POLITICAL NOTES.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20789, 24 February 1933, Page 10

POLITICAL NOTES.

—♦— -— v [From Ocr Pabluubntab* Reportm.] WELLINGTON, February 23. Stock Remedies. The Stock Eemedies Bill was reported back to the House of Kepresentativeß by the Agricultural and Pastoral Committee to-day with only one amendment of consequence. A clause of the Bill provides that every proprietor or vendor of a stock remedy commits aa offence who, during the period of registration of the remedy, uses any label or advertisement of which- a specimen copy has not been deposited with the registrar and approved by the board. The committee has inserted a provision that it shall not be an offence to use an advertisement that does not differ in any matorial respect with regard to the preventive or remedial Properties claimed in respect of the remedy from the specimen copy so deposited. Local Body Officers. The Local Bills Committee, reporting, on the Local Government Officers Bill recommended that th* Bill should be held over until next session in order to allow certain organisations connected with the local authorities named in the Bill full opportunity to consider ,ts provisions. A Change of Quarters. Apparently taking the Minister for Finance (the Bt. Hon. J. G. Coatcs) at his word, Mr B. A. Wright has moved hi ß seat to a part of the House more remote, from the Treasury benches. He fcn.taken Mr A. J. Stallworthy with Mm wW* a result that the email band of insurgent Government members and Mr H Atmore are now sitting together in the front row of cross benches next to the centre gangway. After Ms heated attack on the Government recently Mr WrSt was taken to task by Mr Coates, who made pointed references to eavesdroppißg, adding that one who adopted suTa hostile attitude should not any longer sit immediately behind the Min-,. Sal benches. His bench-mate Mr Stallworthy, had a ready J°fW broken with the Coalition, and it waß ttntll Mr Wrighf was by no mefens hannv about his own connexion with the Stv Probably as an outward Bign K he has been reaccepted into the Government fold Mr A. Hams, who also had some differences with Mm faters, bas been brought over,fro« hj« front cross bench seat and now sits in Mr Stallworthy's old seat behmd the S a Mr"^ r .T P Pdson who formerly Tat wiS Mr Atmore, has gone-across the gangway to Mr Harris's old seat •*&£*?£' admitted that depute significance attaches to the gating i changes, it is not ?Vw A* YetteJ extent Mr Wright and Mr W. A. \ eitejl, Xare now bench-mates, have strained Scir allegiance to the Government. Neither seems keenly disposed to become'an unqualified supporter of th| i Coalition again,, bat the attitude of tjj party leaders» that »t rests with the insurgent members tfceinseltf •■*> . de " iSS whether they will hrinfe about » [definite cleavage. .

Petrol Tax. In tbe House of Keprosentatives today, Mr A. M. Samuel (C., Thames) asked whether the Government had yet reached ft decision regarding the application for the exemption of «"«?«*• cial fishermen from the .payment of the additional, petrol tax. Mr Coates paid the Government -was endeavouring to view the «quest W sympathetically as possible. He Was. nOt able at the moment to indicate what the decision would be, but.it would be made known when the Customs Bill was introduced to-morrow.

The Day in the House.. Although to-day >vaß given, over by the House of Representatives to the consideration of the local Bills o» the Order Paper, at ,tho request of Mr J. McCombs (Lab., Lyttolton), ihe Prime Minister agreed to hold over the three Christchurch Bills—Tramway District Amendment, Avon and Heathcote Estuary Conservancy, and District Drainage Amendment. Mr McCombs, who was absent from Wellington, has charge* of the first two of these Bills and has proposed an amendment to the third, The Prime Minister has undertaken to give .an opportunity for these three Bills, together with the qhristchurch City Reserves Amendment Bill, to be considered by the House before the end of the present session.