POLITICAL NOTES

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10711, 17 September 1912, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES

(Front the Dominion.) PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. The Government has decided as to what will he done in the way of providing Parliamentary .Buildings, and an announcement on the subject will be made to the House early tin's week. THE SESSION. The development oi't he Govcrnnaente programme for the present session has brought a great deal'of work into view, and some members have been led to predict thai'as a result tno prorogation of Parliament would possibly be delayed until the earnpart of November. Well informed Government members consider, ho»ever, that the session will probably end about the middle of October. They point out that although thoro'is is a lot of Avork to be done a good rate, of progress has been maintained .uul seems likely to continue. BILLS IN PREPARATION. The Bill to amend th e Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act k practically ready for presentation to the House. The Prime Minister informed a reporter last evening that, the Law Drafting Office had expei ieneed considerable ciifnculty in putting in the amendment with the provisions of the principal Act, and thai it would be necessary next session i'> consolidate the original Act and its amendments. The. Land Bill, which is to give effect i.o some aspects of the Govern ment land policy, is in print, and i ;f , not yet undergone final revision. J will be laid before the House a Representatives at the end. cf thir< week or early next week. I LABOUR DEPARTMENT'S fii&Tl- I j . MATES. An old Parliamentarian remarked 01: | Saturday that the passage.of .the La-' i hour Department Estimates 'in the early hours of Saturday morning, without a word of discussion, might bo looked -upon ag a triumph for the new ' Minister of Labour (the Hon, W. F. Massey). Such a thing, the member added, had never happened before, in his experience and sometimes the Estimates of the Labour Department ha.s proved to be a very contentious class. DOMINION DEFENCE. •There' is no doubt, according, to a northern member who was spoken to yesterday,.that the discussion on the Defence Estimates which took place in the House of Representatives on Friday will do a great deal to strengthen the defence system. Isupport of this opinion he pointed out that there had been a striking absence of genera! hostility to, or criticism, o f the scheme. Those members who cor., tributed more freel yto the discuseio that took place confined themselves to details, some of which were not oi' the first import':!noe. Enthusiasm ';•: the defence scheme was : n ot *i>it spicuously displayed, but this w.is ear;il yaccounted for. Opposition members were chiefly concerned with the duties of criticism, and Government members did not want to hinder the passage of the Estimates by talking. THE ESTIMATES. The Government intends to put through the remaining classes of the Consolidated. Estimate* ate a, singk sitting if possible. •■ An announcement to this effect was made in the yearly hours of Saturday morning, hy" the Hon. W. H. Herries, then temporarily in charge of the House. The classes that remain ase:-Lands and Survey, Agriculture, industries, and €ommerco; arid Education. In addition there are the accounts., of the State Forest, State Coal-mines, Scenery Preservation, Land for Settle-

ment, Public Trustee, Government Insurance, (Life, Accident, and Fire) State -Guaranteed Advances, ami Native Land Settlement. STRENGTH OF THE FORCES. • "The enrolled strength of the Territorial Force is 25,000, and it is •proposed to increase it •to 30,000," said the Hon. J. Allen, Minister for Defence, discussing the Defence Estimates 02) Saturday morning. In order to carry out the scheme that- men should keep up their*national training, who were not required for the Territorial Force, the men not needed to keep the force up to the establishment would he dmfted to rifle, clubs. AMMUNITION RESERVES. vDie .Minister for Defence stated on Saturday morning, in. the, House of Representatives, that the supply of .small arm ammunition-for the defence forces was manufactured in New Zealand by the Colonial' Ammunition Company, but certain ingredients which could not possibly be manufactured in Ne.vr Zealand, were imported. The reserve of small arm ammunitionwould be maintained-, and this had practically been made up as required. Big gun ammunition had to be imported, hec-mse there was no means of 'manufacturing it in New .Zealand. Cordite was also" imported, but Australia was going to establish a cordite factory, and the Government was in communication with, the Common. weiltli Government .with a *"view to ascertainiim; whether supplied- could be obtained from Australia.