House Sits Until 2.50 This Morning

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 777, 25 September 1929, Page 6

House Sits Until 2.50 This Morning

FIRST STONEWALL DRAGGING ESTIMATES (THE SITE’S Parliamentary Reporter) PARLIAMENT BLDGS.. Today. On Friday afternoon last the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, warned the House that if more speed in putting the Estimates through were not shown he would move suspension of the Standing Orders and have the House sit on. The House came to heel, but last evening it was a different story. He issued the threat and fulfilled it. The House did not bow to his words though, and so went on after 10.30 for the first stonewall of the session. The House had passed one set of Estimates in the day when, at 10.20, Sir Joseph moved, in accordance with the Standing Orders, that the committee report progress, and the Chairman of Committees, Mr. S. G. Smith, reported progress. Sir Joseph Ward then moved that urgency be accorded seven items of the Estimates, explaining that the r eason was that the House had done very little business considering the length of time spent on the Estimates. The new Standing Orders were on trial, and it looked to him as if members were not giving consideration to future business to be done. To have gone on 10 minutes would have meant that only one section of the Estimates would have been passed since the afternoon, which was an inadequate amount of the business. Under the Standing Orders there was no discussion on the motion. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Coates, rose, but the Prime Minister said “no discussion," and the motion was carried, the House going into Committee of Supply again, and so the debate dragged on until 2.50 a.m.