mr. O’Conor pointed out that the same rule could not apply to large and small places, because in the latter nearly all the persons avho avould be most valuable on a jurylist avould also be members of the fire-brigade. Mr. Hunter avarmly supported the claims of the firemen, and urged that no great harm could arise from granting them the boon they craved, seeing that in Wellington, for example, avith a population of 10,000, the number of firemen could not exceed forty or forty-five. The proposition avas agreed to, and Mr, Macandreav, of Dunedin, has brought in a’ Bill to secure the exemption sought for. MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED aVIFE’3 SISTER. A very decided expression of opinion has been gia r en on the subject of marriage avith a deceased aadfe’s sister. A Bill introduced by Mr. Steavard had been read asecoudtime. Mr. Vogel, speaking for himself, and not for the Ministry, expressed a hope that the measure avould not be carried farther. He thought it would he time enough to alter the laav of New Zealand on the subject when the laav of Great Britain avas changed. • The passing of the Bill noav before the House would very much disturb the social relations of the Colony. He avould record his a'ote against the Bill, although he might be one in a very small minority. The hon. member for Rangitikei took a vieav entirely opposed to that of the Premier. He re; minded the House that the Commons, avhom they most nearly resembled, had again and again voted in favor of Marriage avith a Deceased Wife’s Sister, and that a Bill to legalise such marriages had only been defeated by the influence of the Bishops in the House of Lords. Sir Oracroft Wilson spoke avarmly in favor of the Bill, and on a division, the third reading of the Bill avas agreed to by 34 to 17. A GREAT DAY FOR aVELLINGTON. One day last aamek avas a large day in the House as regards Wellington. First, Mr. Pearce obtained leave to bzing in a Bill (avhioh avas read a first time) to enable the Corporation to borroav a sum of £25,000 for the purposes of the Wateravorks of the City ; next, Mr. Bunny obtained leave, and brought in a Bill to enable the Corporation to borroav a sum of £150,000, for the reclamation of a part of the foreshore at Te Aro ; then Mi 1 . Bunny, acting for the hon. the Superintendent of the Province, obtained the consent of the House to resolve itself today into a committee of the whole, “ to consider of giving leave to bring in a Bill to provide for the payment for the construction of certain public avorks in the Province of Wellington in land or money ;” 1 and, lastly, Mr. Bunny obtained leave and brought in a Bill for the election of Mayor of the City of Wellington. To this we may add that the Wellington Hospital Reserves Loan Bill, and the Wellington Special Settlements Act Amendment Bill, avere both read a third time in the House last night. aVHAT IS A NEW SETTLER ? “ What is a neav settler” avas the subject of discussion on July 8. Mr. Mervyn asked for a return of ’the quantity of land sold or otheravise disposed of during a short period named, in the Provinces; the return to specify, as far as possible, the number of “ neav settlers” avho had, purchased land during that period, and the quantity so bought. He explained that the Government had no objection to furnish tho return, and the officer who avould bo charged avith the duty of preparing it, with avhom he had been in communication on the subject, perfectly understood the nature and limit of the inquiry. Sir Craoroft Wilson, however, said he should like to knoav avhat avas meant by a “neav settler.” They avere all “new settlers” at one time or other, and the old definition avas that a colonist was a “ neav settler” until ho had eaten a certain quantity of that particularly delectable plant the tutu. Mr. Thomson thought the designation “ neav settlor” was unambiguous, meaning one avho had not previously occupied land. Mr. Shephard asked avhether a settler who merely moved from one Province to another, to occupy land there, avas to be regarded as a neav settler ? Mr. Wakefield thought the words should be “ new purchasers,’’ otherwise they would run into some confusion among “ neav settlors,” “ old settlers,” and “no settlers at all,” the real object being to distinguish between persons who bought land to settle upon, ami those purchased for speeidative purposes only. The difficulty was happily overcome by tho understanding that tho Department perfectly understood avhat tho hon. member for Mount Ida meant by tho term “new settle!’,” and that a ■ return, at least approximately accurate, could and would be prepared. THE COURT-HOUSE OF HOKIANGA. The “ Court-house ” of Hokianga must be something of a strange kind, according to the representations of Mr. Williams, the member for the district. He stated on Thursday, July 9, in tho House that the old Court-house had,fallen into such a state of decay that it could no longer bo used ; and