THE LAND BILL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1880, 14 October 1913, Page 4

THE LAND BILL.

OBSTRUCTION DEBATE COLLAPSES.

OPPOSITION DEFEATS. -

Quick work at the eleventh hour.

■ -It is a fair summary"of /ycsterday'i proceedings in Parliament to. say. that the obstruction by the Opposition to' the Land-Bill collapsed.?';'. Progress was slow!)',; certainly, for most of tho day, . but* the Opposition did not persist in holding up the measure,' and somo pro-gress-was made before the H'ousp rose. Not! untiriate' in".the night was any real : progress made. " As soon ; as* tlie House met-tic--Leader of the Opposition suggested to'.the Prime /Minister that he ought to say how, far he proposed to go with the Bill, and. that\h'o ought to agree to adjourn about midnight. The. Prime Minister said lie did not care, to fix an hour, knowing, as he said, !wliat would happen if ho said the. Houso would adjourn at imidnight. However, if the House would do somo reasonable amount of , work before 5.30 p.m., ho would say at 7:30 p.m. what ho would accept, as a,faii\ day's work, and ho would not be unreasonable. It was remarkable how ' insistent Sir Joseph Ward was in his assertion ithat the Liberal section of the Opposition had no understanding with'the Labour party in opposing the Land.Bill, and that\tho Liberals were 'not obstructing the Land Bill. This provoked laughter oh the Government benches, but it was finally made out clearly by Sir Joseph Ward 1 that the obstruction had been by way j of protest against the forcing through of an important Bill in the early hours of the morning. Later, • Mr.. Massey gave the obvious retort to this proposition: ."If the House will not work in the'early hours of the afternoon and night, what is to'be doneP", . The reply of tho Opposition to Mr. Massey's pacifio proposals for a reason'able compromise was three hours moro of obstruction to the clause which had been discussed from 11 p.m. on Friday night to midnight on Saturday. Finally, however, that clause (25) was carried on a division by 34 votes to 25 just before 5.30 p.m. Probably because no progress that could 'bo' called reasonable had been made up till that time Mr. Massey did not'make his promised statement at 7.30 p.m., but an hour or so later Sir Joseph Ward:again asked him whether he would define: what ■he thought would be fair progress for the night. Mr; Massey protested that the progress was so littlo as to be scarcely perceptible, but ho suggested that the Committee ought to pass | Clause 40 before adjourning. Clause 26,, providing for giving tho freehold to tenants of certain small perpetual leaseholdings, nnd to tho lessees of certain of tho smallest of small grazing runs, was contested fairly keenly by tho, anti-freeholders, but it was finally allowed to go to.;a division at 11 p.m. It was agreed to as of. course. Then a strong run", of. clauses, up to 39," went through"practically"'unchallenged. Clause' 39, which permitted the Minister to-'sell-by auction certain settlement lands not selected at the ballot, was discussed for half an hour, and then agreed to on, the voices. • Clause 40 was struck out on .the, motion of the Prime Minister," and''tho programme for-the night ihavirig .been completed the .House , rose precisely at midnight. . To-day tho House will automatically go into Committee on tho Land Bill immediately , after petitions and notices of motion havo beencreceived.

The Committee resumed at 2.30 p.m. : When the question.. that ' Clause 25 «tiind part of .the Bill was put, The Prime Minister: said that originally Monday, sittings were arranged for Local, Bills, ;hut, the obstruction upon the Land Bill which had occurred made that impossible for that day. Ho would assure the mombers in charge of Local Bills that their interests wou'd riot suffer in the slightest, as ho intended to give another day for theso Bills.