POLITICAL GOSSIP. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, August 28.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 399, 4 September 1889, Page 3

POLITICAL GOSSIP. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, August 28.

PROTECTION FOR FEMALES. In the Council yesterday the Offences Against Persons Act Amendment Bill was considered in Committee, when, on the motion of the Hon. Mr McLean, the following addition was made to clause 2 (age ot consent clause): — "Provided that it shall be a sufficient defence to any charge under this Act, if it should be made to appear to the Court or jury before whom Uie charge shall be brought, that the person so charged had reasonable causo to beliove that the girl was of or above the age of 11 years ; provided also that no prosecution shall be commenced for an offence under tint, Act more than one month after the commission of the offence." The Bill as amended was reported, the third reading being fixed for next day.

FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE' COMPANIES BILL. I This Bill, as amended in the House of Representatives, again came under the consideration of the Legislative Council in its amended state. The Bill was condemned, particularly Mr Downie Stewarts new clause as to conditions of policies and receipts having to be approved of by the Governor-in-Council, and a motion for disagreement with this was agreed to on the voices. Hon. Messrs Oliver, Peacock, and Stevens were appointed to confer with the managers of the Lower House with respect to the amendments.

CRIMINALS PROTECTION ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The amendments made in this Bill by the Lower House were yesterday agreed to by the Legislative Council, after some debate.

NEW BILLS. % The Government yesterday introduced infco the Lower House and read a farst time the Thorndon Esplanade (Wellington) and Timaru Harbour Board Land Bills. In the Council the .Fort of Thames Definition and the Poutufcu Jurisdiction BilU were read a second time, the latter being referred to the Native Affairs Committee.

PURCHASING NATIVE LANDS. In the first session of the present Parlia" menb the Government promised to inquire as to what; Native Lands in the Maketu (Bay of Plenty) district, remained in the hands of the natives. If the inquiry proved satisfactory then they would take steps to purchase a certain amount as a site for a township, if it could be obtained at reasonable prices. The Government have obtained the reauired information, and they find that the best portion of the land has already passed into the hands of Europeans, and what remained was not such as would obtain a good price. They cannot, therefore, undertake to obtain the site.

OUR BANKING. The Colonial Treasurer, in reply to the Hon. Mr Larnach, said last night that he would be quite ready to consider the claims of all the incorporated banks equally doing business in the colony, when making any change in the present banking arrangements of the Government, or when depositing moneys on paid deposit.

ON THE WARPATH. ' As I informed you yesterday lie intended to do, Marsden Thompson brought his grievance about the Otago Central "Railway before the House yesterday afternoon. It will be remembered that in the "New Zealand Tidies " a statement appeared to the effect that the hon. member for Marsden had offered at a caucus of supporters ot the Otago Central to support the line conditional upon his receiving the support of the Otago members for the Puhipuhi forest tramway. He repeated in the House yesterday what I had already telegraphed about the statements being incorrect, stigmatising it as a " deliberate untruth ;" that there was not the " slightest foundation for it. >- He did not know if he could use any stronger parliamentary language than by discribing it as a deliberate Invention. He then repeated what he had said at the caucus, to the effect that he had only declared his support ot the Otago Central as it -was a Government policy Bill, and conditional that all their similar measures should be carried through, and not one gone on with and the others sacrificed. The information as published by the newspaper must have been supplied by some hon. gentleman, on whose conduct in giving in false news he commented very strongly, declaring that his name should be known. Mr Fish testified to the accuracy of what Mr Thompson had said. He felt strongly on the subject, and declared it was extremely wiong for any^ lion, member to supply such a statement'to the press. Mr" Pyke bore out Mr Thompson's statement. Mr Humphries said the member for Marsden's explanation was a clear statement of what took place at the meeting. As regarded himself, he expressed regret that the report of which complaint was made had been put in circulation. Mr Kerr had read what had appeared in the paper, and declared that if the exact •words were not used, Mr Thompson had certainly implied them. He went on to say that, according to a newspaper report, Mr Thompson had accused .servants of the Government of di&honourable practices, and before he left the House he should have those contradicted. Mr Thompson : " Your authority?" Mr Kerr : " Did the hon. gentleman say he had said that and more '! I can't hear him." Mr Thompson: "I want you to state your authority for that statement. It is untrue." Mr Kerr: "It appeared in the newspapers. It was telegraphed all over the colony." Mr' Thompson : "It is perfectly untrue. It is as untrue as the statement about the Otago Central." Mr Downie Stewart bore out Mr Thompson's statement about the meeting, aud said he had made it perfectly clear that he was only prepared to support the line as one of the policy Bills of the Government, and that he was not prepared to support one hne unless all the others were carried through also. It was very unfair to take his words as Mr Kerr had done. Mr Tanner endorsed Mr Downie Stewarts remarks. The question then dropped, though it was very evident that Mr Thompson felt very strongly on the subject, and would have liked to have gone further if he had seen his way to do so. NORTH ISLAND TRUNK RAILWAY. The Acb that provides for the application of £120,285 of the North Island Trunk Railway loan to the purchase of native lands along the proposed route of the railway was read a second time yesterday. , Mr Mitchelson was in charge of the Bill, .and explained its provisions. £20,285 of (the amount is to be applied as a refund to the Public Works Fund for lands purchased and leased out of that fund within the area of the railway. The

