PROPOSED LEGISLATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 155, 1 July 1914, Page 8

PROPOSED LEGISLATION.

. »- RATOH OF NEW RILLS. tP.y Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.> WELLINGTON. Tuesday. PROP! i.RTI ON A L LEG ISLATION. Two bil'.s dealing with the conduct of local elections have been Introduced by the Hon. F. M. 11. Fisher. I )ne provides for a n.vw system of numbering voting i papers an.l facilitating the work of re- . turning officer?.: the other will (enable tjthe borough council of any undivided . j borough io adopt the sytem of proporijtional it presentation aipon applying to ', the Government, which will authorise , the changed voting system by special | order. Under it an elector will Ik: re- ■ j quired to mark his voting paper in such . ; a way tv? to exercise at least three pre- . ferenees. | CIVIL SERVANTS" GUARANTEE. . ! The Civil Service Officers Guarantee ißepe.il Bill (introduced hy the Minister jof Justice) provides for the repeal of the clauses in the Civil Service Act, IflOS, | under which defalcations by officers in , the service are made .good by a "eneral levy. MFIXITIOX. The Definition Bill of this session, in-i'trodu.-ed by the Hon. A. iL. Hcrc-man. is for all practical purposes the same bill as that of last year, with certain alterations in the drafting and phraseology. (Among minor alterations the definition !of "a publication" excludes, in addition ]to communications made by a pers'ou to j his partner, clerk, or servant, in the .ordinary course of business. al?,> the wife or husband of such person. Cnder ■ the section allowing the publication of fair comment it is specified' "that a newspaper report, in addition to being fair, must be accurate." The following new | section is added: "Except as modified by . this Act, the common law of definition shall continue to apply in New Zealand." j IMPORTED BOY FARMERS. I An important development of the Gov- | ernment's immigration policy is couj tamed in the Master and Apprentice I Amendment Rill, introduced by the Hon. 'H. D. Bell. It provides for a system of indenturiaag youths in England' who in- , tend to emigrate to 'New Zealand and undertake farm apprenticeship here. The official memorandum explaining the bill states that special provision b made en- ■ tabling the Minister to alter the indenture signed in England in a manner adI vantagoous .to the boy. but not otherI wise. It is not intended to engage boys of an age less than sixteen, and it is d- c- | sired tn engage them up to an age of I somewhere over eighteen years. 1 " but tinder nineteen. The bill relates nnly to farm apprentices whose passages from England to New Zealand are assisted by tlie Government. The Government undertakes the control an,l care cf such boys. and. therefore, enters into a more or less definite arrangement with the parents, guardians and relatives in the United Kingdom for due provision being made in New Zealand 'for the employment of the boy?, and for the provision nf proper fnnd. clothing and comfort. I Provision is made for an indenture signed hy the High Commissioner and the boy, becoming binding in England, and afterwards fo r the duration of apprenticeship until the age of 20. o r until the indenture is cancelled with the consent in writing of the Minister of Internal I Affairs. (