HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 12, 9 October 1907, Page 6

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

tirely brokdn down in point of numbers. The report of tho Defenco Council hnd'. recommended that tho defence system of. tho Dominion should continue for the present purely voluntary, and ,:that. efforts should bo .mado to popularise volunteering, but declared .that;,this,; system, was about to have its last-chance, and that if the Volunteer .forces did :-not maintain or increase tlieir efficiency, ■ a compulsory system would have, to bo, 1 introduced. Value for Money. ' • : -TJnder':~tlio -'.'system which ho catcd, ..New Zealand would have n fully trained and equipped army of 100,000 men at a cost' of a quarter* of a million of money. New Zealand spent last year £15,0,000 to maintain her army , of 32,000. Tho change 1 he proposed would therefore moan better value for money. He spoke with admiration' of the Swiss system of defence and rifle .practice, stating that rifle;shooting was as popular in Switzerland as football in New Zealand. A movement had been started to adopt the Swiss system in' New South Wales. He hoped that with :tho example of Switzerland boforo it, the Dominion would affirm the resolution he had moved. '•'-.'■ ;--., ■ A Maori View. . ' The Hon. Wi Pere seconded the motion, which, ho said, pleased liim very much. J Wore, ho speaking to a Maori audience ho' would say, "Oh, remove the veil from your face.that you may see a true and bright race." Since we [ had assumed ,the status' : of a.Dominion, other nations had become more aware of our presence. Wo should;therefore do' our host to be prepared to defend these islands. Tho imperial men-o'-war might be absent in some other part; of' the South' Pacific when an enemy descended upon us'. '• Give them Potatoes." '.'He'would advocate that no beer or grog be handed out to the military— (hear,' hear)—and money 'should be saved to build up a fund for. defence. The soldiers could subsist—and better too—on good plain food. (Hear,,hear.) "Uive' them potatoes." -(Laughter.) European and Maori children should all be trained to the use of arms. The mouths of, other nations, although they; were , busy; swallowing, watered, when they 'looked towards these islands. . .' Wanted—Amazons. : . There were. 50,000: Maoris: of all ages in: the country;.. Be ..'suggested' that both the Maori men. and'women should . be ,trained;to".the use. of arms.'-' Every Maori.woman was' a.'heroinp.' >In the old days, the Maori .women often beat the .'men.' : Ho. r thbught, the pakeha women should; also '.learn', to shoot," but now the whito'-men were pampering them and making>:tnem ; .-weak.,. : The white women wanted to-become' man's equal in being, inembers of Parliament, but to handlo' firearms was a simple thing compared to .that.. (Laughter.) All, a mother's attention was directed to the care of her children,. and what .better thing could she be taught than how-to shoot with a rifle to protect her offspring? Maori and, European; •He was not advocating preparations . •for: ; ,conquestn but, to-repel a- possible, attack. Hon. members might remember how he,; as a member of the House at the time'of the .'Boer, war, shattered Mr.';? Tommy . Taylor's'. argument: '.'to smithereens—(laughter)—and strongly advocated sending troops to South Africa. He also helped in the same way; when troops wore sent to England after the death, of Queen Victoria. The Maoris wero in a small minority, and would ho exterminated if an. enemy, through the unreadiness of the .white man, conquered the country. If the Maoris were in the majority, they would seei that all were 'protected. Ho thought the Government should find the necessary money by taking'possession of the'gold mines of the country. ("Oh 1 oh I"). His heart was- bursting with delight at this motion, because he/had lived to see that we had shaken ourselves up, and were aware of the fact that wo must protect ,our islands. He hoped that if an enemy should come, he would' bo alive to see the day. then, old as he was, he.'would gladly go out to: do his share of .fighting. "In the years hence I have every reason to believe that a-.. 'great disaster/ will fall - upon this-land." J :. Hon. W. Beehan: "Make it twenty!" (Laughter.) ■ .Hon. Wi Pere: "If the great Guide and Ruler "of the; World will delay it fbr twenty years, I shall bo thankful." On the motion of the Hon. E. J. Smith, the debate was adjourned: until Wednesday next. ■..,;•' ."•''. ,' ' .;.!