INJUSTICE TO SCOTLAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1797, 2 October 1888, Page 4

INJUSTICE TO SCOTLAND.

Dr Wallace, a Scotch member, said in his place in the Imperial Parliament on the 6th of last August ;~ Scotch business had a right to three weeks of the legislative time, but the First Lord of the Treasury had offered them a few hours at the fag end of a Wednesday afteruoon. Such an arrangement was not only an injustice tD Scotch business, but insulting to the Scotch nation, and, he ventured to say, was insulting to the common sense of mankind. For the neglect of Scotch business a good deal of blame attached to the Lord Advocate, who carried too far the maxim that it was a wise man who

spoke little. Comparing the right hon. gentleman's emoluments with his pilblic utterances, and dividing his income by his outcome—(laughter) he found that it cost them _ about a half-crown a wo/d or a shilling for every second syllable; so that it might be said of him as was said of a still more distinguished compatriotofhis who came up to London some time in " the last century, that while in London, and especially in Parliament, he could not open his mouth but" Bang went eaxpence." (Eenewed laughter and cheers.) Why should the right hon. gentleman be so afraid of the First Lord ? To use a phrase which had become classic, why did he not " make it hot for old Smith and Co.?" (Laughter). Whenever he met the First Lord he should button-hole him and "hold him with his glittering eye" and ding into his ears, " First Lord, where are my three weeks ? " He should make his life a burden to the right hon. gentleman until he promised to come down handsomely in the matter of Scotch time. There was another person responsible in this connection who was unfortunately not present. He meant the SolicitorGeneral for Scotland. It seemed to him, when he saw those law officers Bitting together, that while the Lord Advocate did nothing, the Solicitor General for Scotland was there to see that he did it. The Solicitor-General had not opened bis mouth once this session on purely Scotch business, but he was put up by the Government in the capacity of a saucy street boy to chaff the heavy conscript fathers of the front Opposition bench, (Laughter). '