The Dominion. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1912. THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1592, 8 November 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1912. THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION

The end of the session will be a relief to all parties. Circumstances have made the session a trying one both to the Government and to their opponents, and it is/surprising that so much really useful work should have been accomplished., The Government, though handicapped by coming into office during the sitting of Parliament, and thus being compelled to make themselves familiar with" their Departmental duties while at the same time ■ carrying the heavy burdon of their new responsibilities in charge o"f the business of Parliament, quickly succeeded iri. Securing a firm grasp of the.situation. Mr. Massey's leadership.pf.the,House has been more successful than even his best friends-anticipated. - He has shown admirable tact and soiind judgment in handling members on both sides, and while as ready as ; ever to fight when occasion demanded it, has displayed a conciliating spirit, which, coupled with a proper firmness, has done much to smooth the course of.business. He has been well supported by his colleagues, and ijo 'doubt the success which the party has met with has been iii a large mca-. due to the fact that the Psime Minister was in the happy position' of having so much good, material to draw on in formingtiis .Cabinet. The work of the session'has beeii heavy* for, in addition to, the sittings, of the Houso itself, members have had to deal with a large amount of unusually important committee-work, which has at times entailed.a sovere strain : on many of effect of< this has been felt particularly during the past week, when the pressure which seems-inseparable frotrj the closing hours of'the session set in in earnest. ' On the whole, the closing rush this year was much less noticeable, than usual, and the measures which haps received less scrutiny than they should have done were fdr- the most part'of an unimportant Next session we trust there -will be still less ground for objection. The Government will during the recess, have : time to prepare their legislation, and they", will be expected to set-an exainplc to their predecessors by bringing forward their more im'portant- proposals at. an early date, so that they may be certain of seduf'i'rjg that careful attention which they seldom recoivo when they 1 are brought down in the later stages of the. session, - The loyalty of the rank and -file of thp Government following, to theii- leaders has been a ploasing feature of the session's work. The Whips, Messrs. Guthrie and NoswOKTHif, riavja been particularly successful in the hand'ling of the members of the party; ana tho Opposition have not.' beea able to score a single strategical advantage during the .session} It.must be-admitted that the Opposition have; had a somewhat discouraging experience. Leaderless and divided in views and.sympathies, they have seldom found common ground On which to unite and fight with any enthusiasm. On one or two occasions they have shown that there is still some fighting spirit left amongst them; but they have been discouraged by the unexpected readiness of their opponents to carry out their platform pledges, and by the successes the new Government have met with since attaining office. The record of work done during the session compares very favourably with that of previous sessions, and when the circumstances under which the Government came into office are: take); into consideration, they ate to be congratulated on their achievements. The credit for no small share of this is due to the representative of the Government in tho Upper House, the Hon. H. D. Beh>, who, in what must be regarded as a politically hostile atmosphere, has carried through a difficult task with great skill' and judgment and with marked success.