PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2271, 3 October 1914, Page 9

PARLIAMENT

SESSION PhOSPECTS

PROGRAMME SET FORTH

OPPOSITION UNEASY

THE CALL TO COUNTRY

PREPARING THE ROLL

' Tho House met at 2.80 p.m. The _ Shipping Freights, and Charges, u>mnuttee were given ten days extra 1 tinio m which to report. Two days' leave of absence was-grant-ed Mr. jvg. Coates (Kaipara) on .account of urgent, public business, COjWPILINC THE ROLLS..-..''.. MORE ABOUT THE SYSTEM. SIR- JOSEPH . WARD (Awarua) yesterday again referred to his previous statrnent that under the • present system of. enrolment some people were finding themselves disfranchised. Ho instanced, tho case of a man at Shag i° ln \ •' rece^e d '& - notice 6tating that his. name would. be removed from the roll unlesshe showed cause before September 10.:' Yet the notico'was only, posted at Oamaru on September • 10. He quoted a similar case at Taumarunui. In on© of the back-block districts a canvasser,found that 20-people who wore not'so far enrolled had received no notice at all. • The Hon. F. M. B. FISHER, in reply, said there had been no change in the electoral law since last election. Th% two cases mentioned by Sir Joseph Ward were evidently due to • clerical errors. The Leader, of the Opposition was expecting ; the -Government to be in' the same position-three months before tho i election that-he himself was in only-a week before the last election. As to 20' people in one district not being on the roll now, he (Mr."Fisher) found scores of people who "were not.on the roll in his constituency on last election day. It would always happen that there would I bo names not on the roll. They could not compel people to put' their names I on the roll. In any case they could -not get the work done in one day. - vThey were determined this time, however,, that they would-have a clean.roll, and it would be as-big aslthe'lastroll. Tho main roll would be'closed on October 7, and the rolls would'bo printed' in the different districts. Mr.- G. W- RUSSELL (Avon) said that he had been informed that the postal.officers were not supplied with copies of the rolls, and that they merely called, at houses and left the foims there.' He mentioned instances in which he had- been informed that after the postal officials were supposed to have, completed their work, private, canvassers had gone round and discovered a very large number of.'people who had not j been enrolled. ' - Mr. J..PAYNE (Grey .Lynn) asked whether the'lmperial reservists who i were going Home would be allowed, to vote before leaving.' Mr. FISHER said that unfortunately no provision had been made for.these men. They could not bo permitted to vote without the passing of. special legislation. .' ■■, ",'.. , Printing the Rolls. ..'";■"'. Mr. T. (Christchurck • East) expressed satisfaction at hearing that the rolls were to. be printed as.far as possible in the respective'districts.'Ho asked what 'arrangements'had'been' made' for printing the rolls, and Whether a uiiiform price had been fixed. Mr.. FISHER, said that the arrangements were the same as they .were three years ago. The Master Printers' Asso-ciation-had the matter in hand. He did not think tljat'tlie prices were the same in all the districts, out he would obtain tins information witii the names of the, printers of riaoh .roll, and lay it before the Houso. The Government waß practically in tho hands of the Printers' Association. This was not a satisfactory position so far as the: Government was. concerned, but it could not be avoided, as he had found that it would be quite impossible to print, the rolls atthe Government Printing Office. It would take twelve months to do the work there, and •by the time that Hie last roll was .out tie first one would bo out of date. Mr. J. M'COMBS (Lyttelton) said that the postal officials wore rather lukewarm in attending to. their portion of the work.' Ho asked' whether the Minister would give instructions by : telegraph to the post.ofHces to have as many people as possible enrolled by the time fixed for the closing of the main rolls. Mr. FISHER said that this would be done. .. ■'.

