“"There - Is good butter to be had, aiid it *ht to pay the producer and curer better a an inferior article ; but the dealer ■will not pay for it a price corresponding to its value, and when he gets it he mixes good and bad together, and brings down the former to the level of the latter. By bestowing proper care and attention on butter making and curing, the dealers and “ good wives” of Aberdeenshire alone might divide an additional £40.000 a year among them. To produce butter of good quality it is not necessary to have rich old pasture. Butter made in Suffolk on land little better than a sheep-walk, and not worth 10s per acre, fetches Is 6d per lb. in London, beating Danish and Normandy butter. Wight, in his account of the state of husbandry in Scotland a hundred years ago, states that the best butter he ever tasted was made at a roadside inn in Perthshire, where the cows had nothing to feed on but young heath and the short grass under it, and that the Marquis of Breadalbane preferred this butter to his own, though he had the best cows feeding on rich old pasture. It is the same with cheese. Mr Harding, a well-known Eng lish cheesemaker, who introduced the making of Cheddar cheese into Ayrshire, stated that whether it was made from old pasture, from forced Italian ryegrass, or from heather, the cheese was uniform . in texture, quality, and flavor; if there was any difference, he thought the best article was made from the heather. The highest priced butter in the world is made in the district of Isigny, in Normandy, in the north-west of France. It sells by auction in Paris during winter at 3s. ' per lb., wholesale, sometimes reaching 3s. sd. During the summer it falls to 2s. The care in the manufacture of this butter is something extraordinary, and much of the superiority of the quality is attributed to this : the hand never touches the butter, it is beaten up in cloths, the utensils are of marvellous cleanliness, and if a drop of milk or cream falls on the floor it is. immediately sluiced away. The cream is churned twice or three times a week in a barrel churn. While the churning is going on the chunier listens attentively so as to detect in an instant the slightest altera tions in the sound of the churning cream. As soon as any alteration is thought to bo detected, a spigot which closes a hole through the bulg»g part of the churn is withdrawn, and the matter adhering to it is carefully examined. . If this is still cream, the churning is continued, but if there are on the spigot particles of butter, no larger even than a pin’s head, the churning proper is finished. The butter milk is emptied out, the small particles of butter accompanying it being caught on a sieve and replaced in the churn, into which fresh spring water is also put until it is half full. Three or four turns are then given, and the mixture of water and buttermilk is again withdrawn as before. The process is repeated, often seven or eight times, until the water comes out of the chum as bright and clear as it went in. The butter is. thus thoroughly cleansed from the buttermilk, and con , soli dated into one mass. When removed from the churn by large wooden spoons, it no more working than is stracient to press out the clear water from its-interstices. Mr, Jenkins, the_ secre tary of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, to whom we are indebted for this description, states that a careful inquiry into the manner in which butter is made, in several districts of Normandy has convinced him that —other things being equal—the quality of the butter •depends upon the “■earlier or later period ai which the washing of the butter is eismunenced. ” This is so far recognised by some of the dairy farmers that they have their chums fitted with a glass win dow, to enable the eye to see and thus assist the ear to hear when the butter .begins first to be formed.

MR. SPURGEON ON PRAYER FOR PINE WEATHER.

