PARLIAMENTARY.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3958, 5 September 1881, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY.

(Peb Pbess Association.) . i Stonewalling Tactics. Our latest wires on Saturday afternoon left the House still sitting, the members speaking against the third reading of the bill. The following is the business transacted after our going to press :— Mr Pitt desired to record his solemn protest against the bill becoming law, .and at some length gave his reasons for opposing the measure. He repeated the speech which lie had previously made in committee; and again expressed his ebiTvictiou that following the, operation of; the bill would he ' 'the moving of the seat of Government to either Canterbury or Otago, and that ] following Jther^upon Separation would ensue, and by, and bye the Public Works Scheme would provide for the construction of tbe Otago Central and Christchurch, and West G'oasfc railways out of colonial funds, and that brobably the first expenditure out of new loans would be thus spent. He said it had been rumoured in the lobbies time the principal members who had opposed the bill would be punished when the Estimates came, down, aod he believed there was more than rumor in the threat. The Premier said if the hon. member referred, to,. or ; insinuated against, the Government, he; should mention* the name or names of any member wbo had so spoken. ; . • : Mr Pitt said he could do that, and, on being pressed, said the rumor came in the U9iial form—" they! say "; but that the person mentioning it was the Postmaster- ' General, and he said Messrs Levestam and Gibbs could endorse his statement. The Premier saidin the absence, of the Postmaster-General he very much regretted the. statement. , " -■. •■-"" ' ' JSilr Pitt, in concluding a long and forcible speech, declared; his action throughout had hot been impelled by selfish motives, but in the interest of the. colony at large: ' - '■■■* Mr Moss followed, and reviewed the principles of the bill, and the history of thedebate. He condemned the increase of members as crystallising the form of Government, which had already shown an ! inordinate centralising tendency. The Government had already attacked the; principle of payment; of members, arid; now, taking advantage of larger numbers, "they would repeat it; and the representation of the country would be in the wealthy, ,and popular, 'suffrage and representation would be at an end! Sacrificed with local institutions, and the present existing balance of power, ije thought the best ot power anddominion would soon styze Canterbury and Otago, for !the present members would soon be succeeded by strangers who would have no mercy or regard for 'rights ,now respected. He then referred to the fact that the House was^gagged.last night. . The Speaker checked,him, and said the factithat he (Mr Moss) was now speaking 'ijvas-j proof that tlie'House had not been gagged." ; ' i;;;r :"' '_'/■ '" /' ■' _ '■ '. J1 .,--- Mr Mos3 continued id tbe same strain, and! " ' ■ "'■''' ' \; l[ . '.' / ; •,.,''

-'Tlie Speaker ordered him to ,sit down, and warned him that if he repeated the 6ffence his conduct would be submitted to the opinion of''the House. ' ■ Mr Moss said there was more sympathy existing between Wellington aud Canterbury than with Aucklaud. That province held a peculiar position, its one great need being the settlement" ot the native question, and that the native lands there should be thrown open to the public, first i being made : G-o?eminent property. 'He said he would'oppose the bill to the last. ■ '■•i-!- ■■■'- -■•■•■' ■■•■■';■'■• ' "'■'■: "v;; Xt Ballaricei expressed sympathy with Nelson,, atid 'the promises made them 'by tihe /!(Jbrern^eni'ti l' I"w.hicli',' iwere\.not. (kept.; He admitted " that the districts given increased representation on (the. basis of population were fully entitled, but exceptions ought to have been made to meet jcases like that of Nelson and other similarly situated districts. He held that Nelson members were bound to make a stand, rand- they/had done so on. sound cojistitutionplprinoiples. ; .Otago and Canterbury were now oppbse'd to Nelson ; but soon ibe North Island, would have as large a Apopu!ation as the South, and the next redistribution of .seats would;tell a different tale., He i'aforedi throwing open native lands, and 1 said the proposed number of members was not too large if really efficient representation was needed. But he condemned siugle electorates. Separation, he said, could*not be brought about in face of the great. financial responsi-, bilites of the colony. Native represeutation should have been abandoned in such discussion on the: bill; but before the next adjustment of seats it would have to be considered. Towns and country districts ought to have equal representation. The grdat blot of the bill was, what might be termed'a surveyor's schedule—perhaps a good one, but the House ought to have been gireu au opportunity to reriae it. An

it now stood it would bo productive of most disastrous apd inconvenient results. It absolutely ignored any community of? i'eeling.betwewn the various discontented portions', wTiichX made up many of the districts., ■ The proposal to make'; amende .ments by message from the Gov&rnorl'was^ not fair to the House or to members' whose districts were concerned. *,<The' feature of single electorates was aipjot on the bill;'and .should not be persisted in.----Even now, if amendments were to be considered, some little concessions should be made to the Nelson interests and undoubted right, He believed'tlie country would take a very lenient view of the obstruction raised by the Nelson members and their immediate friends. „..,.....->-».« Mr Tole expressed his vigorous protest against the bill in its present form, maintaining also that it should not hare preceded, but succeeded local government; and that it should have recognised the native population. He deplored the determination of Southern members to hold thi? preponderance of voting power, and said the bill in its operation would produce most disastrous consequences, which: the House apparently had not fully considered when helping; the Ministry to force on the measure without any concessions. The bill was nothing but a sham, lie read from the Constitution Act Amendment Act 1878 which Sir 'George Grey bad propps'ecLi: to introduce, and showed that such measure did not give anyone district a greater quota of representation than another, and was in i reality a self-adjusting Act, the principles of which the present Government had rejected. He did not oppose the bill because it affected his district, but because it was'so radically wrong. The districts I were not compact, and in many cases were made up of conflicting interests. He con* eluded by saying that he could justify nis opposition to the bill not only, to, .his constituents, but to the whole colony. * Mr Turnbull expressed, himself in favor of special representation for the Maoris. He was also in fayor of single voting.' He thought there' vfas .nothing in the present debate calculated to.set the North Island against the South. He concluded by moving:—" That the debate be adjourned till Monday, at half-past 2 o'clock. Mr Hall had no objection to adjourning the debate, on the ground that members were not in an altogether fit position to consider his important question after such a long sitting as they had had.'' Sir George Grey suggested the adjournment should be till 1 half-past 7 on Monday. - - ' The House then, at 5 o'clock, adjourned till half past 2 o'clock on Monday) having sat since 2.30 oti Monday.