PARLIAMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2995, 24 September 1891, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

TLESDAY. Tub Council met at 2.30 p.m. It was announced that a compromise had been arrived at with th» Lower House on the Public Trust Ollice Bill. Dr. Groce intimated that the conference on the Electoral Bill had been unable to como to any agreement. Progress was reported on the Ooal Mines Bill. The Railway Authorisation'Bill was put through its final stages. The Slaughterhouse Act Amendment Hill was committed, read a third time, and passed. , _ , The Naval and Military Settlers Land Bill was committed. Claus<; 2 was amended making land certificates not transferable. The second reading of the Borough Vesting and Sales Bill was agreed to, and the Bill referred to the Waste Lands Committee. The Council rose at lO.fo p.m. WEDNESDAY. The Council met at 2.30. It wan announced that tho Conference on the Light from Crown Lands Restriction Bill had failed to arrive at a compromise. Mr Buckley moved that on the occasion of the retirement of Sir I<\ D. Bel! from the position of Agent-General for the colony, the thanks of the C:mncil be given him for the important and valuable services rendered by him in that capacity. This was agreed to aftor eulogistic speeches had boon delivered by Col. Whitmore and Messrs Reynolds, Pollen, Grace, and Stevens. The Council adjourned at o p.m. The Council resumed at 7.H0 p m. The Coal Mines Bill and Naval and Military Settlers Land Bill were put througli their final stages. . On the motion for the committal of the Borough Reserves Vesting and Sales Bill being mined hy the Colonial Secretary, Mr Fulton proposed, us an amendment, that the report of tho Waste Lnids Committee, which was to the effect that the Bill be not proceeded with this session, be adopted. The amendment was agreed to, and the Council, at 5.15 p.m., adjourned till 2.30 p.m. noxt day.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

TUESDAY. The Public Works Estimates were still nnder consideration nfter the telegraph office closed at two o'clock this morning. Village settlement*. £10,949. Agreed to. Roads on goldfields, £29,750. Carried. All the other vote*, including amounts Bet down for the construction <>f new railways, were agreed tn without alteration. Progress was roported whim the Public Works Estimates were finished, aud the House rose at 5 a.m. The House met at 2.80 p.m. In answer to a question to Mr Rolleston, as to whether the Government were prepared to make such provision as would enable Jnrign Edwnrda tn proatxnte his claim against tho Government before tho I'rivy Council, Mr Ballauce said tho question of contributing towards Mr Edwards' expenses at tha Privy Council would be reconsidered, by the Cabinet tomorrow. The Hon. J. AlcKenzie brought up the report of tho conference on the Land Bill. Hβ said the managers from the Hmwe had done their utmost to etfect a reasonable compromise with the Council, but they had failed to aerree. on the amendments made by the Council in vital portions of the I3ill. It was now his intentj.m to allow the Bill to drop for tho with the view of reintroducing it next year. On tho question being put that tho report of the conference li« on tho table, Mr George Hutchison objected to the Bill being dropped without another effort, as it made some very desirable amendments in the present l»w ; but tho fnct wai tlmt the Ministry wanted to pick a. quarrel with tho Upper House, and they did not care to have the Bill passed in any shape. He moved as an amendment: "That a message be sent to tha Governor, asking for a further conference on the L;ind Bill." After a lengthy discussion. Mr Hutchison's amendment was lost by 37 to 27, and Mr McKenzie's motion, that the roport of the conference lie on the table, was agreed

