THE SESSION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2494, 22 June 1915, Page 7

THE SESSION

' BILLS IN PROSPECT

NO PARTY LEGISLATION

Parliament will be opened by Commission on Thursday, and tho event of tho day in the House of Representatives 3s tho election of Speaker. The Speaker in the last Parliament had not arrived in Wellington yesterday, but it is generally assumed that he will accopt nomination for tbo Speakership again, and that he will be elected as a. matter of course. Tho Prime Minister informed a Dominion reporter yesterday that the Government .would not introduce any measures properly described as party legislation. Ha took it that .taxing Bills to provide the necessary revenus for war would not be called party legislation in the. ordinary sense of tha word. As to the Government's taxing proposals, nothing has yet been divulged. It is probable that they will bo embodied in several Bills, but it may bo found possible and desirable to embody all of them' in one Bill. A!> present it seems rather too much to hope that all these proposals will meet with, tho approval of all members, and the biggest task of the session will certainly bo the passing into law of these war tax proposals. One of the first Bills to be introduced will be that designed to make our military pensions more liberal. It is 'generally allotvad that those provided for in. the Defence Act of 1909 are quito inadequate, and the Defence Minister has already given that as his opinion. He has also expressed a hope that New Zealand may be able to come to some arrangement with the Commonwealth so that there may by one pei.sions scale for the. two Pacifio Dominions. There will be a Land Bill, but it will not be contentious, as its predecessors have been. Tho Bill will simply make it possible for soldiers on active servica lo take part in land ballots during their absence from New Zealand. The Prime Minister has lately explained a scheme for allowing returned soldiers to tako up land, and he stated yesterday that it might be necessary for the Government to purchase land for this purpose. Tbo area reserved for 6oldiors will probably amount to not less than 100,000 acres. Minor amendments are to be proposed in the War Regulations Act. The Mortgages Extens on Act, which has been found to work inequitably, will he reviewed, and tbeTJouse will be asked to amend it in the direction of giving the Court more powers under tho 'Act.- • Tho Enemy; Contracts Bill, a now measure, to give tho Government power to declare, void any contract made with an enemy, is certain to pass without opposition. The Cook Islands Government Bill, held over from last year, will probably bo reintroduced. • It is a measure which proposes to give the Islands a local government, and a code of laws, and to removo many of the anomalies existing in the control, of the Islands now. WAR LOAN AND WAR TAXATION. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.! Dunedin, June 21. Tho Hon. James Allen informed a reporter that one of the first questions to ;bs submitted-'to Parliament would be that of a war loan, which would be large. War taxation would have, to bo imposed. The ; origina.Twar loan obtainied from the Imperial authorities— £200,000—had been spent, and over £80,000 more. A smaller sum had been financed by other means. It was there-, fore neoossaiy to intr'oduoe a War Loan Bill early in tho session, followed by a iWar Tax Bill. Regarding military pensions, Mr. 'Allen said: "Legislation will be introduced this session for the purpose of establishing a new scale. The principal part of the Bill had been practically agreed to by the Cabinot. The Bill will be of generous charactbr."