balance is to be applied in completing land purchases at present incoinp'ete, and making further land purchases within ' the area of the railway. Oufc of the lands so acquired afc least 2K per cent, are bo be sot apart as an endowment for primary education within the education district in which such land is situated. The Bill met with the genoral approval of the House. Mr Goldie strongly urged the Government to finish the railway to the tunnel. Mr Ballance would liko to see 5 per cent, of the land set apart for the ondowment of primary education. This the Minister for Public Works said the Government would piobably agree to. NATIVE LEGISLATION. The Native Land Courts Act Amendment Bill, the first of a batch of native Bills that have passed through the Legislative Council, came before the House last night, and obtained anything but a favourable reception. Almost every one of the speakers condemned the measure. The Act appoints an administration officer. The followingclau.=e, providing for the validation of certain past transactions, was particularly severely treated : — "Deeds executed before &c first day ot July, 1887, purporting to alienate whether by way of transfer, lease, or otherwise, undivided shares in land, shall, if the certificate of a Trust Commissioner bo endorsed thereon, be deemed to have been valid and eflecbr.al conveyances of such undivided shares, *and may, after division or partition under any Act for the time being in force in that behalf has been effected, be registeied by tho Distiict Land Registuir ; notwithstanding that at the time any such deed was executed the alienation of undivided shaies in land was prohibited by any Act of the General Assembly, or that part owners of the land had not the power to pell or make other disposition of their undivided shares therein, or that the owner purporting to alienate such undivided shares was not registered under any Land Transfer Act as proprietor of such land, or that such deed does not contain a precise statement of the estate and interest intended to be conve3 r ed: Provided that when the certificate , of the Native Land Court or a ,judgo thereof to the completeness of any sale, or whon the approv.-il of the Native Land Court or a judge thereof was required by law for the completion of the transfer intended to be effected by such deed, it shall be sufficient if the certificate of the Tiust Commissioner has been endorsed upon such deed. Pro\ided also that nothing in this section shall validate or give effect to any transaction which has been declared invalid by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, or to any deed purporting to convey or transfer any share in land in respect of which there is any restriction or alienation existing at the time of tho production of any such deed for iej?istration. All deeds heretofoio registered, which would, if this provision had been then in force, have been deemed to be validly registered, shall still be so considered. The word ' deed ' in this section includes, in addition to its 01 dinary significations, any memorandum purporting to .be made under any Land TransfeuAct, or any Act relating to native land."' Mr Taiwhanga announced his intention, of stonewalling the measuie in Committee. As the i'Jative Minister intimated fcbe intention of the Government to lefer the Bill to the Native Affairs Committee for consideration, the second reading wasagreed to. The Native Lands Fraud? Prevention Acts Amendment Bill, which provides that the words "to not more than twenty natives " in Section 5 of the Native LanJs Fraud? Preven- j tion Act 1881, Amendment Act, ISSB, shall not apply to land owned before the pas-.-ing of -such Act, was read a second time and was leferred to the Native Affairs Committee,

STATE BANK. Mr Verrall's motion with respect to the advisability of having a State bank was again brought up last night. i\lr Verrall refused to withdraw the motion, and on 1m calling for a division, it was negatived by 42 to 18. Those who voted in favour of a State bank were Messts Verrall, Taylor, J. Mackenzie, Taiwhanga, Varata, Anderson, Lawry, Seddon, Kelly, Carroll, Perceval, Fi&h, Joyce, R. Ree\es, Feldwick, and Buxton. WAITOMO CAVES.

The report of Mr Humphries, Chief Surveyor in the Auckland district, upon the i Waitomo caves, has been printed and pre- j sented co the House. The lepoiD contains a detailed description of the caves, the matter of which lias already been published in your columns. Mr Humphries in his report says: "The caves, if maintained in their present natural condition, will doubtless draw a constant stream of visitors, and every care should be taken to preserve them from being despoiled or in any way injured. I fear the natives of themselves will not be able to prevent it. Already persons have written their names, selecting the most delicate portions. If this kind of thing were allowed to continue the natural unimpaired beauty would be irretrievably marred ; so that, if possible, the Government should either purchase the site of the caves, or in some way, with the consent ot the natives, assume the control and management of them. "' As I informed you before, the Government had authorised Judge Mair to appoint* someone to the charge of the caves Not the least interesting portion of the report is a plan of the caves ; aUo a scries of well-executed lithographs ot the excellent photographs of the caves taken by Mt J. R. Hanna.

