THE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 948, 15 October 1910, Page 7

THE COUNCIL.

&ODICATURE AMENDMENT BILL. "When the Legislative Council met at (2130 yesterday afternoon, the Judicature {Amendment'Bill was reported, with amendments 1 by the' Statutes . Revision Committee. The Committee stage" of jthe Bill was set down for Wednesday next. ,\v;

K.l. PORTLAND CEMENT COMPANY.

V Tho Now Zealand Portland Cement , Company (Limited) • Reclamation -and Empowering . Bill was repoHed from -.' .Committee,; with 1 one machinery amendment.--. ' ' ' • ;

RIVER BOARDS AMENDMENTS,

The River Boards Amendment Bill was received from the House of Representatives, and was read a first time. The second reading was made an order of the day for Wednesday,next.

INDECENT PUBLICATIONS.

; : PIENDMENTS DISAGREED WITH. Tho Attorney-General, in placing .. Hie amendments made by the House ■ of Representatives in the. Indecent ' Publications' Bill before the Council, moved that the Council' disagree with the proposed- amendments. . -The first amendment proposed /by the House of ■■Representatives'.was in adding the r -words,. "Knowing or:havingi reasonablef; jneans. of knowing that such document it an offenco to, deliver or ; leave, or : ; cause to ibe delivered or left in premises in the occupation-of any other person, . ' an indecent,'document. This clause, as ' it -stood, said :Dr; Findlay, - was pro- ■ -tably a-little too drastic,-but-as altered . it seemed to him 1 that it»would simply, rallow- the ■ evil-' we were attempting to 'check.. He suggested, that tlus clause •; / /should be' shaped so as to hit-the evil .of the. distribution of this class .of ■ 'He/ th6ught;.*they -might be j- able.-to persuade tho Committee of ■"another-place" to agreo to mako tho clause- read something like this,' "Dis- - -tributes'or causes' to be - distributed

;, any "indecent", document." ;Tho. second and::more serious alteration- was -in i Clause: 8, . which originally made pro- , vision that absence of guilty knowledge no defence.,- Tho,- ofi ■ -Representatives 'had -added-,-the [ttordsj 's-. "Unless/:he proves that- lie ' took all i • reasonable. {-means to .-. ascertain - tho j ; -nature: as regards decency or indecency , «f such, document, matter,-or thing.", It was ;not difficult, to seo how this ;/:f 3mendment;{openedVtheAWayr:'te,-; escape., ■Absence .of (guilty knowledge - was no j aefence in other,, classes of offence, and , it should . not be in this case. The words, "reasonable means," were so vague that if a-magistrato"''was- disposed to-coiivict he, would do so just ,; , ;as easily' Tinder , the v ~-'ameEdment - -as , -under tho. old clause. A complete - :■ measure of protection. against any mundue hardship was-provided elsewhere . in tho Bill." If the clause;were allowed to stand as ..amended, ;it:would -break down-altogether. He-hoped the Council ■would-support him in trying to keeptho clause as it stood. Clauso 11, proTiding that piersons committing certain. ••' offences, . may' be arrested . without

warrant-., had been struck . out. It \ imghtvbe well'toagree .to tlais when; a •Committee of :the Council mot. a Comjnittee of the other House. He moved : ; ; ''That' this Council disagrees with' tho mado in thS'Bill,'by. tho . House of Representatives.", This was earned,'. and a •-ComniitfeeV;.consisting ■ of the,.Hon.,Dr.. Findlay,. tho Hon. J. ' R. Sinclair, and the Hon. J. Rigg whs Bet up vto draw up reasons ■ why the Council disagrees with the,amendments.

DEFENCE/AMENDMENT BILL.

