POLITICAL NEWS. [BY TELEGRAPH.-SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1901, 11 September 1884, Page 2

POLITICAL NEWS. [BY TELEGRAPH.-SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

District Railways Wklunc ton, Wednesday. Riit.Tui.TUS Vogel to-day iutinducod the Distnot Railways Leasing Bill, which enables the Government to onfcei into lea-.es for 21 vc.ir> ot niihv.iys cont-ti noted under the J)istnct Itailways Act with a I in chasing clause, and to woik the lines as portions of one colonial railway system. Power to rate will bo lotamed. Tlu- bill hah not yet beon punted, but I unduistand the foiegoing are the clnef features contained in it.

The Insurance Department. Sii Julius ako g.ue notice of the Insurance Department Incni potation Ijill, which pinposes to pl.ice the uuui.ipfi'iueiit of thu Derailment under a board elected by the policy-holder's.

The North Island Railway. It was generally expected this afternoon that a pietty lively debate would have resulted on the motion foi the appointment of a select committee to report on the best route for the Noith Island Trunk Railway, but the dinner hour (,~>.30) having .v lived a few minutes before the motion w.is 1 cached it was not called on. 1 undei stand that an effoit is to be made to change the composition of the committee altogether by .substituting the names of South Wand men for tho nine Noitli Island members that now .ippe.ii on it. Tins is ceitain to punoke actne opposition. On the House re-assembling to night Mi Ifobb-, ga\e notice of his intention to mo\e that the Ho'ise considei it is the duty of the (Tovorninent to lecoinmend the bist route for tlie Noith 1-Luid railway.

The Attitude of the Opposition. The Opposition appear to b.ue definitely decided not to attack the position of the (Jo\ eminent this unless, some veiy utgent leason for doing so should ;ui i-ei -c out of tlie financial ])ro])oscds of the (-Jo\ eminent. If the budge!, sliould turn out to bo le.isonably satisfactory no oig.iMisod oppobi tion )-> likely to bo oWoied.

Alleged Purchase of a Vote. I obsei ye that a repoit has been going tlie rounds of the lobbies, and has be.en t'jlegiaphed out by v>n,e special correspondents to the effect that Mi Mitc'ielson purchased Mi Guinness' vote by accepting a teudei for tin 1 Nelson Cieek 1 ail way after the fund') wi'ie exhausted. 1 have made enquiuei into tin 1 v hole matter, and c^p^u 1 11 v .11 it is about to be (nought befoie th > Hoiiso, and h ivo a^cm tain"d the following tact-, v. inch may be iegudj.l as pioilv. reliable . — Mi Guinness, ,i> f.u hick as the 20th of August last, gave notice that lie would ask the Government on the folios mg day wliui they would accept the lowest tendei foi the section of i ulwav m question. At that date Mr Mitchelson was not in office, the hist Stout- Vogel Government beintf in powui. ilnw ever, the no-conhdence motion of Mi Thomson came on that night, and Mi (Jumnehs voted foi the motion and against the (Jovernnient. The Ministi y having been tin ned out, his question could not bo asked, hut it remained on theOidei papei. On the 2L)th August, the v\,uit of confidence motrHi in the Atkinson (-loveiinnent c une on and Mr (Juinnebs vottd with the imnmity. All this time his question lemauied on tluOlder paper, and it was not till the Ist Soptembei, that Mr Mitchelhon save uistiucti'nis foi the tender to be accepted. It has aUo to bo borne in mind that the woik was decided to be gone Oil with, and the contract was .idveiti->ed. The acceptance of the tendei had been delayed foi vaiious leasons, and was afoimal matter bi. night befoie the Miuistei in the oidinaiy couise and duly sanctioned. In any case it seems difficult to nndei stand how this could be consti uud into " puich.ismg" a vote riven seveial days befoie, when a totally different (ioveininent was in ponei. This is not all, however. On the 3id September the contractor, who i.sat piesent engaged in connection with the (Queen's wharf, Wellington, leeeived notice that his tender was accepted. The contractor, however, m the intei val cane to the coir elusion that the p» ice was not good enough and lef used to take it up, so that actually the work was not proceeded with, luuthei, so far from the funds for this paiticnlai work being exhausted, table 7 attached to the last Financial Statement will show that less in proportion of the amount allocated had been spent on the line in question than any othei in the colony, and Majoi Atkinson Lad to admit m the House some time back that it had been unfaiily tieated in that respect. It was probably to remedy to homo extent this injustice that the oidei was given, although really to accept the tendei m question.

The Weakness of the Ministry. Lum:u. The rejection of Mr Bairon'shill to murht for extending the liouis of polling at oli-c-tioii*. till S o'clock at night is coiisidoied m the light <>f a slap f<u Mimsti'i.s. The Pienuer having' warmly advocated the mea-mie in the eaily pait of the evening the Hmue threw the bill out by a maionty of 10. The Government also this afternoon, bhongly opposed Mr Samuel's motimi in refeience to the prosecution of fraudulent poisons, but the mover managed to cany it aganiht Ministers by a majority of l."> votes.

Native Lands Mr Locke introduced a bill to-day to amend the Native Landt. Act. The object of the bill ie to facilit ite the sub-di\ lbion of native grants on the E.ibt Coast.