PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1793, 4 July 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A daily summary, Proceedings in Parliament yesterday were livelier than on the preceding day, and in the House the note of party war was more insistently sounded, ljuring the afternoon and early evening the tone of discussion was embittered, but a period of placidity followed. Late sittings have not yet begun, but tho spectacle ot empty benches has already becii witnessed. At 11 p.m. the GovernDjsnt bonches were well filled, but on tl'o)'other side only half a dozen members lyere in their places. The "Committee of Public Safety" was represented by Messrs. Macdonald and Witty. Mr. Russell reappeared later, but the number of Oppositionists present did not otherwise increase. The dobato on the Address-in-Koply motion was continued in the Legislative Council at. the usual leisurely pace. The Hon. J. H. Sinclair spoke tor abont an hour on the subject of unemployment, with special reference to the possibility of the State, establishing .a compulsory scheme of unemployment insurance. He' was followed by tho Hon. R. A. Loughnan, who spoke about a great many things, principal among them being naval defence. . In .the.House an hour was spent in the afternoon in discussing the report of the Commission appointed to allocate the cost of tho Hutt Road amongst tha local bodies concerned. Mr. T. M. Wilford and Mr. ■\V. H. I). Bell contended that the local bodies had been saddled with an enormous financial burden owing to an error of judgment on the part of tile Government engineers-. The other side of the question was vigorously presented,by the present Minister for Railways (the Hon. W. H. Herries), by the Hon. J. A. Millar, and by the Hon. i'\ M, B. lisher. The essential point they made was that tho -work as originally planned had been greatly extended and amplified at tha request of the local bodies'themselves, and that they were therefore responsible for the extravagant cost incurred. The discussion was accompanied by frequent sarcastic observations from " back-lslock members, who have evidently no sympathy with tho demand that the Government should relieve the local bodies of part of the liability thoy are called upon to meet. • The Address-ln-Keply debate was resumed by the Hon. W. Fraser, who contented himself with speaking for about half an hour, mainly in defence of his administration of the Public Works Department. .He strenuously repudiated Opposition allegations that he had been guilty of doleful pessimism, and contended that he had only exercised ordinary prudence, and told peoplo the truth. ,'Mr. G. W. llussell spent an hour and a■> quarter (his time being extended -by grace of the House) in a somewhat vitriolic attack upon the Government and all its works. Mr. Russell's speech was chiefly'remarkable for the sledge-hammer satire, of which he is a practised exponent. He aroused the occupants ot the Government benches to a keen pitch o antagonism, and, on the "whole, had a 6tormj; time of it. Mr. Russell summarised his own speech in a statement that the Government had no policy,'and hudbroken every pledgo upqn which, they had taken office.

The Hon. Jas. Allen made an effective reply to the member for Avon. The House listened with earnest attention to his remarks about loan-raising and other matters, and once interrupted _ him with * loud applause when, in speaking of the apeditionary forco proposal, he vividly contrasted the constitutional procedure of the present Government with the arbitrary methods of its predecessors, .lit. Allen succeeded. on several occasions in forcing his opponents into a. corner, as when lie invited the Opposition to declare outright for short-dated or long-dated loans, and again , in dealing with .the graduated land tax, and with the puyment of increased wages in the railway service. At nine o'clock the party strife was interrupted for a moment while the House extended a warm welcome to Sir Walter Buchanan. The debate was continued by Mr. D. Buddo and Mr. G. M. Thomson, the latter of whom discoursed! interestingly upon snch subjects ; as 'building-stones,. waterdivining, fisheries, and agricultural chem- , istrv. ..l..Tne House rqso at 11,26 p.m. .