POLITICAL NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 83, 16 July 1910, Page 6

POLITICAL NOTES.

WARMING THE CHAMBERS.

(By Telegraph—From Our Parliamentary Reporter).

Wellington, Thursday Sight.

Cold weather is turning up members on the ground floor of Parliament. There are no less than 70 doors, a fact which accounts for 70 draughts, more or less. At any rate, with the wind in the south a cold, creepy sensation comes over a man and makes him talk a little jerkily. In the Council the session opened with gas heaters, which were denounced by general consent as too sic'keningly warm and promptly removed from the Chamber. To-day the icy chilliness of the region was relieved by a notice of motion report by the House Committee demanding electric heaters and the return of the offending' gas installation, "in case of emergency.-" The notice made the members feel like the man who had tried to hold a fire in his hand by thinking of the frosty Caucasus, the frost was there right enough, but the hand held no fire with the Lord. THE ETERNAL LAND PROBlE:,:.

It was the last day of the debate and very lively. The Hon. W. Jones tried hard to draw the Attorney-General by advising the Government to have nothing in the Land Bill but the renewable lease, inaugurating a democratic policy worthy of a Liberal Government. Dr. Findlay sat like a graven image and smiled a little in the cold manner of images when the Speaker went to talk about the Maori policy of sugar and blankets and the Maori wars. There was a startling interruption from an old war veteran. "Fatten them first," broke in Major Harris, and the Council shouted with i laughter at the dry humor of the lion, gentleman. The Hon. Mr. McGowan let himself go about the land. There was no tenure like the old Hebrew. "I would give a. freehold for fifty years on that tenure," he cried out. "Would you limit the area?" asked Dr. Findlay, with pencil upraised, as though taking a note, and there was more laughter. "Make it renewable," interposed a leaseholder, and Mr. McGowan stoutly said, "No, let some other fellow have a chance." His speech was breezy and Hibernian, far better than anything he ever did in another place. Evidently he has recovered his spirits. It helps one to understand the reasons for his retirement from the Government 18 months ago.

TALKING KNYVETT.

The Lower House has talked Knyvett chiefly and those in the lobby are headshaking at the concession to have the matter re-opened.

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

Civil service reformers are glum today over the set-back administered to, Mr. Herdman over his request for a Royal Commission. THE FARMERS' PARLIAMENT. There is much talk about the Farmers' Union Conference and the vast amount of ground it is covering. I fear there will be little of it cultivated by the House this year. PAPER CURRENCY.

People are wandering what the Premier meant when he promised to leave to the House "the Government decision in the paper currency question," 'but they remember that those who expect nothing are never disappointed. THE FIGHT PICTURES. A favorable answer has been received by Mr. T. E. Taylor, who askec the Prime Minister whether the Government would pass legislation to prevent moving pictures of the brutal prize fight between Johnson and Jeffries being exhibited in New Zealand. Sir Joseph Ward replied: "Special legislation dealing with one case is undesirable, and general legislation applicable to this and similar cases has already been prepared and will shortly be submitted to Parliament." FLYING MACHINES.

It is not considered advisable to at present offer a prize for ,a flying machine for military purposes, states the Primp Minister. The interests of New Zealand in this matter would seem to be best served by awaiting the adoption of a military flying machine by the Home authorities.