THE HOUSE.

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

THE HOUSE.

: " WATER POLLUTION BILL. After debating the- report of the Public Accounts Committee on the ..adininistrai tion of the Advance; Department'until after 8 a.m. yesterday, the House of .Representatives rent on to '; deal with other business. ' ■ i ■'■■■'■ In reply to a question by the, Hon. v. Buddo, tnof Prime Minister saiiThe did i .. not intend to proceed with the Water I Pollution Bill this session.. . , ! At 8.25 a.m.; the iHouse. adjourned until H:' J. 30.-' ■ .■ " ' j MONOPOLIES PREVENTION. • The Monopolies Prevention Bill (th« '';'■"" Hon. F. M. B. Fisher) was committed r' - ond renorted without amendments. ' r

FISHERIES'BILL. The' Fisheries Amendment Ml (the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher) was committed. : A new clause was inserted to provide for a penalty 6f for oftences against the terms of the whaling license. ■ The Bill was reported with amendments. ,; HARBOURS BILL. The Harbours Amendment .Bill i (the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher) was read a second time, committed, and reported without amendments. . ■ SHIPPING AND .SEAMEN'S BILL. The Shipping and Seamen's Amendment Bill was committed and reported, with technical amendments. THIRD READINGS. The three' Bills above-mentioned were read a third time on the voices. COUNTRY-TELEPHONES. The Hon.R.H, EHODES (Postmaster-General)-introduced the .Country Telephone Lines Bill. ■■.-..■',.'■ ~ ' Tlie'BilLis to provide for the erection and maintenance of telephone lines in country districts. On the petition of any number of ratepayers' of a country or. road district, 'the local authority may, witlf the approval of the Postmaster-Gen-eral, erect and maintain telephone lines to connect the lands of those ratepayers with any Government telephone exchange, or may acquire and maintain,.or may control, any such telephone lines already erected. Each of the signatories will become a contributor to,the cost of purchasing and' maintaining the line. Two or •more local authorities may combino for the" purposes of. the Act.-. The Bill passed all its stages without debate. Messrs. ' Buddo, Wilson, and Young said the Bill would be much appreciated in the country districts, and the Hon. E.. H.: Rhodes said that Mr. ,W. C Buchanan was entirely responsible for the introduction; of the Bill. SUPPLEM ENTARY • ESTIMATES...'-J ■ ', The House went' into Committee on the Estimates at'oi2o p.m.".on the Supplementary Estimates.','. . . The debate on the Estimates was continued until 5.10 p;m., when the last vote was passed'unamended. '. '" • ~_'., ';;',' washing.upbill, A. DISPUTE'WITH.THE COUNCIL. 1 The .Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill was received froni the Legislative Council at 5.10 p.m. with an amendment. !_„' ', .', . The PEIME MINISTER moved that the amendment be 'disagreed with. '•• The SPEAKER stated, in, reply, to a question by-the Prime Minister,: .that the clause inserted by the council was 'irrelevant to the Bill, and should be placed in. the Native Land ,Claims Adjustment Bill. ; • . ..:,•■'. After' an extended discussion the_motion was agreed to, and the ter, the Hon. W: H. Hemes, and-Mr.W. D. S. Macdonald .were appointed to.draw lip reasons for disagreeing with., the amendment made by the Council. .'.' ■'".''.'! : APPROPRIATION. B;ltLj/; ■; , The Appropriation Bill was introduced and read a second time. - ', At 5.10 p.m.-the House adjourned until 7 p.m. ■ •'■:■ .. When the House resumed at 7 p.m. it wa3 announced tnat the Council insisted upon its amendment, in the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal, Bill. _ The House appointed the Prime Minister, the Hon.W.H. Hemes, and Mr. W. D. S. Macdonald to confer with managers appointed by the Council. The House wont into Committee on the I?r°.T. rI WAED questioned the Minister for Finance as to the surplus he.expected to have at .t'he end of the year. _ The Hou.'Xas. ALEEN said that at tne end of the September quarter allowing for the payment of .£750,0(10 to the Public Works Fund, there was a surplus of '£200,000. , This was all that ho could be sure of having at the-end of the year, but ho loped that it would be more Sir J. Ward: That means £700,000, I suppose. A Contentious Clause. s 'Sir J. Ward-and Mr.. Witty directed attention to Clause 18, which reads as follows--"When any of the votes specified in the schedules herefcr contain air item tinder any title whiChi does not specifically appropriate expenditure for any particular purpose, such item shall be deemed to be an appropriation for expenditure on purposes other than those of the other items of the vote. . Mr T M. WILFORD (Hntt) said that this gave a. wide, and general authority to the Minister. ~ - t 'i* •Mr. Allen: Only in the vote itself Mr • Wilford said that there could be no question of the Minister's power to transfer a vote. , ■ - , ~ Mr Allen said that the clause dealt with-items in a vote. An item in a vote not specifically appropriated could .be transferred to another item. The Hon. W. Eraser said that this clause had been contained in the Appropriation Act of-last year. • -Mr. Wilford: But I thought you were going to repeal it ? Mr. Eraser: Not this ~ clause. Why S Sir JOSEPH WARD said that under this clause the Minister could utilise a contingent vote for any other yote so long as the contingencies were not speci- ■ Mr. Fraser: Did you J do that? Sir Joseph Ward said that the. member for Wakatipu had objected to what the late Government had done though itVas'q'uite:legal. ;;..'. : " 1 Mr 'Fraser said that-any Government that did not take this power would soon be in difficulties. ..,..,-., ~ Sir Joseph Ward Baid that he knew the clause was necessary, but it gave powei to the Minister which the members oi the present Government, when in Opm> sition, had /taken exception to. Undei this clauses vote of £1000 could be transferred in its entirety to another proMr. WILFORD said that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Fraser) had this clause condemned from one end of the country tc the other. ... Mr. Fraser: Not this clause. Mr. Wilford said that the hon. gen tleman had condemned both this clause and the Public Revenues Act. Now th« hon. gentleman and his colleagues wen clinging to the clauses they had formorlj assailed. ' .■■ ~ The Hon. J. ALLEN said that it wai amusing to notice the hon. gentlemar mixing up one thing and another. Th< Government had repealed the clause in the Public Revenues Act which made il possible to over-ride Statute law by a vot< on the Estimates. There still remainec in the Public Revenues Aot a clause em powering the/Government to transfer sum; from one vqte to another! This claus< had been amended by a provision, thai all such transfer should be submitted t< Parliament for review. Travelling Expenses. Some discussion took place upon Clans* 21 authorising the payment to member! of travelling expenses at-the rate of £\ per day. It was explained that although thesi expenses had hitherto been' paid without a clause being inserted in the Appropri ation Act the Audit Office now declinet to pass the exponses without this au thority. , •Advancer Department Losses. Clause 25 authorised the Minister foi Finanoe to pay from the Consolidatet Fund to the Local Authorities Brand: Account of the State Guaranteed Ad vances Department, the amount ol £22,258. lost trjtoat I&BWsffl9iit. _

