PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 48, 26 June 1915, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

I THE OPENING CEREMONY. Pew Press Association. Wellington, June 24. The second phase of the ceremonies connected with the opening ol Parliament took place this afternoon, when jhis Excellency Lord Liverpool attended at Parliament House for the purpose of reading tho speech from the Throne. The weather still remained unpropitious, but in spite of the wet streets and a moist atmosphere a. large number of people had congregated in the vicinity of Parliament Buildings when his Excellency, accompanied by Lady Liverpool, motored ito the House. The guard of honor of 'one hundred men was on this occasion chosen from the 6th Regiment, | while a band selected from the Trentham camp band and the Trentham regiment was in attendance, and played the National Anthem as their Excellencies entered the building. A new feature was the lining of the corridors of the House leading to tho Legislative Council with troops detached from the Trentham regiment and, on being met at tbo entrance by the Black Rod, their Excellencies and suite passed down this avenue of khaki.

i Arrived at the Legislative Council, his Excellency took a seat upon the dais, Lady Liverpool being seated upon his left. The members of the Lower House were then summoned to attend, and, headed by the Spoakei, tooly their places in front of the dais, from which his Excellency read his speech. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which was unusually brief, their Excellencies left the Chamber and both met for the transaction of .business.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Legislative Council met at 3 p.m. | Leave of absence was granted the Hons. -Nikora, Simpson, and Morgan. Sir Francis Hell notified there would ; be a call of the council on July 7, when the election of a Speaker would take place. The Hon. Carncross 'would again be nominated chairman of committee.

The Hon. Colonel Eaillie wished to express the great pleasure of the council at the honor conferred upon the Hon. H. D. Bell of Knighthood. For three years he had acted as Leader of the Council, and he bad been instrumental in passing legislation which was of great benefit to the dominion. His father, the late Sir Francis Dillon Hell, had been a member of several Ministries, and also had been Speaker and had received many honors. Sir Francis Hell had been one of their most distinguished members of Parliament; and he trusted he would long continue to act as member of that council. He felt he was voicing the opinion of councillors in congratulating Sir Francis Hell upon the honor he had received.

Tlie Hon. Jones desired to supplement the words of the previous speaker. Sir Francis Hell came from a family distinguished in the history of New Zealand, and the name would go down to posterity with credit.

The Hon. 0. Samuel added his general congratulations, and said he desired to express the gratification of the legal profession at the honor conferred upon Sir Francis Bell. A very great deal depended upon the honesty and efficiency of the legal profession, and one who assisted towards that end deserved the thanks of the people. , Sir Francis Bell was recognised throughout the profession as one of tlie distinguished leaders of the Bar. He liad constantly been striving towards high ideals, and it gave him great delight to acknowledge the pleasure of the Bar of New Zealand at the honor conferred. The Hon. Mills and the Hon. Dr. Collins also added their felicitations. The Hon. Sir Francis Bell, in his reply, said he was afraid what had been said by the previous speakers was too much actuated by the friendship which those in the Council all felt towards each other. There had been so much consideration shown him in the three years he had been Leader of the Council that he felt he could not look for an impartial judgment upon himself. He most keenly appreciated {all that had been said in regard to himself, but that which fie most valued was the utterances of the Hon. 0. Samuel in reference to his connection' with the legal profession. Ho had not sought the honor conferred upon him, but he felt that as Leader of, tile Council ho had been honored. The members of the Council themselves had enabled him to achieve honor and usefulness, and this was the reason ho had been singled out for distinction. Sir Francis Bell then moved the customary resolution of sympathy with

i the death* " f tlit> kite Hon?. Montgomery, Stevens, and Arkwright, and of Messrs Bollard, McGuire, and Lethbridge, formerly members of the House of Representatives.

An Imprest Supply Bill was passed through all its stages, and the Council adjourned at 4.25 p.m. until 2.30 on Monday, when the question of standing orders will bo considered.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 2.30 and immediately adjourned to attend the Legislative Council to hear the speech from the throne.

