STONEWALL DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 11046, 21 February 1933, Page 3

STONEWALL DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT

Fifty-Eight Hours’ Sitting RESUMING TO-DAY. f Wellington, Feb. 20 After 58 hours of wearying stonewall debate, during which there were 55 divisions and 10 applications of the closure, the House is in adjournment until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. The progress made on the Sales Tax Bill in committee when the House rose at 11.50 p.m. on Saturday leaves 16 clauses yet to be adopted, in addition to the exemption schedules. It will take another all-night sitting on Tuesday, and probably on Wednesday, to finally dispose of the measure.

The additional list of exempted items will be announced, on resumption of the House, but it is understood that the Government will seek to prevent fresh fuel from being added to the fire of debate by abandoning the schedules and arranging to provide for all exemptions by the issue of Orders-in-Council. It was a jaded House that dispersed within a few minutes of the arrival of the day of rest. Although many members had almost reached the limits of their endurance there was a surprisingly good attendance throughout the ordeal, and with the exception of one major outburst of feeling, relationships between the contending forces were the reverse of hostile. Throughout the stonewall, Coalitionists resolutely refused to rise to the bait sent out by the blockaders, who accordingly had to rely on their own verbal and physical stamina to maintain the hold-up. Frequent application of the closure was necessary on Saturday to secure the passage of the penal clauses of the bill, but at the rising of the House this section had not been completed three clauses remaining to be disposed of. Opposition speakers made the most of the drastic nature of the provisions, notwithstanding that the majority of them are Identical with the Customs law which has been in operation in New Zealand for the past 20 years. END OF SESSION. Wellington, Feb. 20 It is the present intention of the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, to bring the business of the present sesion of Parliament to a close by next Wednesday week.

This is an Indication that the Government does not intend to proceed this session with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bill, the Government Superannuation Funds Bill, or the Electoral Amendment, providing for the permanent establishment of four-yearly Parliaments; Another batch of legislative innocents, including the Education Amendment, the Apprentices Amendment, the Municipal Corporations Amendment, the Building Construction Bill, and the Poultry and Tomato Registration Bills, and several local bills, will find their way to the shambles. The only measures now likely to be passed are the Sales Tax Bill, the Customs Amendment Bill, providing for the increase in the petrol tax and the higher duties on sugar and cut and plug pipe tobacco, the Annual Taxing Bill, and the anticipated bill dealing with reductions in interest on internal Government securities.

In the lobbies the opinion is expressed that the estimate of the Prime Minister is over optimistic, and that If the Interest Reduction Bill is to be proceeded Avth, the session will continue for ■ a furthe* week.