PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9, 11 September 1913, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Wellington, September 10

The Legislatice Council met at 2.30

The Roman Catholic Archbishop Em powering Bill (Hon. C. Johnston) an Methodist Union Bill (Hon. F. H Bell) were read a third time and pass ed

The Hon. C. M. Luke moved tii second reading of the Welling to City Empowering and Amendmen Bill, which passed without debate.

The Dunedin District Drainag and Sewerage Acts Amendment Bi (Hon; J. B. Callan) was put throng Committee and progress was rfeport bit fur consideration of amendmen: moved bv i the Hons. Bell and Eari . ' ‘ ,; , '• . ■: siiaw. ...

The Aiaendment Incorporation Bi was read a..third time and passed o the motion of Mr Bell. . , .The ad journeff : debate' on the Vetsi on Bill vy as, .resumed by -Mr parr... The second reading was carried a r the Council adjourned at 3.5 d.

HOUSE OF REPKESENTATIVES The House met at 2.30. A long discussion, conducted o. party lines,.; ensued on the report r. the Petitions Committee on a petitio from Ohakune settlers ocupylng Grow; (eases, in which they prayed for free hold of selection. It sot out that thsettlers involved w-ere led to believ that if they i.npported the Refer. Party and that party succeeded to th Treasury benches thej would receiv the freehold. The petition was lah on the table and the remainder of th afternoon was taken up with discus; ing answers given by Ministers to ques tions.

lii reply to questions, Minister: said that the Government was makin experiments with a branding flui said to cause leas damage than lin branding and to bo equally effcective. The Government was fully ini pressed with the need for an improvement in the condition of teachers i back-block schools, both as to salarie and the improvement of their re si deuces. Over £BOOO had been spen in 1910 and 1911 in adding room; bathrooms and washhouses to teach ers’ houses in the most urgent cases He hoped to be able to consider a num her of similar applications from vari ous Boards shortly. On 'the subject of level crossings the Minister of Railways said: “ would direct special attention to the fact that level crossings automatical ly become part of a railway. The public right-of-way at such crossings ceases when a train is approaching within half a mile from the crossing In view of the number of crossing that have to be negotiated by long dis tance trains the imposing of speed re strictions that would cause the con stant checking of trains at love crossings would undoubtedly 'teng:lie the journey time of trains and resul in inconvenience to the travelling public.”

The wodworking machinists on the railways are on the same footing a: iromvorking machinists. The rates now paid were fair and reasonable Whenever an alteration, was made the only satisfactory manner of dealing with the matter is in a comprehensive way, as raising one grade creates anomalies that have been revived later on. This is not satisfactory either to the men onjffie Department. So far as the safety of gas is concerned, experience on the New Zealand railways have been quite opposite to the recent accident in England. A! the time of the Rakaia collision the railway carriages were lighted with pintsch gas. Not only was the light ing unaffected by the collision, but by its efficiency it materially aided the operation of those engaged in clearing the wreckage and abstracting the injured from the damaged cars. The 1 experience was similar at the Bankside collision, where the carriages were severely damaged, hut the gas cylinders remained intact. From the time pintsch gas was first installed, New Zealand experience shows it to be am efficient and safe system of lighting.

To substitute electricity ar.d discard pint sell gar, merely because a lire attended a railway collision at Horae, would involve an expenditure not justified. It is not proposed to issue an Orel er-in-Conucil to compel vessels to have nets underneath the hatchways except when cargo is being worked, so as to prevent the numerous accidents through men falling through hatchways. • , The House resumed at 7.30. At 10.30, Mr Sidey, who w r as in charge of tlio Definition of Time Bill, left the chair arid resumed his seat in tlio House. It appeared that farther progress was impossible. After several members had assured Mr Sidey that he would receive thir support, he resumed the chair, and stated that if his friends would stick to him he was prepared to sit all night. At midnight a division was' taker, on a motion to report progress. This was lost by 3S votes to 25. Progress on the Bill was reported at 12.45. The Committee then considered the Distress Limitations Bill (Mr Hindmarsh) . A motion to report progress resulted in 28 votes being cast each way, and the Chairman of the Committee voted against the motion, and the discussion was resumed. Progress was reported at ,1.30, and the Betterment Bill was then taken and similarly treated, and the House was left sitting at 2 a.m. After the telegraph office closed, progress was reported on the Commercial Trusts Amendment Bill, and the House rose at 2.5 a.m.