Afc the Metropolitan Tabernacle on -- Sunday, July 13, Mr. C. H. Spurgeon, preaching from the text, Hosea v. 15, “I will go and return to my place till ■ they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early,” refeiyed to what he designated our “ national troubles. ” He said : No one will deny that our country is passing through ar tune of great and grievous ad versity. We have been perplexed now for, many months and for some years with .the perpetual rumors of war. No man iknew when he went to bed at night but • -what the journal of the morning would iiuForm him that we had plunged into .■so ne great war with certain of the greater iPowera of Europe. Our policy has been surah,, whether wise or not, that we have heeauiKscatantly on the verge of imperill ing ourselves in long and serious conflicts, attd +.bi« of itself is a serious injury to 1 prosperity of any country, for trade aoel commence swim in the waters of peace, and when these waters are lashed with <ar when the breath of the rumor <af war .disturbs them, your trade - and coauaaerce are seriously injured. In .-addition ts> ifihis,' we have been engaged ;in two wars in which it was impossible ;for us to gaia ’honor,, .-since it was the : mighty going io war with the weak —in which the laurels ithat we gained, if there . '.had been any, would have been unworthy -,to put upon the brow of a, great nation. ißut disaster has followed axpon the heels «if disaster, and, what 5s often forgotten, ffhis JißSito be paid for, not only with the 'blood of our soldiers, but with the sinew ;and His muscle of our working men. 'That wliidk ought to have gone to the arts and to -Out progress of civilisation has been thrown like huge masses of flesh . into the mouth cf the lion to be devoured, amd shameful waste, I fear, may he fol lowed by shocking w&nt, unless God in Hiis mercy shall interpose. On the back of ail this war thas oqbk> depression in trade. You cannot enter anybody’s house Irnt what there is .complaining ; even the most .cheerful of men begin at ’ i . last to Ut'Jk. -very to wonder - whether they nhalll be able to ‘‘ provide '-. things honest' m the sight of all men. ” : , They labor and t&ey toil, but their care is ; little repaid. Sosse branches of industry) t seem to be utterly jwalysed, with little; ' prospect of being rewred, .and the land! itself, notwithstanding that it is not aoj . bad as some would make it, hath never-: ; theless eome under a clou I ojt ,ao unusually! , > dark and lowering character. And as if I , r tills wore not enough, the weather refuses ,;/'■! to assist the processes of husbandry. ' „ iPcobably the crop of hay that was needful t ” 'tfor the cattle has gone, and may scarcely

be looked for, and now great peril is upo the com. In some places it has probably suffered little as yet, but a continuance of such weather must deprive us of the most precious fruits of the earth, and men are beginning to cry out about it, and there is a request that there should be prayers put up in all the churches, that God would be pleased to look upon the land and deliver us in this hour of trouble. In the first matter, that of war, we may, by God’s goodness, get out of that. It may be possible that better principles may come to the front, and we may no longer be the universal snarlers and growlers at every nation under heaven. But as to the other two matters, what can we do ! We are powerless to quicken trade, we are certainly powerless to stay the bottles of heaven. If God wills it, the clouds will “return after the rain,” and deluge will follow deluge till the farmer’s hope is swept away. Prayer is therefore asked, and by some it is asked as if it were quite certain that if prayers were put up the rain would cease and the weather would be changed. Ido not think it. I know of many reasons why it may be possible that prayers, and such prayers as they are likely to be, will not be heard ; but, instead thereof, the threatened judgment of God may come upon us. God is a prayer-hearing God, but not always doth He answer us just according to our mind. We must not put much confidence in prayers which will probably be sincere in the mouths of a tenth of the people—l wish I could hope as much as that—and that will by others be regarded as absolutely ridicu lous, and by many more as a mere matter of form •which it is proper to use, but in which no confidence whatever can be placed. Do not therefore say, if the rain should continue for a month to gether, that prayer was ordered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and God did not hear it. No ; but see what kind of prayer it is, and how little connected it will be with confession, how little it will be genuine, and how little it will be true, and then you will not wonder if my text is true in our own case. What, then, is to be done 1 This is to be done ; all hope for a country lies in the true believers in the midst of it. Remember Sodom, and how it would have been spared had there been ten righteous found there. Let us, then, make confession of sin. As the high priest went before God bearing the sin of the people, so act you as a priest before God in your quiet, retired personal prayer, and there confess the sins of the nation. If it will not repent, repent for it; stand as a sort of consecrated sponsor before God, and let the sin lie on your heart till it break it, and you repent before the Most High.

RETROSPECT.

I sat alone with my conscience, In a place where time had ceased. And we talked of my former being In a land where the years increased.

And I felt I should have to answer The question it put to me, And face the answer and question Throughout eternity.

The ghosts of forgotten actions Came floating before my sight, And things that I thought were dead things Were alive with a terrible might.

And the vision of all my past life , Was an awful thing to face— Alone with my conscience sitting In that solemnly silent place.

And I thought of a far away warning, Of a sorrow that was to be mine, In a land that then was the future, But now was the present time.

And I thought of my former thinking Of the judgment day to be— But sitting alone with my conscience Seemed judgment enough to me.

And I wondered if there was a future : To this land beyond the grave ; But no one came to answer, No one came to save.

Then I felt that the future was present, And the present would never go by ; For it was but the thought of my past life Grown into eternity.

Then I awoke from my timely dreaming, And the vision faded away ; And I knew that the far away warning Was a warning of yesterday.

And I pray that I may not forget it In this land before the grave, That I may not cry in the future, And no one come to save.

