POLITICAL NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 199, 21 October 1897, Page 2

POLITICAL NOTES.

fl'.y TELEGKAPH. —SPECIAL befobteb.) WELLINGTON, Last Night. MR TAYLOR'S CHARGES. Tin: unusual course adopted by the Premier yesterday of making a Ministerial statement late in the afternoon instead of when the House met, caused some surprise ami no little speculation amongst members. It transpires now that just before Mr Soidon told the House he intended to appoint a Royal Commission to enquire into the charges against the police force, be had received tiie following letter from Mr Taylor, the junior member for Christchurcll : " October 19th, 1897. Right Hon.R. J. Skddok, Premier.—Sir, — I, after carefully considering the prospects afforded by the Standing Orders of my being able to secure a vote of the House on the question of the necessity or otherwise of setting up a Royal Commission to enquire into the organisation and administration of the Police Department, have come to the c inclusion that- the persistent refusal of the Government to permit the enquiry suggested, renders it practically' useless for uic to proceed by the way of customary notice of motion, and, under these circumstances and in view of the greit public importance of the issues involved in the question, I have decided to endeavour to obtain the decision of members by moving an amendment to the motion for going into Supply on the Financial Statement. I shall simply ask members to express an opinion free from party consideration, and do not, in any way, desire that my actions should be regarded as antagonistic to your Cabinet's legislative policy. I trust you will permit the vote of the House to be recorded on this question free from party considerations, so that the administration of the Defence Department may be vindicated if possible.—Yours, etc., T. E. Taylor." The Premier forwarded the following rcpiy to Mr Taylor, which is highly characteristic in its way : " Premier's otlice, October 10th, 1897 — Dear Sir, —I beg to acknowledge the receipt at 5 p.m. of your letter of even. date. It was decided in Cabinet this morning tint I should make a Ministerial statement in reference to the question of Police, and the allegations made in respect thereto. 1 shall make a statement, and after that, if you think you are justified in moving an amendment, the responsibility must rest with you. I cannot agree to ' Supp'y ' being intercepted, especially when it is has be.u brought up for the purpose of debating the Financial Statement. —Yours, etc., R. J. Seddon." A CHANCE OF FRONT. The opinion is generally 7 exprcseed that if Mr Taylor had not forced the Premiers hand in this matter, his ministerial statement would have been of a very different character. It is not forgotten either that only yesterday morning the Premier told several members iu an informal manner tint he intended to allow the new Commissioner of Police to make the. investigation into the department himself, and there was no talk then of a Royal Commission, such as he now proposes, for the purpose. A SULTRY DOCUMENT. The latent sensation in the lobbies is Mr John McKenzie's long-winded manifesto on tiie Horowhenua case, which has now become a public scuidal. It is certainly a very warm production, and does not spare Sir Walter Bullet's feelings in the least. We are promised a stormy and protracted debate when the Minister for Lands biings down the Bill sketched out in the memorandum, declaring Section 14 of the Horowhenua Block to be native land, especially as theic is already an angry feeling in the House owing to Mr McKcnzie being on the Native Affairs Committee for the first time, replacing Mr Cadtnan, who really docs understand native affairs. The Minister was plainly told in the House last week that he had gone on the committee for the purpose of fighting Sir Walter Duller over the Horowhenua Block. He indignantly denied this, saying he did not want to be on the committee, and he had asked the Premier to take his name oil it. Nobody can understand why the Premier allows himself to be dominated by the Minister for Lands on this question, as it has been the fashion hitherto to credit him with having absolute s.vay in the Ministry. One repeatedly hears of ructions in the Cabinet between its two leading members, but Ministers absolutely deny that any serious disagreement has taken place over Horowhenua, or any other large policy measure. There are plenty of signs, however, to show that some of the moderate men of the Ministerial party arc becoming disgusted with such interminable questions as Horowhenua, and with the police scandals and the unaccountable attitude of the Government over the Select Committees BREACH OF PRIVILEGE. I understand that Mr Eraser does not intend proceeding .1113- further with the breach of privilege against the Times,and will content himself with the assurance that the House declared, without division, that its privileges had been assailed The Post to night censures tie Premier for trying deliberately to lead the discussion yesterday into a side issue. It says :—" Mr Seildon's tactics, however, fortunately failed to appeal to the House. Hon. members refused to be attracted by the "red herring" he dragged across the trail, and showed so conclusively their sympathy with the member for Wakatipu that the Premier dared not call for a division to support his own i 11— juged utterance. Are such situations as that of yesterday afternoon signs of the probable" collapse of the artificial tyranny, which we have styled ' Sed-> donism,' to distinguish it from true ' Liberalism ?' " JOTTINGS. Mr Doug'as McLean presented an enormous petition to-day from Mr Win. I'arncll, of Napier, and 1698 others for the formation of a line of railway between Napier and Gishorne. Another petition on the same stiljct, from Mill. L. Donnelly and 710 others, was also presented by Mr Carroll. A further petition was presented tonight by Mr McLsan from Mr Archibald Davis, of Taupo, and -Mo others, asking the Govern men t to tike over and convert into asaiiitorium the Terraces Hotel and grounds at Taupo It is understood the Premier intends to (buy that he received Mr T. B. Taylor's letter before he nude his Mints' terial statement yesterday.