HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AFTERNOON SITTING. The House met at 2.30 p.m. PETITIONS. A large number of petitions were presented protesting against tba proposed licensing legislation of last session. \ Mr BARCLAY gave notice to move for 'a return showing the cost to the colony of the visits of the Imperial and Indian troops and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. SELECT COMMITTEES. Mr SEDDON gave notice to move for a Select Committee of ten members to consider the old age pensions regulations, and also for a. Select Committee to consider the Local Government Bill. NEW BILLS. Mr LAWRY gave notice to introduce the Gaming and Lotteries Bill, and Mr HORNSBI to introduce the Prevention of Employment of Women in Danceroue Trades Bill. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. Mr E. M. Smith waa granted leave of absence for one month on account of urgent private business, and Mr Bollard ,was relieved from attendance for one week on account of illness. FIRST READINGS. A large number of Bills were introduced and read a first tame, including the Elective Executive, State School Children Compulsory Drill, Libel, Settlers' Fire Insurant, Eight Hours, Referendum, Rating on Unimproved Value® Act Amendment, Cycle Boards, Shops and Shop Assistant* Act Amendment, Bicycle Dealers Registration, Ckneee Immigrants Act Amendment, Fair S^'V^H" 1 and Gard *n Pests, Public Health Act Amendment, Accidents on Railways Compensation, Government Railways {>aperannuation, Young Persons Protection, Factories, Police Offence* Amend-! ment, and Ahao-lute Majority Bills. ! ELECTION WRITS. ■ On the motion of Mr SEDDON, the Speaker was dieted to iawe- W ? M for the return of new members £ or Christchurch and Patea electorates. QUESTIONS. ! In reply to questioria it wa« stoto d that a BJI was bemg to »«* the difficulte» of bush settlers ™ho are now compelled .to pay rent and tarn on tll6 vitole of their soctoons fromi the date of selection ! by -exempting them, from paying vent un- i til a portaon of thexr sections Sre cleared and «nmd; that the Gtov*rriW had the option of purchasing the. four Hotchki/s guns promised by Amstrtyng'e finn to the colony, but the Commandant advised

! the Government against the puaroh**© «* j the guns would nob be worth taking aa a j gift; that- a regulation was being pwrpawd ' relative to tbe weight of sacks of wheat carried on the railway. THP NEWTOWN PARK SCANDAL. Mr MONK asked tho Premier if he would appoint a Parliamentary Committee to enquire and report on the com plaints made by Volunteers r_spcctin_; their treatment, re- , sifting in what is known as the (Newton Pr..: "vandal, amPalso with respect to the said to have been addressed to them _)_. Colonel Pent on? Air SEDDON said this question preeertted several difficulties. First nf all there waa an alleged breach of contract by the conti actor for the supply of food to th* c_mp, winch was «, matter for Mai;__._er_al investigation. Certainly .he would not pay for food and service*' thai had not been forth-i-.tiling. In t_:<* ..'..ond place, it appeared that :mw of th,. Volunteers had so conduct? i i'i?m«:p'_ve_s a.s to warrant enquiry uu _..- t'.f lk.ft.ice Act. The complaint of tiie mon had never oorue before him (Mr tS-ddon) or t-V C-innmaml'vt. He intended to appoint a Military Ho_.i._ (ono of whom would be Colonel Pitt) to enquire and <jte_l with this phase of the trouble. It w_s a military offence, and they could not go outside" tha Defence, Act. "Ho (Mr Sedition) ■1 ne.ard tho Commandant tell Colonel So___n__rvillo to strike camp at Newton camp aasd make other arrangements, and ho (Mr Seddon) gave a sim.i_-._r niuthority. and (_>>l-_-l Sommerville paused it on to .the officer in charge' at the catnp, but for some reason or other the onior was not carried ou*. With regard to the language attributed to Colonel Teuton, Mr Seddon vO-ked who Was to toy the Commandant? Th* position, was sur- ' rounded with difficulties, but probably tbe Governor, through tho D.fenoe __i*_tet_r, j should ask the Commandant for an eap-a__»------i tion. He (Mr Seddon) intended to do his \ duty, but lie had no hesitation in saying i that a Parliamentary Committee was not»t__I proper tribunal to deal with tho -matter. SESSIONAL OOMAtfITEES. j Tha usual Sessional Committees were ssb I u l>- .! At 4.45 o'clock tho House adjourned til j 7.30 p.m.