Now I have learned a lesson, Which I ought to have known before, And which, though I learned it in dream -I’ll remember evermore. [ing

So I sit alone with my conscience, In the place where the years increase, And I try to remember the future In the land where time shall cease.

And I know of the future judgment, Then whensoe’er it be To sit alone with my conscience Will be judgment enough for me. —London Spectrtor.

The Song of the Lark.

(Sunday Magazine.)

Above our heads, almost invisible, poises a lark, singing his “ profuse strains of unpremeditated art.” The tuneful speck is half a mile above us, yet every note and trill falls clear and sweetly on the ear. The little vocal cords within his throat, which constitute his lyre, are scarce a third of an inch in length ; yet their vibration fills the air with melody. On every side for half a mile his song is heard, and thus he fills a sphere of air a mile in diameter with music. Music, and indeed all sound, is the effect produced upon our ears by vibrations or tremors of a certain frequency. Hence every particle of air in the mile-wide sphere is pulsating in unison with the lark’s small vocal cox'ds. A cubic foot of air at this time of the year weighs about 400 grains, and the number of cubic feet which are taking up the song amount to tens of thousands of millions. Ho\v is this stupendous result brought about by such apparently inadequate means I The answer is simple. When the vooal cords in the throat of tho lark ■are set vibrating like harp-strings, the of air in contact therewith are violently driven forward, and by their (elasticity spring back again to their ori

j ginal position. During their forward motion they impinge upon the particles of air in front of them, which are in conse quence similarly driven forward, and in like manner recover themselves by virtue of their elasticity. This is con tinued, each particle driving its neighbour forward and then returning to its former station. It thus appears that while every particle of air swings to and fro over a very small space, the pulsation or vibra tion is carried onwards and outwards in every direction. Finally, the throbbing particles reach our ears, and impinging upon a beautiful apparatus therein, yield up their motion, which is carried on to the brain, where it produces the sensation of sound.

CHARLES DICKENS’ CREED.

Dickens preached —not in church, not from a pulpit, but a gospel whic » the people understood—the gospel of kind ness, sympathy—in a word humanity. His creed may be found in the following beautiful extracts on the subjects of death :

Tale of Two Cities, Book 2, Chap. 21

“Even when golden hair lay in a halo on the pillow, round the worn face of a little boy, he said with a radiant smile, ‘ Dear papa and mamma, I am very sorry to leave you both and to leave my pretty sister, but I am called away and I must go. ’ Thus the rustling of an angel’s wings got blended with the other echoes, and had in them the breath of heaven. ” Ibid, Book 2, Chap. 14.

“ There is no time there, and no trouble there. The spare hand does not tremble ; nothing worse than a sweet, bright con stancy is in her face. She goes next be fore him —is gone.” Nicholas Nickleby, Chap. 58.

“ The dying boy made answer ‘ I shall soon bo there.’ He spoke of beautiful gardens that stretched out before him, and were filled with figures of many men, and many children, all with light upon their faces ; then whispered that it was Eden, and so died.”

Bleak House, Chap. 47'

“It’s turned very dark, sir ; is there any light a-coming ? The cart is shaken all to pieces, and the rugged road is very near to its end. I’m a-gropiu’—a gropin’ —let me catch hold of your hand. Hallowed be thy name. ‘ Dead ! my lords and gentlemen. Dead! men and women bom with heavenly compassion in your hearts. And dying thus around us every day !’ ”

Ibid, Chap. 65,

“He slowly laid his face down on her bosom, drew his arm closer round her neck, and with one parting sob began the world. Not this world. Oh, not this ! The world that sets this right.” David Copperjield, Chap. 9.

“ ‘lf this is sleep, sit by me while I sleep ; turn me to you, for your face is going far off, and I want it to be near.’ And she died like a child that had gone to sleep. ’ ”

Ibid, Chap. 30.

“Time and the world were slipping from beneath him. He’s .going out with the tide. * * * And it being low water, he went out with the tide.”

Ibid, Chap. 53,

“ ‘ Don’t cry ; is my chair there, in its old place j * * * * That face so full of pity and of grief that would appeal to me, that solemn hand, upraised towards heaven ! It is over. ” Martin Chuzzlezoit, Chap. 19-

“ One new mould was there, which had not been there last night. Time, burrow ing like a mole below the ground, had marked his track by throwing up another heap of earth.” Old Curiosity Shop, Chap. 71.