• PHYSICAL -MEASUREMENTS CONTEMPLATED. Tho.-adjourned debate on : the second leading ..'of tho. Defence "'Amendment Bill ' : .was continued by . The. Hon. G.; J. SMITH (Canterbury)who welcomed and largely approved tho ;,- measure; Ho. did not. think the amount ■ i training specified' was sufficient .to ■.; make'tho men' soldiers, 1 - but,it was' .more than wo had had in tho past.' Tliero •",. would - not,' he ; thought, be: any .. difficulty . in getting, tho men away for training purposes.' Tho ; Dominion was.- to -be congratulated on having such a force in. view. .' 'As.soon as -the.new commandant arrived ho hoped the officers would havo'tho regulations ready for his per- - Ti-Sal .so that t-liev could bo issued im;imediafely.;. Ho.; also:, thought' a' '<pocket . edition 'of tho Defence Act should bo . - :. issued. A scheme should be • devised to : allow long-service medals to be gained by. those who - were now' near: the -point -of.getting.'them.s There was more left: ;; :to . tho regulations in .this Bill than in any measure' he had' ever seeri,' but this was inevitable. .' He heartily welcomed tho Bill. • -'■' The Hon. W..W. M'CARDLE (Auckland) agreed that the. Bill was a really good ono and deserved the support of :■ the Council although.- there might be ; some ,difficulty in regard to the outlying districts. Care should be . taken . mot to oppress'the small settlers." -: The Hon.--J: ANSTIirV (Canterbury) . thought'the Bill remained too ambitious to be; given general'.effect;.Under it ' hundreds of .' young country, men :.who | could not got tho elements of. military : drill would ,bo dragged - away" to ' useless camps and put through-drill that .would be of.no benefit to'them. . The Hon. C. M. LUKE (Wellington) - said he .was;a; man of peace/and ; he re- / gretted. the conditions that 'obtained. . tbroughout'Europo which probably acted . .... as an :incentive 'throughout the British ;.: Empire'in. preparing for;: any; conting-. cncy that "might arise. It would be little: short ;of a: ; ' crime : if-wo did not . . prepare to put ..'.our house in order and ' , prepare for any contingency. Much as no disliked, this necessity, for. a measure of the kind, circumstances warranted ' the British Empire in preparing: themselves for-any- possibility, that might arise. That was tho only justification for this'Bill./ Provision should bo made for -men to .remain, in the Territorial Forca'after.'t'he age of 25 -if. they _desired. :; Industry would be disorganised, at times, but sacrifices.must.be made. The Hon, Dr. COLLINS (Wellington)' spoke'strongly'in favour of the Bill, . and .whilst appreciating,to the.full tho services of the volunteers, said it was ,- «§&solutely necessary that compulsory

service should come. "Bo it war or bo it peaco," said Dr. Collins, "this Bill is a good one." : It would enable young men from .12 to 25 to bo developed and would give them discipline and a_ certain amount of drill. Something' moro was, he thought, needed. Ho would like to see proper anthropological measurements kept of every cadet from tho. timo he filtered the. service until lie left it at ,25 years of ago. - If we could keep .a''-record -of the height, weight,; and chest measurements from 12 to 25 wo could in. timo get very val-uable-statistics not possessed by:-any other country in the world. This, 'lie thought, could be very easily done. .Tho object was to be .able to show in years to come what kind of people tlicso islands produced. It would also indicate' if there was any differentia f be? tween the people of the.North and.tho South Island. Still another,adva&tago of these statistics bo ; to eitable an accurate idea to be obtained of the amount of inherited' diseases, 'and also as to whether there: was generacy going on. With' ,a ; medical department attached to the a useful record, could be kept of each \ individual from.^the-time he Enteredi|the: service to -the; time hp left it. ■

Dr. Findiay xemarked'that what Dr. Collins had proposed was already contemplated. . if, . i -.. Tho Hon. IT. F. WIGRAM (Cantorbury) heartily ' supported the Bill and l expressed his admiration of the courage of the Government; in bringing it. in,, as it was going to be. very ; difficult to , administer. Ho. hoped the regulations wonld be elastic and would press as lightly. as' possible:. en. people dwelling in the. back-blocks.

■Tho Hon. W. BEEHAN . (Auckland) expressed delight at the appearance of the BUI. ■The debate was adjourned on tho motion of the Hon. J. Rigg, and the Council rose at 4.30 p.m.