PETITIONS. Mr Lawry has presented a petition from Mr Napier and some 200 residents of Devonport against the Devonport Cemetery Bill. The Tauranga East Coast and Hot Lake District Railway Company arc petitioning Parliament for the refund of stamp duty. The Public Petitions Committee has decided that Eliza C. Chamberlain, of Parnell, widow of the late Hon. Chamberlain, of Parnell, has no claim against the colony with respect to the loss she had been put to through the Waibemata County Council wrongiully selling a portion of her land for rates not due by her. They say it i8 a question between the petitioner and the County Council. The petition of G. W. Phillips, of Waeparera, Auckland, praying for the extension of his Crown grant, has been referred to the Government for consideration. August 29.

BUSINESS YESTERDAY. There was an exceptionally short list of questions on the order paper yesterday, only ten being down for the consideration of the Government. After these had been got rid of, the Government introduced a Bill to give effect to the recommendations recently made bv the Committee of the House on the Naval and Military Settlers' and Voluuteers' land claims. The first Bill on the orders of the day, the Chattel Transfer Bill, was then considered in Committee, which took aconfciderable time.

DEPARTMENTAL SAVING. It was stated by the Premier, when considering the Customs estimates, that the Customs Department vote had been reduced by £867, though provision was made in it this year tor threo clerks hitherto charged to the Audit Department, and who now carried out the Customs audit work. Thus there was practically a saving of £1,500. Mr Goldie observed that the reduction had been brought*aboub by putting cadets to do the work for which men had heretofore been employed. The Commissioner of Customs agreed that that was so, and said that the tamo difficulty had occurred throughout the service, because until of lato years a number of men had been om ployed to do work for which only cadets wero required.

CHRISTIE PETITION. When the Chairmin of the Public Petitions Committee brought up the report of the Committee on the potition of Christie, of Oamavu, which endorsed the administration of Judge Waid, Mr Seddon moved to have it icad. The effect of the finding was not generally known, and was listened to with breathless intoresfc by the JrJouso, and was gieeted with cheers by a very largo number of the members, whose sympathies were evidently with the Judge. >

CRIMINAL EVIDENCE BILL. The following members of the Legislative Council have been appointed as managers fco confer with the representatives of the Lower llouso on the amendment made in thoCiiminal Evidence Bill: — Dr. L'ol'enj Mr P. Buckley and the Attorney-lleneval.

KATE OF INTEREST ON BILLS. Mr Valentine says that the 1 eduction of the rate of interest allowed to be charged on dishonoured bills, judgments, etc., to 5 or 6 per icent. would greatly relieve borrowers, and would eneourago settlement, and the general business of the country, i The Premier, in replying to Mr Valentine's request to have this reduction effected, eaid that the Government had not given the matter any consideration, but it would receive their attention during the recess.

WORKMEN'S LIEN BILL. The Government have prepaied this Bill, but the Premier is afraid it cannot be introduced this session, but if it is not thou it will be one of the first measures introduced next session. The Bill has been printed, and will be circulated dining the recess among those persons affected by it.

J 'IIO POSED TRUST BOARD. The Public Accounts Committee have biought up a further tepoifc recommending that if a trust board is appointed to deal with the investment of the funds of the Post Office Savings Bank, an annual report of its proceedings should be presonted to Parliament.

THAMES HARBOUR. Mr Caclman yesterday pre&ented a number of petitions from land -owners whose properly abuts on the rivers or Thames and Piako, protesting against the inclusion of any portion of these river s within the limits of the Thames Harbour

CHATTELS TRANSFER. This Bill, which had been considered by a §elect Committee of the House, was committed labb nighb. A conbideiable number of amendments had been piopobecl by the Committee, an,d these were in the main adopted. The Bill was reported as amended, lead a thiid time, and passed. The lawyers of the House had a regular field-day over thib measure, it coming within their own paiticular domain.

FIXE INSURANCE BILL. Sir John Hall. Mr Downio Sfccwai t, and the Hon. Mr Richardson, Minister of Mines, have been appointed as managers to confer with the Upper House with respect to the amendments made by , the Lower House in this Bill. A number of members have received communications from their constituents, urging the passing of the Bill, amendments and all.

RETRENCHMENT. Mr(!oldie is known as one of the mo^fc sticnuous advocates of retrenchment, and the following question which he intends asking the Piemicr is in that direction : — " Why Colonel .Roberts and Major (Jascoyne. who retired from the public service in 1888, and who received as compensation the sums of £805 11s and £401 4s 9d respectively (the former of whom has since been appointed Resident Magistrate, at a salary oi £350 per annum, arid the latter as storekeeper, at a salary of £200 per annum), did. not lefund the compensation which they had received for loos of oflice when the new appointments were made, as others have done."

