PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1871, 3 October 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY. j Changing humours wore displayed in the House of Representatives yesterday.' In the afternoon thoro was a workmanlike debate upon the Police Force Bill, but in tho evening, when the Loan Bill came up for consideration in Committee, timo was wasted in tirosomo roitoration of tho commonplaces of party warfare. As midnight approached the attendance of members foil away to a minimum. Evon tho Government benches wore poorly filled, and on an averago there word about half a dozen ' Opposition members in their places. j Thore has seldom been a night of duller ! debate since tho session started. _ '' Soon after the Houso met in the afternoon the Chairman of tho A to L Potitions 'Committee asked that it ' should be allowed to sit in tho afternoon. Some protosts were made that i tho practico of letting committees sit j coincideutly with tho House was becoming too common, but eventually it wis ; decided to aocede to tho,request. In answer to questions from the Opposition, the Prime Minister said this ' tho Government intended to proceed with both the Industrial Conciliation • and Arbitration Act Amendment lj'i| and the Shopstfand Offices Bill Somo important amendments, he stated, wouJd be made in tho latter measure. At 8 p.m. the House wont into Committee on tho Police Force Bill. Several proposals in the Bill were very keenly dobated, notably,the imposition of a fine upon members of tho Polbe Force indulging in political campai filing. The Hon. A. L. Herdman consented to cut down the fine, but resolutely declined to abandon the wholo provision, as was demanded by a number of Opposition members and one Government supporter. Finally tho ;lauso was retained on a division by 30 votes to 26. Although he refused to modify the essential features of his Bill, Mi\ Herdman accepted a number of less important amendments with a readiness that obviously staggered the lnemlit-r for Avon. The Police Association was only briefly discussed, and an amendment, moved by Mr. Voitch, intended to secure its official recognition, was negatived on the voices. Tho Bill wus reported with amendments. Some interesting anoiont history was brought to. light in tho third-reading debate upon the Haurnki Plains Amendment Bill, which lasted for about an hour. Familiar ground which has been traversed very often lately was . travelled over again in the third reading debate upon the Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement Bill, which began fhortly after 8 p.m. To a > great extent the debate was a repetition of the talk upon tho same Bill, in Committee, on the previous night. After the debate had dragged on drearily until after 1 a.m. the Hon. James Allen made a pointed reply to the principal oritics of his financial administration. , j , .The Bill was then read a tnird time on the voices and the House roso at 1.50 a.m. ..it The Legislative Council spent _ some time discussing whether full library privileges should be extended to exmembers of Parliament, and whether "approved" fiction ought to bo issued to recess privilege-holders. It was docided at length to recommend these questions to the consideration of the Library Committee. Tho Christchurcli Electrical Supply Empowering Bill was put through Committee, arid read a third time. _ The New Zealand Institute of Architects Bill, and tho Local Elections and Polls Act Amendment Bill were read a 6econd time.' ■