BUSINESS OF THE SESSION MUCH YET TO DO STATEMENT BY, THE PRIME MINISTER.,The PRIME MINISTER (the Right Hon. W. F. Massey) moved that on andufler Monday, October 5, and for the remainder of the session, the House should meet .on Mondays at 7.30 p.m. for the transaction of Government business only. Mr. Massey said that the Houso had'arrived at that period of the session when this course became usual; and there was considerable work to bo done before the elections. There was the Local Railways Bill (partly dealt with),,the Fire Brigades Amendment Bill, the Land Dramago Amendment Bill, tho Hauraki Plains Amendment Bill, the River Boards Aniendm«nt Bill, tho National Provident Fund Amendment Bill, the Documents During War Bill, tho , Land Agents Bill, the Public Bodies' Leases Amendment Bill, the Local Grants and Subsidies BUI, tho Eden Bill, the Legislative Council Bill, and the' Master and Apprentices Bill. ' He did. not propose to go on with tho f Motor Bill. There would also he an amendment to tho Legislature Act, which was merely a machinery measure. Mr. M'Callum: What , about tho Crimes Amendment Bill? ' Mr. Massey: I am holding that for the.time being. ■ < '. Proceeding, Mr. Massey said that ho had a Bill in ,the course of tidn which aimed' at tho 'encouragement of breeding horses for remount and artillery purposes. There was a Workers' Homes Amendment Bill, which was ready for introduction. Further, he mentioned tho Mining Bill, tho: Coal Mines Bill,'and the Cook Islands Bill. So far as he was able to judge thero would bo two loan Bills; he did • not think the Government would bo able-to put their requirements into on« Bill. There would, also, bo a'Fruit Bill, and a Land Bill which was not very important, and contained no questions of policy, but was mostly a machinery measure. Ho did n->t wish to commit tho Government to this: that there .would be no other Bills than thoso which ho had mentioned, because it was always found that some short Bills were necessary at the end of tho session.

Mr. G.'Witty: Will there be a Wash-ing-up Bill?

Mr..Massey: Yes. A member: What about the Shops and Offices Amendment Bill?

Mr. Massey replied that ho thought that was being drafted now. There was, he continued, to be a very short amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act .

A member: What about lights on vehicles ?

Mr. Massey: The time has como when I think there should bo a, general Act dealing with lights on vehicles. He went'on to say that there'would probably bo a short Bill dealing with whatever improvement was found to bo necessary in connection with tho iron industry, and to give effect to any agreement arrived at between tho Minister of Mines and people interested. Mr. M'Oallum: They are relying on your promise.' _ Mr. Massey said that the Government intended to do what they could to givo the industry 5 a. start. Ho went oh to say that'the Motor Bill, would not be proceeded with this session. The' Crimes Amendment Bill, tho Defamation Bill, tho Magistrate's 'Court and : the Religious Instruction in Schools Bill would stand over. for some time, but he would hot commit the Government to dropping these Bills. Sir J. Ward: Are you going on with theinp ■■'•:- Mr. Massey: I can't 6ay. . Member for Awarua Suspicious! SIR JOSEPH WARD said that they were entitled to a straight answer, and remarked that the Government was inviting the House to stay here and discuss a number of Bills at great length, but it would be found that the, Opposition were doing their work in the country. The Opposition knew what tho Government were upt to. Mr. Massey: The more electioneering you do the better for me. We are go-' mg to do the business of the country ' before we leave Wellington. . Sir _ J.. Ward:' The Prime Minister has given us a. list of 26 Bills, some, of which are-very important, and holds hi suspension a number of other Bills. We have had too much experience not to know what the honourable gentleman intends. He is not telling us what he proposes. He is not frank. He knows that ho wants to prolong the session. Mr. Massey: I do.not. Sir Joseph Ward: Your own people *ay you do. :They say up the country that it suits, the policy of the Government to. keep .us here till the end of October, or into November. Sir Joseph Ward added that a section of the Opposition would, in that event, be found doing their duty in the country. A member: The.flying'squadron! Sir Joseph Ward said that the Government intended to /"force legislation dbwn ; the throat of the Houso at tho end of the session. It was unfair to make this move to keep tho Opposition here till late in tho month. , The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher:, When did you finish up in 1911 ? Sir Joseph Ward said that the Opposition .would leave sufficient men in tile House to keep the Government going gently. A Government member: And' then walk out.' Sir Joseph Ward: It would-be better for members who do' nothing to walk out. • • Mr. P. H. Smith: Better for.members who waste time to walk out. ■ The Threadbare Story. Whyf asked Sir' Joseph Ward, had the Legislative Council Bill, a very big policy Bill, not been brought on before now? It was buried now below a number of small Bills. <- .- Mr. Massey: You will get.it nest iveek. . " i Sir J. Ward protested again that it should have como on earlier.' Mr. Massey: You know very well that <ve have, to keep the.Upper House going, and y the only way to do it is to get these small Bills through. Sir J. Ward said that if the Government would declare its intentions the small Bills could all' be put through in a day. . He objected strongly to the House being asked to deal with contentious matters/' because in ' all -other Parliaments in' the' British Dominions' .no .'contentious measures were being introduced.. '..•■'■'