LAND SCRIP. Mr Cad man has given notice to ask the Minister of Lands it lie is aware that cases have arisen where people have been deprived of portions of their land sciip be cause theie is no piovision to issue re&idue scrip in cases where the full amount is nob exerci&ed ; and will ho introduce the necessary legislation to correct this anomaly '! NEW PLYMOUTH HARBOUR. A deputation representing the Plymouth Harbour Board interviewed the Piemier last evening. They -wished to know if it were possible to obtain from the colony some assistance in preventing the entrance to the harbour being silted up by .sand. It was represented that if a loan of the Wesbporfc dredge could be obtained for a month or two, and assistance to the extent of about C 2,000 could be obtained, a clear channel could be dredged, which could afterwards be kept open by the Board with its own small dredge. It was stated that no further accumulation was likely to take place in consequence ot rubble frame which was lately constructed. It is understood that the result of the interview was not at. all satisfactory to the deputation.

KUMARA SLUDGE CHANNEL. The Goldßelds Committee have again cone sidered their report on the Kuraai-a SludgChannel which was referred back to thorn. Their report which will be brought up this afternoon practically endorsed the previous report, only excising the portion rellecting on Mr Gow, the mine manager, as the Minister had taken the responsibility on himself. The report recommends that the matter be referred to the Public Accounts Committee. A motion proposeu by the Minister of Mines in Committee, endorsing his action in the matter, was lost by 8 to 3. August 30.

SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS It stands to reason that if the session is t. be closed within a reasonable period many of the Bills at present betore the House must bo sacrificed. This is a periodical sessional event, and is generally known a? " the slaughter i of tho innocents." The Government have : already instituted the slaughtert his session, . for on Monday the Premier intimated to the House what Bills up to the present the ! Government had determined to let drop. i It is usual for the Government to do tho . slaujrhteiinff bhem&elves, bub this session there is to be a new departure, nil tho local

and private Bills having been, referred to a select committee, who will decide which of them it is advisable Ihe Government should j take up and have passed this session.

DEVONPORT CEMETERY BILL. Those Bills that »r,e opposed will nob be pve&sed, bub Mr Monk inbencis making a vigorous abberapl bo have bhe Devon porb Cemetery Bill kept on, bub ho says bhabbhe amendment he pioposes bo introduce with leferenco to the baking a poll of bhe ratepayers on bhe question meets all obiecbions. The

ONEHUNGA CEMETERY BILL is sure to go, and Mr ({oldioiik organising opposition to the Wellington School of Design Bill which, if ifc passes, will have the efl'ecb of taking some £450 annually for four years from the primary education fund. The Committee will bring its re port on bho Bill on Monday, and all that afternoon and probably the evening as well will bo devoted to advancing the favoured measures as mucjj as 'possible.

RAILWAY 1 SLEEPERS. Mvßamlinhas hadariother interview with' Mr "McKerrow about the< classification of pui in bleepers. ■ j&r'McKorrow had referred the question of making 1 two, classes of these sleepers to Mr Makwoll; 1 who objected in toto to this beintr'done. It seems that if a put iri sleeper is ono inch or even half an inch under tho dimensions required by the department it is rejected, and io was these that Mr Hamlin wished claa°ed as second grade. The price at present given, £16 4s per ] 00, will be continued, but Mv Hainlin informed Mr MoKerrow that that would not pay the owners of put iii to cut into sloepovs, and that the supply must shortly become slack at that piicc. Down iSouth they use biich sleepeiv, tor which they pay from Is lOd to 2s lOd each. Of course these cannot be compared to puriri for s^erviceableness.

A POLITICAL NOVEL. ]\!r W. L. Rees has been in Wellington on ousiness contiecLcd with some of hi& bchemes for _ the paot six or seven weeks. He goes on {,0, 0 Napier to-day. Fie informs mo that when in England he commenced a novel entitled "The Sack of London," dealing with the labour and capital struggle, and other political questions of the present day. The date of the incident is fixed for 1894 or '95. Mr Rees ha& made good progiess with the work.

TRIENNIAL LICENSING COMMITTEES BILL. The following 1 section of the Bill which, on the instruction of the Governor, Inul been made by '£he Lower House, was passed by the Council yesterday : " Eveiy vacancy created by such removal (mado by Government for ii regularities) shall bean oxtraordinary vacancy, and the Governor shall appoint bomc other person to fill such vacancy, who shall hold ollice only until the next election."

CHINESE IMMIGRATION. The Attorney-General moved the second leading of the Chinese Immigration Acts Continuation Bill in the Council yesterday. Ho explained that this Act was necessitated owing to the measure of lasLsession only being: in foi cc for one year. It had beenascertained that the piesent Act had worked well, and theiefoie it was that the Government broughUlnwnthcßill.malringitapermanent Act and restricting the Chinese immigrants to one for e\eiy ICO tons of a ves&el which might bwng Chinese to the shores of the colony. A large amount of correspondence had parsed between the Imperial (iovemment and' the Government of China, from which it appealed that the present Act had worked witHcfufc friction, and therefore the colonial Government thought it desirable that the Bill should pass. The motion for the second reading was agreed bo by 16 to 10.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA. On the motion of the Premier a Commibtec of bhe House was appointed yesterday to consider what stops, if any, it is desirable to take to assist in the establishment of responsible government in Western Australia. The members of the Committee are Sir Harry Atkinson, Sir George Grey, Sir John Hall, Mes&ra > Ballance, Larnach, Seddon, Dow nie Stewart, Scobie Mackenzie and Mills. The only serious objection to bhe resolution came from Messrs Bruce and Samuel, the former urging thab it was an unwarrantable interference in the ailairs of Great Britain, which had spent hundieds of years and millions of money m planting colonies, each of which, as soon as it felt its feet, wanted responsible government and showed an inclination to "cut the painter."

