PARLIAMENTARY.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2964, 15 August 1878, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

(Pjja Pbess Agency.)

HOUSE OF HEPEESENTATIVES.

AFTERNOON SITTING-. Wednesday. The llous.e met at 3.30 to-day. Mr Fox gi 7e no'lce to ask if the Government hrd received any comaiuniclion from L?rd Bcaconsfield regnrding the settlement of the Eastern question.

Mr Fox also gave notice to ask for further ioformaton than that already afforded- regarding the recent native meeting. .." ...=:■.. i '

Mr Barton gare mt'ce to ask for the production of depositions in the case of the Queen v. O'Connor. ;

Mr O'Jioi-ke asked whether the water at the end of Vie new wharf at Onehunga' is less deep th?.n the old one, whether piles were driven to the proper depth, and whether the Harbor-master was consulted 83 to the suitability of a site. —The Hon. Mr Maeaodrew said that;as soon a.i the necessary information was received it would be laid before the House. In reply to, Mr Stevens, the Hon. Mr MacanVlrew said it wps not proposed to make any provision to mest the case of the persons employed on railways who suffered injury in the execut'ou of their duly. They would deal with every individual case upon its merits, alloniD'; six months' salary in the case of deaih. '

In reply to Mr Seal >n, the Hon. Mr Macandrew said Koad Boards and municipalities will be suppled with the Fen Zealand Gazette free of expense. In reply to Mr Bolleston, the Hon. Mr Ballance said a report upon the present condition of the lunatic asylums of the colony was in course of preparation. In reply to Mr George the Hon. Mr Macandrew said it was not the intention of the Government to construct a bridge over the river Taipo, between Christchurch and Hokitika.

In reply to a question by Mr Richardson, the Hon. Mr Macand/ew' said Brogden's claims had not been setoled, and he had just laid upon the table a paper containing the fullest particulars in relation to the casein reply to Mr Sharp, the Hon. J. Ballance said the Government did not intend to introduce a Constabulary Bill this session. JOSHUA GOODFELLOW'S CASJE. '*£T/: Mr Murray was informed by the Hon. Mr Macandrew that the amount recommended by the Committee as.compens.i-. tion to Mr Joshua Goodfellow would be placed on the supplementary estimates. GOVERNMENT INSTTEANCE. Upon request of Mr Fox, thelGovernment agreed io produce a return giving all particulars as to the way in which the Government. Buildings were insured during the last year. • ■■■':.•■'! i GOTJEBKMEHT APVEBTISING.

Mr Fox moved for a return of all advertisements published by the Government during the year terminating the Ist of July, inviting tenders from publishers of newspapers for the insertion of Government advertisements, and notices of all tenders sent in reply to such advertisements, and giving the rates tendered, arid showing aqy tenders and their rates not accepted ; also a return of all insertions of advertisements of or notices iv any newspaper by authority of any Government officer with tenders having been publicly invited. The hon. gentleman disclaimed any desire personally to accuse the press of being oorrupted, but one was forced to give attention to the nratter from the fact that one section of the press accused the other of having been corrupted by receiving Government advertisements in lieu or' rendering support to the Government. If

that Yfjqgthd, case it was a state of things which neper}' existed before, -"peaking fi^m his own experience he knew that tenders were always called for, irrespective offtibe politics of. the papers. What made-this new practice:more objectionable was *tbat it was -understood that those papers in which members of the Go vernment were interested always received the fullest of Government advertisements, while other, papers were excluded from participation in these advertisements. There was^a. paper in that town (The New Zeaiander) owned to a certain extent by five or six members of the Ministry. The hon. gentleman read the names, with the »umber of shares held by each. It had been alleged that the partiality in which the Govercment advertisements had been given was solely on the ground of economy, but that could not be the real reason, because he knew of a case whereof three papers in a town that were Government supporters received Government advertisements; the other paper, that did not support the Government, did not get any of the advertisements.