that the Magistrate held his sittings in a room of tho local inn, for avhioh a: rental of £2O ■ per annum avas paid. But the proceedings, it may readily he imagined, could not be conducted avith the gravity and freedom from interruption necessary, since the bar was close at hand, and tho adjournments to it of plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses and spectators aa'ero frequent and sometimes invigorating. Tho hon. member not unreasonably thought that a neav Court-house avas called for; and ho put forward as an argument that it might also ho used for the public meetings of the inhabitants, avhite and Maori, who numbered about throo thousand, who avere now compelled to hold them either in tho hotel or in the open air. This is hardly fair to so old a settlement as

Hokianga ; and Mr. Williams was comforted by an assurance from Mr. Richardson that the subject was one amongst others under consideration of the Government, and that Hokianga would most likely soon have its Court-house. NATIVE CHIEFS COMPLAINING. A petition was in the hands of Mi - . Williams, the member for Mongonui and the Bay of Islands, on July 8, from three Maori chiefs of that district. It related to some grievances of which they had to complain, but being of an informal character it could not be presented. The Speaker suggested that the prayer of the petition might be communicated to the House in some other manner, which the hon. member will take the opportunity of doing. A LIGHTHOUSE ON CAPE MAMA VAN DIEMAN. “The Three Kings”, are hot'likely to have a lighthouse erected uj>on one or other of them. In answer to a question in the- House on July 8, by Mr. said the islands named formed the first land made by ships approaching from thenorthward, andspoke of his own experience within the last ten or twelve days of the necessity of a light there—the Commissioner of Customs stated the coasts of New Zealand had lately been examined as to sites for lighthouses'; and that the impression in the department was that The Three Kings would not be a good site for a lighthouse, but that Cape Maria Van Dieman would. SIR WILLIAM MARTIN. A somewhat curious episode occurred on Thursday in the House of Representatives when the Supreme Court Judges Bill was under consideration in committee. After the clause had been passed which increases the retiring pensions of the Judges, a message was received from His Excellency recommending an appropriation to increase the pension of Sir William Martin, formerly Chief Justice of this Colony, by the sum of £166 13s. Id. per annum. The motion was supported by some members, who thought the Government were only doing an act of grace in making the proposition, on the grounds that the pension was inadequate to the services of Sir William Martin, not in proportion to the increases to the pensions, of the Judges of the Supreme Court just voted, and not creditable to such a Colony as New Zealand, while since his retirement Sir William Martin had constantly given valuable services to the Colony, especially in questions involving titles to Native lands. It was as warmly opposed by others, wb 3 held that Sir William Martin was sufficiently rewarded by a Colony the population of which when he was Chief Justice was small ; that he had now been in retirement for twenty years ; and that other officers who had retired long ago had an equal right to have their position considered. One .member went so far as to assert that Sir !'William Martin had done nothing to. advance the interests of the Colony, but, on the contrary, much to injure them ; he was always in the interests of the Native races ; and was one of a small clique whose operations had been most inimical to the progress of the Colony. In answer to a question, Mr. Vogel stated that the amount of the pension at present enjoyed by Sir William Martin was only £333 6s. Bd., and the proposition was to make it £SOO per annum. The Premier added that the motion did not in any way emanate from Sir William Martin; the Government thought it was not to the credit of the Colony that a Chief Justice of New Zealand should be left in his extreme old age to “ vegetate ” on so miserable a pension as he now enjoyed; and the matter had been proposed to the House more by way of largesse than otherwise. As the Committee appeared to be at least considerably divided on the subject, Mr. Vogel withdrew his proposal, and the measure passed through committee without the new clause which the Premier had proposed to introduce. PROGRESS OF MARLBOROUGH. It was gratifying to hear, from the Superintendent of the Province of Marlborough—as the House did on Thursday—that the Province was progressing so rapidly that its Waste Lauds Act, passed seven years ago, already required considerable alteration to meet the improved state of industry in Marlborough. The Act, it appears, specially requires alteration, as regards the mining interests, which have grown greatly; and also as to the