THE COMING SESSION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 227, 18 June 1908, Page 8

THE COMING SESSION.

UNCOMFORTABLE QUARTERS. ... Except for little heaps of shavings on the ' 3oor, and ail insufficiency of furniture, tho ' ierpporary chambers of the House of. Representatives and Legislative. Council at .Government House , havo very much the appearance now which they will /have' ivhen members , 'ikneet. AVith their • pale, aesthetic papering, gilt-framed mirrors,' and broad windows, thoy aro charming rooms when fihey are not overcrowded, but threo months'^" close confinement is their racnace to the country's legislators. Voluptuous .M.P.'s, accustomed to : tho lounging comfort which, in Parliamentary practice, is preferred to dignity, will groan when they survey the close ranked, hardbacked wooden chairs, on which, 'perforce, they must sit erect' as St. Simeon on his pillar. Legislative Councillors, treated to-a '.trifle-more of luxury, will have to exerciso a ■ constant vigilance, to guard their canebottomed, cane-backed chairs. - .Tho.'finishing touches are now being ap- . plied, and- workmen are busy furnishing the other rooms for Ministers, their secretaries, and others. Most of them aro now fairly presentable, -but some are still half-office, Lalf-boudoir. A substantia! counter has been erected in the new " Bellamy's," which will 'soon have quite a cheerful aspect. In the Hpuso of .Representatives,. it is regrettable that the reporters' seats have beeii placed at the far end of the hall, so that members will be speaking with their backs to tho recorders. v It is not-probable that the library will -be used next session as much as in the past. Some of the most essential books of reference have been shifted into tho new Parliamentary buildings for convenience sake. The ispecia'l ' passage, way which has been constructed across Sydney Street to tho library is a very crude convenience. It is finished, and a Pressman,' who walked through it yesterday, could imagine the risks which members will encounter who rashly venture down its draughty length after being.in the hot air of an over-crowded legislative chamber. The ' 'walls and roof are constructed of galvanised iron, and at every curve of this niAterial the cold wind' enters, top and bottom, and on a blustering winter's night may be expected to rage, in a variety of cross-currents. Win- ' (lows aro set at intervals, 'and the view down Dn to the green-lawns of Government House '■will doubtless, prove soothing to nerves ruffled,.jy debate. On nights,' however, when there is "a nipping and an eager air," hat and overcoat will be wisely donned before one ventures into this home of draughts.- It will bo easier and, on occasions, drier to use the passage-way than to walk round by road; the passage-way was built, the Public Works Department states, to servo no further pur- '• pose. _ i ■ ~ In tho corridors of the old Parliamentary buildings, where the passage-way emerges, ..workmen aro engaged in brightening up the plaster and removing marks of smoke ami water. - Upstairs some of the rooms above which a temporary roof has been erected are being cleaned up for tho sessional clerks. Tables and other furniture are being built in the Public Works. Department's workshop for tho Legislative Chamber and other rooms. It is expected that the premises will be ready . for occupation two or three days before Parliament meets.