FRIDAY, AUGUST 31. A fine day, sir, within as well as without. Within, the desert of questions is passed with out an incident worth recording, except two, and yet everybody is satisfied except one. One of these incidents refers to the grain duty. Mr Buddo, from Kaiapoi, the centre of a great agricultural district —rival to the capital of the chief of the Macklachlans, which that potentate referred to yesterday as the Cincinnati of New Zealand—asks the Treasurer whether, in view of the low price of wheat, &c., &c., he doesn’t think that the Cabinet ought to increase the duty on wheat from ninepence to one and three, and the duty on flour in proportion. The agri cultural representative, who uses, as usual, words that are spick and span, is serene enough to warrant complete forget fulness on his part of the tremendous debate of the last 24 hours. Mr Ward, who is equally serene, and as suggestively so, gravely informs the honourable and suave member that the Government is considering this most important matter, and waiting for the report of the Tariff' Committee, As he sits down the Government flag is observed to be flying bravely in the Parliamentary breeze. The other incident is like a great many other things in New Zealand—good things, of course—of Taranaki origin. Shall I say that the incident was brought about by Mr E. M. Smith ? A simple question enough it was; only about some proposal which the Taranaki Harbour Board has submitted to the Govern ment, by which the Government will lose nothing, and the Harbour Board will gain <£6ooo a year. .| The polite Treasurer has to say that it has struck his colleagues that there are other | Harbour Boards who will probably require to | have schemes taken up, too ; that it is neces sary to be careful—so necessary, in fact, that '-he Government doesn’t quite see its way to do business with the enterprising people of 1 Taranaki, whose magnificent harbour and general resources are everything the most i fastidious could require. Implied all this is by the Treasurer’s polite manner and veiled glances, not said with coarse flattery in words unlikely to deceive. But Mr Smith ; ,is not likely to be put off with the stone of manner when he has asked for the bread of guarantee and the salt of co operation. 