management of the forests, so as to enable the Provincial Government, when they let timbered land to the owners of sawmills, to insist on proper,' regulations as to the manner in which the forest should be cleared, the way in which, the woods should be protected from fires, &e. It was now necessary also, said Mr. Seymour, to enable the Provincial authorities to encourage, by grants of land, works of a public character; hud it was proposed to provide that lands, after having been exposed to sale at public auction, and not taken,up, might be so dealt with. The second reading was agreed to, THE WAIKATO RAILWAY. The question of the opening up of a portion of the Waikato district, by the construction of a railway from the Thames district to the Upper Waikato, was brought before the House by Mr. O’Neill,ofthe Thames, who reminded the Premier of the representations made to him by a most influential deputation from the people of the district, when he was on a visit to that portion of the North Island. Mr. Vogel remarked, in answer to the question of the hon, member for the Thames district, that the Government had taken the matter into consideration, and that no difference of opinion existed in the Cabinet from that which he had expressed when he was on the Thames. He would, however, prefer not to discuss the matter further at that time. DISCOURAGEMENT TO DISTILLATION. The offering of a- bonus, in the form of Differential Duties, by the Distillation Act of 1868, for the encouragement of Distillation in the Colony, 1 appears to have produced results not calculated upon by the Government which carried that measure (Mr, Stafford’s). In his short statement in proposing a motion in committee for the increase of the excise duty by one shilling on and after Ist July, 1875, another shilling on the same date in 1877, and another shilling in 1879, so that the duty should then be nine shillings per gallon, Mr. Reynolds stated that from the commencement of ’distillation in New Zealand to the 31st of March last, 291,160 gallons of spirits had been distilled, of which 268,689 were from grain. The losstorevenuehadbeen£B6,B42. Eor every bush el of grain-consumed the Colony was paying lls. Hr) per bushel. Yet this industry only gave employment directly to twenty-eight persons, —five at Auckland and twenty-three at' Dunedin. During 1873 the nett loss was £20,634. The petition of the Distillery Company of Dunedin, presented to the House, stated that they expected this year to use 70,000 bushels of grain, and if that were the case the revenue would lose £12,000. It was stated by M r- Macandrew, on the authority of a private letter from Dunedin, that £60,000 had been spent on the works of the distillery there; but it was urged by several hon. members that if the loss to the revenue was so enormous it would be better to . equalise the excise and customs duties at once, and get rid of Colonial distillation altogether, even though it should be necessary' to compensate some, of of the persons who would suffer from that course being taken. The committee so far, agreed with bis view of the case that they adopted the Government resolutions increasing the duty, though they had been informed that the imposition of one shilling more than the, present duty would most seriously interfere with the business of the distillers, and that any further increase would compel them to close their doors. A committee was afterwards moved for to consider the claims of persons who, might be injuriously affected by the resolution. ’ THE REAL OPPOSITION —THE COLD. The acoustic properties of the Chamber have been a frequent subject of discus-' sion. Sir Cracroft 'Wilson, ■ who spoke under the influence of a very severe cold, brought under notice the defeotive heating arrangements of the Chamber. - Addressing the Speaker, he observed, with quiet humor, that he dicl not know whether the Premier intended to deprive gentlemen who sat on the Opposition benches of their voices) but he could assure that hon. gentleman that unless something was done at once to render the atmosphere more tolerable, there would not be a voice loft in that part of the House in a fortnight. There was something intolerably wrong, ho was sure, with the fires outside. A number

