PARLIAMENTARY NOTES. [BY TELEGRAPH. — SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1712, 26 June 1883, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES. [BY TELEGRAPH. — SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

Mysterious \vhisper3 have been going the round of the lobbies regarding grave scandals alleged to have been enacted in connection with the Native Lands Court now or lately sitting at Cambridge. The whole thing resolves itself into two petitions, one from Aperahama tn Kume, and eight otheis, wherein Parliament is asUed to allow the case to be heard again, and that Mr Fenton and other Europeans who understand this case, should be brought befote a committee of the House and examined os to the facts. A biief history of the Whakamaru case is then given, after which the petitioners go on to s>ay : "We heard a great many remarks laying blame to Mr Sheehati and Hori Rehi (assessor), stating that the assessor had been paid. We ga\ c no heed to these rumours, either in believing them ox otherwise, but we went to Mr Fenton and asked him to look into the evidence given by the person who conducted our case, and if he saw his way to gr.mt us a rehearing, for we thought it was owing to Mr Sheehan having deceived the court that a wrong judgment was given, and the rehearing was granted. An agreement was made with the Patetere Company to give us 6000 acres, and we agreed to withdraw the case. Mr .Sheehan again interfered. There were over 400 persons interested in this case, and there- were only three who sided with Mr Sheehan in obstruction of our proceedings, and w e were unable to withdraw our case. Judges Macdonald and Puckey, and Hcrewini (assessor) heard the case, aiul we have not a complaint to make against these judges ; bufc wo were grieved to find that Hori Rehi was allowed to associate with them. This assessor was in the habit of accompanying Mr Shcehau every day during the hearing of the case. He was also his companion during the evenings, and accompanied Mr Sheeehan to the meetincs held with his witnesses, and w.is constantly going backwards and forwards amongst the judges and assessors. We wondered how it was this assessor, who had caused us to suffer should be allowed to continue attached to the court and to draw his pay during the whole time the trial lasted, which was over six weeks. We represented our grievance to the Chief Judge, and he at once agreed the said assessor should be sent away. When the assessor heard tli.it he got enraged and went to Mr Sheehan, who determined his assessor should not depart, and he remained there and continued to work with Mr Sheehan." They then go on to say that they mentioned their grievance to' Mr Fenton, and he spoke very nicely to them, but still the assessor was detained as determined by Mr Sheehan. Dr Buller and Mr Sheehan are then stated to have conducted their case, the former very clearly and according to English law, while the other is stated in his address to the court to have said that the. former decision he adheicd to. The petition proceeds :— When the decision was made, Judge Puckey delivered it just as he was requested by Mr Sheehan. Judge Macdonald said that this was not his decision, he only agreed with Judge Puckey. The assessor afterwards told Hape te Uoaohau he knew Apeiahama was light, but that he had been influenced by his English companion towauls their decision. We know the assessor was tellins the. truth, because of the statement made in court that the decison had been delayed three days because of tiie determination of the assessor. Again the petition goes on say :— lf the trials arc to be carried on in this way we will cease to bring our laud before the court. Mr Sheehan 'and the Patotere Company have requested Aperahama to accept a portion of the land, including his Lamqn, for he lias li\ ed on that land for the List ten veais. This present was to be made because they kne.v that Aperahama was entitled to the land, but Mr Sheehan said that if Aperahama took these acies he was not to apply to Parliament for a rehearinc Aperahanie and his hrtpu would not agree _to these proposals. The second petition comes from P.iora Karetai and others. It sets forth that Mr Sheehan conducted their case in the first instance, but upon arranging lists for certificates they were declined by Mr Sheehan. Only a few names were given in by him for the larger portion of the block, while they were thrust to an unalicnublc reserve. What Mr Shochan said to the court was that we had all agreed to his arrangement, at the same time he knew that I (Paora) was absent and had not given consent. The Chief Judge had allowed me to go aw.iy to attend the court at Maketu, and his words were I could go, and the list of names would remain undealt with until my return ; but, should the matters be brought on quickly, a wno from him would fetcli me on the day the list of names was given in. Another lawyer did get up. and reminded Judge Pnckey of the wouls of the Chief Judge, and the fact of my being absent. Judge Puckey replied he had forgotten the fact of my being absent, and the words of the Chief Judge ; but, notwithstanding that, he would not prolong the court, the Chief Judge being then absent in Auckland. He (Puckey) then added : ' I will not prolong the court, because the person alluded to (P.iora) is an infernal nuisance.' Now we wish to find out whether it is a proper thing foi the mouthpiece of the court to use maledictory language in reference to a person claiming his rights. Application was made to the Chief Judge for rehearing, but it w.i 3 not granted, and that is why I present now this petition."

A Russian traveller in the Malay Peninsula claims to have found in use there the smallest " coin "in the world. It is a minute wafer made fiom the juice of a tive. Its value is about the millionth part of a dollar. Action ov Light ox Lk.wes.— Lea\es possess the power of turning to the light, now called " heliotropism,"and especially of so placing their upper surface as to form a right angle to the direction of the light. It has been surmised that the horizontal position of leaves, and especially the position with rogatc] to the direction of light, was due to the oon joint action of gravitation ov "geotropism, of " heliotropiam," and of the greater relative force of growth on one or the other surface, the particular direction assumed by the leaves being supposed to be due to the balance between these forces ; buc by means of experiments made with a view of annulling or counteracting the effects of gravitation and of unequal growth, Mr Francis Darwin has shown that the power which leaves have of placing themselves at right angles to incident light is due to a special sensitiveness, which is capable of regulating the action of other forces, whether external to the plai}t, as th.at qf gravitation, or internal, s^eh as that regulating the direction and amount of growth. The movements of the leaves towards the light are different from others which are of a periodic character, in that they are influenced by the direction rather than the intensity of the light- The growth of leaves, like growth in general, is retarded by the action of light. Growth, therefore, is carried on independently of and not contemporaneously with nutrition by the leaf, bo far as' the latter oon. sists In the decomposition of carbonic acid and the fixation of the carbon. Thus it has been shown by Dr. Vines that leaves will grow— l, in darkness, or under the influence of blue light ; 2, in air deprived of carbonic acid ; and 3, even ia the absence of chlorophyll. But although there is thus shown to be no direct relation between nutrition and trowth, yet there is, of course, an inirect relation, growth, tinder the apparently adverse conditions just mentioned being only possible in cases where there is available some store of nourishment previously formed by! assimilation. —