Tim Hon. JAMES ALLEN stated that most of these losses hud been, incurred through monoys being temporarily uniuThoßill was reported without amendments at 8.10 p.m. Tho PRIME MINISTER moved that Sir Joseph Ward bo appointed to act with the managers appointed to confer with the Council's managers regarding the disputed amendment to tlio Washing-up Bill. The House adjourned at 8.10 p.m. until tho ringing of tho bell. Half an hour was spent in debating motions for returns, and then the House again adjourned until the ringing of tho bell. When it resumed at 9.10 p.m.. An Agreement Arrived At. The PRIME MINISTER announced that the • managers appointed by tho House to confer with the managers of the Legislative Council had come to an .agreement that the disputed clause bo struck out and that in lieu thereof a new clause bo' inserted to enable a caveat to b& lodged against transactions in the lands referred to for twelve wonting from October 28 last. At 9.15 p.m. tho Appropriation Bill was read a'third time without discussion. ' Adjourning 1 at 9.50 p.m., the House did 'not reassemble until 10.45. At that hour messages were received from the Legislative Council, stating that it had passed the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill and the Appropriation Bill. Mr. Speaker then went to Government House to obtain the Governor's assent to the Appropriation Bill. During- the 40 minutes for which the Speaker was absent members conducted a mock parliament. Returning at 11.25 p.m., tho Speaker intimated that the' Appropriation Bill had been signed by the Governor, and laid before members a schedule of Bills passed and otherwise dealt with during .the session. CONCLUDING COURTESIES. The PRIME MINISTER expressed his own appreciation and the appreciation of members for the firm, skilful, and tactful manner in which the Speaker had presided over the debates of tho House during the session.. Mr. Masscy also_ extended his congratulations to the Chairman of Committees, Mr. Lang. His friends had expected great things of Mr. Lang when he was made Chairman, and the manner i in which,he had carried out his duties had exceeded expectations. Tho Prime Minister expressed his thanks to the officers of the House, ■ stating that they were a model of what Parliamentary officers should be. Sir JOSEPH WARD spoke in a similar strain on behalf of the Opposition, and the Speaker and Mr. Lang briefly replied. At 11.39 tho Prime Minister moved the adjournment of the House. In accordance with usage a division was called for, and.'the mo.fion was caried by 3i votes to'2o. The House rose at 11.47 p.m.