of hon. members sitting to the left of the Speaker supported Sir Cracroft Wilson’s remarks, and it was rather curious to note that on the left of the chair most hon. members wore hats or caps—were literally “ out in the cold” —while Ministers and members who sat to the right of the Speaker were bareheaded, comfortable, and cheerful. The Speaker stated that he was aware of the state of the atmosphere of the House. The Colonial Architect had been sent for. On his visit the thermometer marked 48°, which was too cold an atmosphere to sit in ; but that gentleman was unable to suggest how the House could be better warmed. He (the Speaker) was not an engineer himself, and really did not know what to do. The subject was renewed some days afterwards, but nothing effective has been done. FINE OLD JAMAICA BUM. The Colonial Distilleries now produce not only whisky, but brandy, geneva, rum, &c.—any description of liquor, in short, to which the toper can give a name. When a member of a Jolly Nose Club calls for “drops of brandy,” and fancies he is drinking the produce of the vineyards of Trance, or at least Edinburgh whisky rectified in or near Paris, he is only putting to his lips the productof Melboumemolasses distilled in New Zealand. When he thinks he is indulging himself in that product of the distillation of juniper berries which assists in making the Dutchman phlegmatic and fat without robbing him of his acuteness in business, he is only imbibing the Dunedin article. So with his rum. And, yet, if he were to ask in any hotel, in any town of the Colony, excepting the capital of Otago, or, mayhap, Auckland, he would be assured, with a deprecatory shake of the landlord’s head, that he did not keep Dunedin whisky, much less Dunedin or Auckland brandy, gin, or rum. One hon. member spoke in the debate on the .distillation question of Colonial spirits as “poison ;” and others explained apologetically that numerous experiments had to be tried since 1868 to bring the process of distillation to perfection, and that “ now” good liquors were produced. However that may be, all Jolly' Noses will be glad, no doubt, when the last drop of the spirits distilled in the Colony up to this time have passed out of the market and from the bar. POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANKS. Mr. Swanson on Eriday found a grievance in the second clause of the P. O. Savings Bank. It limited, said he, the amount of deposits to £IOOO, but he wanted to see people put as much in the P. O. Bank as they might like. Mr. Pyke pointed out that at present there was an unfair competition between the banking institutions and the Government P. O. Bank ; in the former exchange had to be paid for the transference of money from one part of the Colony to another, bi|t under the rules of the P. O. Bank, £SOO deposited in Dunedin could be drawn out at Wellington without exchange. Mr. Vogel, however, explained the clause of which the Bill really consisted, and the measure was passed without amendment. It has,] however, been rejected by the Council. MIDDLE ISLAND MAORIS CLAIMS. ' A petition has been presented by Mr Taiaroa from Natives of the Middle Island, praying for the establishment of a Native Council in that island. A petition was also presented by the same hon. member from a Maori of the Middle Island, in connection with claims arising out of sale of lands some years ago in that part of the Colony. This petition relates to those extraordinary claims which the Maoris resident about Otago Heads have lately been putting forward. MR. LEMON AND DUPLEX TELEGRAPHY. The services of Mr. Lemon, of the Telegraph Department, were referred to somewhat handsomely in the House on Tuesday, when, in Committee of Supply, the estimates for the department were under discussion. Reference was made to his discovery of a system of telegraphy, known as the duplex, by which messages could be sent simultaneously in opposite directions by one wire; and to the fact that it is now in successful operation on a wire of the Cook Strait cable. It was pointed out that the discovery practically doubled the value of the cable, and was therefore of very great advantage, pecuniarily, to the Colony. The obvious wish of the members waSJ that Mr. Lemon’s discovery should not pass unrecognised, and the hon. member for Nelson (Mr. Luckie) remarked that if Mr. Lemon had chosen to patent his invention or discovery, it would have been worth a large sum of money to him. Mr. Vogel highly complimented Mr. Lemon, not only for the admirable state of his department, but for the devotion to the service which he showed. He mentioned, however, that the transmission of messages on what was known as the duplex system had been investigated and brought into practice in other countries, though to M r - Lemon the credit was due of having worked out the system on a plan of his own. When the estimates for the . department were presented, said Mr. Vogel,, he had .suggested to Mr,. Lemon that an increase of salary should be proposed for him. Mr. Lemon, however, said he did not wish such a proposition to. be made, as he had received an increase of salary last year. . The feeling of the House, however, was that Mr. Lemon was inadequately paid as compared with other heads of departments, and that his discovery of a mode of duplex telegraphy should be recognised in a substantial manner.: Mr. Vogel, therefore, promised to place a sum on the Supplementary Estimates. The Premier also stated that a special recognition of Mr. Lemon’s services, to which the Cabinet had agreed, should be appended to the annual report of the department. A TRAINING SHIP. It could scarcely have been supposed that any