Evening Sitting.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3416, 3 December 1879, Page 3

Evening Sitting.

The consideration of (he Land Act was resumed in Committee.

Mr Pyke moved, as an amendment, that the following should be added to clause 7 : —" Any purchaser of land on deferred payment who, by reason of tho operation thereof, bad been prevented from obtaining 320 acres shall, subject to the approval of the Waste Lands Board, be entitled to select additional land in the neighbourhood thereof, not being more than*, when added to his original purchase, will make up three hundred and twenty acres, and he.ihall pay therefore at the same price as hi shall have paid for such original purchase." -The House divided— ayes 25, noes 39. Mr Seddon moved the clause 28 re rebate in respect of adult persons introduced from the United Kingdom. A division took place on the question that the clause as printed stand part of the question. - Ayes 25, noes 39. The clause was accordingly struck out.

Mr Kelly proposed to ameurl a clause making provision ro deferred payments of land applicable to New Plymouth. The House divided on the proposal, aje« 16, noes 47. The bill was then reported with amendments, read a third time and passed. A NEW STEAStTBS. The Debtors and Creditors Act 1876 .Amendment Bill was commuted. A motion was made that workmen's wages should be protected ai a preferential claim for a period of two months. Mr Macandrcw maintained a provision of the kind was liable to abuse inasmuch as that preferable claims of this kind were found to swallow up the available assets of itnall estates in liquidation. Mr DeLautour argued that the expunging of a provision of the kind wonld be a hardship both to the workmen and employers of labor. Good workmen stuck to their employers even although they ! might be a few weeks in arreas. If this j provision was expunged the effect would be that employers of that particular class would be debarred from carrying on j operations. The clause as .printed was put and carried.

At 12.50 the discussion had not closed when our message left.