OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3901, 1 September 1891, Page 2

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

WoMKNS' SUFFRAGE

Wellington, Saturday.

It has been the custom to say that the age of chivalry is past, that "the most true and perfect knight," ever ready to ride forth in protection ,of gentle and beautiful maidens, no longer exists. The modern knight, it is assumed, prefers to pass his time in idle dalliance in my lady's bower. As a general statement of the case this may or may not be true, but most certainly we in New Zealand have a great exception in that worthy knight and distinguished politician, Sir John Hall. Sir John Hall for some time past has been the recog-* nised champion of the fair sex, at any rate so far as the extension of the franchise to women is concerned. .It seems more than probable that his efforts to secure this object will be crowned with success during the present session of Parliament. The second reading of his bill was carried by a very large majority the other day, notwithstanding the strong oppesition shown by several members. Perhaps the very fact of such members being opposed to the Bill is aguaranteeof its success. Whether the extension ot the franchise in the direction sought after will be fruitful of any large results we cannot say. With the exception of a few of the more strong-minded of the sex we should say that a* a whole worn n view the ! matter with the piofou sdest indiffer- < ence. It has been sdd that the | extension will bring about a greatly improved state of public opinion, that the tone uf political discussion will be raised, and that the representatives chosen will be distinguished by a higher standard of excellence than the majority of those we have now. In fact, that the whole social system will be permeated with a purer, gentler and more .refined influence. If this be the case, the logical outcome of our system of manhood suffrage in the immediate extension of the benefits of th« franchise to women, is certainly to be desired. Of this we may be certain, those who would take advantage of it could not possibly make worse use of the privilege than very many belonging to the male sex who enjoy it now. INCIDENTS IN THE DEBATE.

One or two incidents in connection with the debate may be mentioned. Sir John Hall wis presented with an address, sent down from the Ladies' Gallery, signed by a number of ladies, headed by Mrs Ballance, thanking him for his persistent and noble efforts on behalf of the sex, and assuring him that bis Bill is very much desired. Mr Fish distinguish 3d himself for Mb strenuous opposition to the Bill. He also distinguished himself in another way. The large majority with which the Becond reading was carried seems to have disturbed his peace of mind very considerably. Immediately tho result was declared he flew into what appeared to be a very violent passion, roundly abused the Ministers for treachery, and excitedlyannounced his intention of forsaking the party and leaving them to their evil ways. This, we believe, he has carried into efftat. What he will do in the future it is hard to say. The Opposition are not at all desirous of securing the services of the hon. gentleman. He will probably have to take upon himselt the mantle of the great Middle Party. The ladies of Taranaki, it is reported, have forwarded a number of white camelias, which Mr Smith, one of the members for the district, has been busy distributing amongst those who supported the Bill. Symbolical, we suppose of the " white flower of a blameless lite" attributed to those gentlemen.—One of the privileges of being a member. Payment of Membbrs.

Amongst the topics of Parliamentary interest that are receiving tome attention just now is the Payment of Members' Bill. It is very indicative of the character of the present Ministry, which, more than any other is supposed to represent the labour party, that they should calmly propose that the payment to members of tbe House of Representatives should be increased to £240 a year, and this when so much capital is being made out of tbe financial condition of the Colony, and when, retrenchment has been so arbitrarily and almost recklessly carried out. The majority of the members must consider their servic s very valuable and important to t e Colony when they vote themselves £2O a month. As the session only lasts about three months this is virtually equal to £BO a month. We are in .lined to think tbe people of New Zealand do not estimate their services at near such a value, and that great discontent will result if the Bill is Qnatyy The very idea of such a large payment is fgonstroqs when every effort is supposed to be made to keep the expenditure down tq the lowest possible limit. Especially so wfyen and well bred servants of the Colqny fyaye bepp djsmis§ed just within a ehopt time of securing tliejr well-earned compensation. Tl).e New Zealand Parliament has deteriorated very considerably, we fear, from the high standard of excellence a&d lofty disinterestedness it opce bore, Tbe standard of our public men must be very low wben they oan do suoh things.

THE PROHIBITIONIST. An addition is shortly to be made to the Wellington newspapers in the shape of The Prohibitionist, edited by tha Jtev L M Isitt, and published fortnightly. The reverend gentleman is well known, 1 riot only here but also In the 'as a "maii'tof un» bpi)nde4 ' eflopgyj' fojrce of yrilj, a'nd enthusiasm. He has thrown himself with such ardour into the Temperance ause as to have won the title of the " Hero of Sydenham." For more

than twplve months he, with the aid of several devoted helpers, has published and freely distributed a paper called the Prohibitionist to every household in Sydenham, To this the well known rpsult of the recent Licensing Election there was mainly due. He is now seeking to enlarge the sphere of his operations. Arrangements have already been made to distribute in the same way 5000 copies in Dunedin, and it is proposed to distribute 3000 in Wellington. The Rev Mr Isitt himself is expected here shortly to complete the arrangements. The paper reflects many of the characteristics ef its Editor and will no doubt secure in this way considerable attention.

DEATH BY DROWNING. The unprotected state of the breastwork and reclamation has been the burden of the verdicts ot coroner's juries lately. The bodies of two gentlemen from country districts visiting town have been found drowned in the harbour lately, and children occasionally fall in with no worse results, it seems, than a cold bath and some little excitement tor the moment. But it is all taken as e matter of couw j . Still, in a seaport town like Wellington it is almost impossible, we suppose, under any conditions to prevent fatalities and accidents of this nature occasionally happening: SCENE IN THE HOUSE.

It is long since a scene in the House I has excited any very widespread interest. Due allowance is made for the vagaries of hon, members,and wide limits of action permitted them. We believe that the occasion, a good many years ago, when the Hon Mr Gibson was fined£2o was the last- Something happened, however, on Thursday last of such a nature as to lead the Speaker to clear the galleries The disturbance rose out of a difference between the present Minister for Lands, the Hon. Mr McEenzie, and his predecessor in the same office, the Hon. Mr Richardson. The affair became so serious and the excitement no keen that eventually the House passed a vote of censure upon the leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Mr Bryce. Mr Bryce accepted the position with considerable emotion, and referred with pardonable pride to the fact that he had never been called to order by the Speaker before, informed the House that his present position was due to the scourge of the Government whips, and left the chamber unable to say then whether he shonid enter the House again. It is a matter for sincerest regret that such a state of affairs should have come about. The greatest sympathy will te felt for Mr Brvce, whose honour and integrity are beyond question. His long and disinterested Parliamentary career deserves something better at the hands of the House thsn the treatment he suffers under. When such serious charges are made, as in tnis instance amounting to corruption, and when the House behaves as it has done, the honour of the majority of the members cannot be very high.