PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1872, 4 October 1913, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

9 A DAILY SUMMARY. j Another exhibition of time-wasting was given in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, tho opportunity arising when tho Prime Ministor moved that henceforth tho House should sit on Mondays in the oveningß. ] Tho issuo was a simple ono, but Opposition members talked about it. for moro than two hours. The Prime ■Minister characterised the afternoon's 1 proceedings as an awful waste of time, ' and entered a brief, but emphatic, protost against the time-wasting that had ' taken place that afternoon and through- ' out tho session. During tho discus- 1 sion it was announced that the Native ' Land Bill would bo next i week. The House went to a division . on tho motion at S;S p.m., and it was carried by 38 votes to 23. 1 The Ato L Petitions Committee was ; again granted permission to sit in tho i afternoon'. On behalf of the same committee, Sir. Bradney a request that the House should require tho Minister of Internal Affairs to pro- , duco certain documents t required _in evidence in connection with- a petition presented by Mr. Poter Hoyesr. Consideration of tho matter was deferred. The event of tho sitting wa.B tho second-reading debate upon tho Land Laws Amendment Bill, which came up somewhat unexpectedly just after the House met in the evening. The Order Paper for the day showed the Defamation Bill at the head of the list. The Hon. A. L. Herdman moved to refer this measure to the Statutes _ Revision Committee. • Strong exception was taken to tho proposal bySir J. Word, who contended that an important Bill of . this nature should bo discussed by the House and not sent to a committee. When .the House resumed in the evening Mr. Hordman withdrew his proposal. • Tho Prime Minister then moved to. postpone the Defamation Bill and two smaller measures which stood above the Land Bill on the Order Paper, so that the last-named measure might bo gone on with. Mr. Massey carried his point. Ho spoke for over, an hour in moving the second reading or his Bill, and interestingly explained its lending provisions and tho'problems for which it was intended to provide a solution. • Sir J. Ward prefaced his speech with an admission that tho day of tho freehold had como, which detracted considerably from the of his subso quent criticism of th,o Bill. Ho contended that it contained nothing that would promote new settlement, and said that the only way to secure this was to increase the graduated tax. Also, he-declared liimself a supporter of the optional tenure. " , . , r The debate was continued »y Messrs. E. Newman, W. D. S. MnoDonfild, 0. K. Wilson, L. M. Isitt, T. W. Rhodes, and J. Payne. . . Tho Housio rose at 0.35 a.m., Mr H J. H. Okey moving the adjournment of the debate.