“ She was dead. No sleep so beautiful and calm, so free from trace of pain, so fair to look upon. She seemed a creature fresh from the hand of God, and waiting for the breath of life, not one who had lived and suffered death. She was pasi all help or need of it. We will not wake her. ”

Hard Times, Chap. 9.

“ The hand soon stopped in the midst of them ; the light that had always been feeble and dim behind the weak trans parency, went out.” Dombey and Son, Vol. I, Chap. I.

“ For a moment the closed eyelids trembled ; and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Thus clinging to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls around the world. ” Ibid, Chap 17. “It’s very near the sea, I hear the waves! The light about the head is shining on me as I go !’ The old, old fashion that came in with our first gar ments, and will last unchanged until our race has run its course, and the wide firmament is rolled up like a scroll. Oh ! thank God for that old fashion yet of immortality ! And look upon us, angels of your children, when the swift river bears us to the ocean. ”

Ibid, Chap. 34.

“ In this round world of so many circles within circles, do we make a weary jour ney from the high grade to the low to find at last that they lie close together, that the two extremes touch, and that our journey's end is but our starting place ! Cricket on the Hearth, Chap. 2.

“ A cricket sings upon the hearth ; a broken child’s toy lies upon tho ground, and nothing else x-emains. ”

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES. Wednesday, October 1. Tho No-Confidenco Motion. Mr. Dick said the new members bad been cautioned that if certain measures were passed they would have to go back to their constituents, and if they did not support the Ministry they would he re jected. He was, however, afraid he would have to run the risk of this serious wreck of his political hopes. He was not well up in Native affairs, it was true, still he ventured to form an opinion upon them of his own. He did not think the Premier and his colleagues in hanging on the Natives to get an interview with the King Natives followed a dignified course. Their better course would have been to have stood aloof from the Natives and allowed them to make the first advance. To give the Natives to understand that they had only to make a disturbance, and then that money would be spent on them and humble overtures made, was calculated to give the Native mind a false estimate of the true state of affairs. A nobler course would have been to have taken prompt action and apprehended Te Whiti himself, and kept him in custody, instead of apprehending the men who were merely acting under his orders. The Premier gave himself out as a great authority and a man of in fluence amongst the Natives. When at the Cape, and on Iris own representation, he was re-appointed Governor of New Zealand. As Governor he may have done some good, but as Prime Minister bis conduct had been marked by a want of decision. They had been told in glowing terms that his name would go down to posterity. Had he never taken the posi tion lie now occupies, he (Mr. Dick) be lieved his name would have a better chance of reaching posterity favorably than it was now likely to do. He had made great promises and propositions, hut he had failed in carrying out these. He pro mised to reduce the expenditure by £IOO,OOO, but what did they find. There had been no reduction ; on the contrary, they found that although tho former Government, may have chastised them with whips, this Government had chastised them with a scorpion. The speaker traced the movements of the Premier in the Government stump, and expressed his regret that lie stated that ho would do the same thing again. He trusted that the House would prevent him from doing so. He next referred to tho Cabinet dissen sions, and spoke of the Luckie appoint ment as degrading to the country. He denied that the present was a covert attack upon tho Liberal measures demanded by tho country. He deplored the abolition of the Provinces, but having been given effect to, their wisest course was to build up the system which took its place, and work out the details taken in hand by the Provincial Councils. It was unfair to place members in the position in which they were placed. In consequence of the Public Works policy being vested in this House, it exposed them to danger of deal ing unfairly with the Public Works ad ministration of the country. Mr. Ireland said ho thoroughly agreed in the policy embodied in the Governor’s speech, and* would be prepared to support the Government in its endeavors to carry the same into effect.

At 11.40 p.m. the debate was adjourned till Thurday, on the motion of Mr. Fisher.