■' ! :■] BILL PASSED. - ' The Police Offences Bill (Hon. Dr. ; Findlay) was read,a' third,time and passed. ' '■' " :''. '■';.' /POSTPONED. .:,. .The debate on tho second reading of the Land Imvis Amendment Bill was postponed until next sitting day.; , ; BILLS' OF EXCHANGE BILL, .'■", ■'. SECOND BEADING. Tho Attorney-General (Hon. Dr. I Findlay) moved the second reading of' the Bills'.of, Exchange Bill, the provisions of which have already been placed before the readers of The'< Dominion. , The mover sakl that tho first operative : clause, enabling bankers to destroy old cheques, etc., after ten years, would save the banks thousands of pounds in the cost of Btorugo. English banks returned these cheques to their customers aftor a short period; • The second clause was a sequol to a decision of tho PrivyCouncil. It was, boforo that', tho'fer' cognised rulo that when a cheque or other document was negligently drawn and was'afterwards fraudulently altered, the person who drew it should suffer father than a person who subsequently handled it. The' Privy Council had, however, taken tho viow that this was not law, and the Bill proposed to legalise the position which was previously aocoptod. Ths BiTl was briefly discussed by tho Hons. T. Kelly, J. it. Sinclair, H. F. Wigram, and O.,Samuel. , Tho second rending was carried, and the'.Bill was referred to the Joint Statutes Revision Committeo. The Council adjourned at 4.15 p.m., until 2.30 p.m. to-morrow.

THE LAND BILL. DISCUSSION IN COMMITTEE. FIGHT FOR THE L.I.P. The House of Representatives wont into committeo on tho Land Laws Amendment Bill. Lease In Perpetuity. At Clause 3, tho Hon. C. H. Mills (Wairau) moved to striko out tho word "no" in tho sentence "after the passing of this Act ' no' Crown lands shall he leased by way of loaso in . perpetuity. . ." He said it was desir-

able to have this matter of tho continuation of abandonment of tho lease-in-porpetuity settled right away. Personally he, thought great good had resulted to the country by this tenure, and it would he n mistake to do away with it. To do so would be to place a block in tho way of land settlement. A gronter proportion of land-soelters would apply for tho leasehold under tho l.i.p. than undor tho freehold; not that the l.i.p. tonuro was more desired, hut because a poor man was better able to settlo under it. Ho argued that the l.i.p. had not been responsible for any aggregation. The State,,ho proceeded, constituted tho best landlord for tho peoplo, and tho rising . generation shouldhe imbued with .'that idea. .Opposition Views. •Mr. Lang (Manukau) said, on the issue that tho l.i.p. was better than the renowablo lease, ho would support the amendment. Mr. Massoy (Franklin) said ho was prepared to do away with tho l.i.p. if they could'get something bettor, but it seemed to him tho thirty-throe years and the sixty-six years'proposals, with tho revaluation at the end of that tormi were no,improvement. Ho was willing to do away, with,tho l.i.p. if a sottlor'under the Bill was allowed tho right of purchase during the first term of his holding. •-' ' •■' Mr. F. Mander (Marsdon) feared that tho amendment of the 'clause would have. a • conflicting' effect; He would :bo in-.favour'of adding the words ''unless with the: right of purchase at tho will of tho lessee." This would give the right of freehold to a holder. He declared he was a froeholder right out, though'ho' believed.in restriction of area. , The, Minister, had, gono s0 lar .with the freeholders,, and why. not now givd • the."leaseholders-V-the" right of 'option? ;>-. ~.'■ : Mr. H; ; ' J! H.' Okey (Taranaki) expressed opinions similar,'to thoso of Mr. Lang., He.was.iii fayqurgf the.l.i.p.' as against tho;present proposals, tho freehold was his desire. Mr. Hogg's 'ideas; ~,;,,, ' Mr. A;' WI Hogg' (Masterto'n) spoke in favour of .the rotentidh' of the 1.i.p., which had done . so. much for settlement. He sought to disabuso the idea that Crown land officers, harassed settlers in the enforcement.-of the conditions that' governed the l.i.p. leases. In the matter'of finance he showed that'.the l.i.p. 'would' bo- a means whorobyl.a sevoro land tax could bo avoided .for a considerable rime. The freehold' was a good form of tenure for the man who gambled'in land, and who did':not;want to reside oil his section, but' who placed some poor fellow thereon to bear tho hardships. Tho l.i.p. had been tho best stop to prosperity the working! ma'iVhad over had. The sixty-six years' tenure meant that the land would bo held by a man and his family for ( four or five generations, and as far;as the present generation was concerned there would be no difference.