LITTLE TO SHOW

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 368, 1 November 1932, Page 5

LITTLE TO SHOW

("Fost" Special Commissioner) ,

PRESENT SESSION HOPES OF -COMPLETION BY XMAS CONSIDERED - SLENDER DRAWN-OUT DEBATES

Wellington, Monday. Although the present session of Parliament is entering on the sixth week, the legislators have still little to show for their efforts, and judging By the present rate of progress the hopes of finishing before Christmas are slender indeed. The bulk of the time has been taken up with the Ad-dress-in-Reply and Finaneial debates, and up to date the Government has not placed one enactment on the ; Statute Book. At present there are three Government Bills and six private members' bills on the order paper. The Government bills are the Local Authorities' Sinking Funds Bill, which proposes to resti-ict the right of local bodies to withdraw sinking fund moneys from the Public Trust Com- ' mon Fund, the Pensions' Amendment Bill, which provides in the main for

the reinstatement of miners' widows' pensions, and Government Superannuation Funds' Bill, which gives effect to the recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission's suggestions to stabilise the three superannuation funds under the control of the State. However, the list should be substantially increased next week, as the Prime Minister has indicated that three of the most important measures that will be placed before the House for consideration this session will soon be making their appearance. It is expected that the central reserve bank legislation will make its appearance shortly. In view of the precedent of South Afrieu and the completeness of Sir Otto Niemeyer's proposals, the bill should not take much preparation. It is probahle that the bill will be formally introduced and then placed on the order paper until the return of the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Downie Stewart), who is due back from Ottawa and London on November 21. While abroad Mr. Stewart was in close touch with banking authorities, and it is likely that he will suggest modifications or amendments to the bill when he returns. Many Speakers So far fifty-one members have taken part in the finaneial debate, ancl as there are only three of four more speakers, it is anticipated that the Prime Minister will reply to-night. With this discussion out of the way a start will be made on the Estimates, which embody the expenditure

proposals for the different departnients of State for the year ended March 31, 1933. By the time the discussion on the various items take? p'lace seven months of the year will have elapsed and over half the money will have been spent. It seems ironical that the House should have spent weeks diseussing the expenditure of money that is beyond recall. The retirement of Sir Heaton Rhodes from the Legislative Council has remaved one of the oldest figures from the General Assembly. Sir Heaton was a member of the House of Representatives for twenty-six years. and a member of the Council for seven. He served in the Massey Government from its assumption to office in 1912 to 1915, and when the National Government was formed he represented the Government abroad in Egypt, Gallipoli and France, where he was New Zealand Red Cross Commissioner. With the dissolution of the National Government, Sir Heaton was again invited by Mr. Massey to join the ministry and held cabinet rank until his retirement from the Lower House at the end of 1925 on account of ill-health.