Thursday, October 2. The House met at 2.30. PROVISION FOR FIRE ESCAPE,

Mr. Seymour asked the Government to take such stops as may be necessary to compel hotel and lodging-house keepers to provide and maintain facilities for escape from upper rooms in case of fire. The Premier said that the matter would be considered, and also to what extent the Act should be made to apply, and whether to private houses as well as public-houses. GOODS SHED AT DKOMORB. Mr. Wright asked whether any instruc tions have been given for the erection of a goods shed at Dromorc in time for the next grain season. The Hon. J. Macandrew said that in quiries had been made, the result being that the Government did not think fur ther accommodation was required under the circumstances. BRIBERY BILL. In reply to Mr. Saundoi’s, The Premier said Government had prepared a Bribery Bill and it would be introduced at the earliest possible oppor tunity. AN UNBLUSHING FALSEHOOD. The Hon. J. Hall rose to make an ex planation. In the “ Now Zealander ”of that morning, a letter was published, signed J. C. Brown, which set forth that the Hall-Vogel Government of 1872 had promised him (Mr. Brown) anything lie might name for his vote at the time when the want-of-confidence motion was pend ing. The members of the Government at that time were the late Sir D. M ‘ Lean, Messrs Fox, Vogel, Ormond, Gisborne, and Reeves. He (Mr. Hall) had com municated with Mr. Ormond on the sub ject, and the testimony of Mr. Reeves would be available if required. Mr. Ormond’s recollections quite concurred with his own, and he (Mr. Hall) would ask the House to believe that the state ment so made by Mr. Brown was abso lutely nothing more nor less than an unblushing and unmitigated falsehood, Mr. Brown’s name on that occasion never having been mentioned in the Cabinet, and it would he the very last name the Cabinet would have thought of mention ing. Another statement in the letter about the Luna being sent to bring votes from Otago was also an untrruth. The Luna went down with the San Francisco mail.

Mr. Brown complained of the language made use of by the leader of the Oppo sition, “absolute unblushing falsehood.” He would challenge the leader of the Opposition, whom he dubbed a “Johnny All-sorts,” to get a Select Committee appointed to enquire into the truth or otherwise of the statements which ap peared in the newspapers. On the Speaker’s ruling, Mr. Brown withdrew the term “ Johnny All-sorts.” In response to an appeal made by Mr. Hall to Mr. Gisborne, that gentleman said that he was a member of the Govern ment referred to, and no such proposal had ever been made to Mr. Brown so far as he knew'J Had it been made, he

(Mr. Gisborne) would never have re mained a number of a G tvorninont, capable of such conduct. Mr. Brown said ho acquitted Mr. Hall and Mr. Gisborne of all responsibility for the proposal, nevertheless it had been made, anil if allowed an opportunity he would prove it to be true before a Select Committee.

The Hon. J. Hall challenged Mr. Brown to name the party hy whom the offer had been made.

Mr. Brown replied that if a Select Committee were appointed, he would be prepared to establish both that and other facts of a similar import. Tho Hon. J. T. Fisher led off the No confidence Debate. He accused the Oppo sition of never doing anything that could be called liberal until forced by the voice of the country; and the new Opposition leader had never done a liberal act all the time he had resided in the colony. The class of men who desired to see a change of Government were those who wished to see labourers’ wages reduced. Mr. Murray did not see on what grounds the Governor granted a dissolution, as, in the absence of a re-distribution of seats, there was no plea for it. Mr. Barron was not a party man, and would vote so that a good Opposition would not be transformed into a bad Go vernment.

Mr. Masters had made up his mind to support the Opposition. The House adjourned at 5.30. On resuming, DEFICIENCY BILE.

A Deficiency Bill for £IBO,OOO, rendoro. necessary by an informality in a Bil already passed, was introduced by Govern ment, and passed without question.

The No-Confidence Dehate was then resumed by Mr. Seddon, who claimed that the voice of the country had declared in favor of the Government. He said Mr. Masters had been returned to support the Government, and had be trayed his constituents. Mr. Whitaker would vote with the Opposition. Pie supposed from Mr. Sed don’s speech that that gentleman desired a West Coast block vote to be handed over to the Government in return for a million of money being spent on the Grey Valley Railway. He twitted Govern ment with ignoring the incidence of taxa tion in their programme, and said that though no financial statement had yet been produced, it was known a consider able deficit existed, but Ministers had been silent regarding how it was to be met. Pie also complained that no indica tion had been given as to what was pro posed to be done towards the improve ment of local self-government. It was, as it stood, notoriously defective, and yet not a word was said on the subject. He complained that in the matter of railway construction the Premier had shown great partiality towards the Thames district, which he lately represented, to the neg lect of the adjoining districts, more especially the district he (Mr Whitaker) represented. Ha accused the Premier of unduly favoring the Thames municipality with reserves. Sir George’s Liberalism was only a repetition of the works of Carlyle, and the Premier had no more right to palm them off as his own original ideas than he had. Sir George was not alone in the House the representative of Liberalism ; the great principles would become law whether Sir George was in Kawau or in his long home. Major Te Wheoro having spoken,

