NEXT SESSION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3108, 12 June 1917, Page 4

NEXT SESSION

THE BUSINESS IN SIGHT. The possibility of an adjournment of tlie House shortly alter it meets for business, on Thursday. June US, is being discussed. Anyone with a knowledge of how a Ministry works knows that sonic adjournment is all but a certainty. Unless the House adjourns for a wnile .Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward will not have anything like sufficient time to consider, with their colleagues the measures that are to be presented to Parliament. When the House meets on Thursday no business beyond the reading of the Sneech by His Excellency will be taken, and on Friday an Imprest Supply Bill must be passed. It is customary to take the debate ou the Address-in-Benly on the Tuesday evening following the opening of Parliament, and this will probably bo done this year. If the address is debated at great length the adjournment may bo a- short one, but it is considered certain that there will be some i adjournment, because it will' not be posBble for Ministers to giro their undivided attention to the preparation of Bills whilo they are reauired to attend a creat part of their time in the House. The Ministers who have remained lieic havo been givin? consideration for somo time to the policy questions which must bo tho subject of legislation during tho session, but many of them arr>. of such importance that they cannot be settled without the presence of' the two chief members of the Cabinet. As to the prospects for the coming session very little can bo Raid. No bis: Bills a.re in sisht. It appears that Parliament did its work with tho Military Service Act very well last year, and there is no news of any amending Bill for th ( is session. Nor is' there any news of :\u amendment to tho War Pensions Act. Legislation may be necessary in preparation for the Demobilisation Scheme of which Mr. Herdnian has given the outline. It is not, of course, smiees'ted that demobilisation will be besun before Parliament meets again, but the Government will no doubt prefer to bo

ready with preparations in good time. The most important business of the session Avill have to do with finance and taxation. A local loan is definitely announced, and the Government will certainly ho asked to make somo alterations in the method of levying at lenst one of its war taxes—the excess profits tax— which has been rather unfair in its incideneo upon some classes of taxnavprs. But there will be new taxes or additions to existing taxes to nrovido for the interest and sinking fund for our increasing war debt. Cabinet rniinot I'cei'le the?o questions in the nKsence of the Dartv leaders, nor are tliev qnestions to lie decided quickly even after they come back.