PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1852, 11 September 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY. Tho politicnl event of yesterday was the announcement that Sir Joseph Ward had accepted tho position of Leader of tho Opposition in tho House of Representatives. Yesterday was tho last privato members' day of tho present session. Nevertheless members did not make very provident uso of thoir vanishing privileges. The greater part of tho afternoon was spent in a not very illuminating discussion on tho subject of National Endowments. When this came at length to an end only half an hour of tllo afternoon remained for tho discussion of quostions. It was decided when tho House resumed in the evening to continuo tho discussion up on questions for another hour and a half although this entailed a corresponding reduction in tho timo available for the consideration of private Bills. A question standing in tho name of Mr. Laurenson enabled Opposition members to rovive the subject of the Public Trust Office roport. 1 Tho Hon. A. L. Herdman, in the course of his reply, declared that nothing could bo better calculated to damage an institution like tho Public Trust Offico than the attitudo latoly taken up by somo Opposition membors. . , , At 9 p.m. the House proceeded to deal with private Bills in Committee. Tho Premium Bonds Validation Bill engaged the attention of tho House only for two minutes. The member in chargo of the Bill, Mr. A. Harris, at once moved to report progress and tho motion was' agreed to on the voices. Mr. Sidey's Definition of: Tune Bill had a very different reception, ino Taranaki members and others such an unfriendly reception that at 10.45 p.m. Mr. Sidey vacated the chair and returned to his bench. He was persuaded to resumo it a qua™'' oi nTI hour later, but tho proceedings became simply chaotic and degenerated rapidly into an unintelligible wrangle, ino members who had led the attack on the Bill declined to agree to a proposal by Mr. Sidey that a division should ie taken upon the short title of tho ( Bill. A subsequent proposal to report progress without taking a division was also rejected. ' , Tho ruling of tho Speaker was taken upon tlio action of tlio Ohairpian (•M-r. Malcolm) in calling Mr. Hindmarsh to order for irrolevanco. Mr. Speaker ruled that tho Chairman's decision, on such an occasion, was not subject to revieiv. ■ , A motion to report progress was subsequently negatived by 88 votes to J0,., but at 0.43 a.m. a, motion to report progress was carried by 32 votestc Th& Distress XTniitafcion Hindmarsh) engaged the attention of the House until 1.40 a.m., when progress was reported after the short title had been passed. , _ Progress was reported on the Betterment Bill without discussion, but when tho Commercial Trusts Amendment Bill came up, Mr. Payne, in chargo of that measure, objected to_ reporting progress, and was supported in that attitude by several Opposition members. A division on a motion to report probtgss, taken at 1.55 ti.nl., resulted in a tie (27 to 27). The Chairman gave his vote with the ayes, and progress was reported. , , An attempt mado, after the Speaker had returned to the chair, to discuss tho voting of the Chairman, was ruled out of order.

The House rose at 2.7 a.m. In tho Legislative Council the debate on tho Pensions Bill 'was concludcd, and the second reading was agreed to on tho voices. A number of other less important measures were advanced a stage.