POLITICAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1088, 27 August 1912, Page 3

POLITICAL.

GOVERNMENT BILLS

Several policy Bills will be circulated by the Government this week. The Bill to amend the Industrial Concilia!ion and Arbitration Act is undergoing a final revision, and will be ready for printing and circulating iu a tew days. The principal proposal of the Bill is that the Arbitration Court should be reconstituted by abolishing the permanent representatives of the employing and working classes and substituting experts in the industry concerned in each dispute with the Supreme Court Judge of the district as president. Provision is al-o made that important questions submitted by workers’ unions or employers’ associations must be decided by secret ballot, and several important amendments are to be made iu the machinery clauses. The Public Service Reiorm Bill will be circulated this week. It proposes that the coutrol of the service should be given to a commissioner, who, with his assistants, will be responsible to Parliament ouly. Other important proposals calculated to secure the good government of the service are embodied in the Bill. Amendments iu the Valuation of Land Act to secure greater accuracy in distinguishing between the value of laud aud the value of improvements aud to secure a more equitable apportionment of taxation between owner aud tenant will be contained in a Bill that will be circulated this week.

An Imprest Supply Bill, the third of this session, will be introduced this week. There will probably be a lengthy debate upon it, as several leading members of the Opposition may take this opportunity to deliver trie speeches which they prepared fot the Baaget debate. The Consolidated Fuad Estimates will probably come under review ou Friday, aud unless a debate arises on some committee report, some progress should be made with them betore the House adjourns for the week-end. RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

The Railways Statement will be presented to the House by the Minister in charge of the Department (the Hon. W. 11. Herries) early iu the week, probably today. It will show that the revenue for the year 1911-12 was greater by ,£162.327 than that of the previous financial year —the gross revenue for the year having been £3,676,509. East year the increase was £244,392, aud the reduced profit was due mainly to the reductions in long-distance fares, and to increases made in salaries prior to last election. The net earnings for 1911-12 were equal to 3.95 pounds per centum of the capital expenditure. In 1910-11, the percentage was 4.06, but in 1909-11, under the Hon. J. A. Millar's control, but beloic he bad set out, as he said, to raise rates to such a level as to make the railway.-, pay, the percentage was 3.80.