PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1804, 17 July 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY. Dullness reigned without interruption In the Honse of Representatives yesterday afternoon and part of tho evening sitting had gone before tho tono and matter of debate became at all interesting. Aa usual on Wednesdays, ordinary business was suspended in order that members might disouss tho replies of Ministers To questions placed upon the Order Paper during the previous week, but yesterday's budget proved to be particularly uninspiring. Members spent only an hour and 25 minutes in stating, with little variety of phrasing, that "the Minister's reply was -unsatisfactory," instead of the two hours allotted for that purpose. Not a single Minister found it necessary to speak in defence of the answers he had given. When Mr. Veitch, Labour mepiber for iWanganui, resumed the Address-in-Reply debate at <1.10 p.m., there were 33 members in their places in the House. Later on. when Mr. T. W. Rhodes was talking, the Opposition was represented'by one member —lit. Witty, and twenty Government members were in attendance. The only other. representative in tho House was Mr. Atmore. In the evening the attendance somewhat improved. When tho House resumed after the dinner adjournment, ten Oppositionists, two Labour men. and 21 Government members were in their seats. .

In his speech, Mr. Yeitch devoted a good deal of attentioiTto the cost of living problem, and carried l his hearers back to the days of the Plantagenets with li proposal that, in order to cope with monopolies, the Government should fix a maximum price for commodities. _ He also bitterly assailed what lie described as a "one-man system of Government." The debate was continued before and after the dinner adjournment by Mr. T. iW. Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes took his full hour, and talked 'in a steady monotone about the development needs of the country, and retailed familiar facts about the policy proposals of the Government. Matters took a livelier turn when Mr. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) rose upon 1 the Opposition side. His. speech was in many ways poculiar. He spoko for a quarter of an hour before he mentioned a single political detail, and during the whole of his speech ho used less political material than many of his fellow-members would dispose of in flvo minutes. In the main, Mr. Isitt devoted himself to setting •up analogies and illustrations. He did it very entertainingly, and often made the House laugh. In exchanges with the Government members, he had both good and bad fortune. Tho core of Mr. Isitt s speech was a contention that the Government was doing exactly the same things as it- had condemned when the present Opposition was in power. Mr. E. P. Lee, member for Oamarti. replied on behalf of the Government, in an incisive and closely-reasoned speech, which told with, effect upon tho Opposition. ' In particular, he assailed the bygone _ nretensions of the Mackenzie Ministry with a foroe and vigour that made Mr. Laurenson demnnd to be told something about tho "Address from tho Crown." The placidity of tho House, which had been somewhat disturbed while Mr. Isitt and Mr. Lee were speaking, was restored in the latter part ,of the sitting, when Jfr. T. K. Sidey addressed a House of 26 members, just half of whom were Oppositionists and Independents. The galleries by' this time were nearly empty. , The House rose at 11.35 p.m. It nowanticipated that the debate will terminate to-day.