PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1083, 9 October 1879, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

Q Wem.inotox, October 7. The Legislative Council met to-day to pass mi imprest Supply Bill, and v/iiile waiting for "the r.jcasure to be sent from the Lower House, disposed of some formal and unimportant business. Sir l'\ D. Bell gave notice to move, when affairs were settled, for .1 Select Committee to examine into and report, with a!) infornip.tiou and details, upon all railway contracts let by tl-.o Ministry since the close of the session of 1878. It was ordered that all petitions not treated during the short :;ess*Mn should be treated as though now presented. An Imprest Supply Bill (L 200,000) being received, Colonel Whitmore said that as hia successor was not present, he would, ill the interest of the public service, take charge of the Biil. The measure then passed through all its stages. Sir F. D. Bell, on behalf of Mr. Hall, asked the Council to adjourn till Tuesday, as Mr. Whitaker, who was to lead for the new Government in the Upper House, would not arrive till Saturday. Colonel Whitmore regretted that the new Government had been obliged to go otitsico the Council's rank.--, and create a new Councillor expressly to represent the Ministry. He esteemed Mr. Whitaker, but had hoped that Sir F. D. Bell or Dr. Pollen would have succeeded liini. The Council adjourned at 3.45 p.m. till 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. In the House of Representatives today, In Committee the sum of L 200,000 was granted to Her Majesty for the public service for the vear ending 30th June, IS3O. 011 resuming, the resolution was further dealt with by tiio House. L:?ave was i iri-ar.tcd to the IVemit.-r to introduce the Imprest Supply Bill, No. 2, which passed through all i;s .-:f:igi-;. Mr? Hall ;i: it v.hen ti;o House "last nu-t he i.ad stated iii.it he was forming a iic.v G.jveriiiiient, in accordance with the ret:;ic.-.c made to him by t'.o Governor. Since then he had succeeded so far as to be able to furnish the names of a number of gentlemen to hi 3 Excellency, who had been pleased to receive then:. They were : Mr. Whitaker, seiir., who would take the portfolio of Attorney-General ; Mr. Hall, Colonial Secretary ; Major Atkinson, C'oliTiial Treasurer and Commissioner of Customs: Mr. Oliver. Minister of Public Works ; Mr. Rollt-ston, Minister of Lands, Immigration, and Education ; Mr. Bryce, Minister for Ixative Affairs ; and Mr. Tair.oana, wiio would take ofricc as Maori member of the Executive Council. That still left an ollice to be filled up, and they thought it desirable, as soon as they had a sulticicnt number to enable them to proceed with publio business, to do so. It would be seen that provision had yet to be made for the Postmaster-Generalship

:;Ikl the Minister • Mines. The.'io i;:-0 not yet been decided upon, but tney would be "filled up at the earliest possible date. When the Ministry was completed there would in all probability be a re-dis-tribution of some offices which they hoped would be so arranged as to include members representing the different districts throughout the Colony. They had considered it desirable to ask the House to agree in an adjournment till Tuesday so as to enable them to mp.ktj themselves acquainted with the state of public business, and arrange the measures they desired to submit to ilie House. No time wouid be lost in getting the preliminary work done, but they feai-ed it would be Tuesday before they could possibly be in a position to meet the House, and proceed thereafter with the despatch of business. V\ hat fney desired was to go on with the business at the earliest possible moment. In view of that opinion they considered they would best consult the interests <<i all concerned by asking the House to adjourn ;vt its rising till Tuesday. Mr. "Montgomery said that was more than could"reasonably Vie expected. Mr. Hall had been -in Wellington for a considerable time, and must have made himself acquainted with the state of public business. Members were anxious to' go on with the work, and what had been stated was not sufficient to justify an adjournment. He suggested that it should be made till Friday, Mr. Macandrew proposed that the adjournment should bo from day to day. When the new Government took their seats he intended giving notice of a very important motion. If the mover did not see his way to an adjournment till Friday. he would move a formal amendment to that effect. Mr. Wakefield spoke- in favor of the motion. No ground had been shown by Mr. Montgomery for the suggestion he had made. Mr. Hall had only been two weeks in Wellington, and during the whole of that time he had been closely occupied in attending to debates in the House. The suggestion, considering the grave importance of yetting the measures proposed brought forward well matured was unreasonable. It would be merely los 3of time to meet on Friday. He had seen seven or eight Ministries go out of office, and had never known an objeotion of the kiiid to be made before,

