PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1923, 30 July 1889, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Stonewalling continued until 11 o'clock on Saturday night, when an adjournment was obtained. ' We have culled the following incidents of the debate from various sources : GRJY FAWKES. Mr Joyce, M.H.R. for Lyttelfcon, spoke for eight hours. Mr Taylor followed till 1 o'clock, when an adjournment till 2 o'clock was made for lunch, after which he resumed his discourse and meandered along in sweet and gentle tones till a quarterpast 5 o'clock* He compared Mr If'Arthur, the leading spirit in the country party, to "Guy Fawkes," and had to withdraw the obnoxious term amid some [excitement. Upon concluding he was applauded by his party, who also paid the'same tribute to bis successor, Mr Richard Reeves, who had sent the following letter to the country members : NO TOUT. "Thursday, 25th July. " My Dear Sir,—-I write to request that you will nob consider me as being one of the supporters of the Representation Bill now before the. House*

My reasons for declining to support the Bill are mainly based upon its avowed character as a Tory measure. It is openly admitted by the Bill's leading advocates that its chief intent is to weaken the Liberal party in the large towns, and throw political power into the hands of squatters and large landowners. It is admitted that the chief supporters, of the Bill are also the. strongest enemies of the Liberal party in past years, and to which I have always belonged. A very objectionable feature in the measure is proposal to treat towns of 2000 and upwards as part of country districts, and to give them the adyaii-. tage of the country quota, to which ohjj no principal whatever are they ; entitled.' I wish also to enter my strong protest, against the tyrannical and unjustifiable haste with which, the Bill was introduced and debated before the ink was dry on the copies circulated, and with' which it is now being forced through by-main strength before the constituencies have any chance given them of fairly understanding its provisions. —I am, &c, "RICHAED H. SEEYES. " To A. K. Seymour, Esq., chairman of Country Members' Committee." adjectives. Mr W. P. Reeves, of Christchurch, took up the running after Mr Reeyes (Inangahua) sat down. He applied the Mowing adjectives to the Bill:—; Absurd, arbitrary, anti-domocratic, arrogant, artful, annihilating, bungling; l baneful, burdensome, baffling, cruel, s clumsy, captious, dictatorial, disturbing, damaging, dilatory, destructive, evil, extreme, exasperating, exacting: evasive, flimsy, feeble, factious, foolish, greedy, grasping, harsh, hateful, hasty, humiliating, improper, illiberal, ill-timed, ill-tempered, injudicious, involved, intimidating, intolerant, intolerable, inconsiderable, irrational, iniquitous, irritating, inequitable, immoraljintrasive, meddling, muddling, nauseous, nonsensical, oppressive,, outrageous, quibbling-,- reactionary, revolutionary, rasping, ridiculous,' tyrannical,'-,» traitorous, > Tory, unjust, untimely, useless, unsettling, ungenerous, unkind, unfair, unreasonable, unrighteous, unstatesmanlike, unexpected, unhappy, : un- ' principled, ungrateful, vexatious, vacillating, wrong. 'He then pro- L ceeded to justify the use of these epithets, but had only got to "dictatorial " when he sat down, after speaking for two hours. He mad© a good > deal of fun at the expense of Mr Lance. He observed that he saw that gentleman stretched ;'out on his seat, making himself as comfortable as the circumstances and a Kaipoi rug would permit, reading a novel, doubtless of Parisian origin and possibly / dubious morality. This chaff, I need Vnot say, was taken in the spirit in which it was given. A moment later Mr Reeves commented on the prostrate and recumbent format of town members to be seen in all corners. In answer to a question, Mr Hamlin said there were no Standing Orders referring to such a state of things. " It's evident that there are no sitting orders," was the retort. GOING " ONE BETTER " Town members have secured Sydney Taiwhanga in opposing the bill. They have pointed out to him that; Mr Joyce has beaten his record, and that his " mana " will be broken if he does not make a supremo effort. I have heard since that Sydney has declared his intention as follows:—" Ka Joyce... He speak eight hours: I speak nine hours. I go one better." He intends, giving members a dose of Maori history, and will go on the ground that , the Maoris are not fairly represented compared with the Europeans. SUGGESTION'S FOE A COKPBOMISE. Among the numerous uuggestions for "a compromise as an escape from the present Parliamentary dead-lock, one is that the number of European members should be increased to.Bl, 1 thus splitting the difference between the present number (91) and the" reduced strength of 70 provided in the Act of 1887. This is being; strongly pressed in the hope that the Government would not consider its acceptance inconsistent with their .pledge to appeal to the country rather ; than allow the reduction of members to be rescinded. So