The Dominion FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1909. THE PAST SESSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 703, 31 December 1909, Page 4

The Dominion FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1909. THE PAST SESSION.

9—; TfiE session of 'Parliament just ended has'afforded the countryman opportunity of estimating the calibre of the'new House of Representa- | tives. It was generally,felt that the election of 1908, had raised the in'tellectual standard of the 'House. The services of several valued inombers were lost to the country through retirement, and a few members of - more standing loet thoir seats at'the ballots! but on the whole it 'was considered that there had been a decided gain from tho large infusion of new blood. Those i who have followed closoly.tho pro'ceedines of the session which closed on' Wednesday last may reasonably have doubts as to the extent of' that gain, but on the whole it will probably be conceded that the present Parliament is o,f, higher mental attainments than the which'preceded it. It is, of course.' a littlo difficult to form correct conclusions

from the first session of a new Parliament. Tho'new members are seld6m , seen in proper perspective. They are amid quite unfamiliar eui'-> roundings; the forms of Parliament puzzle and confuse them; they .act over-cautiously in constant r fear of committing some gaucherie which might lay them open to' ridicule or rebuke. In' such circumstances it is easy enough to _ misjudge' new members. The second session of a Parliament usually necessitates the recasting' of opinions, and it is cheering to think that this is so, for there yet remains a good deal of room, for improvement in the present Parliament. ' ' v i We suspect that many of the new members must have had their ideal of the House of Representatives as a legislative chamber -rudely shattered by a closer acquaintance with the methods that have .grown up in that branch of tho,Legislature. Instead of witnessing a large body'of members closely occupied with tho matters before the House, ibey have repeatedly seen an array of empty bonches'and'a comparatively 'few conscientious workers attending to the serious business of the session. They have beheld the spectacle of important issues discussed "pro and con by a few members in a thin House, and then, at the call of'tho' division bell, two score or more mem-

borsr who- have -heard nothing; of ,tho; argument, and . who ■ are:: entirely ignorant of the'morita of the matter under review, swarming in from tho ■lobbies':and -casting their votes vest - as; they are: told to cast them—mere human (voting : machines overriding' the workers. Where they have expected, to seo strict 'order and decorum their,, sense: of' propriety has, •on numerous occasions, l been ■ affronted; by; rude, .sometimos -vulgar, interruptions and interjections'fronr a small band vof .claquers who. do > little: else ■ than disturb; the proceedings .'with-- a_. running < vfire ■' of ; com- , ment,'.oftentimes; of 'a .personal nature, v We cannot recall, any Parliamcnfc. during the past 18 years at least, in which this objectionablo : practice;, has been 1 ' carried io :such Bxoess as. has boon:witnessed during;

thejsession just closed. It is a matter ' for congratulation that on tho I whole .the new members can bo almost entirely absolved from blame in connection with the evils mentioned above. On the Opposition ■ sido of the House especially the new members 'have sot' an admirable oxample Jn all ways; and tho 'same, can be said for several' of those who follow the fortunes of -the Government. 1 Ono of the most romarkablo features of tho session has been tho attitudo of the Government party towards its leader. It has been quite apparent at times that a number of tho members of tho party have been in strong' disagreement with the actions or policy of tho Ministry. ■ On sovcral, occasions they refused to sacrifice their political or personal convictions to the will of tho .Prime Minister and voted againht him even when it mes.nt"'his dofeat. Sir . Joseph ''Ward, at l,imcs, • appeared quite incapable of controlling then^

and but for his personal popularity with the'majority of his following his position would have dccd 'even worse. Yet on every occasion save one he was ablo, after a caucus of the party, to force nearly all of even the more independent of his following to his will and to stultify 'their previous actions. _ It has been a subject? for much conjecture how this enforcing of obedience was accomplished, what -threat or ,what inducement was held out to the recalcitrants. The most signal failure of the session was t'jc back-down of the Government on the Land Bill. There can be no doubt that the i'siMß Minister's attempt to throw sops to both the leasehold and the freehold sections of the House had a_ most damaging effect on the prestige of the Government. The leaseholders considered themselves . betrayed by the Governmont, and the freeholders wore dissatisfied because Ministers had not gone far enough. It was a bitter pill for the Government to swallow when the leasehold of the party refusecVto follow their leaders and betray their constituents. , , . . s

The greatest achievement of tho session was the passing 'of the Defence Act providing'for compulsory military training. Sie Joseph JVaed's action in this respect showed a sudden and remarkable change, of front, but he is to be heartily congratulated' on passing the measure into law. The Government is also to be' complimented on its attempt to grapple ] with the Native land laws. It is impossible to say that tho bulky Act consolidating and amends ing the existing statutes is entirely 'satisfactory.' When the measure was before the Legislative Council the Hon. J. D. Okmond, in the ablest and most analytical speech delivered on the Bill in either House, directed attention, to a number of weaknesses, and no doubt there arc others. But the Government is deserving"" of credit for at last moving in the matter—how, much credit ib really its duo will be better known when the Act comes to be tested 'in operation. Tho session has added further to the burden, of taxation, upecial legislation having been passed in this direction, and, the public debt has been' substantially increased. The latter, except for the Dreadnought liability, was for tho most part unavoidable. The extra taxation," however, should not have'been necessary had' proper ,care and economy been exercised in the 'administration of the country's affaini.