The Hon.'Mr Stout said the Government w§uld have no hesitation in furnishing tfaor report required, and he .thought, it a pity the last speaker had not waited until he was better. formed. He was entirely wrong in . his facts.; Taking Wellington, f6rinstance,all the landtmnsfer roliees were given to the New Zealand Times, and none of that class were given to the New Zeaiander. i Then at Dunedin the Evening Star, a strong Opposition paper, was one of the two which received Government advertisements ; the reason the other, paper got the advertisements was because it had been the Provincial Gazette. '

Mr Joyce said Government ought to give their adverlisemeoii Id every paper in the colony at a fixed rate, even if that was a very low one. This at least;would remove one great inducement tb'oorruption. ' '•'.*"■

The Hon. Mr Macandrew said that dealing with pdvcrtisementS; was a most difficult matter,- and he heartily wished that somebody would devise some means by which the many annoyances of this question would be remedied. It would cost an enormous sum to advertise in all the papers of the colony. •; Mr Gisborne bore testimony to the way a l Minister'si' life was made miserable through Government advertisements. Mr WaUefield argued that it was not becoming iri a Government to compel one set of papers to print their advertisements gratis. The last thing they should study was economy in advertising. One lower tender for a large contract would leave money enough' to cover a great deal of advertising.

Mr McLean said that the previous Government had not been in the habit of supporting theirfriends by advertisements The late Government called for tenders and then referred to the Government Printer. Why had not the present Government done the same? No; he thought Ihey could notj because-when:the Times and Herald tendered for Government -advertisements the Herald tendered at one shilling an inch while the Times-tendered at four shillings per inch, yet the Government accepted the tender of the Times. The same thing was being exhibited throughout the colony. He thought Mr Joyce offered the best solution of this nnnoying question. In the course of his remarks,'the hon. member proceeded to narrate an anecdote as how the Premier had withdrawn from enteringjinto the New Zealand Company, giving, as a reason much the same as whence withdrew from a certain cottage and 1 2 500 acres of land. (The Premier here entered the Chamber and called the attention of the Speaker tothe Wbrds used. He said he believed the words referred to him, and he wished to say that it was a foul slander, and ;that; the hon. member knew it when housed the language). : Mr McLean intimated that he did not care to get into an argument on the mailer, .but at a future time he would probably explaiu exactly what be meant by the reference. The Premier demanded again that the member should be more precise,'and state definitely when ;he intended to refer, to the matter again. The Speaker said neither he, nor the House bad power to compel the member to do so. ' • ' '• ■ ! *

Mr Barton hoped that the Government would not support the opposition press. He wanted to see parti s better defined, and the papers who supported.the Government to get Government advertisements. The press ought to be made to:feel who was in and who out. When the late Government came again into power, which was not very probable, let them support the papers which supported them. He entirely approved of -the action of the Government in regard to advertisements. It was high time the Government drew a bold line of demarcatien between the two sections of press in the colony. Mr Turnbull suggested that %s the question was really a difficult one the House should settle the basis on which the system of advertising was conducted. Mr Thomson suggested, that.the Go-' vernment Gazettes containing the advertisements shou'd be stuck- up at the Telegraph and J?6st Offices.Mr Bowen. approved the suggestion of the member of Wallace. It was a graat deal better than the system of publishing the Gazettes. 1

Mr Bees said the member for Wan ganui must have drawn upon his imagination for his fads, because he ought to know that at that moment the Canterbury Press was performing a printing contract for the Government: As to the accusation that the Gbve/nment gave its advertisements to the Times instead of the' Herald! whose tender was lower) the'fact of the matter was that when-the tenders were advertised for and'accepted and entered upon, the Herald Was. not in, existence. He strongly deprecated that under such a motion as that before'-them an a liar; k should be made upon individuals of the Government. .It was not seemly for ,a member who had held the position of the hon. member to act so.

Mr Moss thought very few Govern ments were in a position to throw stones at each other in respect to distribution of Government advertisements; for he knew of instances in which the late Government showed its preference in the way of advertising. He strongly combatted the idea i.hat the support of news.papers could be purchased by Government advertisemsnts. The; hon. member referred to the political stato of things previous to the .membejr for the Thames coming forward as leader to restore to the people,of sthe oolony the real power, and take it put-.of- ithe hands of those ruling families who hid begun to think they had a prescrip:ive right to govern the country, and were strong enough to crush a iy man

who ir.iserl himself up against them, and dared' to'speak hi* mind, and who had, in fact (June so. If the Opposition had any policy, let them name it, and not cavil over such small matters as this.

Mr Fcldwick wat; opposed to the idea of advertising by mc^ns of Gazettes, which would only ho to I ury Government advertisements; and if they gave them the circulation to make them efficient in advertising, it would cost them many times the present sum. Many land jobs had in tho past been made possible through advertising in Gazetles only. He approved of the way in which the Government decentralised printing by distributing it throughout tho colony amongst a worthy class of men. Jie disapproved of Government printing the Gazette.

The debate was interrupted by 5.30,