"A MILLION A MINUTE"

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22271, 9 December 1937, Page 8

"A MILLION A MINUTE"

APPROPRIATION BILL, QUICKLY PASSED RAPID PROGRESS IN HOUSE [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.! WELLINGTON, December 8. “A million a minute” was the Opposition description applied to the passing of the Appropriation Bill in the House of Representatives early this morning. In some respects this even understated the case, as the bill authorising the grant and appropriation of a total of £54,006,166 was passed in less than half an hour. After the approval of the Supplementary Estimates, the House followed the customary procedure of resolving itself into Committee of Ways and Means and then the Chairman of Committees (Mr E. J. Howard) read out the formal resolution embodying all the payments already passed by the House. To this massing of millions, the Kt. Hon J G. Coates (National, Kaipara) intoned an accompaniment by giving progressive totals as the figure gradually mounted to the £50,000,000 mark. Then came the, motion that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance should prepare to bring in a bill giving effect to the appropriations. As the Hon. W. Nash was walking toward the Speaker’s chair with a copy of the bill, Mr S. G. Smith (National, New Plymouth) rose to a point of order, stating that it was against the standing orders to introduce a bill after 12.30 a.m. The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) agreed that such was the case, but added that he had proposed to take the pleasure of the House on the matter. . ~, _ “Let’s get it through,” cried the Opposition members, and the bill was passed without a word of comment, except for a few inquiries about the total sum involved. . , . The action of the Opposition in facilitating the passing of the bill, on which members were entitled to discuss almost any subject under the sun, was subsequently commented on appreciatively by Mr Savage. “I think I am in order,” he said, ‘in thanking the Opposition for its assistance.” The House was in a particularly generous mood and before the adjournment the Opposition even encouraged the Prime Minister to introduce the State Advances Corporation Amendment Bill, so that it might be available for discussion to-day.