POLITICAL NOTES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 23, 22 October 1917, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES

THE END OF THE SESSION

LITTLE THINGS TO ,BE DONE

An effort is to bo made to finish the session'this week, but a deal has yet to bo done, and there is a possibility that Parliament will still be sitting next week. 11' the session is to bo ondod on Saturday it will mean that late hours will have to be kept, and that members will have to be less talkative than they have been in tho early part of the session.

lhero is no legislation of importance yet to come down, but there are one or two Bills on the Order Paper already which may demand tho attention <_f members even in the busy houra at the end of tho session. Most important of them all is the Expeditionary Forces Amendment Bill, under which the question of the exemption of clergy and of Manet Brothers may bo raised. A. fair body of members showed their hostility to the feocial Hygiene Bill •on Friday Jiight, and it has been, arranged that these members or representatives are to meet Mr. Russell and talk with him about modifications of the Bill. It is now practically certain that the Bill will be considerably altered when it comes again before the Committee of the House. If Mr. Russell tries again to force tho Bill through in its present shape {he session will not be over until Borne time after Saturday next.

EARLY CLOSING, The Early Closing Bill is still incomplete, for there remain points of disagreement between the two Houses. It is not at all possible that there will be a permanent disagreement such as to imperil the Bill. The main feature of the'Bill is the closing of hotels at six o'clock in the evening. On this the two Houses aro agreed; they are not quite in agreement regarding certain changes which are being suggested as more or less consequential upon six o'clock closing. When the Bill comes back lo the House from the managers it will probably be disposed of finally in an hour OTHER MEASURES, Other measures remaining for the House to deal with are the two "wash-ing-up" Bills, Maori and pakeha, and they are neither of them likely to be controversial this year. The Supplementary Estimates will contain little of interest except the'war bonus to Civil Servants votes. These votes may be held up for a time, for the members who have been convinced by the Government that it is not possible for financial Teasons to increase the allowances to widows and children of soldiers may be difficult to convince that the country has' money to spare for the uayment of extra money to cervants ot the State. '. ," There is to be an amendment of the War Legislation Act this session to make some alterations in the law which experience has shown to be necessary.

THE COST OF, LIVING. There aro two reports of Select Committees which will occupy some time when they appear. The first is the .report of the Cost of Living Committee, which was referred back for reconsideration of one of the clauses, one of tho two welly important clauses in the report. The Couiniitteo has been unable to agree upon the amendment to bo made in this ulause, and report is that they are not ut all likely to agree. It is possible that the Chainuan'of tho Committee will present the report with the objectionable clause expurgated, and that the amendment asked for by tho House in the difficult clause dealing with the fixing of prices of commodities produced ia this country may never be presented. In the debate in the House on the first report it was stated by the Chairman that tho, Committee had considered two schemes for tho reduction of the local prico of these commodities produced in such great plenty, in this country a!nd escorted-to the Mother Country at prices higher than the people of this country are willing to pay for them. One of the schemes, and that.finally adopted, was tnat the Pood Controller should regulate the prices of these' commodities to the local consumer, and that tho loss of profit to the producer should be made up out of the Consolidated Fund of the State. Tho other proposal was that the producers should ]» required to establish an Equalisation Fund, in the same way as they were compelled to pay a levy on butter-fat last summer, but the Committee was strongly impressed with the injustice possiblo under this scheme, and it was rejected by the Committee. If the Committee'.had, not rejected it, tho House- would still' have refused to sanction it. So that it is. difficult, with the information available,- to see how the Committee is going to propose that this question shall be settled. The industries affected have been built up by the export trade, and not by the local trado, and they aro still almost wholly dependent on the export trade. The Committee may get out of the dilemma by neglecting to report to the House at all. THE MEAT TRUST. The other report is that of the Meat Export Trade Committee, commonly called the Meat Trust Committee. The main object of the Committee was to investigate tho operations of the Meat Trust in tho meat trade of this country. It does not seem possible that at this late etapre ot the session legislation will be brought down as the result of the report, even if the Committee should recommend the Government to 6ubniit legislation to the House. One of tho results of the inquiry is likely to be that some restrictions will bo placed on the formation of private companies here by persons and firms noi domiciled in this country. Indeed, tho Treasurer hag already been asked to take steps to prevent those companies and firms, whose business it is to buy meat for sale, in England ; from escaping taxation in respect of their incomes.