•Mr. Ma'ssey: That is-not'so. * \ Sir J. Ward': That is my information, at any rate. Mr. Massey': Read . the New South Wales Hansards in the library.

Sir J. .Ward said that,if the Government insisted on forcing oh contentious matter the Opposition would be compelled to take certain action, and afterwards it would bo foolish for the Government to say that the Opposition had been unreasonable. He declared that all the uncontentious matter on the order paper could.be put through in a ..week or ten-days. But it was very foolish to suppose that tho Government would be allowed to get all their uncontentious matter through, if the Opposition were to be • required to deal at the leleventh hour with, other Bills, which would be opposed strongly by honourable members on their side. _ fie appealed agam to the" Prime Minister to de-, claro fully the intentions of the Gov-'' ernment with regard to the business of the session. '

Mr. Massey: I am quite willing to discuss it privately with the honourable, gentleman. Sir J: Ward said he would agree to discuss tho whole programme of the business of the session. _ Just now they were in a unique position, and they did not want any "hot battling" in the House at this time.

;. Mr. Massey: You have, taken half an hour to say so.

Sir .J. Ward,: Very ,well; I intend to occupy my five minutes longer in continuing to do so; and Sir Joseph "Ward was as good as his word, protesting for five minutes longer (until the adjournment) against anyone daring to suggest that he was wasting time.

An Explanation. When the House resumed at 7.30 p.m., . . ' . / ■ • , Slit JOSEPH WARD- said that ho had not been awaro atthe-iiine he was speaking on tho motion prior to the adjournment that by talking until 5.30 p.m. ho would deprive the l J rime' Minister of uii opportunity of replying. If he had known this ho would certainly have stoppod speaking in ample time, and ho would offer no objection to the motion being dealt with in the evening. , The Right Hon. W. F. MASSEY said lie was very glad to have the explanation. He confessed that ho had thought when Sir Joseph Ward was speaking that his-object was to talk the motion out, and ho had felt somewhat annoyed on that- account. Sincerity and Proofs, Ho could not: help saying, however, that he thought tho honourable gentleman had been particularly unfair ✓ to him. The honourable gentleman had said that the Government were anxious to prolong the session, whereas he (Mr. Massey) had said ho was very anxious to'bring the session to an end, and ho had proved his sincerity by bringing on a utile earlier thai, usual the motion to, tako Mondays. Tho honourable gentleman had said he was anxious to wind up the''session'at tho earliest possible moment, but he had proved his insincerity by opposing the motion. '.. Sir Joseph Ward: No. Mr. Massey: The honourable gentleman has made, an explanation whinh I accept, but when he was speaking he certainly left tho impression that he objected to Monday being taken. Sir J. Ward: I will support your motion now. ■•.'■■'■

Mr., Massey said he was very glad to hoar that the honourable gentleman would 3iipport bis motion. Ho would remind the honourable gentleman _ of what occurred prior to last election. Ho (Mr. Massey) was now moving to tn.Ro .Mondays mi October 2,. with tho object of expediting -tho progress of business and ending tho session. Tho honourable gentleman did not movn to f alio-Mondays in tho 1911 session until October 11. And even then tho honourable gentleman did not toll tho House what business lie intended to go on with. When he eventually did toll

the Hbuso what ho proposed to go on with there wore twenty-eight Kills in his list. Further than tliiSj between October 13 and October 30, when the session came to an end, twenty-two Bills ( were introduced, many of which were very important. Ho (Mr. Masse.y) would suggest that the Bills introduced by Sir Josepli Ward ill 1911 involved a great deal more work thaii tho list he had givon to the Houso that afternoon.