EVENING SITTING. The Houso resumed at 7.30 THE ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. Mr COLLINS moved the Address-ia. Reply. Ho said he thought it was only natural that his E-scsllenoy should refer in his opening speech to the more important of evi-hts that had occurred since tho last ine-tiibg of Parliament. After referring to the death of the Queen, Mr Collins made allusion to tho birth of the Commonwealth of Australia, and ventured the opinion that the welding together of tho colonies into a common whodo would have a considerable influeivce on the <__s_.nies of New Zealand. Although they ail wished the new nation every prosperity, fc* could not see his wav to commit this colony to loss of its independence by joining in the Federation. The visit of %he D__» and Duchess of Cornwall had' been another important event,'and he thought their to_r would havo great and important rcsu-ts.to the. Empire. congratulating SdS. Joseph Ward upon the introduction of the penny postage, Mr Collins went cm to deal with the question of de-—----. Ho applauded the New Zealand. C>n__;g_a_ts for their work in South Africa, and, speaking of the_ great review in (_h_ci__tx_h'_rch the other day, alluded to the great display by the cadete, and urged- tihat the _____ta_-y training of cadets would tend to make the youth of the colony patriotic, obedient, and good citizens. He noticed, however, that many of the troops on par-ado were armed with weapons of an obsolete oh&ractetr, and he hoped the Defence autftuxrities would! see that our volunteeiis wore all aa-med with the best up-to-date weapons. Speaking of railway matters, Mr Collins congrat_l__frod Sir Joseph Ward upon the success of his department, but urged that everything required in the way of rolling srtock should be manufactured in the colony. If the present workshop- were not large enough the necessary extensions shouldl be mado te> meet tho : growing requirements of the service. He was especially pleased to notice that the Government waa introducing a Railways Superannuation Saheme, and be would like to see the principle extended) to all branches of the cdvil service. Mr Collins spoke of the necessity for the opening up of new markets for New Z _n___t_d products. Our exports were largely increasing, and the Government would either have to subsidise a line of steamers or establish a sea-carrying business on its own tweoun*. He expressed his hearty approval of the proposal to establish „ State coal mine, which ihe felt sure would have the effect of reducing the. price of coal to consumers generally. He waa pleased to find 1 that tho long hours worked by the "-slaves of the pen' m merchante' offices and banks were to como under tho review of the Legislature. It waa - absoiutely iie._e-__a.rv that more aaeqiiato provision sliould be made to fire brigades .by 'the State. Tho Leal Authoritiesi Indemnity Bill was a measure that would' meet with almost unanimous approval. Mr Collins said he had c_.,v br_e.lv touched on the more salient points in the Governor's speech, and, in conclusion, he could only express the hope that good work would be done during the session, and that at its close they would all be able to congratulate the 'Government on the* details of the measures which had been foreshadowed in the Governor. Bpe*oh. _ff WILFORD seconded ihe motion To his mind om of the most important matters touched upon in tlie Governor's Speech was that of the carriage of mails. He _.„d it was to be regretted that the Union Steamship Company had beion shut out from the ban Francisco service, and predicted that there would soon have to be a, radical alteration in the agreement with tho Oeennic Steamship Company. In the course, of an exhaustive reference to the mail question Mr Wilford strongly condemned the present unsatisfactory state of matter., in regard to the San Francisco service. Breakdowns were of common occurrence; there was no due observance of the sailing dates while mails were frequently late. Ho hoped the Government would tackle the matter soon and grapple with what at present was a disjointed sen-ice. II? extended his congratulations to Sir Joseph Ward upon tiie penny postage, and also upon his railway suportunuation proposals. Referring to tlie visit of the Duke and Duchess ot Cornwall, he said it would draw doser the ties of kinship between the Mother Country and the colony. If Citizen soldiers in this'country were armed with up-to-date weapons any foreign country would take longer to overcome our people than it was taking the British to overcome the Boers. When the vote for expenditure in connection with the Royal visit, came up for consideration, lie w_w sure there would' be no objection to voting money which had been so worthily spent.