- By tho end-of-that time'tho land laws of tho Dominion, and all over the world, would bo revolutionised. For the -reason, however,- that -the l.i-.p. had done ;good he intended to vote for its continuation'..":. -~. / Other: Views.".',' . , i _Mr. ■ Rutherford (Hurunui) said tho l.i.p had proved, a good.tenuro in tho pastr-in- tho. pro-freozor, days—but lie thought -tho: Government's proposals would be advisablo for the future To niake'. his . position'- plain, , however, ho said he would always vote for'the freehold when that was one of the issues. Mr. W. Fraser (Wakatipu) would not vote .'to. substitute-the-present proposals for tho l.i.p. largely on account of the revaluation clauses. He contended that the increase in the valuo of land should go to the. benefit of the settler, and. not to the State He would always vote for tho freehold, but as that was not.a forni of tenuro at issue ho,would vote against the present proposal.' If thoy.could not got the freehold, let them hold on to tho next-best. Mr. Fraser also twitted Mr. Rutherford oh his inconsistent attitude. .. . ' ; ' Mr. Jennings. (Egmont)-said ho would support' tho occupation With right-of-purchase temiro. This was. most favoured by tho settlers concerned. He contended the' result of the present measure would bo confusion worse confounded, Ho. referred to the number of tenures at present in the Dominion, and said that lawyers wero. benefiting from the confliction arising therefrom. He would support the member for Wairau with certain-additions as to tho right of purchaso.;..,',. Mr. G., Witty (Riccarton) considered the l.iip.- a ridiculous tenure. Mr. W. H. P. Barbor (Newtown) said it was unfair-to tie up the diminishing Crown lands'and prevent.the Crown obtaining something from tho accrued value. He supported the revaluation proposals of the Government for that reason. . Mr. Field (Otaki) said 'that from the point.of view of tlio State,' the l.i.p. was a -bad.^vestment)'.'and',oii that account conversion to : tho ; freehold .would:-be desirable. ..This was the opinion held by many, l.i.p. holders; but it was hot.fair .to say that 'they all were clamouring for. tlio, freehold be-cause-they-desired that form of tenure. ;Mr. Field said' ho could,not support, tho'member for ..Wairau for the reasons ho had stated.. He was in favour of granting the right of freehold at an. equitablo revaluation. • Mr. F. -M. B.'. Fishor;. quoted from Hansard to show that-Sir-John M'Kenzie had framed the l.i.p. deliberately, and not at-the point .of the bayonet, as had been stated; ' ; ' The Framing of the L.I.P. Mr. Tanner: "I have kopt quiet on this subject for fifteon ydars." (Laughter.) He proceeded to ;: stato that the last speaker - was ■ wrong. , There was nothing of tho : l.i.p. in Sir John M'Eonaie's.:,Bili:fn 1891;' In .the following y.ea'rj , :;lß92,"Jprdce'i;dcd Mr. Tanner, ■;tho,i,Gj3yernrflisnt'i : 'Whips wero.instrnctedjtp.'mtpryipw.'jovery member of: the Ministeri»i party to ascertain if they V,would : bo agreeable if the 999' years'! were substituted for the original, 'jpurpbsos of,;the,.BiJl,;. Personally, Mr. iTann.cr said;;.;;he;,ha i d i ;b.een': against this. It was not w-hat action -Sir-; John- M-Kcnzio was going to take,'"a'nd ho', (Mr,.M'inner) .remem•bered'well the drafhatic.'sQene, when, in' answer to tho Oppbsition, tho old statesman had said ho 'Was willing to grant the 999 years.:. Not quite understanding t!;o pqsitibn,"ho (Mr. Tanner) -had written -a;, note to Sir John asking if he-really was-going to grant a lease for, a thousand;years (bar bno year)- without '.revaluation, and the answer, on a scrap "of paper, was " Yes," but that it; would only last 1 till the next 'flection'' : After that it would bo altorod." (Cries of "Ohl oh!").' "I am"only sorry," addod Mr. Tanner, '[■' that I havo lost that scrap of papor, because'--it-would be evidenco good '.enough for- ahyorio! on this point. As it is, I; only have'.niy word for it. ("Hoar, hear;" aiid a monibor: "That's good enough."-) ■'. -.-. ■"- - - -..'; Mr, D. Buddo (Kainpqi) also turned up back records'to show'that Sir John M'Kdrusio. had, hot' intended to enact a perpetual' lease;"sind that it was only proposed by him to.. prevent his Land Settlement Bill being killed. Fair Rent Bills. ;'~ References having been made to previous attacks on tho l.i.p'.'by Fair Ront Bills' (which proposed -to givo tho right of revaluations on all Crown lands), Mr. Massoy recalled that Sir John M'Kcnzie's Fair Rent Bill of 1895 would have struck tho first blow at that tenure. It proposed to give- tho Government tho right!'to raiso the rentals of Crown lands whenever thought desirable.

