PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4230, 29 September 1892, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

f BREACH OF PBITOEGE, In replying to questions put yester-j day by Mr Rolleston, the Acting Premier said that the Government had not seen the cable message sent out to His Excellency the Governor in regard to the Legislative Council appointments, nor had thoy received any message on the subject from the Agent-3eneral, Several members—notably Mr G, Hutchison—pointed out that the first part of the Minister's statement was inconsistent with the information given in the first instance byjee Colonial Secretary, that His EifSJency had been recommonded to awept mmmdbj tho advice of the Government, and incompatible with Mr Seddon'a own declaration of the preceding day, that Lord Glasgow "bad placed at the disposal" of Ministers tbo cablegram, which he had received from the Secretary of State. Tho Acting Premier reiterated the assertion that he could not have need the words thus asoribed to him; wheteupon.Bir John Hall, with one of those pleasantly satiric touches for which he has a nimble talent, observed that Mr Seddon'a statement forced them into a most Stressing

dilemma; for—a thing that must surely be imposeible—tbey must either look upon tho Ministerially inspired journal and only reliable paper in Wellington as a mere fallible organ, or as having been euilty of a scandalous breach of privilege in ascribing not to a mere member or ordinary Minister, but to the Acting Premier, wordß which he had not used I That was a matter ot the greatest gravity; and what wero they to do ? Was tho Ministerial and only reliable journal to be branded as unreliable, on tho authority of the Acting Premier himself, or would its editor-in-chief—(A voioo: The Minister of Education) bo summoned to the bar of the House to answer a scandalous breach of privilege 1 Sir John's caustic questions, being unanswerable, were not answered, but tho intelligent reader will doubtless, as ihe House did, appreciate tho pungency of the member for Ellesmero's satire. As a matter of fftct, and of journalistic fairness, we must state that tho words ascribed by our contemporary's reporter to the Acting Premier wero used by that Minister,deny them as thoy may; the testimony of the press gallery is uuaniinou« on this point, and in a matter cf this kind the evidence of a dozen competent pressmen is superior to that ol a thousiind Acting Premiers.-Press.