DAYLIGHT SAVING.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 July 1915, Page 8

DAYLIGHT SAVING.

' .MR. SIDEY'S .HARDY ANNUAL. A PARLIAMENTARY PARCK. (From Our o«'n Correspondent.) Wellington, July 23. Last stonewall upon Mr. Siuey's Definition of Time Bill was one of those incidents that make serious people get angry with Parliament. The whole affair was frivolous, futile and wearisome, and yet it induced more than half tiie members of the House of Representatives to sit up all -night and dUorganise the business of Parliament. •Mr. Sidey's Bill is the familiar measure, proposing to set the clock forward one hour during the summer months, so that people, may get up an hour earlier, begin their work an hour earlier, and complete the day's task an hour earlier, thus securing to themselves some additional daylight for purposes of recrea,tion at the end of the day. Perhaps ! there are ten men in the hon.se who believe with Mr. Sidey that this arrangement would lie of general benefit to the people of the dominion, or who, at any rate, would like, to see the experiment made. But Mr. Sidey 'happens to be a popular meniiber, and many of his collragues in the House want to avoid hurting his feelings unnecessarily in connection with his hardy annual. -So last week he was given the second reading of his Bill by.4o votes to 27. Few membei's expected the Bill to go any further, but yesterday it came along for censideration in committee. As usjhil. it was received in jocular mood. -But the Taranaki members regarded it n? a direct threat to the comfort of the dairy farmer, who gets up very early already, and they announced, tactlessly, that they were going to block its passage. Xow the Government members who represent Taranaki are regarded by some', of their brother-members as a" trifle too cocksure, and aggressive. ti, p rVTinsi+ion resented the notion of Mr. Sidey being treated cavalierly by political opponents, and presently tiie stonewall was in full swin.T. Taranaki was determined, and it had some strong supporters, notably the member 'for Ashburton. The other side of the House "got its back up," and declared that the stonewallers should not triumph. There was a deadlock, and the compromise that was to end it was not discovered until 'everybody was tired out and tempers had grown very short. Ar.d the 'Bill, in a political sense, was "dead"' all the time! If the measure ever leaves the House of Representatives it will'he buried decently by the Legislative Council. The majority of the members who voted with Mr. Sidev last night would 'be seriously alarmed if they thought there was the least chance t>f tli- Bi'l reaching the Statute ißook, even with the present provision that : * shall not come into operation until November 101S, and then only for three months. Trulv, Parliament does strange things!