LOBBY GOSSIP
AND. POINTS FROM DEBATES
DAILY SUMMARY
Proceedings in the Houso of Representatives yesterday were very placid, and the sitting was brief. Notice was Riyon by; tho various Ministers concerned of their intention to move to set up,sessional committees. Tho Hon. (■ Jas. Allen gayo notice to introduce tho Victoria College Amendmont Bill. The Civil Service Officers' Guarantee Rcpool Bill, the Defamation Bill, tho Immigration Restriction Amendment Bill, and others wore read a first time. Two ( Dieasures in charge of Mr. Wilford, tho Factories Act Amondmerit Bill and the Hutt Park Amendment Bill were a)so read a first time.
The Primo Minister gave notice that ho would move on next sitting day to introduce the Licensing Act Amendment Bill. The Fruit Preserving Industry Amendment Bill and the Magistrate's Court Amendment Bill were introduced by Governor's Message, and read a first time.- Formal business being expeditiously dealt with, tho Prime .Minister moved that tho House adjourn ; until 7.30 p.m. At that hour tho Addross-in-Reply . debate opened\ before full galleries. sixty members of the Hous9 Tvefp.prosent. The navcr and seconder; slr. 11. P. Lee, and. Mr, G. R. Sykes, were both accorded a quiet hearing. When Mr.'Sykcs sat down at 9 p.m. the Leader of the Opposition continued the debate, and sprang a mild surprise upon the House! by .mnvinjj an amendment to tho motion under consideration expressing want of confidenco in;the Government. Naval defence uud State advances finacco bulked pro.'aiacritly in tho speech which he delivered in support of his amendment'. The Hon. James Allen made a very vigorous and effective reply, , >which brought the. Leader of the Opposition protesting to his feet in personal 'explanation. Tho brief; debate was easily the liveliest which the present session' has wit- - Bossed. ■ At 11.45 p.m. the debate, was adjourned on tho motion'of Mr. T. M. Wilford. In the. Unper House the Legislative.i Council Reform Bill, ■ the Master and Apprentice Amendment Bill, and the Land. Agents' Amendment ,Bill were I read a first.time. The Addros3-in-®cply debate was opened by the Hon. J. Barr and the Hon. C. A. C. Hardy, and con-, tinued by the Hon. J. Rigg and the Hon.' J., E. Jenkinson, both of whom retire to-day on the completion of their term of appointment. ; LANDED ESTATES. ■A return presented to Parliament yesterday gives the following information regarding landed estates • 1 , . i '. No. of; No. of : ' owners owners of. of Unimproved country any values. lands, land. ' . ' £ 20,000 ancj under 25,000 220 236 25,000 " " ■ 30,000 112 159 30,000- " " 35,000 -77 108 35,000 " ■ " 40;000 53 : 69 40,000 " » 45,000 39 50 '43.000 " " 50,000 " 22 ■ 26 50,000 " r .". 60,000 26 39 60,000 " " 70,000 ' 10 18 70.000' "' " 60,000 . 9 14 80.000 " 90,000 5 1 7 ' 00,000 » " 100,000yni|i!)V/3fr| . ■ 7 . 100,000 and -over,.u. 16 .Total 584 798
" LAND AGENTS BILL. The Land Agents Bill, which the Hon. H; D. Bell introduced, in the Legislative Councij yesterday, is in effect the same Bill as that passed by the House ■ last session, whielv was dropped in the Council owing to pressure of business. It provides that a license issued at any time between January 1 and March 31 in-any year-'shall take effect as from i March 31 of that year,'and expire on March 31 of the following year. A license issued between March 31 and December 31 in any year sfanll com- . nience to take effect on the date of its ; issue and expire on March 31 following. An application for 1 renewal of a license must be made!/ not more than three months, nor less than one month before the due date of expiration,-and provision is made for, the hearing of objections to the issue of a license. The Bill further provides-that the fidelity bond of £500 which is , required under, the principal Act is not to be deemed to bo a penalty, but to he agreed and' liquidated .damages, and accordingly to he recoverable by the Crown in full, and may'be applied to indemnifying the cus- , tomar ojf the larid agent, or any other, poriion who has suffered from the land agent's default. COUNCIL'S GRAVITY, BROKEN. The gravity of the Legislative Council is but seldom shattered, and business thoro is conducted 1 in a manner in marked contrast with tho more volatile Houso ofi Representatives. On several occasions yesterday during the debate on ' the Address-iri-Reply this gravity was rudely shakfin. ■ Tne Address-in-IVeply was moved by the Hoii. J. Barr, and the Hon. C. A. C. Hardy was tW seconder. ;-In congratulating the Hon: Mr. :Barr on his address, the Hon. Mr. • Hardy was for a time at a.loss for a word to apply to tho hon. member, but, amidst laughter, lie described Him as a man whose oats, if he could use tho term, had never disagreed with liim. The same member also had a quick reply to , an; intorjector,' who applied the term "politicians" to 6omo gohtlemen. "Politicians," replied Mr. Hardy, "I do not knbw the term now., Wo are statesmen here now, whatever we maj have been elsewhere." ANXIOUS ABOUT WHAT IS COINC ■ ON? Sir Joseph Ward drew rather a telling retort from the Prime Minister yesterday when tho question of setting aside n day for the discussion of the Forestry Commission's report was raised. Mr. Massoy had said that he hn'l no objection to setting a:-'ule it (tr.y iur this purpose, but the trouble wan that tlie Goternmont had a certain amount of work to do, and when that'was done members would, no donbt be anxious to got home. Sir Joseph Ward: A good many will be anxious to get home before you aro through with your programme! The Prime .Minister: No doubt the Jion.; member is anxious to got away. Like a good many other members, he is anxious about what is going on in his district. , ' "No 1 am not, said the Leader of tho Oppostiion, but lub denial was almost drowned in hearty laughter. freedom of speech. The obstructive tafitics of 'the Opposition last session wero condemned with exceeding candour by Mr. E. P. Lee in moving the* Address-in-Heply last night. ■ '' Ho declared that tho Opposition had set . out deliberately to obstruct the business of the House in ordor to be able to go to the country and say that the Government had,been unwilling to ■ cope with tlfc problems confronting it. Tho fact, of tho. matter was that the Standing Orders Hvere out of date and Apparently so framed aa to. invito delay, and obstruction. He hoped tho Prime Minister wolild take steps to see that tho 'Standing Orders wero brought more'up-to-date. The cry raised about freedom of speech and debate tvas,the greatest nonsense he had heard for a long time. To tako four or five days to pass the first eight words of ml Act of' Parliament, to be allowed to jxovd to report progress, and then to
