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SESS. 11.—1891. NEW ZEALAND.

STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE (REPORT OF THE).

Brought up on Friday, the 19th day of June, 1891, and ordered to be printed.

EEPOET. The Standing Orders Committee have the honour to report that they have considered a number of proposals submitted with a view to the amendment of the existing Standing Orders, and recommend the alterations and amendments indicated in the draft hereto attached for adoption by the House. 19th June, 1891. W. J. Stewaed, Chairman.

Pboposbd Altbbations and Amendments op the Standing Obdebs op the House op Eepeesentatives.

To omit Standing Order No. 29 and insert the following in lieu thereof : — 29. Mr. Speaker reports that the House had this day attended the Governor (or had been in the Council Chamber at the desire of the Commissioners for opening Parliament), and that His Excellency was pleased to make a Speech to both Houses of Parliament (or that the Commissioners had made a Speech to both Houses of Parliament), of which Mr. Speaker says he had, for greater accuracy, obtained a copy, which he lays upon the Table of the House. To omit Standing Orders 30, 31, and 32, and insert the folloiuing in lieu thereof: — 30. The said Speech having been laid upon the Table, Notice of Motion for an Address to the Governor is given. 31. The Address to His Excellency conveys the thanks of the House for His Excellency's most gracious Speech to both Houses of Parliament at the opening of the session, and is moved in the form in which it is proposed to be presented to His Excellency, but is not necessarily a reply to His Excellency's Speech, paragraph by paragraph, and the House agrees to the same with or without amendment. Note. —Alterations in procedure in relation to the Governor's Speech and the Address in Reply: — (29.) The only change is the proposed substitution of the words in italics —viz., lays upon the Table of for the words beads to, which occur in the present Standing Order, the object being to avoid the waste of time consequent upon a formality the necessity for which has long ceased to exist. (30.) The change herein is merely such as to bring it into conformity with the amended form of No. 29. (31.) New Standing Order in lieu of present Orders Nos. 31 and 32: This proposes to do away with the present formality of a Committee to prepare an Address (which has been already prepared), and admits of the Address itself being greatly shortened. A similar proposal will be found among the amendments of which notice was given by Sir H. A. Atkinson in May, 1888, but which never came on for discussion. To omit Standing Order No. 51 and insert the following in lieu thereof: — 51. Upon days on ivhich Government business has precedence, no Order of the Day or Notice of Motion shall be called on after half after Twelve o'clock at night. Note.—The present 12.30 rule has latterly led to great loss of time on private members' nights, on which only is it made use of for " talking-out" purposes.

To omit Standing Order 71 and insert the following in lieu thereof: — 71. The House proceeds each day with : 1. Private business; 2. Public Petitions; 3. Giving Notices of Motion; 4. Motions for Leave of Absence ; 5. Presentation of Papers; 6. Eeports of Select Committees; 7. Questions; 8. Unopposed Motions for Eeturns; 9. Leave to introduce Bills; 10. Orders of the Day and Notices of Motion, or vice versa, as set down in the Order Paper. To adopt the following new Standing Orders, to follow No. 94 : — 94a. No Motion for the adjournment of the House shall be made before the Questions have been disposed of. 94b. If Mr. Speaker shall be of opinion that a Motion for the adjournment of a Debate, or of the House during any Debate, or (when the House is in Committee) if the Chairman is of opinion that a motion that the Chairman do report progress or do leave the Chair, is an abuse of the Eules of the House, the Speaker or Chairman (as the case may be) may require ten members to rise in their places to support the Motion. Note. — 94a, 94b. These proposed new orders correspond, mutatis mutandis, with as many of the new Rules of Procedure o£ the House of Commons, and were included in the proposals of Sir H. A. Atkinson of May, 1888. Their object is to prevent, so far as possible, ths abuse of the privilege of moving the adjournment. To adopt the following new Standing Order, tofolloiv No. 99 :— 99a. When after the doors have been locked for a Division upon a Motion for the adjournment of a Debate, or of the House during any Debate, or that the Chairman of a Committee do report progress or do leave the Chair, the decision of Mr. Speaker or the Chairman that the " Ayes " or " Noes" have it is challenged, Mr. Speaker or the Chairman may call upon the members challenging it to rise in their places, and, if they be less than seven in a House of twenty members or upwards, he may forthwith declare the determination of the House or of the Committee. The names of such challenging members shall be recorded if required. Note.—This is a modification ol No. 4 of the New Eules of the House of Commons (1882), and is intended to avoid the loss of time consequent upon the taking of unnecessary Divisions.