THAT TIRED FEELING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7916, 23 September 1904, Page 4

THAT TIRED FEELING.

'That tired feeling,' .which is one of the characteristics of the present generation, has attacked members of the House of Representatives, who have lost interest in their legislative duties, and arc anxious for some indication as to the end of the session. It has been stated by some of the members supporting the Government that, the session will terminate in four weeks hence, but the House will have:to go into business in earnest if' anything like it is to be accomplished.' So far as Governmentßills are concerned, there- is nothing onuch

ahead of a troublesome nature, onco the Licensing Bill is out of the way," except the Electoral BilJ, and perhaps the Shops and Offices and Trade Monopolies Bills, and there is a general'feeling that the Electoral Bill, at all events, .will be' reserved for the last session of the Parliament. The Estimates, however, although they were brought down early, have made very poor progress, and in the portion yet to be dealt with are such thorny Departments as the Colonial Secretary's and Defence. We have not ! yet seen the High Commissioner Bill, i and with an impoverished Treasury the Public Works Estimates are not likely-to i put members in a good humour, or in a ■hurry to face their constituents. Altogether there are now 45 Government Bills on the Order Paper, those of outstanding importance being Licensing, Local Elections, Electoral, Midwives, Shops and Offices, Eeferendum, Trades Monopolies, Fire Brigades, and Sale ot Food and Drugs. Jt goes without saying that many of them will be held over and even if the bulk of them go by tile board the Premier will still be able to boast of a big statute book, as the Statutes Compilation Commissioners 'have been at work during the recessj'and have consolidated into bulky Bills the Education Acts,' the Divorce Acts, and the Marriage Acts, which can pass through Parliament with next to no trouble. It will bo easier to form an opinion as to the end of the session when the Estimates are in a more advanced stage, but as interest in the work of Parliament is waning members will have no objection to the closing scene being made as early as possible.