POLITICAL NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2667, 15 August 1889, Page 2

POLITICAL NOTES

(l)T TELEGRAPH. —O\VN UOBIiEfU'ONDENT.) Wkm.incston*, Wednesday. NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION. There is as yet no appearance of the debate in the No-confidence mntion drawing to a close, although the Government were ready to go to a division this afternoon. The three absent members having arrived since yesterday, the Government whips now give the numbers as 49' for the Government and 43 for Mr Moss' amendment. There are still several doubt fill votes, some of whom will probably not go into either lobby. A. curious little passage at arms oeeuired in the House this afternoon, between Mr Kerr, and the member for the Boiler. Mr Kerr was denouncing the Government for declaring Mr Moss' airendmsnt, a vote of No-Confidence, and said it waa impossible for Ministers to be honest, who coerced their supporters in this manner. Mr O'Connor here rose to a point of order, and asked the Speaker whether such an expression was Parliamentary. Sir Maurice O'Tiorke replied it would not be in order if meant seriously, but lie thought it was delivered with a certain amount of jocularity. Mr Kerr then turned on Mr O'Connor, and addressed himself directly to him, charging him with getting votes on the Estimates, not for his constituents, but for himself. This brought Mr O'Connor t,<> his feet again in indignant protost, he appealed to the Speaker for protection. Sir Maurice, of course, recpicsted the withdrawal of the words, to which Mr Kerr replied, amidst langhter "I'll withdraw them, Sir, but they are true. Mr O'Connor again rose and appealed to the Speaker, who ordered Mr Kerr to withdraw them unconditionally. The member for Waimea then gave in with a good grace by saying "I'll withdraw them on any condition whatever," and the matter dropped. CONDENSING SPEECHES. The following motion was proposed by Mr Saunders at yesterday's meeting of the Reporting Debates and Printing Committe, " that no member of either House, except a member of the Cabinet, or a leader of the Opposition, should be allowed to occupy more than fifty pages of Hansard in any one session, and as soon as that limit is reached, any speeches by such member for the rest of the session should remain unreported. No member to bo allowed tostrikoout from his proof, bnt any member may give a general direction to Hansard staff to abbreviate his speeches in their report. The motion was, however, superseded by an amendment which shelved it till next session. THE KAIWA.RRA. MURDER. In reply to Mr Fisher to-dav, the Premier said some of the affidavits included in the Cliemis papers have been found to contain paragraphs reflecting upon certain innocent persons who have already suffered a good deal. The papers were, therefore, being looked into so as to prevent matter of that kind creeping in, and as soon as they were completed they would be laid on the table.

MR BALLANCK'S SPEECH. Tho Post has an articlo to-night on Mr Balance's speech of Monday evening, troin which it appears the real meaning of his remarks is that he does not 'see his way to dispense with the property-tax, but only to amend it. The question involved in Mr Moss' amendment, it may be well to point out, is not a question as between tho 1 ro-perty-tax and a Land'and Income tax, but only a condemnation of the Property-tax. Latest. A SERIOUS POSITION. There is an Opposition rumour to-night to the effect that the Government are actually in a minority of two on the Moss amendment, and further that this was tho reason the Premier pressed for such an early adjournment at 10.10. The Government whips admit now the Ministerial majority is only four, and there is no doubt the position is becomiii2 very s >,rious, not only as regaids the existence of tho Government, but as to the probable effects which passing such a sweeping condemnation af our taxation system would have on the colony itself.