THE SESSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 883, 1 August 1910, Page 7

THE SESSION.

GALLERY NOTES AND LOBBY GOSSIP THE FINANCIAL DEBATE. CONTEST FOR THE .CHAIRMANSHIP. It is generally exacted that tho debate on tlio Financial Statement will occupy the. whole of this week. Altogether about 40 members Have not yet contributed to the discussion. Thoso. members- who spoke on l the want-of-confidenco motion have of course lost their right to speak further iu regard to the Budget. Included in their number were tho Pfimo Minister and.the Hon. G. Fpwlds on the Government side, and Mr._Massey.and Mr. Allen on. tho Oppositionside. "Upon the debate proper the Hon. T. Mackenzie from among the Government party, and Messrs. Herdmail and Eraser, have since spoken. A noticeablo feature in connection with tho debate is the fact that the House is not sitting unduly late.' Whereas, during the late Mr. Seddon's term'ol office sittings in ■ connection- with such a debate would, probably hare;averaged until after midnight, every sitting'night, tho sittings on the present' occasion have generally concluded by' just, a little after 11 o'clock. ..■'.'"'

GOVERNMENT FREEHOLDERS' ' PERPLEXITY. , v The division on ; tho ■ waut-of-co'nfi-clence motion 'continues to bo tho'.chief topio of conversation in the lobbies. From what can be gathered there havo at times been warm words on the subject between members, of file different sections of .the Government party.. It appears that it was. understood that only ona or two Government members would support, the amendment tabled by the Leader of the Opposition. That no fewer than/five should cast their votes in favour of ' the amendment seems to have come' as a surprise "in view of the habit'of Government members in recent years of placing party before principle. : Tho position is, of course, felt most -'keenly by pledged freeholders who preferred to vote against the amendment for even already some of tliem it is understood .have had disconcerting messages from residents of their constituencies. It is rumoured also that several .threats to stand 'as Independent Liberals at--nest'election have been mJade. ■■■■■.'■

THE LANDQUESTION. Questioned on. tho subject by a Dominion reporter: several of the older members of the. House- stated that' as n result of the division on tho want-of-confidence motion it was almost certain that the House would get an- opportunity to discuss the land question this session. All that is known as to what the Land Bill ..will contain is. the-Pre-mier's announcement -in his Winton speech that it will, bo,on' somewhat similar lines to the Bill introduced last year. There seems to be a very general opinion to.the"effect that it will bo found impossible to get any new big land proposals .on the .statute-book '-Wring the current Parliament. If it is a freehold Bill the leaseholders will, it is felt, stop its progress, as they did last session,' whilst: if it goes in the direction of leasehold, the.Opposition aro bound to join'with tho Government freeholders to throw it out. •'■""'•

A BELATED ELECTION. No fresh developments' have- been of--' ficialy reported .with!' reference to the pending contest to: fill the vacant position of Chairman of Committees for the House. Three candidates—Sir William Steward and Mr. Davey on tho Government .side, and Mr. Frascr from the Opposition side—are still in the field. Mr. Davey is not likely to give ,way, seeing that ho was favoured at the caucus on the other hand fair William has definitely decided not to recognise, that decision, owing to the fact that lie. was beaten .by. only ono vote when, some of his supporters were absent. Supporters'of-the two Ministerial candidates feel the. position very keenly, and rt'is aii'open secret that little was left unsaid ■on the subject IL tiT- UCU !L V 1?, 15 j ; ow rumoured ir the that the Government will ultimately lend its support to'a Ministerialist still unnommated, and in this connection the name of Mr. Graham of Nelson, ]s mentioned. , '..

A PARLIAMENTARY TRIP. There is almost certain to'be a Parliamentary trip to.-Aucklarid in connection with the. Winter. Show in the northern centre".' If a sufficient number of members will 'participate, it is understood that they will leave by special train-after the rising of the House on Friday week, and return, leaving Auckland about midnight on the following Monday evening. J n case that there is not a sufficient number of members, desirous of making the trip, members will leave for the north by tho ordinary express on ;the Saturday, and return, to Wellington on the Tuesday afternoon. Quite a number of members have decided to make the trip. •> ■ • v

"SETTLERS ( SHOULD HAVE THE OPTION." According' to Mr. Jennings, M.P: for Taumarunni,' who. voted with the-Op--1 position on .the want of confidence motion, ho has consistently held that, provided that there is'limitation of area tho settler who work's on tho land is entitled to the option of the freehold. In connection' with the Egmont and Taumanmui electorates, with which ho was associated, he had seen much to lead him to this view. ■ In conversation with a. Dominion reporter on Saturday, Mr. Jennings added: "I have never hesitated, cither,in. the House or out of it,-to express my opinion on this point. Last session it-will be romembored I stated in the House that my convictions were so strong on tho giving of the option of the freehold tha.t I for ono .would not be afraid to go to the country on the question." Mr. Jennings added that ho had sinco soon no reason to alter 1 his opinion.

WATER-LOCCEDI "The country is in the position of a ship that is water-logged," said Mr. Hogg (Masterton) on Friday, rofomiig, to the country's indebtedness. "Nothing can sink tho ship, but.if yon wajit to improvu her you must attend to the leaka. 1 " _ The "icaks," in Mr. Hogg's opinion, were banks, insurance offices, and other agencies which ho said were sending money out of tho country. Mr.. Herdman (Wellington North), speaking later, defended the position of the banks, without which, he said, the country could never have attained its present development. JOTTINGS. A few days ago Mr. Nosworthv described the Hon. 'G. Fowlds as a codlin moth -in the" Cabinet. Mr. E. H. Taylor had a retort to mako on Friday. Ho said that if there was a codlin moth, which ho'donied, it-showed that the fruit was good, because ' a fruitless orchard would not support a codlin moth. An amusing confusion ■ of metaphors was perpetrated by Mr. Hogg piasterton) on Friday, to the effect that if tho Opposition had their way every one of the. national/ endowmouts would be "turned into tho melting-pot of old bliylock—tho god they worship." Laughter was caused in tho House on Friday whon Mr. Phillipps, member for Waitomata, likened the' Liberal party to "an old, brooding hen on a nest of addled eggs. Its pen should bo put m. a political backyard." said Mj:. Ehillipiip-