opposition would have been shown in the House of Representatives to the very modest proposal of the Government that a sura of £IOO should . be voted for a year's rent of the Mission Buildings at Auckland, and tjie schooner Southern Cross, to be used as a training school for those of the youths- of the’ Colony who require the discipline of such a school or ship to fit them for the -journey of life. 1 It was apparent, however, that the objection taken by some members was not to the principle of the vote, or the Bill—postponed for the day—the object of which the money asked for was intended to promote,’ Some of the representatives of Otago 1 reminded the House that their Province, maintained its own industrial school; others were troubled with doubts as to whether boys could be trained in a school on shore for a life 1 at sea ; some thought that the training-ship, being intended for the Colony, should be stationed in the harbor of,Wellington ; and there were members who thought that a larger vessel than - a schooner should be obtained, which would cruise along the coast, and bo stationed for a time in each of the principal harbors. Mr. Reynolds explained, with, some patience, the efforts he had made during the last two years to’, obtain a training-ship from the Imperial Government, and the circumstances under which ho obtained the very advantageous arrangements—as the country cannot but think—he has made for the property at Auckland of the Mission Society. He reminded the committee of the advantages to be derived from the combined use of the buildings on shore and the vessel on the water ; that the scheme was one for the whole Colony, and not for Auckland alone ; that youths sent there by the Magistrates would bo trained to trades as well as for a sea-faring life ; and induced the committee to agree with him. ESTIMATES NIGHT IN COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. . The discussion of .the Estimates in Committee of the House on Tuesday night appeared to have considerable interest for “ strangers”— after dinner. The ladies’ gallery was well filled,a large proportion of whom were as fearully and wonderfully industrious with the crochet needle or that of the white seam as the ladies of Wellington who affect the house of politics usually are when they honor the Chamber with their presence. ' The public gallery was also full, but the “lords” showed their perfect absence of interest in the subject by sending not a solitary member into the Council gallery. It was anticipated,that the only “battle of the estimates” for the session would bo ovor tho figures of the Native Department, but the Hon. the Native Minister found very little difficulty indeed in marching his estimates through the House as merrily as the Men of

Harlech marched. As to the volunteers, the Minister stated his determination was to make the volunteers effective or disband them altogether. QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTOBS BILL. The adjourned debate on the second reading of the Qualification of Electors Bill was resumed in the House soon after nine o’clock on Tuesday night by Mr. Andrews, who moved as an amendment that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. The Bill was warmly supported by Mr. Header Wood, who held that the time had come when the subject should be treated thoroughly, and from a liberal point of view. He thought it was too late, short though they expected the session to be, for the Government to bring in a Bill such as that which Mr. Gisborne introduced in 1872, but which had not since been heard of. After some discussion, the adjournment of the debate to Friday was moved about midnight by Mr. Stafford, and agreed to. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT. On the 21st instant Mr. Vogel made his Financial Statement to Parliament. It was accompanied by a large number of tables in the shape of appendices, of a very interesting character. It was listened to with the greatest interest, and received with marked approbation. The following summary contains all the salient points of the speech : Mr. VOGEL said that the statement would not only be shorter than usual, but it would be unprecedented on account of the prosperity which it evidenced. The statement was made at an earlier period than- had been customary, a result for which he was indebted to the untiring exertions of the Treasury officers in preparing the accounts. Last year, it was anticipated that the actual results of 1872-73 would leave a surplus of £3BOO, with which to begin the year. But it proved that there was a difference of £6OOO as compared with what was anticipated. This arose partly through under-estimating outstanding liabilities, and partly from some asseta- not-bcmg-vcalised.; the result being that instead of a surplus of £33tm,—Hicto—»uas_a._ deficiency of between £2IOO and £2200. As to loans, it would be remembered that during the last session an announcement was made that five per