Mr. Flatman (Goraldine) supported the Bill generally. f Another Fireeholdor. , Mr. R. B. Ross (Pahiatua) said ho c would vote for the l.i.p. as against the ( Government's proposals. He would do t so with the view later on of voting for v tho amondment to be proposed by tho t Loader of tho Opposition in.favour of c scouring tho freeholds. Mr. Lang; (Mnnukau) understood tho ' presont debato to circlo round tho ' point: was the l.i.p. preferable to the renowablo lease proposals of the Gov- J ornmbnt? For reasons ho briefly statod 1 he though*; they should support the I l.i.p. ( ( Inconsistency. 1 Mr. Tanner recalled tho proposal in , 1905 that no further l.i.p. .leases bo ' granted. FTo said this proposal was ' supported by thirty-eight members, and amongst tho number was tho Hon. 0. H. Mills. (Loud laughter.) Mr. Lauronson: This is too funny for words. , Mr. Tanner proceeded to state that Mr. Mills formed one of tho Ministerial party on .that occasion. Now, as a pn- j vate member, ho.was tho champion of ! the 1.i.p.; ho considered it tho best ' form of tenure The only conclusion ' ho (Mr: Tanner) could come to was that a member in office was a very i different person to a member out of < office. , Simplification Wanted. | Mr. Mandcr said tho lion, member j had, evidently seen tho folly of his , ways, and changed his nijnd. Ho (the | speaker) would support tho option of purchase every time. Mr. Hogg's ] statoment that if land was sold by tho 1 Government, tho money would bo wasted, did. not redound to" tho credit , \ of the Govornment. Ho (Mr. Mander) , beliovod tho Government would spend ■ tho inonoy well in buying other laud. It was. necessary to offer security of ] tenure, in order to induce peoplo to \ como to tho country. . The land in his j part of the Dominion required a con- j tinuod battle to save it fromroverting ] to a stato of naturo, and in order to ] keep such-land cultivated, the settlers i must havo tho option of tho freehold. Thoro were fifteen or twenty forms of < land tonuro in this country, but only i two wero needed, tho freehold and the i leaso with right to purchase. Mr..Mi11,3, by way of personal ex- , planation arising out of the romarks j of Mr. Taiinor, said that lit was well ] known that a member of a Ministry, ' could not always voto in accordance i with his privato views. ' ' ' ( Deferred Payment. j Mr. Bonnet (Tuapoka) upheld tho 1 merits of the deforrcd payment'system, i The sixty-six years' ronewable leaso would ho satisfactory, if tho tenant i could fully purchase the land instead of : boing compelled to lcavo 10 por cent. 1 of the value unpurchased. ] Mr. Reid advocated tho option of i purchase at, tho original value. He supported tho amendment. » i Mr. Malcolm (Clutha) said a leaso i of 999 years was too long, but it was « on tho Statute Book, and it gave tho i tenant an advantago in bargaining i with_tho State. .He questioned■ whether , it',, would be wise oh the part of those who wished tho lessees to obtain tho freehold on tho best possiblo i terms to consent to this advantago ) being abandoned. , A Division. •• i Mr. Mills's Amendment was defeated by 40 votos. to 20. Tho following is the division list:— '■' Against tho, amendment:—Messrs. ! Aitkoh, Alison, Arnold, Barber, Bar- ■ clay,: Bennot Buddo,' Carroll, Colvin, ' Dillon, EH, Field, Fisher, Flatman, ' Gray, Guinness, Hanan, Horhsby, * Kaihau, Kidd,, Lanrenson, M'Gowan, McNab, Millar, Ngata, 'Parata, IV J land, Poole, Rutherford, Scddon, j iSidey, Stallworthy, Stevons, Steward, -1 Tannor, Thomson; Ward, Wilford, 1 Witty, Wood.. - For tho . amendment : —Messrs: } 'James Allen, Baume, l'raser, Green- {' slade, Hardy, Hcrrics, Hogg, Houston, 1 Jennings, Lang, Lethbridge, T. Mac- f Aenzio, Malcolm, Mandor, Massoy, 1 Mills, Okey, Reed, Remington, Ross. THE O.R.P. Tenure. Just before tho 5.30 p.m. adjournment, I Mr. Alison moved another amendment 1 in favour ol: .tho. occupation.with right i of'purchnsoHemire. 