EXEMPTION OF TEACHERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 31, 31 October 1917, Page 7

EXEMPTION OF TEACHERS

THE BILL DROPPED

TANGLE COULD NOT-BE LOOSED

■ After many rumours of. Cabinet crises and impending dissolution, the House of IKepresentatiyes received last night in ■ fiuite calm silence the announcement that *he New.Zealand Expeditionary Forces ..iBiH-would not be proceeded with this session. It was thought that there would \>a long explanatory statements by the two party leaders; who had been at variance in opinion on the contentious issue on "which the two Houses had disagreed, and-members looked for yard with- perhaps. a-. little apprehension to an' unpleasant debate on it. It is very certain that only by the simple dropping of the ullll could an acrimonious debate havo fbeen avoided. Any motion to restore the ■Jail to the Order Paper for the purpose of saving the -non-contentious parts if at would have assuredly loosed a rush of talk. If a new Bill had been introduced to'avoid this procednre it would" ihave been competent for any member to introduce again, (he contentious question jby way of amendment, and so the trouble woidd. have arisen again. The ' topping;of .the Bill puts it out of the : ■way. ' ■■-~.

The situation created by this deadlock ' Vas without ! parallel in the experience of the oldest member of Parliament. On Several .occasions the two Houses have disagreed about a Bill; and. Bills 'have for this reason been dropped,- but always ■ on these occasions there have been parties wishing to destroy f he Bills. On this occasion everybody wished to save &t least that part of the Bill which was Bon-contentious, and one party wished io save the whole of it. But such is the procedure of Parliament that in order' to be quit of the troubleso-ne part, the Government had to let the whole Bill go. . . • • ■ . . There were three distinct parties on the qtiestion. One wished to give no. exemptions to any .teachers, including Mai , - ist Brothers, one wished to exempt Ifar•isfc. Brothers, but not teachers, and one •wished-to exempt all teachers, including ■Marist Brothers. It was,considered that only one of these three proposals might possibly have pleased a majority of both (Houses. If there had been a.,vote taken yesterday there would have been a probability of the-Hoiisedeclarinfr by a verv' Harrow majority for no exemption at all, ibut neither nf the other, two proposals •would have had muoh chance, and if they had ■passed the'.House the Council Tvould still have rejected them.. These are the opinions" of the' members' Tvbq ■tare been most keenly interested 'oh this ,-. ■ . '