THE COMING SESSION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9104, 2 June 1908, Page 5

THE COMING SESSION.

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME. SOME IMPORTANT PROPOSALS. Parliament will again be in session in a few weeks. The legislative programme carried through last year —including a new tariff, land laws, graduated tax. Public Service Superannuation Act, and numerous other measures of varying importance, has materially reduced the number of the more important policy measures which the Government promised at the meeting of Parliament a year ago. The inconvenience that will be caused by the destruction of Parliament Buildings, the holding of the coming session in Government House, and the rather uncomfortable position in which the Governor will be placed of residing at Palmerston North and having to make a threehour journey to reach his office in Wellington, will all be factors in tending to shorten the approaching session. It is understood that an effort will be made to prorogue Parliament about the last week in September thus giving candidates about a month and a half to conduct their electioneering campaign. Lord Plunket's term of governorship terminates in June, 1910, and for family reasons it is not anticipated that his Excellency desires an extension of time. It is therefore practically certain whatever the decision of Parliament may be with reference to the new Parliament Buildings.Government House,and Departmental Buildings—Lord Plunket will not again reside in the house that has for so many years been the Governor's official residence in the capital. LAND LEGISLATION. Except non-contentious matter in connection with transfers of reserves, there will be little in the nature of what is known as land legislation. As to agricuUure, the Minister intends to introduce an amendment of the Dairy Industry Act. When new buildings or new yards tr improvements of a permanent nature require to be done, and the leases are shortdated leases, it is considered unfair to load them on the tenant. The proposed legislation will be in the direction of making a fair apportionment of the cost between landlord and tenant. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Authority will be taken for the construction of several costly public bu'ildings, including new Houses of Parliament, a handsome railway station (passenger and goods) at Wellington, with sufficient accommodation to cope with the greatly-increas-ed traffic on the Main Trunk line, and the already large volume of business on the Napier and New Plymouth sections. NATIONAL ANNUITIES. Having brought into operation a superannuation scheme for the public service, an effort will be made to extend the principle to the employees of local bodies with the view of ultimately making it national. It ia nut anticipated that more will be done this session than to submit a scheme for the consideration of Parliament and the people. LABOUR LAWS. ' Mr Millar's Bill of last year is to be reintroduced with some amendments. The Government is now considering some scheme by which, while maintaining the present minimum rate of wafe in the different industries, provision will be made for an increased remuneration in accordance with superior skill and energy. This is considered desirable in order to check the prevailing tendency to a dead level or a general uniformity of wages in the same trade. It is also intended—as was indicated by the Attorney-General at'Wanganui that if imprisonment for non-pay-ment of fines by workers is abolished, imprisonment of employers for nonpayment of fines will also be abolished. NATIVE LAND LEGISLATION. Bills will be introduced to give effect to the recommendations of the Native Land Commission (Sir Robert Stout. Chief Justice, and Mr A. T. Ngata, M.P.), and it is confidently expected that as a result of the labours of the commission a very great impetus will be given to land settlement in the North Island. RAILWAYS AND ROADS. The votes that are to be asked for railways and roads will be heavy this year. In addition to ordinary loading, the Government intends to establish a special fund of £200,000 a year for roads—this money to be expended on special roads indicated on a plan to be prepared and published. Until the end of the year the attention of the Government in respect to railway construction will be chiefly concentrated on the North Island Main Trunk line. The Arthur's Pass tunnel— the I contract for which is 000—will be steadily pushed on until completion about four and a half years hence. The next important railway work calling for vigorous prosecution is the line from Cheviot to Picton, thus completing, when this section is finished, a through train connection from Auckland to Invercargill. Before much more work can be done north of Cheviot, it will be necessary to construct a bridge for railway and vehicle traffic over the Waiau River, a costly but important work. Provision will also have to be made this session for the purchase of the Manavvatu Railway. It is not improbable that legislation on the subject will be necessary.—"Post."