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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4861, 20 October 1876, Page 2

Mb, Thomson, M.H.R., may be congratulated on being possessed of certain qualities not common to every man. He appears to regard the sacrifice of self as a pleasure, if we may judge by the unconstrained and cheerful manner in which he made a spectacle of himself yesterday afternoon, as he has done on many former occasions, for the amusement of others. He proposed that the next session of Parliament should be held in Dunedin, one of his principal reasons being that it would be nice. There must have been a deep meaning in that expression, which the hon. gentleman let fall carefully, as if half afraid of the effect it was calculated to produce on the heads of the Assembly. He said he had also discovered that Government expenses would be lessened tp an enormous extent. They could abolish Hansard, for instance, although that was a necessary institution in Wellington, in consequence of the wickedness of the morning paper, which did not do the party (of which he is so great an ornament) the justice they were entitled to in the way of reporting their speeches. Mr. Thomson probably forgot for a moment that it is the duty of a newspaper to consult the feelings of its readers. On all important subjects every member of the House is reported in the Times as he speaks; on the other hand, it is not found necessary to record what Mr. Donald Reid has justly termed the twaddle of certain hon. gentlemen. We hope Mr. Thomson does not consider himself one of the number whose eloquence it has been found necessary to condense in the parliamentary reports. The other considerations which induced him to wish that the sessions should be held in Dunedin or in the other large cities occasionally were not less remarkable than those already mentioned. In a general way the people would be greatly benefited, and the minds of members would be very much improved. The gentlemen who supported the proposition seemed, for the reason last stated, to stand very much in need of a visit to Dunedin, or some place still more select that might be indicated. , Mr. Barff was influenced by an unhealthy prejudice of Welling-' ton city. In fact, it appeared that he would have preferred a seat on hot bricks in a warm climate to a seat in that House on its present site. So great did his horror of this city appear, that it is really distressing to imagine what the state of his feelings must have been during his stay here. Mr. Manders, whose powers of mind are no less striking than his impressive style of delivery, supported the motion because his nasal organ had been offended by offensive smells emitted from Wellington drains. There was a good deal more said on both sides of the House than the subject was worthy of, as there could be only one decision arrived at after all. Finally the question was put and negatived, sufficient time having been wasted to satisfy, the Opposition, Mr. Thomson’s regard for the improvement of his pv\m mind and the minds of other members, and Mr. Barffs views of Wellington, to say nothing of Mr. Manders’ sense of smell.