Mr De Latour addressed the House. Serious charges had been made against the Government. The Ministry ought to comprise the ablest men of the colony, independent of the part from which they came, but he would be suspicious of a purely Canterbury Ministry. He ques tioned the Liberalism of the Opposition and its leader. The House adjourned at 12.30.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Friday, October 3. PROTECTION, In the Legislative Council to-day, after the transaction of routine business. The Hon Mr Chamberlain asked if the Government intended to introduce any measure for the protection of local in dustries. He said a protective policy was necessary to the prosperity of the country. (No, no.)

The Hon Colonel Whitmore said the Government intended to refer the whole subject to a Select Committee. PUBLIC TRUSTEE. The Hon. Mr Holmes moved for a return from the Public Trust Office, under the Public Trustee Act. He expressed his belief that had there been a public trustee in England, as there was here, the ruin of many persons by the failure of the Glasgow Bank would not have been caused.

The Hon Mr Woterhouse said the ap pointment of a public trustee was outside the business of Government. Had there been a public trustee iu England, Govern ment would have been responsible for the whole of the losses of the Glasgow Bank. The motion was carried. DECEASED INTESTATES BILL. The Deceased Intestates Bill (Hon Mr Wilson) was read a first time, and the second reading ordered for Tuesday. MISCELLANEOUS. A Native Affairs Committee of eight members was appointed. On the motion of Captain Fraser, the selection was made by ballot. The second reading of the Habitual Drunkards Bill was postponed till Tues day, the Council being disinclined to take general business till the political crisis is settled. The Council adjourned at 4 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30. MU. J. C. brown’s QUARREL WITH THE HON. JOHN HALL. Mr. J. C. Brown applied to be allowed te ask a question without notice. It was, that the Postmaster-General be requested to state whether the Luna, on 31st Aug., loft Wellington with a mail on hoard, contrary to what was stated by the Hon. Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall said that he had never stated any date as to when the Luna left Wel lington with a mail. Eventually the latter part o" the ques tion was struck out and the question as amended was put. Mr. Fisher said the information asked for would be obtained.

WASTE I. AX IKS BOARDS. Mr. Hutchison asked Government j whether it is their intention, in connection j with their proposed land legislation, to I introduce a measure of reform in the Waste Land Boards of the Colony ; and if so, will the Minister of Lands indicate the direction in which such reform will sh ow itself. Mr. Brown said that on the second reading of the Land Bill, now before the House, he would state the views of the Government on the point. THE GOVERNMENT STEAMERS. Mr. Hutchison asked Goverment if they will be prepared to call for tenders for the repairs of the Government steamers as they did for other public works and re pairs. The Premier agreed with the general tenor of the question, but they were not always able to get these repairs done by tender. PRISON LABOR. Mr. Stevens asked whether there is any foundation for statements made that a number of men have been dismissed from the r employment on the ballast train on the Canterbury section of the New Zea land railways, and that prison labor has since been employed on that duty. Mr. Macandrew replied that having no works for the prison gang they were em ployed in the work indicated. CUSTOMS REVENUE RETURNS. Mr McLean asked the Premier if lie would lay before this House a statement showing receipts from Customs revenue for the quarter ending 30th September, 1879 ; also receipts from land revenue for the same period. APPOINTMENTS SINCE PROROGATION. Mr Bowen asked if the Premier would lay before this House a return of all per sons appointed since the prorogation of the late Parliament, to any paid office or position of emolument under Government, stating in each case the nature of the office, whether temporary or permanent, and the emolument attached to it. SIB J. VOGEL. Mr Murray asked if Sir J. Vogel ap plied to the Government for leave to stand for the representation of an English con stituency in the House of Commons. If so, was such permission refused, and why ? The Premier said that the Agent- General had made no such application, and the opinion of the Government was that lie should not stand as representative for an English or any other constituency. EMPLOYEES ON GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS. Mr Andrews asked if all the em ployees on Government Railways were treated in a uniform manner as regards hours of work and rates of pay ; if a uni form working day exists of eight hours ; if any exception exists, to whom does it apply ; if a uniform rate of pay exists for similar services given ; if there is any fixed rate for the payment of overtime, and if so what that rule is, and is it ob served in all cases. Mr Macandrew, in reply, laid on the table a copy of the regulations under which railway' employees were engaged. THE JURY LAWS. Mr Hutchison asked if the Government intended to introduce a further reform in the jury laws, more especially (1) by the abolition of the Grand Jury system, (2) by an improvement of the coroners’ inquest by jury, and (3) by an increase of the pay ment to common jurors. The Premier said the whole of the ques tion was under consideration by the Go vernment. WARDEN. Mr Seddon asked if it is the in tention of the Government to open a Warden’s office and appoint a Warden for the Wairarapa district. Mr Gisborne replied that so soon as the land was proclaimed an arrangement would bo made for receiving applications for mining purposes. FIRST READINGS. The following Bills were introduced and read a first time :—For the Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt (Mr. Hutchison) ; the Debtors and Creditors Act 1876 Amendment (Mr Sheehan). The No-Confidence Debate.

