Mr Collins, of Christchurch, makes his first big speech in the House on the same side. He is a fluent speaker of tho platform order, with words well chosen —a trifle stilted and tall they sound occasionally—and tho manner of a partisan political warrior special pleading, earnest and warm for his side; scornful, ingenious, denunciatory for tho other side. He makes tho most of his points by elucidatory gestures of tho hands, and makes tho least of them by almost phenoijnonal rapidity of utterance. Ho makes a gallant fight, but does not seem to impress the House. Mr G. J. Smith, also of Christchurch, takes up tho fight onjtlie other side, ranged along side of Sir Robert Stout. Ho speaks neatly, tersely, in well-turned fashion, which tho House is beginning to recognise, but he, too, fails to get home with tho House. Captain Russell comes between Mr Smith and dinner. The Captain is jocose at tho out set; full of “ impromptu.” Whore are tho Premier’s colleagues? None of them, it is singular, have supported him in this matter. Lands! Lands has become a “dummy.” Carroll of the sonorous voice? Ho uses that sonorous organ here to say exactly nothing. Justice? “I grieve to say that the Minister of Justice has just left the room.” The impromptu is received with a roar of laughter, and the Captain goes ahead, alter nating “from lively to severo ” till dinner time. EVENING. After dinner tho fight rages over tho pros trate body of the Colonel with unabated vigour. Needless to go through tho list of the debaters. The speech which stands distinct and clear out of the fray is tho speech of the Hon John McKenzie. Lands takes up the cudgels for his colleague tho Premier, facing Captain Russell with hot vehemence. lie tells tho Captain ho is quite wrong. Tho Cabinet is quite unanimous on this subject. There need bo no mistake about that, none whatever. As for the Opposition, Lands falls on them with all his weight. “A moun tain out of a molehill” ho hurls at them. “This paltry matter” is another rock that ho throws. Political capital is all that they want out of it. It is just like them, always talking about going to tho country. But when they go to the country they are always beaten. 