PARLIAMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 490, 10 August 1912, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

BREACH OF PRIVILEGE. [I)Y TF.l.Eint.U'll. —I'HKSS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington. Friday. In the evening the debate on the Wairau Breach of Privilege case was continued. Mr Massey said ho had submitted his motion to Mr McCallum and and the leader of the Opposition, both of whom had agreed to it.

Mr McCallum said the Reform party had nothing to do with the petition in connection with his election.

Mr Colvin congratulated Mr McCallum on the honourable way he had emerged from the very trying ordeal. The malevolence and calumny public men were now subjected to were driving the best men out of public life.

The motion was curried. EX-MINISTERS' CRITICISM

On the. inocion to go into Committee of Supply. Mr G. W. Russell congratulated the Minister for Finance upon the speed with which the Budget had been brought down. The Budget marked an epoch in the politics of the country. He contended that upon the voting of the country Mr Massey's party was not justified in holding the Treasury benches. The change of Government was due to four members of the Liberal party going over to Mr Massey's party before six months had passed. People would find out what was going on. They would find the rate of interest going up and unemployment becoming rampant. He characterised the land policy of the Massoy Government as wild and reckless. The whole of the proposals of the Budget had been stolen from the Mackenzie Government. THE WHIP ON MONOPOLY.

Hon. F. M. B. Fisher followed, and raversed Mr Russell's criticism as to

unemployment and said it was without foundation. Tho Estimates brought down worn prepared by tho Mackenzie Government as his Government had not had time to effect any material alterations. lie traversed various criticisms of tho Budget which he defended. His party, ho declared, was going to lay tho whip on the flanks of monopoly, and he could say some of the members on the other side of the House were not going to have protection any longer. One reform his Government was going to carry out was that the Stato Sorvico would not be underpaid. The days of political patronuge and political touting were things of the past. Referring to the expenditure on public buildings in future no special consideration would be shown to friends of tho Ministry; merit alone would count.