Caucus of the Government Party.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 105, 21 September 1901, Page 3

Caucus of the Government Party.

The Wellington correspondent of the Qtago Daiijy Times, telegraphing on Wednesday night, “says: —

From lobby gossip (that good old friend of the special correspondent in search of news from the inner circles) one learns that the Government caucus held yesterday was more interesting than appears en the face of the official report of that mysterious gathering of the faithful. One of the first points that came up for; discussion was the date of assembling next year. It was made pretty dear that the leader of the 1 House intends •going Home next year to represent the colony at the coronation of King Edward, so that it was only natural to ask ; when Parliament would be ffflm-; moned. Throe ’alternatives were suggested, the fjrst being to hold; two sessions, and the third to hold the ordinary session. The Government seemed to favour summoning Parliament in April and sifting till July, such an arrangement giving members several clear months in which to prepare for the general election. This met with some oppo- ■ sition, especially from the country members, whose work would be inconvenienced hr such an

earl v session. T wo, short sessions •did not seem to meet with much approval, and the weight of opinion favoured calling Parliament at the ordinary time—namely, June. I believe the mind of the House will be hut definitely ascertained before anything final is done in this matter. There was a fairly unanimous feeling as to what legislation should be made a matter of urgency this session, and it was only natural that the Counties Bill should be singled out for this honour. It was agreed to put this Bill through. A matter that has frequently been mooted in the House is the question as to whether or not the Workers’ Compensation for Accidents Act of last session applies to agricultural labourers. This point was raised at the caucus, and more than one Government follower thought it was time the position of these employees should be made clear. As a result it is probable that a short Bill will be brought in to exclude casual agricultural labourers from the operation of the Act. It was evident, however, that any Bill' dealing with this will meet with opposition unless it be made perfectly clear as to what is meant by a casual agricultural labourer. The labour members will naturally object to any■: amendment which would have the effect of excluding any number of town woikers. Another result of the caucus will probably be that we will have a Bill of a few clauses to amend the licensing laws. The portion of the law to be affected will most likely be that which the Premier has several times referred to as requiring amendment—namely, that dealing with the transfer of licenses from one part of a district to another. There is also to be a new provision empowering the Government to open licensed houses in tourist resorts which have not already been provided for in that way. Should this power be given, the innovation would mean not only an endeavour to foster the tourist troffic, but also an experiment in a small way of State control of the liquor traffic. The mail services were a fruitful source of discussion. Three routes —-the San Francisco, Vancouver, and the Federal—were reviewed. I believe Mr Seddon supported the San Francisco route, and urged that every effort should be made to enable the colony to enjoy the benefits of the Federal service by inducing the P. and 0. and Orient lines to make New Zealand their last port of call. Other members supported the San Francisco route, but contended that the Vancouver route should also be oicouraged. This latter route found favour both from commercial and sentimental reasons, as it would, give allBritish communication between

the colonies and cue old country. There were other ffiombers—and not a few —-who regarded With disfavour any . proposal,,..to continue the present agreement with Messrs Co.» on. the , ground th it was not giving satisfaction, and that the colony- could not utilise any service carried on under i such laws as the American shipping laws. It Was suggested that proper representations ought to be made to the Imperial Parliament’to use its strongest efforts with the American Government to secure a modification of those laws. The attitude of Auckland members was plainly one *of strong opposition to any proposal that would deprive Auckland of the advantage which it derived as the port of call for the San Francisco steamers. This question of mail services will no doubt pro 4 rok© much discussion when -the item is reached on the Estimates. 1 have heard from good authority that it is more than probable tbat. the Government will submit proposals to the House" for both' San Francisco and Vancouver services* and allow the House to decide the Whole question*