PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1928, 10 December 1913, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY. An abnormal amount of formal business, final reports from committees, messages from tho Legislative) Council for: tho most pait, kept tho Houso of Representatives occupied until 4.15 p.m. yesterday, when tho first order of the day, tho.third reading of tho Nativo Land Laws Amendment Bill; was reached. One interesting announcement mado by tho Prime Minister was that ho would proceed this session with the important sections of tho Shops and Offices Bill, which ho proposed to embody in a separate Bill. This.course had already been announced as a possibility somo few weeks ago. i Sir Joseph Ward pressed tho Prime Minister to give tlio Houso nn opportunity to discuss and deal with tho motion of which ho had given notice, traversing tho rulings of the Speaker and tho Chairman of Committees when they refused to permit the obstruction to the Second Ballot Repeal to continuo longer. Mr. Massey said that it had not been tho custom to allow such motions to come beforo the Houso in his experience of tho New Zealand Parliament, and ho challenged Sir Joseph Ward to cito ono such motion that had boon dealt with by tho House. Sir Joseph Ward could not remomber one. Mr. Massoy's best offer to Sir Joseph Ward was that ho could, if ho wished, move his motion if ho cared to stay hero until next week, and do so after all tho other business was done. This proposal was not acceptable to tho Leader of tho Opposition. In the initial stages of the debate on the third readins of the Native Land Laws Amendment Bill, Mr. Parata ran over the whole argument that tho Natives of New Zealand once held all the land, and that they had therefore had filched from tliem all that they do not now hold.' This sort of argument was repeated by soveral other members, notably Mr". Isitt, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Glover. The first retort came from Mr. G. V. Pcarcc, who reminded tho Houso that tho present-day Maori for the most part dissipated his rentals, collected periodically, in hotels or on racecourses, | and had acquired lmbits of idleness which woro sapping his character. This was what tho present state of things was doing lor the Maori, and this was the. position tho opponents of the Bill 'desired to perpetuate." In the evening the character of the debate improved, but there was still, much dreary repetition ; in it. The Minister's reply met all the arguments put forward, and met them adequately. The third reading was agreed to by 34 votes to 20, at 1.10 a.m. Tho House rose at 1.2S a.m. Ono effect of the long, debate was that members of any experience had at the end of the day given up all hops of the session ending this week. It is now said, that tlio session will surely extend into next week. The afternoon sitting of tlio Legislatfvo Council was taken uo with consideration, of the Medical Practitioners Bill. The Hon. H. D. Bell, Loader of tlio Council, explained that it was not proposed to take tlio Bill beyond tho second reading this session. This would givo opportunity for full consideration of the matter by medical men before the Bill became law. Tins,' however, 'must not bo taken as an indication that the Government do not wish to proceed with. tho measure, which was not the case, as the Government were in full accord with the proposals set out 'in tho Bill. An interesting debate took place m the evening, touching the formation of a. Police Association."- Tho Hen. H. D. Bell mado it clear that no association' allied" to outside Labour influences: would fir> tolerated, but'said that tho" police, like anv. other body of men,, could form & social club if fchoy so desired.