Wellington News.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 223, 30 August 1884, Page 2

Wellington News.

FUNERAL OF COLONEL LECKIE. CHIEF JUSTICE PRENDERGAST. MR. H. D. BELL. (Per Press Association.) Wellington, August 30. The funeral of Colonel Leckie took place yesterday, with full military honors. In reference to the rumour that Chief Justice Sir Jas. Prendergast did not intend to return to the colony, letters received from him by the recent mail, state that he hopes to be in New Zealand about Christmas. Mr. H. D. Bell, Crown Prosecutor, is seriously ill, and his condition is precarious. [from our own correspondent.] Wellington, August 30. In the debate last night on the want of confidence motion, Atkinson distinctly stated that he had strenuous efforts to have a coalition Ministry with Vogel, who had repelled him. In reply Vogel did not deny it, but did not think private negotiations should be brought up there by Atkinson. Wakefield, replying to Stout’s charge that that was only the continuous Ministry again, said Vogel himself was the father of continuous Ministry, and had founded it on his own political views, but in 1877 a serious change took did away with continuous Ministries altogether.

Mr. Buckland speaking on the pre-emptive right said that Sir George Grey advocated it when in power, now he did not; and he attributed the cause of that change to his connection with the East Coast Native Land Settlement Company. Wi Pere likened the Premier to Friday in Robinson Crusoe. He had spoken to him on certain land questions, which made him appear as scared as Friday when witnessing Crusoe shooting. He charged the Premier with wanting to lock their lands up by pre-emptive rights. Mr. Locke rose and replied. Wi Pere had made his statement and charge because he was one of the largest shareholders in a large company on the East Coast, which laid a claim to 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 acres of land, and which was intended to cut up. Wi Pere was a large shareholders in that company, and had derived great profit from it. That was why he opposed the Premier.