Mr. Shcehan then moved that the House adjourn till Friday. Mr. Reader Wood seconded the amendment. He considered the practice had onlv been for a new Ministry to take their seats as soon as possible, and then, if necessary, to get a few days' adjournment for consideration. The new Government should be prepared, to give the House an indication of what they intended doing by Friday. In the face of the indication »iven by Mr, Macandrew. they should be prepared to take their seats at once. Mr. Brandon spoke in support of the motion. Mr. Hall, replying to Mr. Wood, said that what he implied in his speech was most extraordinary. What it meant was, that before a Ministry was actually constituted they were to be assailed by a vote of want of confidence—before the House knew what was the nature of the confidence asked. Had the Government been rcallj' anxious to prosecute the business of the country, they would have resigned ncst day, and not have taken from Friday last to do so. What was wanted was to get a division at onco, they (the Government paity) well knowing that a number of their supporters wevo absent. It was impossible for them to come down with a statement on Friday next. They wanted to furnish a full statement of their policy, and he trusted that under the circumstances the amendment would not be pressed. Mr. Moss said he understood the new Government was going to adopt tne policy already proposed. This was the first he hnd heard of a new policy being contemplated. Ke could soo no reason for the delay asked. Mr. Moorhouse contended that the short suace proposed was not unreasonable for the purposes required. It was monstrous to expect that the attention to the policy demanded under the circumstances would • be sufficient with the short adjournment proposed. A whole week was not too much. time. Ho spoke as a thoroughly independent man, as he did not know which of the new parties lie would support ; still he wished to see fair play, and thought the motion did not propose anything at all unreasonable. Mr. Murray spoke in favor of the motion.

Mr. M'Lean said it showed o great- want of courtesy in refusing to agree at once to the adjournment. Mr. Saunders also spoke in favor of the motion. _ Mr. Ilislop spoke in favor of the amendment. Several other members having spoken, Sir George Grey said thai the question had been raised as to his not having given in his resignation to the Govrnor sooner tlian he did. The amendment affirming the no-confidence wa3 carried on Friday night ; the House did not meet on Saturday. but the resignations were made on Monday. He heard from the Governor that the new Ministry promised to take office at noon to-day, and he did not know how that promise had not been carried out. The other side should have taken the vote as it was passed, and attempted a reconstruction of the Government. If they could not succeed, then they should have advised the Governor to send for some one else to attempt such a reconstruction. ITe (Sir G. Grey) had endeavored to act in a strictly constitutional manner ; it was Mr. Hall who had not acted constitutionally. He ought to have told the Governor he had tried to reconstruct the Government and had failed. He believed Mr. Hall would not deny that he did attempt to reconstruct the Government and failed ; therefore he (Sir George Grey) maintained the House was justified in having no confidence in him. The now Government should have come to that side of the House to-day. He (Mr. Hall) could take the benches that night, and then it would be open for him to-morrow to ask for a further adjournment if he thought fjt. If they had the confidence they professed to have, they would have no difficulty in obtaining it. There must be some other reason for their desire for the adjournment than what appeared on the face of the motion.

Major Atkinson said it had been the j invariable custom to get such an adjournment as that asked. He had himself agreed, when the present Premier turned him out of office some time ago, to an adjournment of a week, so as to enable frim to complete his arrangements for taking office. The constitutional usage was that a no-confidence resolution, no matter what its wording was, involved the resignation of every member of the Government against whom it was carried. When he was defeated" some two yera's ago, the motion was carried at 10 p.m., and that very night he gave iu his resignation to the Governor. The fact was that a large number <>f the Government party had pledged themselves not to measures but men. The measures referred to were never intended by the Government party to pass into law. What they wanted was to keep them dangling before the country. They on their side were quite prepared to get those measures passed into law. It was not the business of the country that was in view, but the jeopardising of the party on his side of the House that was aimed at by the proposal for adjourning to Friday. Still he would advise his friends to accede to the adjournment till Friday, but lie wished it understood that they could not possibly be able to go on with the business on that day. At 4.30 p.m. the House adjourned till Friday.