DAILY SUMMARY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1233, 15 September 1911, Page 5

DAILY SUMMARY.

BUDGET DEBATE CONTINUED,

Tho monotonously oven tenor of the Financial Debate in the Houso of Representatives was disturbed by one or two happenings yesterday. First of all there was something like a storm of protest when Mr. Massey roso to make a personal explanation to removo a false impression conveyed by a misleading paragraph in tho Government newspaper. In the end Mr. Massey made his explanation, and pioved that he had a right to ninko it, but there was an extraordinary anxiety on tho part of some of the members on tho Government benches to prevent him from doing so.

Then, as soon as this little diversion was done with, Mr. D. M'Laren made a protest against certain criticism which had appeared in The Dominion, and : in tho course of a tirade against Tnß Dominion, he used a lot of terms not commonly accounted polite. Tho other diversion was, the fire which broke out in the Government Buildings just before the Houso resumed after the Bupper adjournment. The Houso was practically empty when tho Speaker took tho chair, and at tho suggestion of tho Hon. J. A. Millar the Houso was adjourned for half an hour.

So far as the debate was concerned the day was, on the whole, unmistakably dull. Mr. B. Divo led off with a general condemnation of tho Government's administration. Mr. J. C. Thomson treated the Houso to a dissertation on the ways of politicians as they are, and some of his admissions, as a member suggested, gave "tho show away." Mr. E. Newman, the member for Manawatti, spoke with considerable difficulty owing- to hoarseness, but ho contrived in a temperate speech to traverse many, of the Government's Acts and find fault with them.- Mr. T. K. Sidey contributed a somewhat laboured defence of the Government's policy and proposals, and Mr. G. M. Thomson relieved the tedium of the debate with ah interesting dissertation upon various scientific questions, ranging from forestry to ■hydro-electric development, raised in the Budget. Mr. V. H. Reed earned tho debate back to what he described as "the hurly-burly of party politics," and after Mr. Okey had spoken the Houso adjourned.