PARLIAMENT POSTPONED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 991, 5 December 1910, Page 8

PARLIAMENT POSTPONED.

'.WILL "NOT MEET TILL JULY 31. ; . A CLOSK DIVISION. A" claiiso in the Appropriation Dill 1 provided for. tho.extonsion of the appro- 1 priations till July 3i, the object being ( to enable the commencement, of next - t ■session to bo postponed for a month. ] Speaking on the second, reading of i . the Bill the Primo Minister said that 1 he expected to arrive back iii,J\ T ew Zea- ■ janfl about a fortnight after'., the com- j "mehcement of the session next' year, ; In Committee oirthq Bill, Mr. Massey , said that he must to. the post- ; ponemerit of the beginning of. next ses- ( sion. He believed'that New Zealand j would' be very welt represented, at the Coronation by tho Prime Minister and Dr. Findlay..; Ho thought tho Houso should meet■ at the usual, time and in the usual way. ■ If the Primo Minister would consent to his proposal ho . would see that everything would bo done by the Opposition to assist tho £ Minister left in charge. (Hear, hoars.) There would bo no ; want-6f-confidence . motion until the Prime Minister. returned. _ • The Prime Minister said that he was obliged to Mr. Massey for his assurances. ' Ho agreed that the work could be carried out effectively during his absence. It would be ' seen' that there T was another difficulty] in the" Ayay. In c tho Legislative Cou'ncil the Government r had only ono "representative. If tho f Council' met at the ordinary; time it ]. would meet , without .its leader., .He did not think that the Legislative Council should carry on its business without its { leader for, say,, six .weeks. .. The next ;session;.was" bound "to "be" a "short session. He did not think that the counitryiiwould be inconvenienced if the next •"session were pnstponed for a' month. Mr. Allen (Braced said, that lie was sorry tho Prime Minister could not agree to. Mr. Massey's proposal. Tho j clause meant that Parliament would ,j not . sit till July 31.. There ,was no 5 necessity, for the Council to",sit as early J as the' House. A deputy leader.of-tho Council- could bb appointed. It was j possible some: urgent matter ' might ; arise. It would Tie a good timo to j, train someone else in the work of t leader of. the Council. v Tho. Prime Minister repeated his v 'reasons in support, of the clause. _ On a division the clause was retained „ by 27 votes to 22. Members voted as follow: — •- .; , ' ' c For the proposal to adjourn till July 31 ' (27)- ■ : . n Buddo M'Kenzie, R. b Craigie . Mackenzie, T. 0 Davey Millar Dillon ' Poland Ell Rangihiroa Field Ross Glover Seddon Greenslade Smith Hall Stallworlhy Hogan Steward S Jennings . Tnylor, E. 11. ii Laurenson Thomson, J. C. e Lawry Ward . c Macdonald 11 ■ Against tho adjournment (22). t Allen M'Laren li Anderson Malcolm Buchanan Mander P Buick . Massey r i Fisher Newman t Fraser Nosworthy . fc' Guthrie. Pearce . t Hardy Phillipps . 0 Herries ' Scott t! Hogg Taylor, T. E. Luke Wright v Further Protssts. 0 Mr. Herries, speaking on the third reading of the Appropriation Bill, pro- t tested strongly against the postpone- r ment of next session for a month. 1' Even with tho postponement to July 31, tho session would havo to go on without the Prime Minister for. two or , three weeks. The reason that had been . given seemed to mean that the business .of Parliament could not go on without the Attorney-General. The Council ? could be led by someone else. Thcro 5 was important business for next session, , such as tl'.e Local Authorities Bill, which was to ba circulated during tho 11 recess, according, to a promise by tho ® Primo Minister. Members would be 1' very .unwilling for tho session to run 011 late, because of tho ejection following it, with new electoral boundaries. } Mr. Massey also protested against the postponement of the session. He ? did not think tho loyalty of New Zea- . land would bo any more effectively demonstrated by sending a body of ' members of Parliament to tho Corona- . tion. Ho recalled that when tho .lato Mr. Seddon went Homo on a similar [ occasion tho Houso got through a ] great deal of work under tho acting- E leadership of Sir Joseph' Ward, tho ' Opposition not placing difficulties in his ' way. Tho samo cxpericnco could be ' repeated. _ f Mr. Buchanan said he wished to protest in' the strongest manner possible against postponing tho "session. Ho < emphasised, the inconvenicnco resulting ' from uncertainty as to the date of tho general election. Sir Joseph Ward said this session had "been a. long one, and the next coul'l ' reasonably bo 'short, becauso so'much '• work had now been done., Tho Opposi- ] tion had complained that: thcro was too i much legislation, and they were right in that; yet they were asking for a . long session next year, so that much further imnortant legislation could bo : passed. What Mr. Herries had sug- . gested was virtually tho beheading of ' tho other branch of the- Legislature. There would be-110 injur,v to anybody through Parliament meotinfe a month later than usual.: His colleagues were all in - accord with: him as to the post- ; ponement,. Ttte; Government' wouH sub-

Mit a Local Government Bill, and it would be a far-reaching measure. Tho third reading was carried on tho voices.