POLITICAL NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 853, 27 June 1910, Page 8

POLITICAL NOTES.

KING EDWARD'S DEAT(f,, HOUSE MAY ADJOUHN FOR A WEEK. It is e::penlc[l that there will be a. fairly large nitrudanco of members when Parliament is opened to-morrmv. Tin. Leader of the Opposition, Mr. AY. h\ Mnssoy. is expected to arrive from tho north this afternoon. Mr. ,las. Allen aud some of tlio other .southern members are not expected to be in town for a few days. Arrivals by the Maori yesterday ificj&led: Tho Hops. J. B. Callan, J. li. Sinclair, and (i. Jones, M.lj.C.'s, and Messrs. Iliixton, Swldon, Sidrj, Craigic, Paratn, ami J. R Arnold, M.P.'s. Tho whnle of the Ministers, .iro in town at present, in readiness for the owning of Parliament. So far as is known'the Hon. Sir C. C. Bowen will again be a candidate for the position of Speaker of the Legislative Council, and will not be opposed. Messrs. A. M. Myers, A. E. Glover, and V. Lawry, JI.IVs, were to leave Auckland for Wellington by last night's express. Mr. F. Mandcr (Marsdcn) will probably leave Auckland to-night. Tho names of the Hons. Carncross, W. 0. Smith, and Sinclair arc mentioned in connection with the election to fill the vacant position of Chairman of Committees in the Legislative Council, in succession to the lato Hon. 11, H. J. Beeves. Mr. F. LaWT.v, who has represented Parnell for 21 years, assured his constituents -last week that a rumour that he did not intend to stand again was entirely without foundation. It was generally understood that Mr. (i. La.uronson, who has been indisposed for tile past two or tliTee months, bad resigned the position of senior Government Whip. Questioned on the matter by a Dominion reporter last night, thfii Prime- Minister stated that such was not the case. Sir Joseph added that Mr. Lnurenson was now much better, and -would he found in hie accustomed place in tho House early in the session. The outcome of a meeting of railway servants at Invorcargill on Sunday bst was a deputation to tho Southland members of Parliament—Messrs. lla.nan, Thomson, and Anderson—wlrcn the resolutions which were carried were submitted. The new regulations regarding holidays, travelling and night allowances, sick leave, transfers, free passes, and 'shunters' wages, also received attention. The replies oi the members were, on the whole (says the ; 'S«uthl.iiKl Timca"), sympathetic, and no doubt more will bo heard nbout them from Wellington-. During the course of an address at Kllerslio on Thursday evening, Mr. La wry, Parnell, said he had always advocated an entire reform in the local government of the country. He wanted the local matters to be dealt with by local bodies, and to elevate, the Parliament above the position of a lingo board of works. 'Jlie money should be allocated according to a district's requirements, aud not its population. He was pleased to shite that Mr. Massey (Leader of tho Opposition) was in accord with him iu this matter. ' It was stated by the Prime Minister hist night, in reply to a Dominion reporter, that tbo length of time which Parliament would adjourn out of respect to the memory of the late King Edward would depend mi what tho House proposed ia do. If the Imprest Supply Hill was passed straight away, there was no reason why Parliament should not adjourn until ' Friday, or the following Tuesday. Under ordinary circumstances there n-ould have been an adjournment for a W days. If the House did not propose to ileal with the Imprest Supply Bill, it might adjourn on Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday or Thursday. From Sir Joseph's remarks it appeared clear that the Government will intimate that if the Houso is agreeable the Imprest Supply Bill will be dealt with on Tuesday. Tho question of North v. South was often raised in Auckland, said Mr. Lawry, during the course of a presessio'nal address at Ellerslie. He considered it was the greatest • rot to talk about that or a Southern Ministry. He did not care if every Minister eamo from Christchurch, provided they wore the best men in tin"; House, lie bad never known a vote proposed for Auckland opposed by the members for Christchurch or Ota'go. They should realise that what advance one part of the country made benefited the vest. In responding to the toast "The Parliament of New Zealand" at si dinner iu New Plymouth, the Hon. 0. Samuel, M.L.C. (says the "Herald") detailed an incident that showed the necessity for a revising Chamber such as tho Legislative Council. At the latter end of the session, and in tho early hours of the morning, said Mr. Samuel, an iiuiocent-lnokiug Public Works Bill was being put through the Lower House, when a clause was inserted at the instance of ;-. private member. The Uill was read a third time and passed, and sent on to tho Legislative Council to be put through hurriedly. lint the Council found that in the clause mentioned tho word ".subdivide" had been turned into "sell," so that the clause, as it stood, prohibited the selling of property abutting on a street of a width less than 06ft. If there, had not been a Second Chamber to detect this error the Bill would have become law, and ninety-nine, people out of a hundred would have found themselves unable to sell their property, unless the Guvorniiu'iit took tho undignified course of ignoring its own law.