Untitled

Clutha Leader, Volume XXI, Issue 1043, 20 July 1894, Page 6

« THURSDAY, JULY 12. In the Legislative Council— The Hon. Sir P. Buckley moved the second reading of the Juries Act Amendment Biil, which after a lengthened debate was agreed to, and the bill was referred to the Joint Statutes Revision Committee. In the House of Representatives — Mr Smith (Christ church) presented a petition praying for an inquiry into clause 21 of the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act of last year, and for redress in connection with it. Sir R. Stout moved the adjournment of the House. He contended that clause 21 of the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act was framed with the.object of validat- , ing the Sydenham licenses. It was passed without the House knowing what its object was. The only people who knew about it were the people interested in the pending litigation, and the Legislature having passed the clause, and having thereby done a great, wrong, it was the duty of the Legislature to consider how it cquld be remedied. The Hon. R. J. Seddon assured the House that so far as the Government were concerned that clause was not intended -to apply to Sydenham. Representations were made to him first of all, he believed, by the Crown law advisers, that it was absolutely necessary that some provision should be made to meet the case of an alteration of boundaries by the Representation Commissioners. He hoped the House would accept his assurance, that when the proposal was made to him to validate the Sydenham cases he absolutely refused it. He pointed out that full notice had been given of clause 21 before it. was introduced in the bill of last session, and when the bill was in comI mittee the House was fully represented. Sir R. Stout was not present, but was in the House, on the third reading of the bill, and he had not said anything against this clause. Sir R. Stout was doing the Government an injustice over this matter, but he (Mr Seddon) felt he was not doing it wilfully. After some discussion, Sir R. Stout repeated that clause 21 was expressly framed to meet the Sydenham cases and to deceive the House and country. He challenged the Premier to allow a committee to be appointed to inquire into the charge he made, a charge for which he took the full responsibility. If the committee were set up he pledged himself to prove his charge. The motion for adjournment was lost. Replying to questions Ministers said it was not intended this session to introduce legislation enabling women to be appointed justices of the peace, but it was intended to appoint women as official visitors for gaols and lunatic asylums, arid a bill was now before the House with that object. — Education boards should themselves provide for an appeal for teachers in case of grievances arising. If they did not do this he would introduce legislation next year in that direction. — The Government had called for tenders for the purchase of Ministerial residences in Wellington, but the tenderers wanted them for boarding hoj.se purposes, and the Government declined to accept them. Sir R. Stout moved the second reading oi the New Zealand Institute of Journalists Bill to provide for the incorporation of the New Zealand Institute of Journalists. He said the bill was merely meant to give a legal status to a voluntary association called the Institute of Journalists. There were plenty of smaller associations in England and America, and he had hoped the Government would have taken up a bill of this kind. — The debate was adjourned. The House then went into Committee on the Gaming Bill, which was reported with amendments at 1:30 a.m.