cent, debentures to the amount of half a million had been sold at £2 10s. premium. In January last, the Loan Agents invited tenders for one million pounds at four and a half per cent. He had been favorable to the change to four per cent., but he approved of the action of the Agents, since they had inserted a condition that theaebentures might be retired at any time after five years. The half million borrowed at 11 per cent, interest realised £9B. Making allowance for redeeming the discount, this was tantamount to borrowing at the rate of £4 12s. Gd. per cent. It was originally calculated that money for the Immigration and Public Works Policy would have to be borrowed at 51 per cent. It was gratifying, therefore, to know that the average rate of interest on the loans for those purposes yet negooiated, including allowance for recovering discount, amounted only to £4 14s. lid. per cent. It was right that he should say that the market for Colonial loans was not so favorable last year as seemed to be then promised. There was now no demand for such debentures in the Colonies. This arose through the demand for capital for local enterprise, but it had to’ be borne in mind in considering the question of the borrowing powers of the Colony. The aggregate amount of the public debt, after deducting sinking fund accrued, was £12,500,000, and the annual charge was £777,000, of which £554,000 had to be paid by the Colony, and £223,000 by the Provinces. After explaining the position of the various Loan Accounts Mx*. Vogel referred to the Land Fund. This, he said, showed a remarkably progressive increase. During the year 1869-70, the receipts, exclusive of gold revenue, were £209,000 ; 1870-71, £208,000 ; 1871-72, £336,000; 1872-3, £889,000; 1873-4, £1,038,000, The Post Office Savings Bank Account showed an increase of deposits of £137,000, the total deposits in those Banks being now £632,000. The revenue of the past year exceeded that of 1872-3 by £300,000, and it exceeded, the estimated amount by £239,000. This result was very large, when the proportion it bore to the whole amount of the revenue was considered. He could not state, accurately the increase that had resulted from the substitution of ad valorem for measurement duties, as there had not yet been sufficient time to classify the returns ; but there could be no doubt that the new duties produced more largely than the measurement duties. He was glad of this, both on account of the result and on account of the testimony it bore to the honor and truthfulness of the commercial classes of the country. He emphatically stated his opinion that taxation had not pressed harshly on the bulk of the people, and that, under the new system, the* duties had been more evenly distributed over articles of luxury than was the ease formerly. After deducting expenditure and liabilities, as well as allowing £20,000 for liabilities yet to come in, and paying off £45,000 of Treasury Bills, there was a balance at the end of 1873-4, available for the service of the current year, amounting to £207,000. Having explained at some length the position of the railways, Mr. Vogel said that the revenue of the country was increasing so much, simultaneously with the introduction of immigrants and the prosecution of public works, that there could' no longer be any doubt as to the success of the policy, and the Colony would be quite safe in taking over the main trunk lines of railway whenever it might be found convenient to do so, and in relieving the Provinces from all liability on account of interest on their cost. Apart from the revenue, which it was now; certain would , be derived from . the railways in excess of working expenses, the Consolidated Revenue of the Colony had: during the_ Hast two years increased by ,£412;000, or within, a few thousand pounds of the total annual charge which the' railways, when completed from one .end of the Colony to the, other, would entail. It must be pointed out, howeVer, that further authority for borrowing to complete the railways would have to be given.. However successful the Immigration and Public Works policy might be, it must be remembered that it was necessary to meet the colonial requirements before straining the credit of the Colony for other purposes. Consideration- of the fact: of the railways being pushed on more quickly than was originally intended, and of the .fact, that it 1 was not desirable , to encourage , too largely the construction of other works, imjieled the Government to decide not to renew their proposals of last year, as to Provincial borrowing. The Government were preparod to allow a limited amount of assistance to the Provinoes, but such assistance to be rendered through the Colonial Government, and to be charged either against the amount for the settlement of immigrants, or upon the Consolidated Fund, but with power to the Government to issue Treasury Bills, if found necessary, to meet it. As to the assistance to be