THE BUSINESS OF SESSION.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12934, 14 October 1907, Page 6

THE BUSINESS OF SESSION.

Bir Joseph. Ward \t by nsture en, optimist, hui he seems to have been even more sanguine than usual a day or two ago when h« gave, a list of the measures which the Government hoped to put through; Parliament thi» cession. Wβ believe that if the Prime Minister thinks he will be able to keep the House together until the end of November, he is wof m,i«taksn.. The Canterbury Show aqd Oup week usually everts as potent an effect in curtailing legislation in New Zealand a* thai advent of groiute-ehooting exercises on the law-mak.ing zea| q£ the, House of Commons. This being the case, we expect a terrific "daughter "of the innocents" wi}l <tske place before very long. TYre are, of course, some measures which must be. passed, whatever else is left untouched, and among these the Fire Brigades Bill takes the firtt place. It -will be a great misfortune if a NaiivQ Land BJU is not carried. Such, a, measure is urgently needed, and a* a means ot promoting settlement it is worth a dosen fcand Bill* of the character recently passed through the House. In our opinion it ought to have been given precedence over the Land and Income Assessment ££# and the Land Laws Amendment Bill. Now that it has been left so late, there is hardly time' to do justice Jo a measure of so much import*nee. It is a Bill which obviously requires most careful consideration, and Mr Ngata is quite right in saying that it would be better not to pass it at all than to rush it on the Statute Book without d-ue consider a lion. It certainly, however, ought to receive preference over the Laad Endowment Bill. We doubt if the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act will be persisted with this session, in view of the opposition which it ha* aroused, while the Judiciary BiH «nd other lew important measures might very well be left over for another session.i After all, there are nobler ideals, of Parliamentary work thai* swelling ou> the @t»t«t* Book to an abnormal thickness, and in »ny caee it canno* be said tfeat s> sesjion which has wifcess*} th« paaaing of the Tarif BUI and two t*o4 Bills is a barren session. If in addition a really good Native Lend BUI i> «ddtd to the Statute Book we should fay that neither Parliament nor the country

need complain of the quantity of the work *>ne, whatever wight be Mid •■ to it* quality*