PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5120, 15 June 1885, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP.

[By Telegbaph.]

(feom oub own cobhesfondent.)

Wellington, Saturday night.

1 understand from the Premier that the offer *of the Government to place the Hinemoa at the service of the late Mr Sheehan's relatives, for the purpose of conveying the body to Auckland for interment, was made in consequence of a very graceful request on the part of Sir George Grey. It is not yet known whether the oij'er of the Government of the Hinemoa will be accepted, but if it is, and the funeral is not likely to be delayed, a number of members have expressed a desire to attend the last sad ceremonies, if it is possible to obtain leave of absence from Parliament to enable them to leave by steamer and proceed to Auckland, where tho deooasod gentleman is to buried.

There is said to he much opposition to the .Bill relating to Col, Whitmore's appointment as .Commandant of the New Zealand forces, and . there will probably be some trouble in the Council when the Bill, the particulars of which I. gare you yesterday, is introduced. The chief grounds of objection are understood to be —(1.) That there was no necessity for the immediate appointment of anyone to the command of the forces; (2) That bad the circumstances warranted an immediate appointment, someone from England with a more recent knowledge, practical and theoretical, of the art of war, should have been elected for the appointment; (3.) That it would be most undesirable to es» tablisb a precedent, overriding the Disqualification Act, by allowing a member of the Legislature to hold his seat while in receipt of public money. The little dust being raised by the Hou, Geo. McLean orer the appointment of uiae new wembere to the Legiblatire

Council is not much thought of. It is considered rather undignified for members, 80 proverbially patrician as a body, to kick against and make a fuss about a matter which cannot be undone, and which should therefore be endured with good grace. Upon several occasionrpreviously, when questionable appointments have been made, there has been some talk of a call of the Council, but nothing ever came of it. It is rather hard upon new members that such a fuss should be made now, because, putting want of principle of life 'pensions aside, there can be no personal objection to the new members, who, it is said, feel their position rather keenly. It is understood that Sir Geo. Grey has got his back up already over the notice of motion given by Mr Bnllance yesterday, and that in Sir Geo. Grey, Mr Ballance may reckon upon a bitter opponent to the proposal contained in the motion, notice of which is given for Tuesday, and which in effect seeks to suspend Standing Order 178, to enable a Select Committee of twelve to be appointed (five to form a quorum) to consider all Bills and petitions affecting the waste land 3of the Crown. On several previous occasions Sir Geo. Grey iias claimed the right of the House to deal with Bills affecting Crown lands without interference of committees. A case is cited where, in iBBI, Sir G. Grey complained that an important Land Bill had been burked by the Committee, and he has since always contended for the House dealing with all such measures. . Beyond a tolerably warm discussion, nothing is expected from the debate on the Address»in-Tteply. This day. v Within a day or two of the disposal of the debate on the Address»in«Beply, the Colonial Treasurer will deliver his Financial Statement, and immediately afterwards the local Government and Charitable Aid Bills will be presented to the House. The bill to be introduced for the reform of the Legislative Council is a short one of nine clauses. It provides that all existing appointments in the Council and all its Standing Orders shall continue in force, but that future members, appointed after the date of the passing of this Act, shall hold office for 10 years only. It will be remembered this was the tenure proposed by the Atkinson Government in a draft bill laid on the table of the House by Sir Fredk. Whitaker in 1883. The difference in the two proposals, however, is that whilst the Atkinson Government proposed an elective Council, the members to be returned on the Hare system of representation, this new bill provides that all appointments of Councillors and Speakers of the Council are to be made by the Governor. Vacancies may be created by resignation, by absence for a whole session without leave, by a Council* lor becoming naturalised in a foreign state, by bankruptcy, insolvency, default, attainder, or conviction of felony, but members vacating their seats may be re* appointed. Questions as to vacancies are to be decided by the Council on reference from the Governor; the right of appeal to the Privy Council being resprved to any person whose seat is called in question, or to the Attorney-General on behalf of the Crown.

The Criminal Code Bill and the Municipal Corporations Bill, which are to be introduced by Mr Buckley in the Legislative Council, are simply the consolidation of bills prepared by the Statutes Revision Commission, and reported with amendments by a joint committee of the two Houses.

The Mercantile Law Amendment Bill, which is to be introduced by the Premier, will provide that in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency, the lender of money at interest varying with profits is not to rank with other creditors. This new provision, if carried, is to be incorporated in the Mercantile Law Act of 1880, and is to have a retrospective effect.

A bill is to be introduced by Sir Julius Vogel to amend the Patent Acts. by appending a proviso that the showing of any invention at an Industrial Exhibition declared by Order-in-Conncil to come within the Act, shall not prejudice any of the patent rights of the inventor, provided the application for a patent be made before or within twelve months from the date of the opening of such exhibition. The following Bill has been distributed : —Administration Act, 1879, Amendment Bill ', the intention of this enactment being that a widower shall stand in the same position with respect to the distri button of the separate property of his deceased wife as she would have stood in with respect to the distribution of her husband's real and personal property, had he died intestate, leaving her surviving, and that in the case of a married woman dying intestate, her children shall stand in the position with { respect to the distribution of her separate property as they would have stood in respect to the distribution of the real and personal property of their father had he died intestate.