LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 53, 26 November 1907, Page 7

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

; > THE LAST DAY'S.. WORK. ■.•■The Legislative Council..met. at 11 a.m, . yestorcjay.. . The Christchureh District Drainage Bill and ,the Whangarei Harbour .Bill were read a' second: time without discussion. The. Counties Act Amendment Bill was also read a second timo on the motion of the AttorneyGeneral, and the Council went into committee, on these• three'- Bills. <• The'clauses of the-Christclmrch Drainage . Bill' Were put to tho vote in groups. ;The Hon, J. E. Jenkinson wished to be assured that the Bill was purely a consolidating' raeasuro. • •. v 'l'noi'Hpn. T.-Thompson,- who was in chargo , of';thd ' Bill, 'said he : had 'recoived; an assurance''that/this was so. ■-Tho Attorney-General, said he-had been informed by the Lav Draftsman that the ' new;.'portions "of the Bill were merely de-fiignw-'to make it workable. The ! Bill'went through committee with no further 1 discussion, aiid : the other two Bills followed witli equal 'rapidity: All thrco were reported; without 'amendment,'read a third ; passed.' - ■ - 'adjourned' at 11 ;20 to await a "-Message from the Governor comprising an amendment to tho ' Maori' "Washing-up " : Bill. ; . - . - ; 1 ; The Council resumed at 12.15 p.m., when ' was received. The AttorneyGeneral said- that the amendment -was'a ' drafting 0)10, 'and it'was agi'eed 'to. l : Tlio Appropriation'-Bill ■ was fccemJd from the ' -House' read a • a-mi oi , , Th 6 Council '/" '" j id;":..«L.iVA bE DIC-TO RyZ > V.-.1 | CONGRATULATIONS ALLROUND. ! ■ When'; the Council resumed'at 2.30 p.m., ] the'second roading-of the Appropriation Bill, - which ; was briefly moved by tho * AttorneyGeneral.(Hon..W. C.- Smith) was made the , occasion ; for several 'valedictory, addresses. Tho'; Hon; ,IV. C. Smith congratulated tho Attorney-General on 1 the good work'he had drae during his first session. ,He had' shown himsolf' a thorough leader of nieii, and his consideration and courtesy to every member had gained' the full confidence of the Council.. : - As an. old member of both Chambers, he wished to say that tho present session . was not only the longest that had ever been held, but' tho; most notablo by reason' of the. important, legislation "that haS been-passed'. ' Tho work of Parliament Was increasing,"'tho demand for legislation was increasing, and' Parliament had been unablo to give -thorough consideration to some of'-the Bills ' towards . tho endl' Ho, therefore, thought.'.it; 1 would be necessary for Parliament, to sit six months of the year, and for'the .'honorarium of members to be increased! The Hon. ;W. W. M'Cardle congratulated the last speaker. 011 his work as Chairman of Committees,'thanked tho'older mombers for ' the help .they had given to himself and other new members. • ] , The'Hoii. J. Bj Callan. safd that as a now • member'ho had been greatly impressed with ' the spirit of 'camaraderie existing ' among members. 1 .Tchdencics 'of Legislation. ' i The Hon. J. Itigg. endorsed the remarks of ' previous-spoakors. He also, expressed satisfaction .with the legislation of the session. It ' . had. included extensions of important principles that had scarcely, been noticed, such as. the' participation of tho State in the ! oyster trade. Ho thought this should be i followed up by participation- in. the supply ' of ;bread. -There-was,,besides, tho principle 1 of : the referendum with initiative introduced - in the Factories; Amendmont .Bill, He expressed, high appreciation ofthe: work., of the Attorney-General a,nd tho Speaker. ■The Hon..Mahuta, IV. C. F. Carncross, C. M: Luke, apd -A. Baldey also made congratulatory speeches. The Hon. J. E. Jenkinson said ho did not remember a'session in which the work of the Cojincil had.been kept so well:forward.. Ho attributed this to the-Attorney-General and thb vLaw Drafting ; Depurtmont. - He sugt gested-that the timo had como for tho hon\oraria of members to be increased, and that ■allowances should be made to tho widows of Councillors nk to those of members of the other House. He urged that; the Exhibition statuary, which had been purchased by the Government, should be presented to the City of 'Wellington. . , , : 'The-Hon. Captain Baillie, as tho oldest member of. the Council, ■ also congratulated the Attorney-General. A. Longhnan, T. Thompson, ind IVI Pere also spoke. The,' Council and; the-public. "Tho Hon. T. Kennedy Macdonakl said that all those present had now spoken except himself. He; expressed pleasure at the way in which the Legislative Council had risen' in the public estimation. It hud gono up with a jump. Ho approved of the suggestion regarding compassionate allowances to tho widows of members, and wont on to urge tho Government to proceed- with an active Native land policy. . He suggested that, in view of the long arid distinguished services to this country of the Hon. C. C. Bowon, Speaker of the Council, it. would he fitting that some special recognition of His Majesty's appreciation-should be conferred upon him. Mr. \Stow, tho,' 'Clerk of Parliaments, who had 'had forty years' experienbe and had dono' great service to the Legislature, should be granted a gift of monoy. lie also contended that tho honoraria of Councillors shbuld.be increased, as it did not constitute a living wage. In regard to salaries of members and officials, there should bo no difference between the two Houses. The Leader of the Council Replies. The''Attorney-General (Hon. Dr. J. G. Findlay), replying, .said the session had been a vo'ry'indfflorahle one to him,'as this was his first year of public'life. The sense of relief

