POLITICAL NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1259, 14 October 1911, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES.

THE SLAUGHTERED BILLS. The following eight Government Bills on tho Order Paper of the House of llepresontfiiives were not placed by the Prime Minister on the list of Dills to he proceeded with this session, it being the intention of the Government to drop them :— New Zealand Notes Bill. Education Keserves Amendment Bill. Auckland University College. Site Bill. Pharmacy Amendment Kill. l'lnmbo's' Ket'i.-tratiou Bill. Land and lucomo Assessment Amendment Bill. Noxious Weeds Act Amendment Bill. Toim-planning Bill. There aro also fifteen private members' Bills on the Order Paper. These also— excopt possibly tho Gaming Amendment Bill—are understood to bo doomed. Thus thero aro 23 victims of tho annual "slaughter of the innocents." SETTLERS IN DIFFICULTIES. Importing on the petition of eleven Nircaha settlers asking for a reduction in tho rent of their village settlement sections, the Lands Committee recommends that tho petition should bo teferred to the Government for favourable consideration, and that at future, sales of land the Crown should stato in tho "terms of sale" on the posters the liability of the land relative to local rating. SEEDS SALE CONTROL BILL, An amendment has been made in the Seeds Sale Control Bill by the Agricultural Committee providing that 'iorkshire fog may be described as cleaned if it does not contain more than 1 per cent, by numbers of Californian thistle, dodder, sweotbriar, blackberry, and Bathurst burr, or 2] per cent, ot gorse or broom, or 6 per cent, of the other weed seeds named in the Bill. Another amendment is that samples taken by the buyer for testing must be taken before the seed leaves the seller's premises. HILLESDEN ESTATE. Evidence has been taken by the Lands Committee upon the petition of 3413 residents in Blenheim that the Hillesden Estate should be purchased by the Government foi closet settlement. The committee presented its report yesterday afternoon, and on its recommendation the petition with the evidence was referred to the Government for favourable consideration. ASSISTING ART GALLERIES. A favourable reception has been the lot of the petition by the four art societies of the Dominion for State assistance. The petition has been dealt with by the Public Petitions A to H Committee, and in its report to the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon the committee recommended that nn annual grant of £1000 should be assured to each of the four city art galleries. The report was adopted. BRIEF MENTION. The Minister for Railways tabled yesterday afternoon tho Railway Department Classification List—known as D 3. Tho Lands Committee has recommended for tho favourable consideration of the Government a petition that the Balfour Bstite in the l'ahiatua district be acquired for closer settlement.