1 Tho Minister contended that tho 1 amendment would _ abolish tho 'i optional system with its alternatives I of cash punjhaso and.loaso in, perpetuity at a lower rent. ] Mr. Massey said the Minister had I misstated tho intention of tho amend- < merit, and..Mr. Lang explained that tho amondment merely raised the , question of tho reversible leaso versus \ the lease with right of purchase. i A Question of Party. ' < Mr. Stevens (Manawatu) said. that, , though ho had always been an advocate of the freehold; ho would vote against j the amendment, because he knew the proposal could not he' carried, and, if it wore carried, it would discredit the party to 'whiclf he belonged, and a Govornment which had already made a ' valuable concession to the freeholders. Mr.' W. Frazer (Wakatipu) said tho 1 member for Manawatu evidently loved . the freehold much' but tJie' Govern- ; ment more. ! The Premier commended the attitude of tho member for Manawatu. Ho was not. sacrificing any principle, but members who held strong views, either leasehold or freehold, should ho ready to accept a compromise . in order to got important land legislation on the ■ Statute ! Book. Tho momber-for Man- i awatu had shown that ho had a pro- ■ por concoption of his duty to his coun- ; try. ■ . '■' ■ I Mr. W. Frasor said that'if all ques- ] tious connected with tho Bill were to i be decided on, party jrnes, it was a i 'waste of time discussing it. i A Compromise. j Mr. Massoy said tho words of tho . member for Manawatu suggested tho 1 'oxistenco of a compromise hotween tjio - freeholders and tlio land nationalises i | on the Government side of tho Houso. Tho land nationaliscrs had gained half \ i they asked for. They would ask for the other half next' Tlio freeholders of tho Government party had lost the right of freehold ovor 9,000,000 ' acres, and abandoned tho 999 years' < lease in favour'of the 66 years' lease. I The member for' Waitemata had as- ; sured him that he did not mean by - his amendment to do away with the ' cash purchaso system, but only wished to make it possiblo for every, settler on Crown lauds to acquire tho free- i hold. .' . < Mr. Alison said that when tho divi- ] sion took place they would see men : who wero pledged to support tho free- 1 hold going into the lobby against his i amendment. ' Tho Minister, reiterating liis pro- i vious statement ns to the consequences of Mr. 'Alison's amendment, argued that ovoryono who was pledged to support the freehold' would, of course, 1 vote against tho amendment. _ _ J In tho courso of further discussion j as to tho purport of tho amondment, - Mr. J. Allen said that other conso- J quential amendments would clearly < have to follow, and it would bo ovi- < dont that there was no intention to . abolish tho optional system. . A Limited Freehold. Mr. Homsby (Wairnrapn) said he was j in favour of a limited freehold, hue ': would not vote on the ill-considered ■ motion of tho member for Waitemata. Mr. Jonnings said the Land Bill should bo submitted to tho country. I Mr. A. R. Barclay (Duncdin Noithj i said tho results of the proposal con- 1 tai.ued in tho amendment would be to I introduco into tho Dominion all tho i evils of tho land system in England. <

Mr. T. Mackenzie said the mere fact that Mr. Barclay wns supporting tho Government showed that they woip not going far enough in the direction of the freehold. Ho (Mr. Mackenzie did not want to see the farmers under, tho heel of any landlord, State or private. As a matter of fact, tho State was often responsible for greater atrocities than any private landowner Mr. Laurenson: "Rubbish! Rubbish! Take care, you may be representing a town constituency yet." Mr. Mackenzie: " No, I'll nover represent a town constituency. A man is returned for a city constituency m proportion to the nonsense ho talks." Mr. Wilford said every men.'ber on the Government side of the House who was in favour of tho freehold was to vote against tho member for Waiteniata's amendment. It was the