PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1910, 19 November 1913, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY

Yesterday was given over to faction fighting in the house .of Representor tivea. The whole al'tornoon was spent in debating the merits of Commissioner control of the Public Service. In the evening the extremely contentious subject of electoral reform cropped up unexpectedly. The Second Ballot Repeal Bill was at a safe distance down the Order Paper, but the Legislature , Amendment Bill came up for consideration in Committee, and when it transpired that the Government intended to embody in this measure the proposal to repeal the Second Ballot the Opposition, after some preliminary sparring, settled down to obstruct it. As soon as the House .'met in the afternoon, Sir Joseph Ward moved for leave to introduce the Public Service 'Amendment Bill. He admitted that he was taking t'his/course in order to secure ah opportunity of vontilatingj the alleged grievances of the officers of the Post and Telegraph Department, who irecontly came to a deadlock when they interviewed the Public Service Commissioner. Tho debate that followed was chiefly remarkable for the able speech in which tho Hon. A. L. Herdman defended the Public Service Act and the Public Service . Commissioners. So solidly did the Attorney-General buttress ! his case with facts and figures that his ! opponents who followed in. the role of ■critics perforce ' contented themselves for the most part with generalities, fl'he motion for leave to introduce the .ifiill was talked out at 5.30' p.m.

The first business in the evening was the Legislature Amendment Bill, a very , simple little measure' on the face of it, I providing for the appointment of a I Deputy-Clerk of Parliament. Apparently 'the Opposition -scented danger, for ■almost at onco tho Hon. A. T. Ngata, Junior Opposition Whip, asked 'the .Minister' in oharge, the Hon. F. M. B. .Fisher, whether it was proposed to introduce in the Bill a clause providing the repeal of the Second Ballot Act. No answer was forthcoming for a few minutes, but on the question being ' pressed Mr.- Massey said it was the . intention of the-Government to make this Bill the deciding test on tho Second Ballot question. The Leader of the ' Opposition com-plained-'against tho adoption of this method of dealing with such an important proposal, but ho was informed that it was at loast as fair as tho tactics of the Opposition in obstructing the introduction of tho Second Ballot Repeal' 'Bill. Sir Joseph Ward made again his •now familiar request of the Prime Minister thai he should ' 'take the House into his confidence" as to what business he proposed to take.; Mr I Massey acceded to the request.on this occasion. He announced that, practically all the Bills on the Order Paper would go ■ through, with the addition of a few iothers of lesser importance. He did not announce the dropping of any important Bills except the Defamation Bill, but ho announced modification of the Government's proposals with regard to three Labour Bills, the Workers' Compensation Amendment Bill, the ' Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, _ and the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill. The difficulty about the Compensation Bill was that it would have to be redrafted, but he hoped stiE.'to be able to put it on the Statute Book. AH he could promise about the other two Bills waß that he would take, .out" of each of _ them the .important new proposals, and embody i them in two separate Bills, which would he submitted -to the House this session. "•.-'■.-•■ '.'..'..'■. I By way of Teply, Sir Joseph Ward vßaid that the Prime Minister could save o jot of time if .'he would defer.the Sec■ond Ballot proposal until next .session, When, as the Prime Minister had stated, the House. would be given .the opportunity of putting in the electoral law ;a substitute for" the second ballot,, if ; Such were considered necessary. If (this were done, said Sir Joseph" Ward, the rest of the business would go through without much opposition. There was a stormy encounter in this (preliminary skirmishing, between Mr. iWilford and the' Chairman of Committees. An accusation was made by the Chairman against the member for Hiitt that he had characterised. a ruling unfavourable to the honourable member as nonsense,'in some such words as "What a p lot of nonsense." He refused to with-' draw or apologise for the words, and Mr. Speaker was sent for. Then Mr. Wilford offered his tardy explanation— that the words TfaH not been addressed to the Chairman of Committees,' and! that they haTl referred to the Prime Minister's speech, and not to Mr. Malcolm's ruling. The explanation was accepted by Mr. Speaker, but he expressed rggret that it had not been made to 'the Chairman of Committees. The Opposition were still' blacking the,, short, title of tho ?ill when, ffHE Dominion went to press. A number of Bills were put through final stages in the Legislative Council. TThe most important proposal in any of ;them was a- now clause in the TramWays Amendment Bill, to'give the Government power to suspend the clause of ■ the principal Act defining the qualifications of drivers at times when a strike ~ would qtherwise render the stopping of 'the trams inevitable; .Tho object of r the olause was to permit the community to protect itself in the ovent of tramway employees striking without such proper notice as would permit arrangements to be made.