The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1910. THE SESSION.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13907, 5 December 1910, Page 6

The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1910. THE SESSION.

As the poet said, "Eon the weariest "river, Winds somewhere safe to sea," and in the fullness of timo the longest session that the New Zealand ParEa- * ttient has experienced has come to an end. From first to last it has covered 159 days, and practically all the work that will bo represented by an abnormally fat statute book,, has been done in the, last ten weeks. There [ can surely never havo been such a email proportion of work to an intolerable deal o'.: talk as marked the first three months of the session. One of the returning members asserts that there wo 3 no "legislation by exhaus- " tion'Vthia year, and that every detail :' oi business Teceived the same careful I attention that it would have had if tho session was to have lasted another three months. But though the " end-of-the-eession rush ,, has not been ao bad this session A3 usual, it is impossible to believe that the large quantity of business transacted in tho past two or three weeks .has lieen as closely scrutinized and discussed as would havo been the case if it had* been brought forward earlier. The Government's method of arranging and conducting the business of Parliament is unsatisfactory in the extreme, and is responsible for much of the careless legislation which annually requires amendment. In spite, however, of fault® of omission and commission, memMjbers- can go home with ' tho knowHledge that they have participated in a session. Among tho Acts Hwixich IVill help to swell the book, of fjthe law of 1010 are several of outSstanding importance and eoino of unidoitbted usefulness, A session in Bwhich tho foundation of a system of iSeotopulsory military training has been [Ibid, and in which the gaining and licensing legislation has been raateriSally amended, is free from the reproach apf barrenness. Of minor importance Hbufc by no means insignificant, auust be jSiccautiteti tho Acts providing for a Slinking fund for tho, public debl, enjmbling tho Government-to embark on She development of water-power, imIjjoains a check on. the publication of Sndecent literaturo, providing for the jffistnblishrnetit of a system of national Ijianauities, giving newspapers some rejtSief from tjje hitherto archaic law of [Ilibel, amending the electoral machinIjiry and the Crown Suits Act, and perjtj|sittins the Government to interfere ion the control and management of |liunicJnal tratoways- Tho inevitable itand Hill was introduced,; but tho Goilernnjpnt were afraid to Wress it, and the talk about |i[ Local Government Bill onded. ■« is lliTariably the caw, in' i talk. tj 1& |||ietangaishi»e ftwtuxe' ""■if..";'ilto

session, apart from its length and the namber of Bills passed, baa been the Government's determination to raise as much money as they can and spend it 08 larishly as possible. In spite of an unusually buoyant revenue, fresh taxation has been imposed, while none of the increased taxation of last year, designed to meet a falling revenue and special expenditure, has been remitted. Tho expenditure on public works has I been greatly increased, and borrowing has been heavier than in any previous ! year, the climax being provided by the : flotation of a five million loan in Lon--1 don, the annual charge for interest on our public debt being thus increased by ! this one transaction by £175,000. As has , been pointed out by more than one of his eupportets, tho Premier's action in devoting so much money to public works this year is an ingenious move. i Tho custom has? hitherto been to splash i money about in this direction in election year. Next year, however, as ParI liamenfc v/ill not meet until lato, there would be no time for any extra expenditure to serve its purpose of " sweetening the constituencies, ,, so the money is provided late this year, and the expenditure will go on merrily until Parliament meets again and the Government again draws bills on posterity. Economy was never a characteristic of the present Government nor of its predecessor, though last year circumstances forced oiir prodigal Premier to mako a more or less ineffective show of cutting down expenses. But prudence and economy are now never mentioned seriously, and certainly are never acted upon; they have passed, with selfreliance and consistency, into the limbo of forgotten political virtues. Another featuro of this session has been the growing tendency of the Government to regard itself as the masters, and not the servants, of the House. In this, as in other respects, the Ministry show their contempt for, and distrust of, democracy. Members may well reflect, during the interval before Parliament meets again, on their attitude in this matter, and remember how much of their legitimate ,power they havo surrendered into the hands of the Ministry of the day. It is a tendency which bodes no good to any country in which it is tolerated, and though it is hopeless to expect a majority of the Government, party to break the chains they wear so willingly, we trust that the next elections will sco the return of men with minds of their own and the strength to use them. ,