POLITICAL NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1826, 12 August 1913, Page 6

POLITICAL NOTES.

THE COMING DEBATE. CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBUC _ SERVICE. If no uafo.reseon developments take place the House of Representatives will bo uccuS'n iu considering Government .Bills. lire Public '.Crust Amendment Bill and the Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill, both of them down for second reading, were next in order when the .house adjourned on Friday, and it is thought not unlikely that they may bo at the top of tho Order Paper for to-day's sitting. Tho Financial Debate mil commence tomorrow evening, and, in, ordinary course, a couple of hours iu the afternoon, will bo set apart for the usual discussion on Ministerial replies to questions. It is expected that Mr. W. 1). S. Macdonald," a member of the Opposition executive committee, will open tho debate for his party. If he does, tho Hon. W. Fraser (Minister for Public Works) will most likely bo tho nrst speaker on the Government side of tho House. Members 011 both sides of the Houso predict a long and bitter debato. PUBLIC SERVICE CLASSIFICATION. _ Tho provisional classification of tho Oml Service, tho Prime Minister stated last evening, will probably bo laid Wore Parliament this week. Members will have' their first opportunity of discussing tho classification list when -ft is laid on the table of the House, but as it is a very bulky document, containing a mass of detail not to be grasped on a hasty perusal, this first discussion is not expected to be of much value. An opportunity of ing the classification list at length, ami in detail, will be afforded when the Estimates are before the House.' .After the publication, of the list Civil Servants will be allowed a period of : thirty days in which to lodge appeals. • UNFOUNDED STORIES. A local anti-Reform newspaper stated in its leading columns on Saturday that it was reported that the Public Service Commissioners and the Prime Minister wore having very interesting interviews in connection with the pro-posed classification of the Service, and that the Primo Minister was astounded at,some of tho Commissioners' proposals. The Primo Minister, w'hen he was interviewed last evening, characterised tho foregoing statements and others of a similar character which have appeared lately as "absolute rubbish." These socalled reports, he eaid, were absolutely unfounded. There was no dissension between himself, or his Government, and the Public Service Commissioners.

OPPOSITION LEADERSHIP. A leading l member cf t'he Opposition panty told a reporter yesterday that there was no immediate prospect of a leader being appointed. He expressed the opinion that overy member of the party .would accept Sir Joseph Ward as leader, 'and accord him loyal support. One factor making for brief delay, he stated,'was that tho member for Awarua required time for consideration beforo agreeing to fill the vacant position, and to take up its accompanying responsibilities. This, the Oppositionist in question remarked, was striotly reasonable, for anyono taking- up the position of Leader of the Opposition would naturally havo to be prepared to continue at tho 'head of the party for some time. It was not an office, to bo lightly taken up or laid down. So far, the Oppositionist stated in conclusion, there had been no formal meeting of the party to deal with the question of leadership. Some members of the party had been absent, owing to illness and other causes, ever since the beginning of the session. There was no doubt, however, that tho party would be glad to accept Sir Joseph Ward as leader, and probably a meeting would be held in the near future, with a view to arriving at a definite conclusion in the matter. The views- of this mtiifiier, however, do not agree with current talk in the lobbies, which is to the effect that several' Oppositionists will absolutely decline to follow Sir Joseph AVard. • NELSON CITY LOAN BILL. . Tho City of Nelson. Loans Conversion and Empowering Bill, a local Bill introduced by Mr. H. Atmore, M.P., was circulated yesterday. It empowers the Nelson Oity Council to raise a : loan of .£200,000 for the purposes of converting existing loans to the amount of ,£131,350, paying off a bank overdraft not exceeding .£26,000, and in providing a fund to enable the council to , carry out public works. ■ SPECIAL INQUIRIES. The first meeting of the Special Committee set up by the Houso of Representatives to consider and report upon tho utterances of Opposition members in resrard' to the appointment of Mr. 'Boyd Garlick as Director of Physical Education will be held at 10.30 a.m. to-day. The Special Committee appointed to inquire into recent appointments to the Westport Haa:bour Board will sit this morning at 9.30 to take evidence. . Simpson, Mr. F. F. Jlun'ro, and other witnesses from Westport are in tgjvn.