Mr. Bowen resumed the debate on the No-Confidence amendment. He said the grossest misrepresentation had been made against the Canterbury Members in con nection with the Land laws. Statistics would show that there were more of the yeoman class settled on the lands by virtue of these laws than in any other place. For the objectionable part of the Canterbury land laws he said the Premier was alone responsible. When Governor of the colony, ho had, in defiance of the prayer of the people, given effect to legis lation which actually gave away their lands to the large monopolists. What he did was in defiance of the machinery of the Supreme Court. To those who were acquainted with all the facta of the case, it was perfectly amazing to see the Pre mier trying to shift his responsibility for these proceedings on to the shoulders of others. What disgusted Members on that side of the Mouse was the abso lute imposture there was in the cry set up by the Government of its Liberal! interests. A good number of extracts had been made from Mr. Hall’s speeches in the Legislative Council. Now, what were the facts of the case. These very speeches were in reality the answers made to questions put by the present Colonial Secretary. The fact was that there were no fixed parties in a new country like ours. It was simply absurd. Parties were from time to time created as occasion arose. Any of the acts of the Government done in defiance of Parliament would in another country have been sufficient to unseat the Govern ment. Their conduct in connection with Mr Larnaeli was quoted as a case in point. In Parliament it was stated that Mr Larnach went home at his own ex pense, and now it turned out that he had been paid some thousands of pounds. Mr Bowen instanced the Triennial Parlia ments Bill, and stated that it had draw backs which had not been fully con sidered. It would do away with an appeal to the country on the occasion of some sudden emergency. In a case of that kind it would be deemed more advisable to allow it to run out. It was not, how ever, a question which divided both sid s of the House. It only divided individual members. He hoped that those Bills which had been kept dangling before the! country would now be allowed to p.tss,' and that the Legislature would settle down to the business of the country, and' not have men going about idle asking them for bread and getting nothing better |,

tlian a stone. He then alluded to the Land Bill, and stated that the objection of his side of the House as to the defects of the Bills have now been fully sus tained. He felt convinced that this country would be satisfied with nothing short of a more equitable distribution of taxation than was provided for. In con- . eluding he stated that his side of the House hoped to sea true Liberalism, end not the word made use of for mere clap-trap purposes. Mr. Tainui remarked upon the fact of the leader of the Opposition having left the Upper House and come into this one. He did not know all the time the hon. gentleman had been in the Government that he had ever passed any laws for the good of the Maoris. He thought that Sir W. Fox ought to have been leader of the Opposition, and ho felt convinced that he would have been able to form a Go vernment. He would ask that any laws passed might be made similar to those passed for the European. He believed the Premier, if left alone, would be able to remedy some of the evils endured by the Native race. The natives of the Mid dle Island thought that nothing had been done for their special benefit, but they thought that legislation was now pro gressing in that direction. Mr Tawhia said that the leader of the Opposition was a member of a Govem who embarked the colony in a Maori war, and it was not fair for them to blame the Government now in office. He had come to the House as a friend of Sir George Grey and Mr Sheehan, and he would, carry out what he was sent to do. » t Mr Tomoana said he came there about the native grievances. He came to ■ sup port those who were doing well for the Maori. Not one promise made affecting the Natives throughout the islands/ had been fulfilled. He did not think the Native Minister had administered affairs satisfactorily. Personally, he was not op posed to the Native Minister, nor yet to the Premier, but ho considered they had misrepresented the Native affairs. He could not support the Ministry in the pre sent crisis.

