The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1912. HOURS OF PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1543, 12 September 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1912. HOURS OF PARLIAMENT.

»- - One cannot fail to sympathise with the proposal put forward by Mn: Davey in the House of Representatives yesterday in favour ol Parliament transacting its business during reasonable hours. The cry for Reform in this direction is as old practically as Parliament itself, but the evil of late sittings and the forcing through of business in the small hours of the morning when members are jaded and worn, and unfit to perform their duties has been peculiarly acute under the v. Continuous Ministry. It is in its way amusing to note the choriiß of support accorded to Mn. Davey from the Opposition side of the House, when one recalls the attitude of the same members during the time their party was in office. For years past most ofthem have backed their leaders in strenuously resisting the appeals of the Reform party for more reasonable hours of sitting; but now their tune is changed. They are now clamouring for what, in the past, they refused to their opponents. For all that, they arc quite right in the main in making protest against a continuance of the bad habits which they themselves practised so extensively to the discomfort of members and to the prejudice of the interests of the country. The Ma'ssky Government should not follow the had precedent set by the Continuous Ministry, but. should endeavour on all occasions to ensure that the business of the country shall be conducted at such hours and in such a manner as will enable members to give full and alert attention to the matters brought before them. The real evil of the past has been not so much the. hours kept—which is bad enough in itself—but the systematic manner in which the most important business of the session, has been kept back until the closing weeks for the sole purpose of forcing it through when members were least fitted to cone with it. Mr. Seddos was mainly rntpmisibls fir the introduction of this.

method of getting his own way with a minimum of opposition. The practice was to wasto tho early months of the session when members were fresh and mentally and physically at their best, with matters of minor importance. Weeks would ho frittered away in idle talk and in dealing with tho smaller questions requiring attention; and then when members wore weary of the sessional work and anxious to get away to their homes, he would brine forward legislative proposals, perhaps involving large questions of principle and often committing the country to crude and ill-considered experiments. These would be forced through a weary house by means of late sittings—legislation by exhaustion it was fittingly styled—and find their way to the Statute Book full of weaknesses and blemishes which would, in most cases, have been remedied, had members been given a proper opportunity of considering the measures under reasonable ■ conditions. Year after year tho spectacle was witnessed of the Government introducing amending legislation to repair tho errors and omissions of the_ preceding session's hasty legislation and this was largely due to the methods complained of. The Massey Government will be expected to set a good example 'in this respect. It may find it necessary, should it meet with factious opposition to insist on late sittings on occasions in order to ensure that reasonable progress shall be made with the matter under consideration; but there will be no excuse for a continuance of the old practice ..of keeping back important legislative proposals until the tail-end of the session. So far the Keform Government has done very well in the matter of bringing down its policy measures, despite the fact that it has been _at a disadvantage owing to tho circumstance that it came into office while Parliament was sitting, and thus had very little time in which to make up itV mind what to deal with first and thparticular form its proposals should take. Mr. Massey, we note, hav promised that so long as the Oppo sition are reasonable the House nee 1 have no fear of late sittings or rush tactics. This is satisfactory so far as it goes; how it will work out in practice the next few weeks will disclose.