ELECTION DAY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 64, 6 November 1931, Page 3

ELECTION DAY

("Post" Special Commissioner)

MR; HOLLAND ANXIOUS ANOTHER UNSUCCESSFUL REQUEST FOR DATE PREMIER'S HINT ABOUT TALK

WELLINGTON, last night. ■ Still another plea for information as to the date when the General Election will be held, was made by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland, when three new Government Bills were introduced at the eommeneement of to-night's sitting. "Does the Prime Minister propose to bring down fresh Bills almost every day and put through ea.eh fresh Bill that is brought down?" Mr. Holland inquired. "We had an idea that the House might possibly rise at the end of this week, but the continued introduetion of new Biils, of course, : will make that impossible. I think we ought to have an assurance. from the Prime Minister that whatever fresh Bills he brings down, he proposes to put through." Mr. Holland said the Prime Minister must know by this time the date on which the general election was to be held and therefore it could be made public. It would be convenient to every member of the House to have. the date announced and also to the general public. There was a very strong dissatisfaction in the public mind because one one knew exactly where things stood in respect to the election, and the introduction of new Bills every day made the position still more uncertain. There was a misapprehension that the delay might lead to postponement of the election till towards the

beginning of next year, a thing which would be altogether undesirable. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, remarked that Mr- Holland appeared to be the only one who was anxious as to the exact date of the election. He deprecated the suggestion that the whole. of the public were on tenderhooks to know the date. The position was that until the closing date of the session could be known, it was impossible to say when the election would be. held. The Government had no control over the closing date of the session. It depended on members themselves and if they talked as they had been doing the finish would be delayed. "I am hoping," Mr. Forbes said, "that the session will be. closed early next week. Mr. E. Howard (Labour, Christchurch South) : We got through a vote of seven millions yesterday in five minutes. Mr. J. S. Fletcher (Independent, Grey Lynn) : It is a scandal. Mr. Forbes says that we won't know how long the discussions are likely to last. Referring to the legislation before the House he added that there could always be a slaughter of the innocents. Enumerating the Bills and business yet remaining to be done, the Prime Minister mentioned the Finance Bill, the Mortgagors' Relief Amendment Bill, the Chattels Transfer Amendment Bill, the Washing-Up Bill, the Appropriation Bill, Local Bills, and the Supplementary Estimates and suggested that they were a mere nothing. Mr. J. O'Brien (Labour, Westland) We shall go on into the next finaneial year.