PASSED BY HOUSE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 November 1940, Page 4

PASSED BY HOUSE

SMALL FARMS BILL MANY DIVISIONS TAKEN IN COMMITTEE. OPPOSITION AMENDMENTS REJECTED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. _AI! of yesterday’s sitting of the House ol Representatives was occupied with the. committee stage of the Small Farms Amendment Bill, which was read a third time and passed before the House rose for lhe weekend adjournment. Urgency had been taken for the Bill at the start of the sitting, and the House sat for nearly an hour beyond the normal rising time on a Friday in order to pass the Bill. In asking for urgency the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, said that the measure had occupied more time of the House than any other for a considerable period. Almost every clause of the Bill, which provides for the compulsory acquisition of land by the State, was challenged by the Opposition. Numerous amendments were moved from the Opposition benches, these reflecting the arguments National Party members had used against the Bill during the second reading debate, but all were rejected. Thirteen divisions were taken in Committee and another on the third reading. An amendment was introduced by the Government to ensure that no land would be taken from persons absent from New Zealand with the armed forces, and this was agreed to on the voices. The House rose at 6.20 p.m. till Tuesday afternoon.