WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2903, 19 May 1888, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

(From Our Own Correspondent).

P AIIMASIiiNT. —TUE OPPOSITION. Pakmajient may now be deemed to be assembled, and members are settling down to their work. What political surprises may be hidden ill the womb of futurity I am, of course, unable to say, but judging from present appearances tile work of the session appears to be already cut aud dried. Members are languid in manner, and even the most belligerent of the Opposition exhibit the quiescence of resignation,

Mr Seddon.

-Mr Seddon, it is true, wears an air of preternatural watchfulness, a brow puckered as with weightiest cares, "anunforgiving eye,and a damned disinheriting countenance." But these outward and visible signs would only deceive a very superficial observer. They are all pure assumption, put on for the benefit of any of Mr Seddon's constituents who may be-watching him from the Stranger's Gallery, for no one knows belter than the sagacious Seddon himself that Atkinson has the House by the wool and means to keep it there.The Phenomenon.

Mr W. P. Reeves takes good care to let us know that lie is alive, and that the blood of the morcurial and.youthful larrikin still circulates in his veins. Like a parched pea in a pan, he is never for a moment still, he cannot keep the same seat for ten minutes, lie continually sniggers aloud, and when not in other mischief, pulls his playthings-top, whipcord, knife, marbles, &c.-out of his breeches pocket, and overhauls them with schoolboy glee. A movement is on foot to present him with some peas and a pea-shooter, and to ask the Speaker to give him permission to play round in the lobbies of the House. This, if granted, will be a great relief to Messrs Dobson and Moat and other steady old members who like a nap ol an afternoon without a hob-nailed boy tidgetting around them.

Dr. Fitchett,

Dr. Fidget is also on hand, and favors us with his opinions on matters generally, but lie is becoming slightly coated with modesty, and occasionally manifests faint symptoms of bashfulness. Perhaps, having survived the first excitement of Parliament, ho is now succumbing to stage-fright. Many actors who havo not the slightest nervousness on first appparance, suffer terribly from stage fright their second season. This is a psychological puzzle for which I have no explanation.

Mr Fish,

Another member of the Opposition, a good deal too much in evidence last session, is Mr Fish, of Dunedin. He, too, is at present somewhat torpid. As small straws show the drift of great currents, I hope I may not be accused of indulging in trivialities if I mention that Mr Fish has returned to us with a new hat. This of itself may not be very remarkable, but the hat is a special hat. It is a tremendously tall hat, a fearfully broad hat, a hat with a brim at once curly and teriffic, a hat of threatening and maglign aspect, a hairy hat, a hat which worn-as Mr Fish wears itfar back, seems to be big with the fate of Cato and of Home, or rather of Fish and Dunedin. 'Tis an incendiary hat, a conspirators hat. It seems to dominate the Speaker, to dominate the House, to dominate Fish himself, who looks careworn, and desperate beneath the weight and baneful proclivities of that old hat of the soas. Take my word for it that hat willhaveenormous moral influence over Fish this session, I should not wonder if it suppresses him 'ero it lias done with him.

Parliamentary business generally,

Something lias been accomplished, something done, The Now Zealand Loan Aot, 1887 Repeal Bill, and the New Zealand Loan Dill passed all their stages. The opposition offered to the passing of these Bills was not of a desperate character, but there was just enough of it to induce the Premier to show tho cloven foot of irritability and impatienoe of contradiction. He was especially severe on Mr Downie Stewart and also broke a butterfly on the wheel by" going for" the innocuous Sydenham Taylor. Mr Soobie Maokennie arose with deep regret, us usual, to hamper the Government. Mr Maokenzie was move parenthetical than even he usually is, and for ten minutes quite lost himself in a torturous labyrinth of tatuology. Ho was eventually discovered to be desirous of obtaining a pledge against further borrowing. The history of these two (1887-88) Loan Bills is sufficient proof, were it needed, of the wonderful political astuteness, or shall we say cunning, of the Premier, The whole transaction looks very much lino a "put-up job." Last session lie could only pass a Loan Bill hampered by an undertaking to cease further borrowing for three years. This condition did not suit Sir Harry's little game, and he loved not the Bill, What was to be done ? Mirabik (Uctu, it was discovered that the 1887 Bill was irregular or illegal, Well, there was no hurry, The Premier borrows £400,000 to go on with, and then comes calmly down to the House with a new Bill in which the objectionable proviso is praotioally omitted, Though, to he sure, he deolarea lie will still be bound by the (to him) objectionable olause in the inoperative Bill of 1887. Smart mail, Sir Harry! The " Maiden Tbidute " op Welwno-

A petition from some citizens of Wellington having been presented to Parliament on the subject of the social evil as existent in this city, the morning paper ha 3 treated its readers to a milk and water imitation of Stead's notorious '• Maiden Tribute to Modern Babylon." That there is a certain amount of juvenile, and an uncertain amount of adult depravity in this, as in all other cities, nq person of ordinary observation dQubtg. Jlie Evening Post has en several occasions called attention to the sore, but the action of the New Zealand Times is only auotUoL' proof in support of

frequently iterated assertion that many of oar so called leading journals meekly follow but never attempt to mould Public Opinion. In tlie columns of the Daily, a paper published many miles from Wellington, frequent references. have boen made to the houses let by wealthy and powerful citizens to those who use those houses for immoral purposes, but never a word on the subject esciped tlw judicious Times, until a petition is presented and the matter can be no longer veiled. Tlieu it rushes into print with one fact and a host of surmises. "We wore," says the Times, " at first inclined to think it was impossible that all the stories told of juvenile depravity in this city could be true, but on enquiries wo fiud tlmt the evil is even worse than had been stated." On enquiries! Sweet, sweet innocent! Oh journalistic Una without the Lion. He or she walks Wellington streets at all hours of the day and night, and nothing suspects, nothing guesses, though his or her ostensible occupation is the purveying of news to'the public! Now Public Opinion having moved, private indignation having done that which the 1 leaders of public opinion' should have done long ago, the " leading .journal" swarms into the field of sensation with apr uvienfe aiid vaguely suggestive|r eport of one house of ill-fame at which "a trustworthyiepresentative of this journal" appears to have visited in company with a detective. Every adult male -but of course the Times man —in the city knew of these haunts of juvenile immorality years ago. They have never been hidden. The "vile hag" referred to in the Times has over and over again pitched her tent inmost respectable streets, and the most public thoroughfares for years have been rendered almost impassable for decent folks at night by the gangs of larrikins of both sexes assembled there, and yet this" dumb dog" lias had no previous word to sav.

Thade With India,

I am glad to learn that certain firms in the Wellington provincial district are about to despatch a shipment of horses per s.s. Tekapo, to India, and that the same vessel will carry samples of our meat and other produce. It has long been a matter of wonderment to me that no trade to speak of has as yet been attempted between New Zealand and Bombay and Calcutta. India if the trade were properly-devel-oped would take all the meat, butter, and cheese we could send her. She would take fruit too, but, to our eternal shame be it written, we have none to sell her, not having sufficient, judging by local supply and price, for our own needs, and this is the finest fruit-growing country perhaps in all the world. Were a regular trade opened up with India we might solve one important part of the Chinese question by taking Indian tea which is far and away superior to fifty per cent of the vile rubbish—Maloo tea and tho re-faced, once-used product of the tea shops—which we now take from China,