Captain RUSSELL, in a brief speech-, said the only course left to the Opposition wsut to individually criticise the policy of Mi Seddon. At a meeting of the party tha4 morning no leader had been elected, and it had been left to each individual member c-_ the party to act upon his own responsibility In future no member of the party would be greater or less than the others. They wer» nort- all on an equal footing, which was th« spirit of democracy. He congratulated Sti Joseph Ward upon his knighthood, and sai. it had afforded him intense interest, and considerable amusement, during the Royal visit to watch the process by which the two hon! gentlemen. Sir Joseph Ward arid Mr Seddon had evolved. and been converted from Social Democrat-! to very clever imitations of niuch-bediaened society aristocrats. Ha hoped lis had drawn attention to the fact that there was really no distinction between one side and the other in politics, wheii they came to any little advantages that could be got. The names Conservative and Liberal had no force in New Zealand, and were only used) for thu purposes of misrepresentation. Mr MILLS spoke of the good work which the pioneers of ; this colony- had done, and congratulated Sir John M*Kcnzie upon his recent honour. There was not one member who could say it was not well deserved. He also congratulated Sir Joseph Ward. whoso wonderful energy had received only a very mild reward. He was pleased to be in Rotorua during the Rdyal' visit, and spoke highly of the harmonious relations existing between the two races. The presence of Lnperial troops in this colony had been a revelation to those, who, like"himself, were New Zealanders. The visit of representatives oi the English Press would be of great benefit to us at Home, They

•nrere astonished at tbo progress of the colony, and their visit would have great poasi-l.ifiti'-s for the future, in regard to tho toiirkt traffio. Ho wts disappointed with the M>tWh of the leader of the Opposition. H-. hi ! expected to hear a powerful _pe_ch, ; I'd. lo Us surprise, ho had sat down after ;, vi'ry brief address. This showed that the (tpposition wero thoroughly in accord with iho l-rogranime enunciated Governor's Speo-'h. Afr Mill.- spoke of the trade with South Africa, and said tha* there must be, (or a few years, a larj_-<. consumption of the ni-tunl products of tha country in that i.ut of tho w<irhl. and it behoved .Wo who had information on the subject ti' iu;.l_'. _tu-ggi , . , *tions to the CJovernnient. As to ..}..< pi_p«-"i.l for a State coal mine, he (j.ui-ch: it was hij;h timr. that tho Governnn .it-, ns truste-:*. for the people, who owned t.v. Mineral wealth, shored establish such a mill-«. Tl» Fir- Brigade.., ho tho.i_»ht, were v.orthv of some assistance from the State. "Mr ?,l:[h .rv»ko of tho great suocess of the Inud (Hiliry, -nd of toe necessity for completing tho railway system. He quoted lirMfrfs"" to show tii.it the system of Ad- \ im ct to Settlers had been a pronounced w.'x*:**, and that the re vemw of the colony h.-id ..."..dilv increased. The Liberal party ..,ni not. only <x»nv.rted the Opposition, but ■v.-t'i-n rapidly converting the Tress of the rok-nv. Mr (i. W. ItITSSKLT. heartily endorsed .ho oon_rratulations that, had been extended to Iho C'oTernment upon the continued sneers.*. ... the colony upon the penny postage .i.r_.l upon tiw i.-iK.cfS', of _i__.JU.yal visit. In res. _rd tui tho lx.tten___.yt principle and State .-.-_.-_,! mm**, whioh had nr»t bo very long a_;o Im'<_i oprxwctS by tlio Government, public oi-inion had forced tbo hand of the Govemment which accounted for their now inchfi].'! in tihe poli<ry of tlie Government. The. Governor's Sjvoedb stated that the earth h'inyer still contiuu.-d, and yet during the first thro/, mon tha of the ftnoncin. year, up to 31 _t December, only some £20.000 had l»r_*n expended on land for settlement. What waa required wan some clearly d_.ii_ed policy under tlio Lands for '-.ett'iemetit Act, which would attr&ct a genuine class of . e!..er_. Ho spoko at some length on the J-ithl question, mid went on to condemn the practice of seeding out of tho colony for vi.ilin<_* stock for railways. According to iii.f.iru>-_tioxi he liad received, tne recent im-|)(ii-t.wkm of «*r» an.l Imromotivrti left a -ood deal to bt d.*.ired. He wished to call attention to the departure of the Government from sound democratic principles, an ...amrple of which he pointed to in tho large ii.imhcr of Ttojttl Oommissions that had been set up during the m:**-*. Theoo Commissions wero, in reaEity, scouring the colony to find a policy for" the Mmiiiterx, whoso saliirkM 1-Okl only recontly been raided in of "their coping' with tho in-«r'.i«-el work. Ho also coinplained of the "rowin" twxleni-y of Alinistors to override . r autiiority, instances of whioh h.. cited to tho llous-, mwl regretted the il«-partuio of ilini-tters from democratio .imp-witr in favour of body guards, knighthood.), and a style of life followed in tl». "Courts of Europe. He considered the I kive.rnmeab had acted unwisely in offering t ho recent loan at 4 per cent., awl denounced t'»«'i't-blifl .Revenue*. Act of last session. .Mr NATIER contended that the policy of tho (It.-.-eminent liad. been one of unchecked progr-."-? 1 . Tho criticwm to which Govern-ji,i-r,t. vras subj-utetl by' its own party wan, lie cont-nded, a sign that they were a live party, and the apparent lack of oohesivenews w.i_"i»roof thflfi their policy was not the policy of JL- Seddon, but of the party as a whole. He did not agroo with tho proposed consolidation of loeai bodies into larce and often unwieldy bodiea. He regretted that tho voluute-rs had not received tho amount i 4" consideration which Parliament ordered t hey «. hould receive. He urged that a trial niu-iiH be made of tho Voile system orf our railways. In his opinion no advantage would ."in our timo, bo derived from F.deratir.ti with Australia. He combatted Mr Wilford's remarks on the San Francisco hi til wrvico, and stiid tbe Government had niv-en a fair field, and bad shown no favour to tiie Oceanic Company. Despite all Mr Wilfurd had said he contended the San Frani'__.ro routo was a fast one. If the Union (.'■onipany buiK) boats suitable for the San Francisco service bo would be in favour of giving thtm eveoi b-ttor terms than aro now inv-fiii to the Ooeonio Company. Mr DUNCAN moved tho adjournment of the debate, and the Honae rose at 11.50 p.m.