PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1810, 24 July 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY.

. The House of Representatives spent a dull but laborious aiternoon yesterday. About an hour was spent in discussing the question of workers' compensation, in anticipation of the' Bill which has just been introduced by the Prime Minister, but has not yet been circulated. Members on both sides of the House advanced suggestions, some Oppositionists urging that accident insurance should bo niaue a Stiito monopoly, while tho Government members who spoko. mostly urged that better incilities tiiun at present should be given to local bodies and to farmers' mutual associations to undertake this class of business. Tho Prime Minister welcomed some of the suggestions, but objected to the. State monopoly proposal, on the ground that such a monopoly might be just as oppressive and mischievous as a privato monopoly. Mr. Massey mentioned that it was proposed to. confer greater powers upon magistrates in dealing witn compensation claims. Members on both sides agreed in severely criticising tho methods of .private'companies engaged in accident insurance business.

An hour and a half was spent in discussing the replies of Ministers to questions which members had placed upon the Order Paper. The subjects discussed at this stage were chiefly of importance to particular localities. Privato Bills engaged the attention of the House in tho evening, the first of these measures to come up being Mr. Buddo's Snturday Half-Uoliday for Shops Bill. ; The discussion that followed was chiefly remarkable, i in its early stages, for the impassioned rhetoric of *Ir. A. 13. Glover, who was understood to express liis willingness to support a half-holiday that would apply universally, even to hotels, picture shows, tramways, and railways. No races even must be 'held on Saturday, said Mr. Glover, if there was to be a universal half-holiday. Some -members seriously debated the proposal embodied in the Bill, but others were evidently talking against timo, no doubt with a view, to delaying tho entry of Mr. Hunter's Gaming Amendment Bill, : which stood fourth on the list. Answering some of those .who had discussed tho Bill, tho Prinio Minister stated that the Government would not support it, and did not consider that a.majority of tho people of I,hi Dominion desired the establishment of tho compulsory Saturday half-holiday. As an improvement on tho existing system, he suggested the taking of half-holiday polls in areas coinciding with provincial districts. ' A wearily-extended discussion, full of repetitions, terminated at 10.20 p.m., when the second reading of Mr. Buddo's Bill was negatived by -16 votes to 14. • . An hour and a half was spent in discussing the Bill introduced by Mr. Payne to extend the provisions of the* Commercial Trusts Act to bacon, butter, cheese, eggs, and milk. Ultimately' tlw second reading was agreed to on the voices'. 1 Tho House rose at, 11.40 p.m. Tho Legislative Council held a very brief sitting yesterday. The Address-in-Reply was presented to the Governor, and when the Councillors returned, some formal, business was transacted. Tho Council rose at 3.30 p.ip.