AUCKLAND SHIPPING CHARGES. Messrs Stone Bros, and other Auckland shipowners, master marineis, shipping agents, etc., petitioned the House tin's session complaining that bho iate& levied by the (Jovcinment for light dues and port charges are excesshe. The Public Petitions (M to Z) Qommibtee recommend that the petition be referred to the (Jovcrnnient for the consideration of the best method of equalising 1 the charges paid by vessels in the coasting trade.

POST OFFICE SAVINGS DEPART" „. MENT. The resolution of the Public Accounts Committee in iavour of placing the investment of Post Office Savings Bank moneys in a Board came up for discussion in the House yesterday afternoon. Mr Allen thought that the Government of the day was >more competent to deal with funds than an irresponsible Board. The Premier taid he had agreed to the report because it would relieve him as Treasurer ol some responsibility. Still ho did not think the reform would accomplish the objects aimed at. If the Lower House carried the resolution he would support it. Sir John Hajl denied that the Board would bo irresponsible. Many of the present investments were unsatisfactory, and the Boarcl would provide a remedy in that respect.' The appointment would also be a protection to the Government and relieve them from considerable pressureMr Seymour pointed out that the appointment of a Board to manaee the Government Insurance Department had proved eminently unsatisfactory. The Hon. J. Ballance answered that the Insurance Board was a political combination, and thus he accounted for its wantot success. He approved of the appointment of a Board in the present case, and pointed out that the House would not relinquish all control, as the Premier would piobably be a member of the Board. After some further discussion the resolution was carried by 34 to 24.

DISBANDED VOLUNTEERS. ~lt appeai-3 that the "Waitemata and Onehunga Navals, which have been disbanded, are in arrears to their tailors in consequence of their being disbanded before obtaining their annual capitabion, and as the officers as well as the men hare been discharged, it appears that the too-confiding tradesman has not one against whom he can take action. Mr Goldie, after interviewing oh their behalf the Minister without any definite results, has now put the following question upon the order paper for to-day upou the subject : — Whether the Government are uuaio Hiat the Waitemata and Oneliungii Naval Volunteers obtained uniforms

upon the pledge of payment being made j upon the receipt of annual capitation, and i will the Government upon being assured 1 that such was the case pay capitation for the period previous to disbandment so as to enable them to meet this and any other outstanding liability.

AUCKLAND DEPRESSION. Some of the settlers, it would appear, are not satisfied with the vivid colours with which Mr 11. Thompson painted the condition of his district, and so havo sent Mr Goldie the following telegram from Kamo : — " It is reported that IVIr R. Thompson stated in the House that settlement had not boon as good in his district for many years as at present. Is he aware that iirst-class beef at the last public sale held here, did not realise one penny per Ib, with large quantities un&old '! Last week's returns from Auckland give first-class fresh butaer 8d per lb, fresh eggs 7d per dozen, less carriage and commission. Please make this public."

ONEHUNCA CEMETERY BILL. This Bill \vah> second on Hie order paper for yesterday, bub Sir Maurice O'Korke was too indisposed to take the chair, so the Bill was robbed of its main supporter. It could nob have got through, especially as tho b'tonewallcrs of the measure last week: had been fortified with telegrams against the Bill, abating that the Mount Albert, Mount Eden, Mount lloskill and Eden Terraco Road Boards were opposed to its parsing,' but they were saved fiom any trouble. The Premier suggested that all the Local Hills should be rcterred to tho Local Bills Committee to report to the House those that were unopposed, ib being understood that members who had any objection to a Bill should at once inform the Chairman of that Committee of that fact.