On returning, the Speaker announced that he had that morning been presented to bis Excellency the Governor. from whom he claimed privileges of Parliament, and his Excellency had been pleased to accede to the same.

REPORTING CA SITALTIES. In reply to Mr H. Okey, who asked a question without notice, the Minister of Defence stated that arrangements for reporting casualties at the Dardanelles were, as far-as he knew, somewhat as follows:—4he officers iu command send as soon as possible all information available. There is no wireless communication with the Dardanelles. and all information has to he sent by transports or similar means. In the early days of this campaign the authorities naturally had great difficulty in collecting information about tjiose killed, and he had to ask the people to exercise some patietlco under the circumstances. Everything that could be done was being done, and while it was true that casualties which occurred four or five weeks ago were only being eported now he would like members to consider the difficulties of the position. The gathering of information regarding the killed was - naturally more arduous and had to be dealt with more carefully than in the case of the wounded, as it was a grave responsibility to include anyone in the list of killed. The House could rest assured that the authorities were doing all human beings could do to satisfy the proper demands of the people with regard to the reporting of casualties.

A SECRET COMMITTEE. The Hon. Jas Allen gave notice to move next sitting day that a secret committee be sent up to consider all matters relating to defence or war which may be referred to it by the House of by the Minister of Defence, the committee to consist of Messrs Guthrie, Herdman, Hindmarsh, Lee, Massey, McNab, Myers, H. Rhodes, Russell, Sir Joseph Ward, and the mover.

MOTIONS AND BILLS. On the motion of the Premier, the Expiry of Laws Continuance Bill was introduced and read a first time. Sir Joseph Ward asked when Bills dealing with war matters referred to jin the Covornor’s speech would, be laid before members.—The Premier replied that he hoped to lay them before the House in the course of a few days.

An Imprest Supply Bill, providing ways and means to the amount of £1,285,000, was introduced by the Minister of Finance and, by arrangement with the Opposition, was passed through all stages without discussion.

MOTIONS OF SYYMPATHY. , The Premier moved:—“That this House records its high sense of the faithful services rendered to New Zealand by the late Mr John Bollard, a former member of the House, and respectfully tenders to his widow and family an assurance of its sincere sympathy with them in their bereavement.” After the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition had paid tributes to the memory of the deceased gentleman the motion jvas carried in silence. Similar motions were passed in connection with the decease of Messrs P. J. Lethbridge, Felix McGuire, the Hons. W. Montgomery, E. Richardson, E. C. J. Stevens, and F. Arkwright. Sir Joseph Ward moved, without notice, a motion of sympathy with the Hon. James Allen in connection with the death of his son, Lieutenant Allen, who was killed at the front. Sir Joseph said it was perhaps fitting that he, as Leader of the Opposition, should move such a motion. There wore times when the asperities of political life were somewhat bitter and party feeling ran high, but under conditions such ns the present they were brought together by feelings of sympathy, and it seemed to him pro- { per that they should recognise the fall of the son of a Minister of the Crown at a time when a great war was raging. That son had had a dis-

tin<4iiished earner at Oxford and was a thorough Imperialist, a fact simply demonstrated by Ids close connection with that widely read and influential publication, the Round Table. He therefore desired to express the sincere sympathy of his side of the House with the Hon. Jas. Allen, whose son had died a noble death—possibly the best a man could die. Mr Massey, in seconding the motion, thanked the Loader of the Opposition for the kindly thought that [prompted it. Lieutenant Allen was a young man of great promise, and his parents had naturally looked forward with pleasant anticipation to his having a successful career. That had, unfortunately, been cut short. He had died in the service of his country, and Mr Allen had assured him he would rather his son should die in that way than he should shirk his duty by stopping at home in safety.

The motion was carried. The Premier then moved that the House adjourn as a mark of respect |to the memory of the deceased members, and at 4.35 the House rose till 2.30 on Tuesday.