BY ONE VOTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 72, 26 March 1932, Page 7

BY ONE VOTE.

MORTGAGORS' kELIEF BILL. PERSONAL COVENANT CLAUSE GOVERNMENT'S CLOSE CALL. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. The Government was put into a difficult position during the sitting of the House of Representatives to-day owing to members' anxiety to get home for the Easter holidays, an Opposition amendment to a motion by the Prime Minister being only defeated by one vote.

The House met in the afternoon in anticipation of receiving back from the Legislative Council the Mortgagors and Tenants' Relief Bill. It was necessary to await the council's decision on the bill as the Government considered it urgently necessary to have the measure operative. Amendments were made by the Legislative Council. This necessitated much formality and discussion before both Houses could come to an agreement, otherwise the bill would have to be dropped. Some of the council's amendments appeared to infringe Lower House privileges of sole control over public money as they related to Stale mortgages. However, as the Upper House receded from this position that difficulty disappeared.

There still remained, however, an important difference over clause 5, which, as passed by the Lower House, gave the Court power to determine tho personal covenant. The Legislative Council, however, deleted this provision and extended the remaining part of the clause so as to empower a judge, in postponing the operation of the personal covenant in respect to Crown mortgages, to impose such conditions on a mortgagor as he thinks fit.

Three members of each House conferred with the object of reconciling the differences, and the whole procedure kept both branches of the Legislature sitting at intervals throughout the afternoon. Ultimately the representatives agreed and the Prime Minister moved that their report be accepted. It had been mutually agreed to delete all references to the Crown and to eliminate the Court's power to determine the covenant. Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, took exception to Mr. Forbes agreeing to the elimination of power to determine .the personal covenant, and moved that this portion of the agreement be not accepted. A discussion lasting till nearly 7 p.m. ended in a division in an almost empty House. A large majority of members had left Wellington the previous evening believing that nothing remained but the clearing up of some more or less formal business, but they had not reckoned on any challenge to a Government motion.

The Labour party's forces had been depleted to a bare half, but the Government's big total had been discounted to a still greater extent through the holiday rush. The result was that on a division twelve Labour members supported the amendment, while six Ministers, with seven remaining supporters, went into the opposite lobby and saved the position by one vote. Defeat at this stage would have delayed further consideration till the House resumes on April 5, the adjournment being taken immediately after this division. The Legislative Council has also adjourned to the same date, when its first business will be consideration of the Industrial Conciliation Arbitration Amendment.