THE LOBBIES. [BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH, SPECIAL, C0RRESPONDENT.]

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1433, 8 September 1881, Page 3

THE LOBBIES. [BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH, SPECIAL, CORRESPONDENT.]

Hamilton Borough Boundaries. 'Last Night;; Mb Dice moved the second reading of the Borough of Hamilton Bill. He said doubts had »ri«en as to whether or not the bill had been duly advertised, so that sufficient notification of its purport had become known, He had since ascertained the bill had been duly notified in The Waikato Tunes, which was the district journal of the locality within which the borough was situated.. There was only some questions raised at the second reading as to whether or not * piece of ground of 80 acres was properly included within the boundaries. Enquiries had been made on that point, and he found that while on* surveyor said it was incorrectly included, the Chief Surveyor gave an opinion in thecontrary direction. Further, it seemed to him that it was not unreasonable that this 80 acres should be so included. — Mr Westdn objected to the land in question being included. He had been asked to take this objection, and it Jteemed to him the proposal to include it manifestly unfair ; it had not been included in the original proclamation of boundaries, and if now included, he apprehended it would be unfair to the proprietor, as it would render him liable ior all borough rating, which may have Accumulated upon the land. He moved that the 80 acres be struck out of the schedule. — Mr Stewart desired to know why this bill had been taken in hand by the Government at all. It was a bill he would have expected to find in the hands of the district member. One gentleman belonging to the district had told him the 80 acres should not be included, and if included, a wrong would be done. — Mr Montgomery thought it was wrong to include the 80 acres, as he understood it Government had lent the Board money, and this looked like an attempt to increase the value of the security. — Mr Murray said the object was to correct a flaw in the proclamation so as to enable the borough to collect its rates. Properly speaking, the money had not been lent to the borough. It had been borrowed from the Trust Funds for the purpose of erecting the Hamilton public bridge. — Mr Macandrew said he had objected to the bill at its second reading, but explanations were then given which satisfied him — Mr Whitaker said the 80 acres were included in the township before the corporation was proclaimed, and rates were paid thereon to the townihip. There had never been any doubt raised until very recently of the ground being proEerly included within the borough.— Mr •ick replied that the 80 acres had been included in the borough ever since Hamilton had been formed into a borough. The real objection was not as regards the 80 acres, but a piece of land situated alongside of it, on which a valuable house and other improvements had bean made. The real purpe«e was to avoid paying borough taxes for that propurty. The real objector had a seat in the other Chamber, and in that case they might be sure the question of including this plan would have every opportunity for being carefully considered when the bill reached that place. — The motion for the third reading was adopted on the voices. The Leaseholders' Qualification Bill, introduced by Mr Hall, provides for every m<m of 21 years and upwards having leasehold estate in possession situate within any electoral district, of the clear value of £10, held upon lease, which at the tune of registration shall have not less than tiiree years to run, or having leasehold so situated, and of such value, of which he has been m possession for one year or upwards at the tune of such registration, and not being registered in respect of any other qualification for the same district, shall be entitled to be registered under the Registration of Electors Act 1879, and vote at the election of members for the House of .Representatives. The Counties Act Amendment provides that counties may impose a rate not exceed ing 2s in the £. Aliens, with the exception of Chinese, are entitled to be placed on the roll. County Councils are to levy rates, notwithstanding road boards having levied prior rate. New counties may be formed on a petition of three-fifths of the tatepayets and s, majority of electors. The Protection of Debtors Bill provides, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, that no landlords can distrain on or seize or impound any goods belonging to any tenant or judgment debtors or other person whatsoever, unless the value of such goods exceeds £50. The right to distrain for rent due shall only give a right to distrain or seize or impound goods over the value of £30 belonging to a tenant or judgment debtor as may be. No holder of any bill of sale shall be entitled to seize the household furniture or tools of trade of any person, or that of his wife or children, unless the value thereof exceed £50, and then only the furniture, tools, and clothing that exceed in value the said sum. If any dispute or difficulty shall arise as to what goods, household furniture, tools, or clothing are of the value of £50, or any other dispute that may arise in the administration of this Act the same shall, on application to him in writing, be decided by the Resident Magistrate of the district wherein the dispute arose, but if the .amount in dispute exceeds the sum of £100, then by a Judge of the Supreme Court in chambers, on summons, and such decision shall in either case be final. Latest Parliamentary. Alter the fervent heat of the last twelve days Parliament has cooled down most effectually, and by way of making amends for past prodigalities a vast amount of industrial pursuits has been entered upon. To-day, for the first time, we have had a morning sitting, commencing at 11 a.m., at which some progress was made in the way of parsing a fp.w of the more important measures of the session. These sittings will'be continued two days in the week during the remainder of the session, which is not likely to extend much beyond the end of next week. There are 14 Orders of the Day bauging on the Order Paper, and although no formal statement has yet been made ou the subject, a vast proportion of these are sure to go the way of all fleah. In the wholesale slaughter of the innocents it is generally understood the Railway Construction Bill ia amongst the doomed. It is also questionable if the Town Districts Bill will fare much better. An effort will be made to preserve it, but with an exhausted House such as we have now got to deal with it is very questionable indeed how far the effort may prove successful. You will join with me, I have no doubt, in expressing regret that the prospects of this measure are so very faint. In the Southern districts the bill is just as largely wanted a» it is by Waikato. It may survive, but I much doubt it. Of' course the remainder of the session will sot be all plain sailing. One or two tough winds are bound to blow. The Taranaki Harbour Commission Bill is set down for Jto-nitf ht, and the motion for reviewing the ruling of the Chairman of Committee*;, In refusing to Accept * raotiw' for wj>QrtJDo progress in