given to separate Provinces, Mr. Vogel 'said-:. “First in regard to Auckland, the Government during the recess undertook to ask Parliament to allow the Province to raise £50,000, to be advanced from time to time, extending over a period of about three, years, for works' upon the Thames Goldfields. The security in this case, besides that of the Province, is of a specific and largo nature, and the importance of the. object to be gained is not to bo denied. The Government besides agreed, subject to the' approval of Parliament, to advance to Auckland on the securityof onehalf of its land revenue, to be impounded for, the purpose, £40,000 in sums of £6OOO every three months.. The Government propose to ask -Parliament to, carry out these arrangements. We do not propose to ask for Auckland any further loan beyond the power to devote some part of the immigration funds to objects directly promotive, of the settlement of immigrants. Taranaki, with its splendid lands, offers a field for the location of immigrants second to none in the Colony, and we shall ask for power to advance money to aid so essential a work. Similarly we propose to devote some funds to Westland and to Nelson. In respect to these four Provinces, it is to be remembered that they have not as yet enjoyed so much of

the direct benefit from the expenditure on immigration as they might he supposed to have the right to claim. Still, for money expended on works we propose conditions for repayment. I may add, also, that whilst we shall x-equire the approval of the Provincial Governments to any work undertaken, we propose that the works shall be carried out under the control or with the approval of the Public Works Department. What I have said of these other Provinces in respect to immigration applies equally to Marlborough. We shall propose for works in connection with the location of immigrants advances extending over two yearn, besides a loan of £4OOO to bridge the Clarence River. In regard to Wellington hon.-members will no doubt have observed from the correspondence that the Government during the recess endeavored to induce the Provincial Government to reduce the amount of borrowed money they desired. We agreed to submit for the approval of the Assembly a proposition to allow Wellington to obtain an advance of £66,000 on 80,000 acres of land to be opened to the free selection of small settlors. We shall ask that this plan be carried out. I may also mention incidentally that we propose to ask authority to construct proper Government Buildings in Wellington. Nelson’s case is the most difficult to deal with. That Province has long lagged behind in the race that other Provinces have run. It requires useful works, of which it is singularly destitute, and we, propose to lend to it, on specific security, £50,000, for works which the Public Works Department approve. From Otago, also, the cry for borrowed money has come. We cannot see our way to at present sanction the large sum that Province asks for, unless by way of purchase of the Winton and Bluff line. If the Provincial Government are willing, we will be prepared to propose to the Assembly to purchase that railway at a valuation, the payment to be made in four equal instalments, on the Ist February next, and the Ist February of the three following years, the money to be devoted to the construction of branch railways. Otherwise, in respect to Otago, and in respect to Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay, I have only to say we propose to continue their trunk railways, and to aid them in locating the, .immigrants they so wonderfully absorb.” The Gbvcrmcuiuic_x)i:oppscd not to undertake any further goldfields works until some of those already begun had been completed. They proposed to appropriate an additional £60,000 for roads in the North Island, and to continue the same plan as formerly by allocating to the Middle Island Provinces a like amount. Out of the sums that would. thus become payable to Canterbury and Westland, it was proposed to put the road between Christchurch and Hokitika into good order. As to the Provinces; Mr. Yogel said : —“ The case of the Provinces is not, however, dealt with by merely exceptional advances for public works. There are three Provinces which labor under the great disadvantage of contributing largely to the colonial revenue without enjoying an adequate Provincial revenue for local purposes. The Provinces which enjoy large, revenues feel no difficulty in contributing to the Colonial revenue, for whilst they make the'contributions they enjoy out of their own revenue local expenditure. But the case of some Provinces is simply constant contribution—a constant disheartening tendency to the result so familiarly explained by the slaughter of the bird which lays the golden eggs. As a mere matter of policy, it is wise, in the midst of the immense increase of the Colonial revenue, to specially remember some of the Provinces which contribute it, and