far, however, t I ; understand that Ministers remain absolutely firm on this point, and declare their fixed intention of going to the country rather than submit to any altering of the reduction as settled in 1887. ) EECOEi) OF LENGTHY SPEECHES. I To-day there was some talk of Mr Joyce breaking the stonewall record, and everybody has been hunting up J records. I have looked up a few myself, and it may be interesting at * the present juncture to note them Subject to correction, I believe the speech made by Mr W. L, Rees on September 14, 1866, on a motion tabled by Sir G. Grey, that the House concur in the report of the select committee that Ministers had infringed ' the provisions of the Disqualification Act, is the longest on record anywhere. Mr Leonard M'Clure, a member of the British Columbian Parliament, spoke for 17 hours. Mr Beaucbamp, a member of the Marlborough Provincial Council, spoke 15 hours against the question that the offices of the Provincial Government be removed from Picton to Blenheim. In the New South Wales -v. Parliament in July 1886 Mr J. C, Neild spoke for nine hours against the Customs Bill—a feat which made him notorious'throughout New

; f South Wales, and gained for him the i unenviable nickname of " Jawbone " Neild. In Victoria Mr David Gaunson i oncei spoke, for seven hours. From ; the two last-named examples it will be i) seen that Australian legislators have ■ not the staying powers of the politicians of New Zealand. I DISSOLUTION. > - What may be the outcome of the . struggle no one can foretell, but as the town members seem bent on pursuing their tactics to the bitter end,iandias, the country, representatives! are equally firm in their determination to obtain, their additional allowances, a complete block of all ij is inevitable:' " How will it. ,! jturn; out ? " is the all-absorbing ques- , ,tion, ; and no one seems in a position 1 'to predict a solution of the difficulty. My own conviction is that a dissolu'i , tion \ will eventuate, and that before l many week's ! ard over we shall be • plunged into the throes of a general .'election. Whatever may be the fate of the Representation Bill all is chaos and confusion. The House is quite ungovernable under present rules,, while no Ministry formed from the /other side would last a week. Many members still delude themselves with -'the hope that a reversion to ninety,five members will be the outcome of 1 the Town v. Country fight, but I d'oj not hesitate to affirm that Sir Harry | Atkinson would never submit to this, 'and that, even if he did, the Legislative Council would not pass the measure. 1 i THE SPEAKER 'informed the House that it had been .arranged that the House should rise till 2.30 p.m. on Monday. He had gone through a trying week, a week which had be»n trying to himself and to Mr Hamlin, the acting Speaker,, as well as to members. (Hear, hear). A gr*eat strain had been upon all, and he was proud to say that' up to the present time not one word had been said, which any hon. member need recall. (Cheers). The greatest good ■ feeling had been shown, and the best taste exhibited throughout the arduous s struggle in which members had been engaged. He himself had done his best to maintain the dignity of the chair without pressing unduly upon members -—^(cheers) —and be had now, to ;th'ank both sides of the Hotise for, the manner in which his authority had been supported, and his I position made as easy as the circumI stances:would allow. It would give I him -the greatest satisfaction if before the House met on Monday, some means had been discovered of extricating the House from the position in which it was now placed. (Cheers.) Sir Maurice's speech was very well received, and did a great deal towards increasing the good feeling which has prevailed throughout, in spite of the peculiar circumstances in which members have found, themselves. It is said that during his speech on Saturday evening, Mr Fisher taunted Mr Scobie Mackenzie with being a student of the Standing Orders, and a candidate for the Speakership. The stonewalling lasted 72 hours. . SYSTEMATIC TELEGSAMS. Encouraging telegrams from constituents to members are beginning to flutter about as thick as leaves in Vallambrosa. The following have been received among others:—From the Mayor of Dunedin to Mr Fish: "Dunedin to a man approves your action." Never saw such excitement before, Nothing else talked of." From Auckland constituents to Mr Goldie: " Bravo, Auckland stone--wallers. ' Question raising great political feeling unknown for years," l Mr' Adam Porter to Mr Withy: 1 " Eden Terrace congratulates you on stand taken to defeat ' hobnailism' and attempt of selfish majority to gag fre« debate. Trust you will be successful; in your, efforts." Late on Saturday night Sir George Grey received two telegrams from Mr Devore, M.ayor of Auckland, giving the re'sdlution passed at the Auckland "meeting. A number of these tele•grams from the Leading centres were received .'m the House en Saturday night, and were received with loud cheers by the town party, while the c&ifntry party looked on in disgust.