DISBANDMJ3NT OF L'UBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. Tho Government gob very great kudos la^b session because they announced that they would, during fche recess, abolish the Public Works Department, but bo the surprise of members, it turns out that thov have done little moie than pive it a new name, viz., the Public Buildings Department. Some 33 of the 30 officials who were transferred from the Public Works Department to other departments, have found a home here. Members of the House who are members of Education Boards were considerably alarmed when they found that ab 3 o'clock a.m., a day or two ago, when many had retiied wearied out the £25,000 set aparbfor school buildings had been transferred from the Education Department to the Public Buildings Department. The other evening they demanded an explanation from tho Minister of Education when in Committee upon the question, and he said they only proposed to prepare plans for the boaids. Mr G oldie objected to anything of the kind being done, saying that plans for an important public building in Auckland were prepared in the South, in the specifications of which provision wasmadeforsnowgutber.'f, The absurdity of bhife would beapparentwhen he told them that snow never fell there, and that Government buildings had been and were being erected in Auckland in which kauri was ignored and totara used simply through the ignorance or prejudice of those preparing the specifications. He said it appeared to him that the whole thing was being done to retain these men whom they took credit for dismissing last year, and thus create another big department at Wellington Ultimately the Minister of Education said that they would distribute the vote amongst the boards, and if they did not care bo have the plans bliey need not. An attempt was also made to remove the sum set apart for industrial schools from under the education vote ifc being contended that bhe sum ot £13,221 seb apart for bins purpose unduly swelled ib, whilst really the major portion of ib was bhe food, clothing, and management of the institution. The attempt to remove it failed, but there is a good deal to be, said especially in iace of the fact that writers in the Auckland press have been contending of late that the cost of education was £600,000 per annum, very nearly £200,000 more than it really s. j

OTAGO CENTRAL. Auckland member? are not quite satisfied with the comments of the Auckland press upon the above subject, because they appear to have run away with the idea that tho intention was to add other works to the Bill, whilst no such thing wa&meant,alLhonghthe amendments would lead poisons to believe that such was the case. The facts, I believe, are these. Soon after the Public Works Statement came down, the promoters of the Otago Central secured a majority in favour of the second reading ot that measure. After a time they saw the mistake they had made, but feeling bound by their promise they were compelled to vote as pi'omi«ed. In the meantime, Mr Guinness moved that the second reading be made for that day six months. After some lobbying it was found that this could not be carried, and so tho amendmont of Mr Smith was arrange to take place, when Mr Guinness asked to be allowed to withdraw his motion, so that the Bill might be read that day six months. The Government looked upon it as an evidence of weakness upon the part of the opponents to the measuie, and allowed it to be done without a murmur, little dreaming that they wero releasing at least a dozen votes which would be used against them ; but such was the case, as the division afterwards proved, but I am assured, that many who voted for this amendment had no intention of supporting any Bill that would have increased the works to bo included in the Bill.

AN INJUSTICE TO SCRIP HOLDERS, A curious anomaly in the law relating to volunteer land scrip was brought bo light by Mr Cadman yesterday. Thab gentleman stated thab one of his constituents in buying from the Government land to the value of £5 had deposited £60 worth of land scrip, bub had been unable to obtain a refund of the difference, the officials informing him that there was no provision for doing so. He asked that it such really was the case, the Government should legislate so thab people should nob lose simply because they did nob care bo exercise bho total value of their scrip ab one time. The Minister of Lands said that scrip holders should take care to select only land where the full amount of their scrip could be used. Mr Cadman asked whether he was to understand thab in the evenb of a man with £50 of scrip purchasing land worth only £10 he would lose the other £40. The Minister of Lands said it was so.

A CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION. Hungerford and McKay, who were contractors for the construction of the North Breakwater in Grey mouth Harbour, lately petitioned the House for compensation for damage sustained through the destruction of part of their work and machinery by the German steamshi p G erda, which was wrecked on the spot. They estimated their loss at .C 2.480. The Public Petitions (A to L) Committee report that " the petitioners' claim will be equitably met if the Government contribute £1,000 towards making good the loss. '

! THE NEW HEBRIDES TROUBLE Mr Valentine intends to ask the Govern- ! menb whether in view of the reported recent action of France in the New Hebrides they will at once communicate with the Governments of Victoria . and New South Wales, so as to ascertain what steps they intend to solicit the Imperial Government to take in reference thereto.

OUR FORESTS. Mr Carroll wanted the Government, with a view to the encouragement of forestry, to remit the property tax chargeable on all lands planted with foiest trees until such time as the proprietor derives any revenue therefrom ; the Government further to move the local bodies to forego all rates and taxes on similar lands for the same term. The Premier said he was very desirous of encouraging the conservation of our forests, and has promised to consider during the recess if anything can be done in the direction indicated by the member for' the Maori East Oi&trict.

REDUCING POSTAL CHARGES. The Premier w^ll not promise to amend the postal regulations so as bo allow valuation and nice noticed of. local bodies to pass through the post in open, envelopes as circulars 'at the' halfpenny ' rate. He has promised, however, that the question will receive the consideration' of the Government during the reoess.

BJBLE IN SCHOOLS. A meeting, of the Bible-m-schools party was held yesterday afternoon, and attended by Mr Fulton (presiding), Messrs Downie Sccwarfc, Harkness, Cowan, Ander&on, Joyce, Ro°s, Tanner, Hod^kinson, T. Mackenzie, Buxton, and Stewart. Me&srs Rhodes and JBruco were also accounted for. Mr Tanner submitted a draft Bill which ho had prepared, which was approved, and the hon, member for Waipawa was requested to introduce it early next session.

