Opening of Parliament.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 235, 7 April 1897, Page 2

Opening of Parliament.

SIR MAURICE O'RORKE ELECTED SPEAKER. (Per Press Association.) Wellington, April 6. The first session of the thirteenth Parliament of New Zealand was opened by commission at 2.30 p.m. The Commissioners were the Hons. H. G. Miller, Montgomery, Walker, Dr Grace and Capt, Baillie. There was an unusually large attendance of Legislative Councillors, no less than thirty-five being present, and members of the Lower House appeared to number close on seventy. There. was not a large attendance in the galleries. The proceedings were of a purely formal nature, the Commissioners announcing that the administrator of the Government would make his open* ing speech to-morrow afternoon. There was ,po sitting of the Council as the Hon. Miller, Speaker, being elected for five years, there was no election to be held. His term expires on July 14th. In the House, after the members bad been sworn in, Sir M. O'Rorke was reelected Speaker without opposition. Sir M. O'Rorke thanked the members for the honour conferred upon him. He little thought when he first eutered Parliament in 1861 that in 1897 he alone would be left of those who then sat in the Chamber. Last session Mr Sauuders bad beeu the only one besides himself who was in that Parliament, and by the fortune of war he too had now disap. peared from the scene. Sir Mauirce referred to the objnet of this session, and expressed the hope that members would smooth the way to the proper representation of the colony on -so memorable an occasion as that whicli would shortly be celebrated di Home. Sir M. o\Korke then took the Speakers chair and' was congratulated by the Premier and Captain Russell. The Premier, announced that the debate on the Address in iteply^would' bp taken at 7i30 to morrow evening.