ABOVE THE CHAIR

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3103, 29 September 1899, Page 3

ABOVE THE CHAIR

(By Autolycus.) The House now sits on Mondays. Having wasted most of the session in a i deluge of words, members spent last Monday night in rushing through the business without any consideration whatever. Some 27 local bills were put through during the sitting, which is a record — of how not to do it. As showing what little wisdom it takes to govern us, it may be mentioned that the House got through the second readings at the rate of about one bill a minute. At the beginning of every session it takes days and sometimes weeks to pass one bill, yet at the end of a session they are always put through as slick as greased lightning, and with as little thought. Some day the world will wake up to the fact that it is as impossible to successfully run the affairs of a country by talk and talkers, as it is to run any other business. But the time is not yet, and so it is that in New Zealand politicians live by talk alone. The Speaker, who was surely in a sardonic mood, congratulated the House on the admirable despatch members had given to the businessPerhaps he was thinking of the Chinese " happy despatch !" Anyway, some of the bills give large borrowing powers to local bodies, and it says little for the wisdom, of our Parliamentary legislators that such measures were passed during Monday night's sitting holus bolus without due consideration. Here are a few of the measures put through : — The Wellington City Empowering Bill, giving the City Council power to borrow £336,000, the Linwood and Woolston Borough Borrowing Bill, Melrose Borough Gas Bill, Te Aroha Borough Reserve, and Ohinemuri County Electric Power and Lighting Bills. On Tuesday afternoon the report of the Stock Committee was laid on the table, on the petition of W. L. Faulkner, of Masterton, alleging persecution on the part of officers of the Stock Department in prosecuting him for failing to abate the rabbit nuisance on his property. The committee recommended that there was no ground for the statements contained in the petition. Mr Hogg, who is the member for that district, and the cause of this question being taken up in the House, moved that the report be referred back to the Committee for further consideration. This led to quite a number of condemnatory speeches being made regarding the arbitrary powers vested in rabbit inspectors in the direction of being declared sole arbiters as to whether or not a property is infested with rabbits, or that a settler is taking efficient steps to abate the nuisanceAmongst those who drew attention to the arbitrary powers given by the .Rabbit Act to inspectors was the member for Bruce. Naturally Mr Seddon, who always sticks up for his departments, deprecated attacks being made on inspectors who had difficult and important duties to carry out. He said he had been told that in some parts of the colony settlers were making more out of rabbits than sheep, and under such circumstances it was a most difficult thing to carry out the Rabbit Act Mr Wason, evidently not reckoning on magistrates so draconic as MiHawkins, said great discretionary power was given magistrates under the Rabbit Act. If the 3 law was harsh, it it ought to be altered, but the officers of the department should not be blamed for carrying out the law. Mr Duncan, although a strong henchman of the Hon. John, declared too much power was given to inspectors, and the law in this respect ? should be modified. Messrs E. G. Allen and W. J. Steward made similar speeches ; while Mr Meredith, erstwhile a schoolmaster, and who knows more about children than rabbits, was quite convinced that if efforts were relaxed, the rabbits would ao"ain become the pest that they were some years ago. He recommended the House to stand by the department in its efforts to keep the nuisance from overspreading the country, although in doing so he deprecated unnecessary harshness. Mr Hogg's motion was carried, on the voices, that the report be referred back to the Committee. : On Tuesday the whole evening was taken up with the consideration of the Educational Estimates. A very interesting debate took place, in which the whole of our system of education was discussed. Every member seemed to have a pet scheme for improving the present system, so that it looks as if in the »«3 r future there is a prospect

of its many defects being attended to, and the whole system improved up to date* At one time, any politician who threw half a brick at our boasted system of education, was promptly run out of political life by public opinion as an iconoclast. Now-a-days members can throw a whole brickyard of bricks at our educational system, for most people seem to think " about time too." During the recent debate on the bill to allow Colonel Pitt to sit in the Legislative Council, the question of an elective Upper Chamber was discussed. The leader of the Opposition seeing the difference of opinion between the Premier and his followers on the subject, has very astutely given notice of the following motion : — " That a respectful address be presented to His Excellency the Governor, praying that His Excellency make no more appointments to the Legislative Council until the Parliament shortly to be elected has had an opportunity of reviewing the constitution of that branch of the Legislature, such review having become, in the opinion of this House, an imperative necessity." This will be taken as tantamount to a motion of want of confidence by the Government. Let us hope it will not lead to rehashing the dry hash of verbiage which we had served up over the Financial Statement. Rather than be talked to death by our New Zealand politicians, I would prefer any day to be barked to death by wild dogs !