PUBLIC WORKS AMENDMENT BILL. The first portion of the Public Work 8 Amendment Bill was under review in com"' mittee lasb night. Mr Duncan moved to strike out clause 3, providing that particulars are to be inserted in the claims for compensation, but this was lost on the voices. Clause 5, claimant not to recover for matters nob particularised in his claim, was struck out, as was clause 7, liability of local authority over road to continue notwithstanding the alteration to the road, etc.. Progress was reported and the House adjourned.

THE NATIVE BILLS. The Native Affairs Committee had the Native Bills under consideration this morning. They passed the Native Frauds P>evention Acts Amendment Bill with several amendments, the only one of any importance being one which provides that the words " to not more than twenty natives !> in section 5 of the original Act in not to apply to lands owned before passing the Act of 1888 not exceeding 5,000 acres in area held under certain titles. They also made some progress in the Native Lands Court Acts Amendment Bill, reaching clause 9, of which 7, 8, and 9 after consideration were postponed Sir Cieor^e Grey has given notice of a resolution with reference to this Bill, providing for obtaining: certain information respecting certain deeds which the Act is to validate. Each item of information is required and if the resolution is passed it means hanging up the Bill for <his session at. least. The resolution was submitted to the Speaker to see if it could be considered by the Committee. He decided that it rested entirely with the Committee. Ifc will bo considered when section 14 of the Bill dealing with the validating of certain unlawful dealings with native lands is reached. August 31.

LAND SETTLEMENT. A loni: discussion upon the conditions of land settlement was raised in the House I yesterday afternoon by a question asked by Mr Joyce on the evils of the ballot system. The Minister of Lands, in his reply, pointed to the provision for a deposit by every applicant against the duplication of applications by members of one family or party under the old tender system. On the contrary, people could apply for as much land as they liked on one deposit. The statement that people had hod to go away because they could not get land, was absolutely untrue. ,In Wellington pro\incial district alone there were 16,000 acres ,ot settlement land in the market, and about 70,000 acres under the small grazing fun system. The present system was being fairly tested in this , district, where there was an almost unhealthy demand for land. The keen competition v, as almost limited to especially valuable sections easily accessible. The leason why Mr Anderson, a Victorian farmer, whose case had been mentioned, did not get suited was because he could not secure one of these sections. Mr Marchant (who moved the adjournment ot the House in order to discuss the matter) claimed that the very making of the deposit to which the Minister alluded gave an immense advantage to wealthy men. To illustrate the speculative spirit abroad, he pointed out that at the last meeting of the Wellington Land Board a member of the House had applied for leave to transfer a section which fell to him by ballot. Members from all parts of the colony having criticised the existingsystem ■pro and con, the Minister of L.mds said it was only in Wellington that theic was any unusual domand for land at present." A good deal had been said about dummyism, but there was legitimate as well as speculative dummyism. For instance, -the case where a man who was anxious to obtain a section got his wife or some other member of his family to apply for it, was not much to be deprecated. The trouble existed under the ballot system with average land. It was only with choice blocks that any difficulty occurred, and if these were dealt with by auction for cash the difficulty would be removed. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment, and so under the standing orders is indefinitely postponed.

THE PROPERTY TAX. Reporting upon the petition of Jas Hislop and others of Dtinedin for the abolition of the property tax, the Public Petitions Committee (A to L) recommend that it should be referred to the Government for consideration.

CHINESE IMMIGRATION. The Chinese Immigrants Acb Amendment Bill was safely engineered through Committee in the Council yesterday afternoon, and was subsequently reported with a verbal amendment, read a third time and passed. The Hon. Dr. Pollen objected to the Bill being made a permanent one, and wished its duration extended only to the end of I next session.

MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS' BILL. It is understood in the lobbies that the Committee of the Legislative Council to which the Medical Practitioners' Bill was inferred have completed their laboiu - 5x5 x and will report to-day or on Monday to the oll'ect that il is not dcsiiablo tbixii the Kill should be proceeded with.

