POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 636, 13 October 1909, Page 8

POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES.

NEW OPPOSITION WHIP., Mr. E. Heaton Rhodes, member for Ellesmere, has been offered and has accepted the position of Opposition Whip. Ho will act in con-' junction with Mr. C. A. C. Hardy (Selwyn) who was appointed last session. PETITIONS AND QUESTIONS. The fate of the numerous questions and petitions, of which notice was given during the short session,' has been ' a matter of concern to some members.- Mr. Okey asked the.Prime Minister yesterday whether the petition .then presented would be sent to the various committees or if they would have.to.be presented again.' ■ ''. •"- ~ ;- : The Prime Minister'stated that the'-petitions would be "-sent'.in the usual way to-the committees. In regard to the questions, 'he thought that-it was not, possible to'deal with them forthwith," as they appeared on the Order Paper during the Bhort, session. A number of tho questions• referred'. to matters that had -been already'dealt'■with, and .in other .cases the information'asked,for had been., afforded in reports and returns. He thought it would be, too much ■ to', ask the House to pass a resolution to place all those, questions on' the Order Paper, when many of them,would not be-needed.. Members who. had "given notice of questions"last'session, to.which they still required answers, .-should therefore. put them' again. .-;'■' '.';". ■"■".■ ■'.'■"''\'i''' ; Mr.. .Massey'.asked if' a resolution of the House • was. not'necessary before' the: petitions could be sent'to the committees. ,'".' ' The Prime Minister replied that'such'a resd-. lution was only' needed in. the. case of .the question. '■"■■ "" •-,'' . ' - .... . '■-' The Speaker said he had looked matter,' and a ■ resolution was required be'fore the petitions could be dealt with. ; : : /\ '■. HALF-HOLIDAYS AND /SUNDAYS OFF.;During. tho course •of ■' his .-. 6peech in the Address-in-Reply debate in the /Legislative' Council yesterday,'.the Hon: J. Barr; 6aid; that I with all its advanced labour,; legislation, there j were still in; God's '. .Own v-Country 'many! workers who had' to work 365 days in the year if they ;were fortunate enough to be i"A.-work. ■-•■'■..' ' Another Member:. .Where?--Mr. Barr: Why in. some hotel's and' restaurants; some ■ workers have to work from-70 to 100 hours, per week.' As ■ there-.are many Christian gentlemen here I would also like to say-- that • there' are - many -men and- women in the country to whom there is no Sabbath. Voices: Oh, oh! ' ■...<■ Dr. Findlay: Don't they get 'a long holiday, each year?"". ,::: -'• , ;■'-.•"• ' Mr.-.Barr: What do you call a bug-holi-day? ■' '-'■•■:- .-. '.;. - -.' •- Dr.';Findlay,: Several weeks... '■ Mr. Barr:'' Sonie of them get two weeks off in the.:year. .'".''. Dealing further with this. matter Mr. Barr said that farm'hands and- many'shop hands had to. bo content without a half-holiday. Ho added that every was entitled to tho Sundays off. and'in addition to a half-holiday every week. : ■'. '.".■ ./■■ ~'.,-" ACCOMMODATION FORFARM.." : ;.■/■".■' EMPLOYEES,J ': ' > • In • the House" of Representatives yesterday, when the Minister for Labour produced the Labour Department's .'report,., Mr. T. Taylor complained .about-the inaction ' of' the authorities in regard to prosecuting- farmers who did not comply with the law providing for the proper .housing of. their- employees. '.'.He' had forwarded to the -Department/particulars of very gross : breaches' of the Act. It was not, he' argued," fair to throw, the onus of. prosecu; tibn upon the labour unions.- A~union official! - for instance, might' not' care; ; to enter an action against a wealthy squatter." He! knew."of- cases in which men were herded together under most: unhealthy conditions.' They.-'had. to take their: meals.in .the.'samo room-'in which ■ they slept,--while the roofing/was 60 defective that in 1 inclement weather they had to:'shift their beds. The offenders were men, who were prominent in connection- with •the, Farmers' Union in Canterbury. . The Minister 'was, ho' doubt,.'dis- ■ inclined to "incur the wrath ,o! the farming classes by instituting • proceedings,' but- he should see that workers had .'the full .protection of legislation'passed in their interests-by Parliament,,.:..:»..'''. : ,,''.'./. ;■:-. ' ah,'.- ■. Mr. 'Malcolm'said he .felt' certain- that while there might'be one or. two isolated cases such as'had been, mentioned,' the'formers as' reiiognised'.rtho'Vdesirability .of : hous)hg 'their* 'men properly and of treating them well! The Hon! J/'A;-'Millar, in reply, stated'that to do what had been ', asked,Mwould mean.i.a house-to-house inspection,- and.: that would mean the appointment of three or four general inspectors, which he was not'disposed to agree to. '■:;".''.'■■-■ '■'-■■;, .'■•■ / •;. • •.:-,■ : Mr.' Taylor': You inspect .'all-the factories? " , Mr. Millar: Tes, but;you can inspect all .the factories in a town in a day/You. cannot-do that in the'"country. -The matter is one'that should be dealCwith by the Agricultural Department, which'- has inspectors daily going abont." ', ■•,-'•''-'■ ■'•■ '■' ■ "-:,- ■.'. - ; -