debato that motion for'a day was the greatest possiblo absurdity. For the present ho hoped that tho Chairman of Committees would seo that the powers vested in him. were very strictly enforced so that tho Houso could go on with tho business of tho country. BUSINESS IN THE COUNCIL. It is expected that tho Address-in-tteply debato in tho 'Legislative Council will only occupy a day or two and that tirao will bo found this week to deal with tho small Bills on tho Order Paper and somo other minor items of business. The way will then bo open to make a start upon tho Legislative Council Roform Bill on Tuesday next. Mr. W. C. F. Carncross, it is anticipated, will bo re-elected unopposed as Chairman of Committees in tho Upper Houso. SIDE-TRACKINC. When Sir Joseph Ward was claiming in the Houso of Representatives that tho late Government was entitled to credit for establishing tho State suporannuatiou funds, somo Government members interjected; "Unsound I" and "Financially unsound I" in allusion to the fact that the Government has to pay large sums annually into tho superannuation'' funds to make them actuariallv sound. "Mr. Speaker, hear them side-track-ing," said Sir Joseph Ward. "It is n matter of amazement to mo to sco how they aro given to side-trackinjj." Ho let it go at that, AUDIENCES. The Opposition Leader declared scornfully in the House of Representatives last evening that the Minister of Finance, when he addressed a meeting at Blenheim, had an audience of only one hundred persons. Tho Prime Minister: Your people at somo places had only five I Oppositionists: Where was that? Mr. Massoy: Kaiwaka. RETIRINC COUNCILLORS. By effluxion of time the Hons. J. Rigg and J. E. Jenkinson retire from [the, Legislative Council to-day. Speaking for the last time in the Council last night, the Hon. J. Rigg acknowledged the kindness and consideration shown him on every occasion, sinco J his appointment in 1893, by the life members of the Council. It was largely i duo to the interest and kindness of those that the experiment of appointing Labour members to the Council had been a success. He also acknowledged the kindness shown by the Clerk of tho Council (Mr. L. Stowe). Tho Hon. Mr. JonkiiiEon endorsed tho remarks made by Mr. Rigg. He .would havo little fear for the future of tlie country, he said, if tho reins of Government were in euch capable hands as those'of the life members, of the Ooun-' cil, or those appointed during the past few years. None were better fitted to carry-out their work than were the Hon.. Mr. Ormond, and the Hon. ; Mr. Dutliie. During the twenty-one years he had been m.the, Council members had extended every kindness to him. The retiring members were later farewolled in Bellamy's. . ...... LOCAL ELECTIONS. Atmore recent local elections in Wellington in which interest has run high and. the, voting has been heavy, it has been made abundantly clear by the statements of officials concerned that the present law does not make provision for adequate safeguards against dummyism or oven "repeating." , The Local Elections and Polls Amendment Bill introduced into the Houeq of Representatives this session by thoHon: F. M. B. -Fisher; ji'presoribe& newmcth-, ods in thci'iortduofeofi'.elettions'^by '.re-? turning officers 'and deputy-returning officers, with the object of .providing against abuses now alleged to bo eminently.possible..:.... ■' '■' \. ... .... A GRIEVANCE TO BE REMOVED. The; Officers Guarantee in the Public Service, under which officers were required to subscribe to make up moneys lost to the State by the defalcations of any individual officer, is to bo abolished under the Public Service Officers' Guarantee Repeal Bill, introduced by tho Hon. A. L. Herdman. Lries, made upon officers to make good deficiencies in far-away: towns have always appeared to tlie members, of the Service to be unjust and inequitable, and complaints about. the system have been more or loss frequent. > DEFAMATION BILL. Tho Defamation Bill, introduced this session by the Hon. A. L. Herdman, was circulated yesterday. The! Bill is practically the same, as that introduced last year, which-was not proceeded with. Mr, A. M. Myers.gave notice to ask' in the Houso of Representatives yesterday whether the Government would consider'the advisability of setting up a Main I|oads Board to tako chargo of the maintenance of the main roads of the Dominion, on similar lines to tho Main Roads Board sot up recently in' Victoria. Mr. Myers, in an explanatory note, suggested that the care of main roads was properly a national, and not a local function.
The Government party met in caucus yesterday morning. There was an excellent attendance. ''< Various matters were discussed, and the proceedings were most harmonious throughout. Tho programme for the session was discussed and generally approved.
- Mr. T, H. Dayoy is asking the Minister of Railways'to permit the transference of ordinary railway tickets'. < The exemption from taxation of land held for public recreation purposes, such as ooivlirig greens and teniiis courts, ia being suggested to the. Government by Mr. A. M. Myers, by way of a questioh.
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2190, 1 July 1914, Page 7
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1,973LOBBY GOSSIP Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2190, 1 July 1914, Page 7
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