thin end of the wedge for tho aggregation of large estates. Mr. Mander protested that tho Opposition were in favour of limiting estates and prcvontihg aggregation. A Conundrum. Air. Hogg propounded a conundrum —"Why do the Opposition benches resemble a nest of young sparrows? Because they're all yeepingl" A worm—the freehold—was being dangled over their heads, and thoy were .all crying for it. The peoplo ill his district were not so desirous of tho freehold. Thoy wero content with tho leasehold if they could got it. Tho averago Crown tenant, if he wo.e enabled to obtain tho freehold, would fall inte tho web of the mortgagees. Ho would jump out of tho frying-pan into'' the fire. Mr. Major said ho hoped-the members who were pledged to the freehold would support the amendment. Mr. Flatman said everyone who had i tho welfare of the community at heart would vote against the amendment. The Popular Tenure. Mr. flerries (Bay of Plenty) said tho Minister for Lands' must knoiv from tho reports of his own Department that the tenuro which the settlers most appreciated was'occupation with right of purchaso, and if the Minister was not hampered.by political considerations ho would sanction no other tenuro Sir W. J. Steward (Waitaki) pointed out that tho amendment as'pi oposed would prevent any land being set aside for endowments. Mx. Field (Otaki) said a freeholder could logically vote against the amendment, hut would be reluctant to do so lest his action should bo misconstrued. The amendment, if passed, would do away with all forms of tenuro except the occupation with right of purchase, and .thero would be a difficulty in obviating this by further amendments. Ho thought ho would ho justified m voting against tho amendment. Mr. Lang' said tho clause could oe amended without difficulty, in. accordance with thoso who wished it carried. He conld not understand professed freeholders seoking for any loophole to get out of voting for the .amendment., Mr. Mills was making a further speech, mainly in explanation of his attitude, whon a mild pa'ssago-at-arms occurred between he and tho Premier, who twitted the ox-Ministor with having changed his mind. The Amendment Lost. Mr. Alison's amendment to add tho words "... . . all Crown lands shall bo disposed of under .the occupation with the right of purchaso system tenuro " was then put and lost on a division by 45 to 20. Tho voting was as fpllows:— Ayes: Messrs. Alison, J. Allen, Bonnet, Bollard, W. Frasor, Grcdnslade, Hardy, Hemes, Jennings, Lang, Lethbridgo, T. Mackenzio, Major, Malcolm, Mandor, Massey, Okey, Roid, Remington, and Ross. Noes: Messrs. Aitkon,'Arnold, Barber, Barclay, : Buddo, Carroll, Colvin, Dillon, Ell, Field, Fisher, Flatman, Fowlds, A. L. D. Fraser, Graham, Gray, Hanan-, Hogan, Hogg, Hornsby, Houston, Izard, Kaihau, Kidd, Laurenson,. Lawry, M'Gowan,/M'Nab, Macpherson, -jMiller, Mills,- Ngata, Parata, Poland, Poole, Seddon, Sidoy, Stallworthy, Steward, Tanner, Thomson, Ward, Wilford, -Witty,! Woods. ... r Further-Amendment. Mr. Mills moved that"... . . all Crown lands shall bo dealt with under the optional system as 'provided for in the- principal Act." . ' Mr. Massoy raised tho point of order that after tho rejection of tho amendment regarding the loase-in-perpetuity this, amendment could not be taken. Tho Minister of Lands supported the Loader of the Opposition, and the Chairman ruled tho amendment out of order. Mr. Lang then moved to add to the ond of tho clauso tho words " including tho right of purchase during tho first term." 'Mr. Lang commonded this amendment to the country party. Tho objections to Mr. Alison's amendment would not apply hero. It proposed to give- the tenants under the renewable leaso the right of purchase. : The amendment was lost by 25 votes to 37. ' , , Clauso 3 was then put and adopted by 41 votes ,to 20.'. It was now midnight, and a motion to report progress was carried. . On tho motion of tho Premier, tho House adjourned till 7.30 this evening.