which are at present at a great disadvantage as compared with other Provinces. It is not wise to let parts of the Colony languish under a sense of wrong, to allow . them to feel they are still becalmed, whilst the favoring breeze removes from their sight the vessels originally becalmed with them. The condition of the three Provinces of Auckland, Westland, and Nelson, as compared with the other Provinces, is lamentable, and requires from the surplus of the Consolidated Revenue the attention of the Legislature.,Aucldand’s case is far the worst. It will take that Province some . years to work itself round, and to enjoy the future which I firmly believe is still before it. Westland deserves great sympathy. Weighted with a great public debt, its Government, eagerly anxious to develop it, find themselves hampered in every direction. Westland has proved a mine of wealth to the Colony. It is folly to desert it. The west coast of Nelson is somewhat similarly placed : Nelson will, however, now have the means, as it appears its rulers have the inclination, to use those means to become a prosperous Province. These considerations impel us to recommend that but of the year’s surplus a special allowance, in addition to that already provided by the scale of capitation allowances, be made to Auckland, Westland, and Nelson, at the rate of £25,000 to the first, £IO,OOO to the second, and £SOOO to the third. ’When hon. members : study the whole of the circumstances, they will not, I think, grudge the proposed aid.” Passing on to the expenditure for . the current year, 1874-5, he said that the essential principle of this Budget was different , from that of any previous one, its great object being to prevent the Government recruiting revenues by resort to borrowed monies. In fact, the present Budget had for its object to relieve loans at the expense of the Consolidated Revenue. He proposed this year to take over and to charge upon Consolidated Revenue all the cost of interest, inclusive ,of : interest upon works in course of construction, for which other provision had. been made. He proposed also to bear on the Consolidated Revenue half of the Defence Expenditure, and half '■ the amount to be paid as subsidies to Road Boards. Further, he proposed to pay off an additional £IOO,OOO of Treasury Bills: Taking into consideration the number of officers of the Civil Service who were inclined to leave the sendee on account of opportunities to benefit themselves, and the hardship to which .they were subjected through the increased cost of living, the Government had decided to recommend, as a matter of expediency no less than of justice, that a special allowance should .this year be made of 10 per cent, to all officers whose salaries did not exceed £l5O a year, of 7J per cent, to all officers whose salaries exceeded £l5O but did-not exceed-£3OO, and of 5 per cent, to all those whose salaries exceeded £3OO but did not exceed £SOOI To do this would absorb £15,000 of the surplus. Adding these various items to the amount of the capitation grant, the special, allowances , to the'.Provinces, as well as the ordinary,expenditure and per-’ raanent charges, the total expenditure for the current year would be £1,630,000. This would include £271,000 to be devoted to the reduction of Treasury Bills current, and to the payment of amounts which might under exist-1 ing authorities have been charged to loans, thus justifying the statement he had made that the main feature of the budget was to relieve loans at the. expense of the Consolidated Revenue. He would, explain, when he made his - ; Immigration Statement, the further authorities that would be required for immigration and for railway'purposes. His colleague the Minister for Public Works would in a day or two explain the various circumstances respecting the construction of the main trunk lines. He must, however, state that what he meant to include when he spoke of main trunk lines which the Colony would bo justified in accepting as Colonial fines, were those lines which had been already authorised, together with such other fines as would ' complete existing gaps between ICaipara and Auckland, New Plymouth, Napier, and Wei-, lington, as well as those necessary to complete throughi communication between Picton, Nelson, Hokitika, North Canterbury, and the West Coast. The total ■ revenue for, the year, estimated with moderation, was £1,496,000. Adding to this the surplus with, which the year was commenced, there would be a total of £1,704,000, and, deducting the total ex-penditiu-e, there' would be a surplus of ever, that that surplus was liable to be largely trenched upon by Supplementary Estimates, In conclusion, . Mr. Vogel urged that while the country was confidently pursuing its policy of progress, they should wisely husband its strength, and not have larger recourse to borrowing than was absolutely necessary for carrying out the policy which tile House and the people had adopted.