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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4475, 23 July 1875, Page 2

The most important matter which came before the City Council yesterday afternoon, was the memorial from the Chamber of Commerce, presented by a deputation under the leadership of Mr. Levin. ' The subject matter of the memorial is of such a character as to entitle it to the most earnest consideration of the Council under any circumstances, but when brought before the Council by a body so particularly representing the mercantile community, it should receive more than ordinary attention. As the Hon. Mr. Fitzherbert aptly put it the other day, Wellington is "the corner shop," and the prosperity of the city must depend in a very great measure upon the manner in which the affairs of the port are managed If shipping is to be subjected to all kinds of inconvenience, and the masters of vesseb rudely treated when they arrive, it is not difficult to foretell the result—the " corner shop" will lose its trade. The City Council must deal with the matter of wharf accommodation promptly. Bad streets may be put up with, but neglect of the mercantile interest will not be tolerated. In the House of Representatives yesterday Mr. Johnston drove home a nail into the provincial coffin. He made some statements which show how unfairly local resources are appropriated under the provincial system. His constituents find that under that system the amounts obtained by sales of waste lands within their district are habitually spent outside the district, instead of being expended within it in the construction of such necessary works as roads and bridges. Indeed, as Mr. Johnston jocularly put it, the proceeds of land sale 3 within the electoral district of Manawatu might as well be given to the Emperor of China as to the provincial chest, for all the good the Manawatu people get out of them. Mr. Thomson, who represents the intelligence of the Clutha, is evidently one of those men described by Sydney Smith as incapable of seeing a joke, for he seriously combated Mr. Johnson's reference to the Emperor of China.

Session after session complaints have been urged as to the wretched accommodation afforded the Press in the House of Representatives, but without having had the slightest effect upon those whose duty it is to see to the matter. Improvements have been effected in certain parts of the House, by which ease and comfort are assured to the Representatives; but instead of the reporters benefiting by the new arrangements, their duties have been rendered for more irksome than previously. The Speaker's new canopy adds much to the general appearance of the House, but its utility is questionable, and so far as the reporters are concerned, it is a positive obstruction to them in their work. The Ministers' table, and a number of the adjacent benches, are totally hidden from view, and as it is from this part of the House that importantspeeches continually pour forth, the trouble given to pressmen may be more easily imagined than described. In the first place, to find out the name of the speaker is a task of no ordinary difficulty, but even when that is accomplished, after a series of gymnastic feats calculated to improve the muscles, performed over the front of the gallery, the reporter is little better off. The canopy completely breaks the sound of the voice, and the opening remarks having been lost, it is impossible to get a correct idea of the speech. Unless some alteration be made, Ministers and other members at the right-hand side of the chamber must not expect to be reported without inaccuracies. If the Speaker would give up his gallery for the use of the Press, a little relief might be afforded. Hon. members in other parts of the House would also serve their own interests by raising their voices above the conversational tone.