POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2508, 8 July 1915, Page 6

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

THE NATIONAL CABINET OPINION OF MEMBERS No announcement was made in: the Houso or elsewhere yesterday concerning the National Cabinet proposal. This does not necossarily mean that tho ■ la-St has been heard of it. Such, at anyrate,- is tho opinion expressed by members ivlio should have some knowledge of facts on which, to base. ail opinion. It is understood that negotiations have not yet been finally broken off, but it is also understood that tho chances of the union being consummated are not of the' best. \ A RECORD DAY! After tho long wrangle of the preceding day the.House rested yesterday, Which means that it did a. great deal of business in a minimum of time. Two Government Bills were read a tliird time without debate, and four other Government Bills wore advanced a stage—not a, bad record for a private members' day. Perhaps because it is still early in the session, there was no private members' business before the House. In one , particular the after; noon was almost without precedent.. On Wednesdays Ministers' replies to questions of the preceding week are open for discussion for a period of • two hours, and members insist always on their right on these .occasions to' ventilate grievances. ltarely do they give up this .right, even in the rush times at the end of a session, but yesterday no single member rose to discuss questions when the 1 opportunity was offered. The House rose at 4.35 p.m. because it had cleared the Order Paper. It is ! the habit of the' Legislative Council to clear the . Order Paper practically at every sitting, but the House almost' invariably rises with; a lot of work still undone. The' Pensions Bill, to provide for increased pensions. to soldiers or their dependents,' will probably be introduced this week, and the Financial Statement will probably come down next week. ' , .... - PARLIAMENT HOUSE. • The causes of the delay in the erection of the new Parliament House were explained by tho Minister of Public Works, answering a question in the House yesterday. "It is now expected that the first section of the new Parliament Buildings will be-finished some 'time; prior to June, 1917," , said. Mr. Fraser, "and it; is hoped that the Legislative Chambers will be ready for occupation in'time for the session/of 1916. The delays may be accounted for as folThe slow delivery of theCoromandel - granite used in the basement and ground-floor stories delayed . the work considerably. (2) The slow delivery of the stractional steel .beams for the principal floor, owing to the war", delayed the work until the end of March last. (3) Since that date a third cause of delay has arisen, namely, the supply of sound marble for the walls of the upper stories was stopped owing to tho quarry proving faulty and a new quarry having to be opened a short distance away. This latter cause has involved about three months' delay up to: the present date, but a few more Weeks' delay will'probably be involved before an adequate supply of good sound, inarblo is secured.'' - .» ; ,' .

AN ELECTION ECHO. In -the Houso of Representatives yesterday Dr. M'Nab, aslced the Government whether any instructions were.issued to officers prosecuting for offences committed at tho last general election, which could be read' by them as authorising them to distinguish between the electors, as in tho hearing of i the Hawke's Bay election petition two!, offences were shown to have been committed;. but a prosecution so far has been commenced in only one case, and ■that the-case of a man who was the. worse for liquor when the offence was committed, while in the second case, which has'not yet.been made the subject of a prosecution, .the elector was ( not suffering from tho above disability. The Right Hon'. Mr. .Massey (Prime Minister). replied: Instructions to prosecute in the cases , referred to were issued on the same day, and informations were laid' against both persons on June 9. One case has been disposed of at Napier, and the other, a.i ci matter, of convenience, is set down for hearing at Wairoa on July. 13. ' !<