PARLIAMENT. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 14, 3 September 1914, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

[PBB Ph«M AMQOIATION.J Wellington, September 2. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. Hon. Beehan moved that the Minister in charge of the Friendly Societies Department be requested to take into consideration the advisability of bringing in a Bill having for its object the subvention of friendly societies in certain cases, and for purposes consequent thereon or incidental thereto.

Hon. Bell said the Government would offer no objection to the motion, but there would be great difficulty in any Government stepping in with a scheme of subvention for large selfgoverning societies. The motion was agreed to. The Council rose until 2.30 on Friday.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 7.30. On the motion of the Premier, a select committee consisting of ten members was set up as follows to deal with rates and freights of shipping companies:—-Sir Walter Buchanan, Hon. D. Buddo, Messrs Lees, Myers, E. Newman, Pearce, Russell, Wilkinson, Sir Joseph Ward and the mover.

EXPEDITIONARY VOTING BILL. Mr Statham brought down the report of the committee on the Expeditionary Force Voting Bill, which was that the Bill be allowed to proceed, subject to certin amendments. Voting would take place before the force left New Zealand, instead of in England. Every member of the force had been given a vote, because most of the men were over 21 years, and others Would be over 21 before the election takes place, and it was thought it was better to deal with the matter in this broad way, rather than try to draft a series of clauses to meet all sorts of exceptional cases. On the licensing question, the members of the force would give a straight-out vote on the issues submitted under the Act. The voting paper would enable the voter to give his preference to a candidate supporting the Government, the Opposition, or the Labor party, and the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition would decide to which candidate the votes would be credited so far as their parties were concerned, while two members of the -Labor party, now in the House would act in a similar capacity for their party. So far as the contingent in Samoa is concerned, an electoral officer would be sent there, and the election would take place in Samoa. In moving the second reading, the Hon. P. M. B. Fisher claimed urgency for the Bill, and asked that it be put through all its stages at one sitting. The discussion on the second reading was ■of a desultory nature, the opinion most generally expressed being that it was an extraordinary measure designed to meet an extraordinary situation.

Mr Ngata raised the question as to whether the'Bill applied to members of the Native race who were with the forces. Personally, he did not think it did.

The second reading was passed on the voices, and the House went into committee on the measure.

Progress on the Bill was reported at 12.10.

The amendments made in committee did not materially affect the Bill as revised by the Select Committee. The third reading will be taken to-morrow evening. The House rose at 11.15 p.m.