'~. Mr. Taylor: Yon make them do it then; ■Mr. Millar: As Boon as information comes ; under our notice ■'to; the effect'that .the: law. hag been broken prosecution' will.iollow.,-:

'', MR. MASSEY ON THE .MINISTRY. .. '1 "Whilst' the' Prime Minister "was at Home," remarked Mr. Massey last night", "Ms colleagues behaved 'just as he would have wished them. They-did, simply nothing, and th«y did it very well.", (Laughter.)' "In 1 fact ,they just laid low, aud were just, as inoffensive as if he had put them in a freezing chamber during the interim.' (Further laughter.) Some of his colleagues wore ' particularly regular in their attendance at church, and- soWe -were .equallyregular:- in their attendance 'at Tattersalls." (Renewed merriment.)' Mr. Massey went.on to'' refer 1 to the ejection fromHhe'Ministry of Mr. Hogg. He declared that'he had more respect for- a man -who'ltad 'the' courage of his convictions, thai for menwhbhad no convictions,' or who concealed them below the surface merely to retain-: office 1 ; and ;;salary. Ho was sorry to say. that, such instaioes were notunknown' in 'this country.' "If," he added, "the Government made, v mistake" in taking Mr. Hogg into the Ministry,-they made a greater mistake in compelling Mm to walk the. plank. This mistake'they may yet have to answer for at the bar-of public' opinion." (Hear, hear.), 'The Hon. G. Fowlds, in the coqrse of; his speech,' recalled Mr. Massoy's statement that some members of- the Ministry were- very regular in their ..attendance at church, and others in-; their attendance at Tattersalls. Mr. Massey, retorted Mr. Fowlds, combined both these admirable traits in Ms own person.. He understood that Mr. .Massey was a regular church-goer, and. during the Bangitikei byelection, though he did not have a bag and a license, he ' had .''offered money very freely from the: public-platform. . - ■ Mrl Massey:. What do you.mean by offering money?" '■".;. '"' ' '. ■' ■ " ' : •Mr. Fowlds: You were offering to bet money on the platform;' . Mr. Massey said that the statement was quite inaccurate.'"."■

STRAIGHT TALK TO THE GOVERNMENT. During.'his - speeoh in : tho House last..night, Mr. Masse'y' referred to the assertion' of the Prime-Minister that defamatory; and slander-, ous statemejis had been, made about New Zealand by people who were actuated by hostility to the Government. "We have," he said, "had i'ust enough about it. I don't know whether le is referring to ; any member of the Opposition or to the Opposition' as a whole, but if he is, I.ask hjm now to drop innuendoes, and say what it is'that he is referring to., This, is,straight talk. If. there' are men on:this side of the House who have slandered the country let'him 6ay so.' For myself, I have' been particularly careful in commenting on the Administration not to say anything that could be used to the disadvantage of the country.' I have/however, now come to the conclusion that if an Administration won't stand fair criticism there must be something radically wrong," (Hear, hear.). Mr. Massey proceeded to say.that what he-held about the present Administration was that it was exceedingly extravagant and detrimental to. the interests of the country. That was his exact position,- and the Government' could make what use they liked of his statement. (Hear, hear.) He did not know of any Opposition member having ever dono anything which would tend to damage the country.