with which ho greeted the dying minutes of the session was touched with sadness as lie thought of the cessation of daily' contact with men who had proved themselves geiiuino friends. The session had been a record one, and one of which both sides might well bo proud. Tho moasures that had been passed had received as much consideration as in any prccoding session. Regarding tho gravity of tho now legislation, any opinion that could now be expressed must bo based on a priori grounds, j'lmo alone could tell whether the i, nigh aims ami purposes of the. Government would bo realised. He was particularly grateful to |.he 'Hon. Mr. Jenkinson and others ' who hail spoken of tho difficulties that had besot him (tho Attorney-General) at tho I oponing of | the session. He had felt the , greatest apprehension as to his own fitness ' for tho leadership of the Council, unac- ' quaintcd as lie was with its somewhat per- '■ plexing forms of procedure. He had only i nad tho student's opportunities of acquiring a knowledgo of the Standing Orders before . entering tho Council, and it was idle to suggest that any success he Imd achieved i was duo in any measure to himself. It was due to tho co-operation and kindly assistance of members from the first days up to the, present moment. When he strayed beyond tho Standing Orders tho Hon. Mr. Rigg and the Hon. Mr. Jenkinson shut their eyes in a manner that did credit to their hoarts. The compliments that had just been paid him wpro a further evidence of the kindly feeling that had made his path as loader so oasy and so pleasant. Hard-working Councillors. Tho good work done in tho Council had been recognised by Press and by tho country, and ho wished to express his own appreciation of tho close attention the members had given to the Bills that came before thorn. Councillors had come to him time after time to point out omissions or defects in the Bills, and this showed that they had studied them not only in that Chamber, hut also at their desks and in their homes. He was very grateful to the Hon. Mr. Jenirinson for pointing to one of tho real advantages of the present session, in connection with the Law Drafting Department. Ho (the-At? torney-Goneral) could claim the credit for inducing tho best authority on law in Australasia. to resign his professorial chair at Viotoria Collego and accopt tho position of Couiisol to the Law Drafting Department. The Speaker. Adding his tribute to'what had already been said of the speaker, the Hon. Dr. Findlay said that the occupant of that chair had behind him a long and honourable record, of which any man might be' proud. Ho earned with him the history and reminiscences of many administrations, dating back to the time when Lyttelton, then tho capital of Canterbury, was a mere fishing village. AH-that'had been said of him would find a respouse in the hearts of all who knew him'. Ho had in largo store "That which should accompany old age f honour, love, obedience, troops cf , friends," and so it would be even' more so as the. voars W( nt on: The Attorney-General nom-fiic'ed hy expressing a poFonal sense-of gratitude to the officers of the Council, and rppoaliric that-what ho had himself done was largely duo to tho indulgence of the memo j-s. IA r.pfause.) • BILL PASSED. ■ The Appropriation Bill 'was -tlion put through all stages without amendment, and the Council adjourned to await' the' Message signifying His Excellency's assent to Bills. ' / THE CHINESE jACAIN;;. ( , Tho Council - reassembled -' shortly' boforo 5 o clock, when amendments to the'FahtOifieS'' ..Amendment Bill wero -brought-down: by Governors' Mossago. The amendments -consisted of striking out clauses 12 and 16, which imposed spfecial-restrictions on Chinese'laundries, and tho Attorney-General explained that if those clauses remained in ■ tho Bill, His Excellency would deem it his duty to reserve it for tho Royal assent. This would involve a dolay of six months, and it was therefore thought- best to drop those • c auscs for tho present rather than postpone tho coming into operation of the other provisions in the Bill. 'The amendments were accepted, and tho Council again adjourned. Tho concluding Message from tho Governor wa3 received iat 5.30, and the Council finally rose at 5.35 p.m. ...