Committee (tht 1 memorable Gisborue, escapade) are sure to raise more or less of 'a rumpus* Indeed, certain ';of the miachiftf-loVing mob are still indulging in dark hints about a further trial of strength before the close of the session. They argue , that Government has alienated its late friends, and that it cannot possibly depend upon the allegiance of, its new-found adherents, and in that case they contend that a no-confidence motion would not improbably be carried, and as the Governor is rather a strange I man it is juat possible he would refuse a dissolution, in which case the Opposition, such as it is, would be enabled to seize the reins of Government pending the forthcoming elections. In all probability the whole 1 tiling will end in smoke, and i after one or two slight skirmishes all parties will be content to take their departure in search of such fresh adventures ac may be found in the forthcoming elections. Nor am lat all sure that a speedy dissolution is not now being looked forward to by the majority as a happy release from what has of late proved to be a most unsatisfactory state of existence. By way of varying the entertainment we have had one or two new departures of late in connection with the observance of the strangers' gallery. A few days ago Grey's stock of tirade against % ".the great governing families; their godless doings to the poor downtrodden serfs was greeted with a rour\d of applause. Again Saundere, who was enlarging on the opposition views of the question, and denouncing the unemployed as a parcel of rogues and vagabonds, was greeted , with a volley of indignation, Then, again, we had a performance last night from a drunk and disorderly member, who was suddenly seized with an impression that he was called upon to take part in the debate. I need hardly add that his expulsion was prompt. Today, on the motion for the second reading of the Doga Registration Act, Mr Wliyte was particularly active. A proposal was made for exempting sheep dogs, whereupon the Maori members claimed a similar exemption on behalf of their pig dogs. Mr Whyto could not stand this. He pointed out very forcibly that the country was in danger of being overrun with these curs, and that their owners persistently allowed them to pick up their food in the way Sam Weller picked up his education— in the gutter. They sometimes varied the entertainment by making inroads upon the sheep farmers' flocks. The argument was a reasonable one, and, I am glad to say it prevailed. A Parliamentary return just issued shows that £11,091 has been paid during last year for Government advertising :—: — Star (Auckland) got £527 ; Fret Lance, £66; Ha aid, £933; Standard (Gisborne), £35 j Herald (ditto), £i 5; Thames Advertiser, £252; Waihato Timei,, £117; Cambridge paper, £64 ; Hew* (Auckland), £47 ; Siffister (ditto) £5 ; Bay of Plenty j Times. £122.