Mr. Sheehan said he would not have ’ spoken at all but for the fact that there : were so many new members by whom i his silence might be misconstrued. He thought they would be glad to have heard the Maori member who had just sat down. It appeared from the remarks made by ’ one of these members, that the leader of ! the Opposition had intended the .Maoris. The member had said that Mr. Hall was a new member, and that he believed all he had said to him would be carried out. That was the way in which support was gained. Whatever was asked was promised. > They had been told that the Premier was ; the first man to make war in "New Zealand, : whereas the fact was the war was ingehe ' ral swing when the Premier came here. 1 Some of the promises made by the leader r of the Opposition to the Maori members i were perfectly absurd. The same ques ■ tions had been put to him (Mr. Sheehan) and he replied, it can’t be done ih'the ! present state of Maori affairs, it is quite impossible. Ho could come to no Qther conclusion than that Mr. Hall for party pur poses had made promises he never would . nor yet intended to fulfil. He would ask i them to consider for a moment the poai i tion of the case. They claimed to be the ■ superior race ; they had introduced Christianity amongst the natives, and yet for party purposes, to gain these benches, they misled the Maori and made .pro mises to him they never intended to fulfil. He would say that the members on; the Government side of the House were Well satisfied with the change which had taken place in the leader of the Opposition. : ' ! He , thought they would all agree that in-Mr • Hall they had an improvement on what they had last session. He referred to the fact that they had gone to the country [ with a majority of 14 against them. They ■ have found that they had come back with a good firm majority in their favor. Ho further alluded to the absence of certain leaders—Sir W. Fox, Mr Whitaker, bto., ■ and argued that these facta alone showed that the Opposition had not the syinpathy of the country with them; He had to complain of the course taken by the Opposition as being, if not unconstitu tional, at all events unparliamentary and unfair. They moved a vote of want of confidence before the Government were allowed to bring down their measures. Now that was most un fair to the new members. Old mem bers knew from past experience, and all the information that conld be got from Parliamentary papers and records of -the House what took these new ones at a disadvantage. They had to take for granted that whatever they were told was true, and were not allowed an opportunity to investigate the truth or otherwise for themselves. He then went on to say that it was a well known fact that many would be disposed to support the Government, but the excuse they made for their defec tion, was, to use their own words, because they could not stand Sir George Grey. He would defy anyone to point out a valid reason why the Premier should be thus denounced. His (Mr. Sheehan’s) private character had been attacked last session. iHe would say nothing about that, but when he found his private character agaia assailed outside the House during the lato elections, ho thought he had a right to complain. The constituency had very properly rejected the candidature of hfs maligners, and he hoped constituencies would always make an example of such cowardly conduct in a similar way. The Member’s speech was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30.

Mr. Sheehan resumed the debate. He proceeded to rebut a statement by Mr. Hall that discontent with the Government existed all over the colony. He assumed that special reference was made to the feeling in the North Island. The fact that the Maoris of the Thames refused to give up the offenders was no reason to believe that they were opposed to Government. On the contrary, the tx-ibe there had done its best to maintain the law, but their blood was thicker than water, and it was on that principle they refused to give up those offenders. They had been com plained against about the Luckie transac tion, but what were the facts ? The Oppo sition in their power were in the habit of imporfing civil servants from the Home country whenever an opportunity occurred. In appointing Mr. Luckie Government appointed one who had been a very old colonist. In regard to the lunatic asylum accommodation complained of by the Opposition, to make it complete would require a million of money. They had not the funds at their disposal, and all they could do was to make such improvements

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

f Saturdav, October 4, 1H79.

4



Dosing a Bailiff. — A lively story comes from Gisborne. E. ff. Ward, jun., solici tor, 0. W. Flexman, J.P., and four other persons have been committed for trial at the Supreme Court for riotously taking possession of premises on Sunday week and assaulting William Cappell. Cappell was the bailitf in possession under a writ for £369, and on Sunday morning Flexman invited him to take a glass of whisky, which he did, and was soon seized with violent pains. While Cappell was away, Flexman nailed up the house and shut him out. Cappell then brought up two men to try to effect an entrance but Ward came over with men to the number of nine in twos and throes at intervals. One of Cappell’s men was struck with a stick, and he himself was pushed down, and the whole of them were ejected by force from the ground. Cappell accuses Flexman of hav ing drugged him.