A SATURDAY SITTING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5838, 15 December 1879, Page 2

A SATURDAY SITTING OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

A scene not often witnessed in any Parliamentary Assembly, particularly in its serener and more dignified branch, occurred in the Council on Saturday night. An understanding had been come to on Friday that Government business was to have; precedence at Saturday’s sitting, but shortly after meeting in the afternoon, Mr. Whitaker stated that there would, in all probability, be only two more working days—the one then, entered’upon and to-day. He had come to the decision to give up the former to private members, and to reserve the latter wholly for the several taxing Bills and other Government measures to come up. Upon this intimation it became clear that the chances of success for private members’ Bills not passed that day would be extremely slender, and there was an evident determination among those who had Bills under their protection to make the most of the only opportunity. But those who had no Bills to steer through the difficult navigation of the Council were by no means so anxious to economise time as their colleagues, and straightway one of the few precious hours was wasted in discussing points of order. After a very short interval, another hour was spent in committee in overhauling the Slaughterhouse Act Amendment Bill—a private member amending a public statute—which was so terribly cut about that the hon. gentleman in charge grew morose, and severed his connection with the Bill, which was then formally reported with a view to being dropped at the third reading. It was remarked incidentally that the Bill was appropriately named, for the time spent on it would mean the slaughter of many more deserving measures. Two of the three hours of the afternoon sitting were thus lost, and an encroachment of an hour and a half was made into the evening, as many members had made engagements for a dinner party. The result was that on the Council re-assembling at nine o’clock there were sixteen Bills to go through three stages, and only three hours for the work. There were about twenty members present, and of these fifteen were in charge of Bills, the remaining five being independent critics. The business proceeded with considerable rapidity, and the list was lessening quickly, members being by no means chary in accepting amendments to their Bills, to save time. It was, however, noticeable that as each Bill became safe the hen. gentleman who had been just before feverishly anxious as to its fate rapidly relaxed and displayed a laudable desire to criticise rather than expedite the passage of the remaining measures. Eleven ; o’clock had passed with the list reduced to seven, of which it was known the last four were absolutely beyond redemption—the first of the four being the Wanganui Endowed Schools Bill, —while for the other three there was tolerably good hope. But the time was not strictly economised. Divisions were called for by those wh» were not in charge of the three, aud as each division occupied about minutes, the hands of the clock at length indicated ten minutes to 12, with the second Bill in hand and the third yet to come on- The Council was in committee on the second—the Riverton Drubbed Bill —and the Hon. Mr, Wood had agreed to unheard-ot concessions in the wav of amendment, so as to save his Bill, and it was nearly passed when an hon. member moved a motion which meant * the shelf. This was too much for Mr. Wood, who plaintively exclaimed, “Oh,! pray gentlemen don’t strangle this poo-00-or little innocent Bill at this hour of the night.” This ad miserecordiam appeal had the desired effect on all but one gentleman, who persisted in calling for a division, whereat half a dozen members bore down on him, and in ten seconds brought such arguments to bear that he shouted, “ I withdraw the division, sir.” “Yes, but you can’t withdraw the time you’ve wasted,” retorted the gentleman in charge of the third Bill, Anxious looks were directed to the clock at intervals of half a minute, and if the thoughts of several hon. members could be read by their looks, it was a wish that some catastrophe should happen to the internal mechanism of the instrument. But the faithful recorder of time’s flight pursued the even tenor of its way, and presently sounded the first stroke of twelve with startling clearness. “Twelve o’clock —dies non!" shouted several, while others seized their standing orders books’, as if to see what they said on such a predicament. Captain Baillie (Chairman f v.nittee) had just laid down thesecoj i taken up the third, at the first str*. seemed for a mement undecided. -i-L- v a? equal to the occasion. With the promptitude of decision characteristic of his profession, he mentally decided that it was not twelve till the clock had finished striking, and when the second stroke rang he

was reading the rlmses of the Bill at the rate •>f 4'* * words to the minute, a sp*.ed be inainr t‘> thr end, finishing simuhanroudy with the and thus s iving the Bill. The Mispeiw v.* s' ih*. u at an end, and the gallant military vv-etleiu.m whose Bill it was immet ly drew l. ‘ver inspirations, and se.omt J ns one wh i ha 1 just- come into a considerable >gaey. It no \' be added that tin re are s-weral dry —y- m -.rkably drv—hum >ri-ts in the Cbauhir, *'vo of whom \wre pre-rut ou Suture *y i.i dit, and their frequent brief comments on the proceedings, and ejaculatory a Ivu’P, given in stage asides to the combatants, whose* abnormal tension of anxiety they saw but did not share, were not the least entertaining feature of the evening.