RATES ON THE WAIKATO RAILWAY.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 966, 31 August 1878, Page 2

RATES ON THE WAIKATO RAILWAY.

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Mi Hobb* aske '," Wi.eu the promis eel! i eduction iii the rate's on coal mid settlers' produce c»n the Waikato rail wo / wiH come in: o. effect;?' Hn J. Macandrew said a considerable .redaction had already jWen made, -jiid it, was, not intended to make any further reduction until they saw what effect the pregent reduction would have, us the practice of the Government was to have uniform. -rates. They were opposed to adopting an exceptional one. TIINSNNIAL PAIsLIAMENTS BILL. , Dr Wallisinovcd the.;ccoiid reading of thia.Bill, 6u tho (hat it was.:*, natural complement to the Electoral Reform. Bill introduced by the Government, and expressing his surprise that G'-ivenimenthad deemed it pviidtint to stop short in the work of reform they had laid down for themselves. This w,is the more strange, considering- the general confidence'the House reposed ia the .Ministry- He thought they should have had no hesitation in bringing' down a complete measure of reform. However judiciously Ministers-night have acted in postponing the ques tion ot re-distribution of seats, they on^hi, sit least, to have provided a measure for triennial Parliaments. The lion, 'gentleman proceeded to narrate, what had pecurred in England in regard to the duration of Parliaments, the object of which was .to,, shew that, although septennial Parliaments were the established rule, yet, in point of fact the practice had been for Parliament to be dissolved every third, or, at most, every fourth year. When British • statesmen found they were riot in accord with the House, they sought to rectify the i House by .means, of dissolution Hern, however, Parliament had a.strong objection to performing the ''happy daspatoh" upon itself. Members liked to cling to their seats. The hon- gentleman; then went on to show that the majority of the Legislatures of the. world lasted only for three year?, and anovh.3r considerable proportion only for a year. All this went to show that the common sense of mankind was in favour of shorter Parliaments than the New Zealand term. Here they found themselves in "Wellington in the midst ot shams and dissipation, and,all the rulgar pretences of a puny metropolis, when_tliay-i!aw how the bone and muscle of the working man were mortgaged to the moneylenders of the home country, and made victims of a system of corrupt patronage. These things could noi be, had members a shorter term to sprve in Parliament. By the Mrae five or seven years elapsed, representatives hardly knew whom or what had represented. The changes of public opinion were much more rapid in a colony like this than in any old country, and for that reason alone they ought to have shorter Parliaments, so that their legislators might be brought into closer sympathy with the people. Civilisation could not have begun until such time as men began seriously and earnestly to discuss their public affairs, and the more discussion there was the healthier the sign, and therefore the more frequently they were brought face to face with their constituents the better. He admitted that annual Parliaments were the logical con.se quences of his arguments. ; Messrs Wander* and Thomson opposed the Bill, and Messrs MurrayAnysley and Hodgkinsou supported H. . Mr Stout congratulated the House upon the unanimity of feeling shewn regarding that question. He believed the time would come when annual Parliaments would be the rule. ' The measure was not a good one, and members of the Ministry .would vote on the Bill according to their private views. Mr Bo^en would oppose the Bill, on the ground that it was calculated to lessen the independence of members, to weaken the responsibility of electors, and waste the time and energies rtf the people. He would move that the Billbe read a second time that day six months. Mr Moss supported the BiJl. Tho Premier announced that he would vote for the second reading. He did not think 'it his duty, as a member of the Government, to bring forward such a Bill during the present session. The Government had important duties to perform, and it behovd them not to imperil those duties. By widening the suffrage, they cleared the way for a new Parliament, which would then look after itself. The hon. member for Kaiapoi had said thattheinstitutions of foreign countries were on their trial. Why, the English Constitution itself wps on its trial, and had always been so- The same how. gentlemen pointed to the corruption in governing in the United States, but greater instances of corruption could be pointed to some years back. Look at, the dukedoms that were ob'ained through the sale of boroughs. The hon. gentlemen pointed to the evils that had befallen the poorer classes of England. Those evils would never have overtaken these people if they had had tri-

ennial Parliaments. Ho entirely disapproved of the Pir inneutary i dQCtrine..lttjJl..(lo\vi»4i, j,he Australian ' coibnieij^'natnely Vh'rtt a dissolution ought, liofr Hi I)6 granted until the H'.nae was exlitiusto.l— -ihnr. is, until a (.Tovenirntht was able to bo formed thfit could not do/atj^fhing. Mere ypis a base iff wtiigli th> people were pepriyed j>? their .djust i-iglits by preventing a dissolution, the only means by which they could make r their wishes fuljv un:]erstood. Then, again, look at the rapid Changes which oouie over public opinion, and ■&?..... aercl only . refer to some of the divisions' which had taken place it. that House during «he Session. It was clear, therefore) they ought ta do what they could to .stimulate political activity, by keeping political matters before the minds of the people. Trienuial Parliament would oniy help to do this By it men would become accustomed to consider the questions uppermost, and regularly record their votes; wheieas, if they only voted once iii five or seven years, they were apt to btcome apathetic. Now that there was such a Bill before th«3 House, he hoped that they would seiza the golden opportunity. The, hon. referred to the passing of the Abo'ition Act as an act ot unexampled tyranny, and one which conld not have been perpetrated had the people beeri granted their right of dissolution. ■Mr Moorhouse took exception to the fitatemeut" of the Premier, that abolition was an act of unprecedented tyranny. There, could not be 4-imore vigilant l^ress; tlnui that cf the colony, nnd it was perfectly impossible to commit an infraction of the Constitution , without ...every persou in . the colony beiaj inade aware of it ; and as to. .the question of abolition, he maintained that it had "'been discussed atl over the country iu all its. bearings before it ever eaine up in the House at all" Mr Sheeliau; said that, »a 'the question was raised, he vvould^ vote for the Bill. Me raaintaiued with his chief that abolitiou was an unheard of tyranny, and would not have occurred if there had been triennial Parliaments. The people were beguiled withi ipromises that were never kept. He advocated triennial Parliaments, because it would be a constant means of introducing now blood, and because if would operate iu the direction of the survival of the fittest . Mr WakefiulJ would opposes the second reading. Mr Gisborne eui Mr Stevens supported the Bill, the ; further consideration of which was adjourned until that day fortnight.