to. In announcing that the conference on the Electoral Isill had failed to arrivo at a compromise, Mr liallance stated that the point on which a deadlock had occurred was the vital clause of tho Bill, providing that no elector shall bo eiititlod to have hia name on more than one electoral roil. The Council had struck out this clause, and the mauagers from the House could not Rive way on it. He regretted very much that such an important measure would havo to be dropped ; but as there was no chance of an agieement with the Council, the Government could come to no other decision. The report of the conference was ordered to ho laid on the table. The Houso went into Committer , of Hupply for the consideration of the Estimates. Public Trust Office, £0072. The item of £0-18 fee* for the Commissioner wae attacked in several ways and eventually it was reduced by £121 10s which represented Mr T. K. Macdonald's share of the foes. A nominal reduction was moved in the next itom to assert the principle that a member of the Uou.se should not be employed by the Government an a commissioner during tho recess, but it was lost on the voices. The total vote as reduced was theu agreed to. . The Audit UHice £0170 was carried. The supplementary estimates were next taken. Item £100 for the PostmasterGeneral's salary for six months was agreed to 2!) to 11. All the other items on the estimates were passod without alteration. Progress was reported and the House rose at 5.30 a.m. WEDNESDAY. Tho House met at 2.30 p,m. On the question being put that the votes from the Committee of Supply be reported to the House, Mr Rolleston said he had done his best to criticise the Estimates, and had sat there till five o'clock one morning, seven o'clock another morning, and eight o'clock another morning. The Government had, in many cases, refused to afford any information to the House on the Estimates, and what information they had given had been of the most imperfect kind. He spoke from lengthy experience, and he must say he had never seen Estimates framed with ench an uttor disregard of economy as those brought down by the present Government. They bore also unmistakable evidence of political pressure having beeu brought to bear on the Government. Tho manuer in which Ministers had lately forced business through the House at all hours of the moruiug wan uot at all creditable to tho Representatives ol the colouy who wore really ueglectiug the iuterests of their constituents iuagreeiutf to eueli n course of action. Mr Richardson strongly criticised what he naid was the ho called eouomy of tho Government and pointed out that this retrenching Ministry had put a total iucroase on the estimates this year over last year of .1:10,500 on the consolidated fund beside a large increase on the Public Works Fund. Mr i'argns said the Premior wheu in the Oppuditiuu lind oUtctud a great mauy rt>

mictions but in the present estimates he had restored every one of tbn.se rnducti"ii*. Mr Guinness called nttnnti<iti to the vote of £11 It for paying ofT Bellamy'* overdraft which lie regretted to sue had p.-imed in Committeo when thore was a thin attendance and whon he happened to be absent from the chnmbar. Ho moved this item bo recommitted for the purpose of further con-.-idtiration. , . Lost by 39 to 11, and the resolution agreed to. Mr Uiillance =aid the Joint Library Goniniittno rocointnended that the Sorge-»nt at \rnis ho also appointed librarian, with an additional salarv uf £100 a-year. The Government did not concur in that recornineiiflaticin, nor did they agree with thn proposal that the nssiat'int librarian should he paid I'liO additional. The report was discard hy the House, and was ;i"ro«d t'i without any material amendment, the incr>v.i*e of Jtso to the assistant librarian be.inß carried. The House ruse at 5.39 p.m. The House resumed at 7.30. p.m. The Shinghterlurise Act Amendment Hill, which had already passed thn LorM.itive Council, was put thrmiKh nil its .-hißes. Mr B.illance rufnrn-d to a ijii.'.-tL-.n raised yesterday with rclemnoß to defraying the cost of thn Edwards' case bufure the Privy Council, and said that the Onvernment had carefully considered the case, but looking at nil the circumstances they had come to the conclusion that they could not interfere in the matter at present. Mr Kolloston said he had heard the Premier's statumoni with unbounded reStiet, and ho f«lt auiu it would be received by the country with universal disapproval. A similar resolution to that passed by the li»cislative Council with referonce to the retirement of Sir Dillon Bell was carried unanimously. Tho amendments made bv the Legislative Council in the Coal Minos Bill were agreed The Kducitional Endowment and Ra-s-Tves Management and Exchange liill, which was shorn in committee of all it? clamps except that providing for an endowment or reserve to be nKchamred for land of oqual value to be applied to liko purposes, read a third time and passed. Mr Seddon moved that the alterations affected by the Connci' in the Naval and Military Settlers Land Bill be agreed to. Several members objected to the amendments, which they contended would render the Bill a dead letter. Mr Seddon eventually agreed to an adjournment of the debate in order to see whether a conference could be arranged with tho Council. Mr Gadman movnd the second reading of the Native Land Court Acts Amendment Bill, to enable an enquiry to be made into certain native titles by the ordinary native land court of the colony instead of a Royal Con.mission. The motion was agreed to ou the voices, after a short debate. The Appropriation Act and Public Works Appropriation Act were introduced and read a second timrf, their committal beine set down for 11 a.m. tomorrow. The House rose at 11.20 p.m.