PERSONAL RECRIMINATIONS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1772, 4 August 1888, Page 3

PERSONAL RECRIMINATIONS.

Mr Beeves proceeded to say that the Government were to blame for the farcical performance that had been going on for several hours, - they having given facilities for the pa isage of a measure which no private member could ever carry through the House. The Government might as well have expected the Midland Kail way to be carried by a private member. He charged the Premier with haying deliberately held his hand, and with aiding stonewalling tactics, in the hope that when the Estimates were brought down for consideration members would be so exhausted that they would go down on their knees before him (the Premier) and allow him to push the votes through, sooner than have a continuance of such tactics. The Government had better adjourn the House for ten days. The attitude of the Government had not been at all creditable, but the House would be credited with what had taken place by the Premier’s organs and by his agents outside. The Colonial Secretary said that the last speaker had taken upon himself to explain the attitude of the Ministry and to tell the House what motives had actuated them. He advised the hon. gentleman, before taking upon himself an expression of opinion with regard to the attitude of the Ministry, to wait until he occupied the benches himself. By that time he would be able to explain the motives of his Ministry and what their intentions were. He reminded the hon. gentleman that generally speaking ability went in the inverse ratio ta one’s effrontery. Probably when the member for St. Albans had shown a little more modesty and confined himself to what he knew something about be would carry more weight than when he travelled beyond his depth. At the commencement of the session the Ministry had placed procedure as the first Order of the Day; but was the member for St. Albans prepared to assist them to carry these rules ? Mr Reeves: That is what you’ve been working after: hence the waste of time.

The Colonial Secretary said that the hon. gentleman was again shifting his ground. With him the exigencies of the moment were secondary to a regard for the truth. Mr Beeves: The hon. gentleman has been suggesting that I have been guilty of falsehood. The Colonial Secretary: I made no such statement. I should he sorry to do so.—(Cries of “oh.”) Mr Beeves ': You inferred it. You had not the pluck to aay it out. The Colonial Secretary: I will not call it pluck, but impudence, and that is the difference between the hon, gentleman and myself. He thinks pluck necessary in order to attribute improper motives to other hon gentlemen, but my name for it is impudence and not pluck.—Star correspondent.