Mangonui County Times AND NORTHERN REPRESENTATIVE. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1904. Eleventh Hour Legislation.

Northland Age, Volume 1, Issue 15, 22 November 1904, Page 2

Mangonui County Times AND NORTHERN REPRESENTATIVE.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1904. Eleventh Hour Legislation.

“What light, what true, what fit we justly call, Let this he all my care—for this is all.” —Pope.

.JPiviLYVjitf bates were the order of the day during the seven days’ passage through the House of the Shops and Offices Bill. What appears to us as most surprising is that, although the Bill called forth acrimonious debate and was vigorously opposed in its several stages through the House, in the final reading it was 'earned by a practically unanimous vote, viz., 61 ayes, 3 noes. Members who were not in sympathy (as per their speeches) would naturally have been expected to have stood to their guns and recorded against. Was it a right principle to waste the time of the House for- six or seven days, jojo&kicting the passage of the Bill, and finally obey the dictates of a coercive Premier ? ■ The Colony later will answer the question. Bui’ing the debate the Premier said that he was not one of /hose who thought

for a moment that the passing of the Bill would cause the slightest friction, so that it is rather amusing to think that strong protesting telegrams, from North. and South, dre reaching him galore. But, of course, that is not friction. We confidently assert that if the fate of the Bill could have been decided by referendum, it would have received scant ceremony. In our opinion Napier’s representative, Mr. A. L. I). Eraser, during the debate struck the key-note of the position when he said that “ some members of the House thought that labour was concentrated in the city. We have labour in the ullage ; we have labour in the wfon; we have labour in the country, and there is an honest, unselfish ring about labour in the country that we do not find among a great number of those who live in the four cities. . . But what I disapprove of are the one or two persons—l am not speaking now of House—who are supposed to voice the workers of the cities. We see them here in Wellington, in Auckland, in Christchurch, parading the streets with frock coats, long hats, oil on their hair, and smoking big cigars. If the Labour party are to take the advice of that class of men, who are the curse of .labour, and also of one or two in this House—if they listen to the claptrap of able-bodied agitators, who are the very enemies of the Labour party —they will he making a mistake that will take years to

rectify. I say that there are certain members in this House who play upon the susceptibilities of that party, and think, by so doing, their duplit%f'|lnuy carry weight when an election comes on.”