Liberty of the Press,

He did not want to take tho House by surprise or to take any advantagewhatever. As a matter of fact, he had taken members into his fullest confidence, as far as ho could. Thero was ono Bill in,which the Right Hon. tho ■Leader of the Opposition said ho was personally interested in, and he had tried hard to got a 1 definite promise that that Bill would riot be proceeded with. He referred to the Defamation Bill. Ho (Mr. Massey) did not think that the right hon. gentleman had taken up a fair position in that matter, or that he was dealing fairly with him (the Prime Minister.) ■

_ Sir Josoph Ward: I did not mean that it affected mo personally, more than any other member.

Mr.- Massey: Well, the right hon. gentleman used tho word personally, otherwise I <sliould not have mentioned it. I may say that I have been attacked by the Press more than any other member of the House probably, but I don't mind, and it has done me no harm. Yet I am willing to give the Press here the 6anie liberties that are enjoyed by the Press of Australia and the Press of Great Britain, and' I don't understand ,why the right hon. gentleman should object to that. As to the organisation of. parties, he. suggested that it was because tho Government party were better organised than his party that they wished to keep-the session going to the end. of October. If that was the position, did not the right hon. gentleman see that the better course for the Government would be to go to tho country'at the earliest possible moment, and take tho Opposition at a disadvantage? Ho (Mr. Massey), however, saw no reason to depart from tho ordinary custom, and the holding of the eleitions about the ordinary time. There was no reason why. they should hurry,, especially as they wanted to have the rolls in good order. Personally he did not care a snap of the fingers when the elections were held. He wanted to go on quietly, and steadily with the business of the,session, without undue haste or rush or_ hurry, and if: there was no obstruction he believed they could finish in about three weeks from now.

The motion was agreed to on the voices. _ . ' i ■ •

NEW BILLS. '■ Amendments to-the New Zealand University Amendment Bill, the National Provident Fund Amendment Bill, the Education Reserves Amendment Bill were introduced by Governor's Messago. FIRE BRICADES BILL. The'amendments made in Committee in the Fire Brigades Amendment Bill were agreed to, and the Bill was'read a •third time. , NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND. The National Provident Fund Amendment Bill, which had already passed through the Committee stage,' was recommitted, in order that an, amendment might be inserted to make the meaning of one clause (9) more explicit. The clause provides that employees of local bodies who leave their employment to take service with another local body before becoming entitled by length of service to a pension, shall receive a refund of the moneys deducted from their wages as superannuation premiums. Tho amendment was added to the Bill.

.On motion'for the third reading "there- was further."debate,' and it was not until 0.30 a.m. that,the Hon. F. M, B. Fisher was allowed to reply. ■ .-Mr. vFISHER .';saidthat the House had' witnessed that.night an interesting attempt by tlie allies of the Opposition to offer obstruction to tlie Bill, which was so peculiar in its construction that certain mombers of the .Opposition, while they were unable to vote for it because it emanated from the Government, had walked out of the House when the division was taken. ' ', AnVhon. member: Who were they? Mr..Fisher.: The momber for Riccaxton, the member for Avon, and the member for Kaiapoi. Tlie Bill, said Mr. Fisher, had been very carefully considered, and very carefully drafted. It was said about! the Bill by Mr.' M'Combs, that it was an attempt "to forge fresh fetters.for the'workers." How well that would look as a heading in the "Maoriland Worker 1" The plain fact was that it was the superannua-tion-scheme that .-had kept the men in the Railway Service reasonable and within bounds, and the possibilities were that the Bill would kee-p local bodies' employees within tlie bounds of reason, and would make them independent of those people who were really disturbers of the public peace. ' ■ - ' . The Bill-was read a third, time, and the'Houso rose at 0.55 a.m.