PETITIONS. The Public Petitions Committee (A to L) has no recommendation to make in the petitions of James Buck, of Auckland, and Stephen Weare, of Hokianga,' who prayed for relief from alleged provision of judgment by the Resident Magistrate ab Hokianga. CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONS. Pensions are proposed by the Government to be paid as follows :— W". C. W. Wriggs, Public Works Department, £140 a year from the Ist of August, 1889 ; and W. F. Cheesemen, Land and Deeds Registry, £154 from Ist October, ISB9. MONDAY'S SITTING. It has been decided that the Government will meet at 2.30 on Monday afternoon to consider 15 unopposed local Bills, and then proceed with Government business. ' DECLINED WITH THANKS. The joint Library Committee, at a meeting held to-day, resolved "That the offer made by an amateur artist (Captain Barclay) to present an oil painting, said to be a portrait of the ex-Governor, Sir Wm, Jervois, be declined with thanks." This is the picture Mr W. P. Reeves complained of early in the session. PARCEL' POST TARIFF. Mr Harkness has tabled the following question to ask the Postmaster-General : — If he will favourably consider the advisability of reducing the present parcel post rates in the direction of allowing 21b parcels to be forvrarded at the same rate as that now charged for lib, or that the latter may be sent for fivepence and the former for sevenpenoe, with the object of making theparcel posb of more advantage to the public. THE AUSTRALASIAN SQUADRON. Mr Hutchison wants the Minister of Defence to say whether he will consider, with a view to the adoption of the suggestion, that arrangements be made if possible with the Admiral of the Australasian fleet, so that at next Easter a sham attack from the sea on some fortification point in the colony may be made and met under conditions approximating a real engagement, so that pome test be afforded of the adequacy or otherwise of our defences. WORKS ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The committal of the Public Works Act Amendment Bill occupied the Housefrom the time of meeting in the evening till long after midnight. The clause to which the greatest amount of opposition was offered was one compelling a landowner or occupier to clear gorse off the roads fronting their properties at the bidding of local bodies. The Government had, however, a substantial majority in support of the Bill in every division. After the reduction of penalty for non-compliance with the order from £5 per day to £1, the clause was agreed to. Obstruction was then offered by Mr R. Thompson, Mr Fish, and a few others, but it was discontinued on the Minister for Public Works agreeing to re-commit the clause if the House desired it. Clause 17 providing that if a local authority wishes to construct a bridge or establish a feuy or ford that will benefit an adjoiuing district, the Government may in certain cases compel that district to contribute to the cost, was also discussed at length, but ultimately agieed to.. After a slight amendment the remainder ot the Bill was slightly altered in matters of detail, and one or two new machinery clauses were added, afterwhich the Bill was reported, and the House rose at 1.30 a.m. NEAR IT, VERY NEAR IT. What very nearly approiched a scene occurred in the House last night during the discussion in Committee upon the Public Works Act Amendment Bill. Mr Seddon had chath'ngly remarked to Mr Hobbs that "The prayer of the righteous availeth much," when up jumped Mr Fish with the remark that, like his Satanic Majesty, the member for Kumara could quote Scripture for his purpose. Mr Sey mour, the acting Chairman of Committee, demanded the withdrawal of the remark, but Mr Fish persisted that he had said nothing improper, and complained that when Mr Taylor had requested him (Mr Fish) " not to make a jackass of himself " a few evenings ago he was not reproved. The Chairman replied that he had deemed that term offensive, and ordered Mr Taylor to withdraw it. Mr Fish said he had not heard the withdrawal, and repeated his objectionable lemaik about Mr Seddon amid cries of "Chair." The Chairman remarked with some dignity that the ruling of the chair was being defied, and asked Mr Fish, "Do youintend to withdraw the words or not?" To the general surprise the member for Dunedin South replied, "No, 1 do not,"' and relapsed into his seat. Mr Seddon remarked that it the words were not withdrawn the Committee would undoubtedly maintain the authority of the chair, and if time were given to the hon. gentleman tor reflection, he would doubtless withdraw the words objected to. At this time Mr Fish rose and stated that if he had said anything unparliamentary he would withdraw it, but he went on to complain that other members had been allowed to interject most offensive remarks to him without being pulled up. Yet all that he had said was, not that the hon. gentleman was like his Satanic Majesty (laughter), but that he was as capable of quoting Scripture for his purposes as his Satanic Majesty. Later on Mr Seddon said he would not answer Mr Fish's reference to him. He preferred the honourable member's abuse to his praise. ' • Mr Fish retorted that he recriprocated the feeling. He would sooner be dispraised than praised by the elect of Kumara. All he wished that gentleman to do was to leave his private 'actions alone in the future, and if he attacked him to attack him publicly. Speaking with some warmth, he charged Mr Seddon with having privately attacked him in an unfair and ungentlemanly manner. At this stage the usual supper adjournment was taken, but the words did not cease here, and the crowded strangers' and ladies' galleries were witnesses of a nob very edifying spectacle that did no credit to the member for Dunedin South. *

LOCAL BILLS.The Local Bills Committee yesterday had Bills before the House under consideration. The Waverley County, Wairoa Harbour County, and Waiapu Bills are postponed to next session as no serious inconvenience would be caused by this. The Borough of Brunner Enabling, Wellington School of Design, Oamaru Harbour, and Onehunera and Devonporb ' Cemetery Bills are the only opposed ones, but the Committee recommend they should be proceeded with, bub from the number of objections received it is hopeless that the Wellington or Auckland Bills will get i through./ .

GISBOR^E HARBOUB BILL. The Committee uvgently recommend th& putting of fcho Gisborne Bill through, as in its amended, form ib only gjvea power to a, . di-tricfc to rale itself to pay the interest on. loans, and \t not passed, tho S^d' Wus will have to be repudiated,.