THE "WASHING-UP" BILL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 133, 2 December 1910, Page 6

THE "WASHING-UP" BILL.

From its exciting revel in the Hine charges and the Ward apologia, the House of Representatives reverted yesterday to the humdrum work of legislation, and half-a-dozen Bills were sped forward towards their goal. The most important of these was the Libel Bill, the passage of which now seems to be assured. There is not a newspaper in the country, whatever its politics, that will not bless Sir Joseph Ward if that Bill goes through, but we have been disappointed so often that it will be well to delay congratulations until the haven of the statute book has been actually reached. The most interesting of the measures considered yesterday was the Reserves .and Other Lands Disposal and Public Bodies Empowering Bill. Thisfearful and wonderful conglomerate of legislative odds and ends is indeed a sight for sore eyes. It includes no less than 98 clauses, which, with the schedules interspersed, run to some 60 pages; and, as usual, the bill of fare is as varied as it is extensive. In point of size, indeed, the measure is considerably above the average, and probably beats the^.record. During the last ten years, at any rate, it has had no equal ; the Act of 1906, with 76 clauses and 22 schedules, which only managed to cover 30 pages, being a poor second. The contents of the present Bill spread, of course, over a very wide range. Its full title is, according to the traditional formula, "4.U Act to Provide for the Exchange, Sale, Reservation, and other Disposition of certain Reserves, Crown Lands, other Lands and Endowments, and to confer certain Powers on certain Public Bodies." Thit title reacheawa long way, but one often wonders how even so it is found to be elastic enough to cover some of tho contents of these marvellous olla-podridas The great advantage of these measures horn the standpoint of the perpe- j tra/tors is that what is really a tissue of Local Bills, Private Bills, and amendments of the general law can be put through without the normai safeguards. ] The formalities required in the case of the first two classes of Bills are entirely dispensed with, and the bewildering variety of the contents and the late hour of the session disarm even the normal vigilance of members. Great good can be done by the smoothing over of administrative difficulties and the removal of technical errors; but the process abounds in pitfalls, and offers good cover to jobs which could never survive careful consideration in the full light of day. A few samples will suffice to show the infinite variety of the contends of the present Bill. The first operative clause empowers the Public Trustee to advance £6000 of the £7000 required to build a Trades Hall in Auckland — a very dubious-looking proposal, even though the property is to be vested in the Public Trustee and the Governor-in-Council may make regulations to his heart's content. Ihe last clause of the Bill authorises the Marlborough Education Board to pay a contractor the sum of £62 2s, "notwithstanding that payment of the sum has aJreadv been made, but miscarried in the course of post." ' Clause 76 retrospectively revives a section of the Land Act of 1908, which was repealed by the Native Land Act. of last year; clause 77 applies the same dangerous retrospective principle to the revival of a provision in the Dunedin Tramways Act, which has expired by effluxion of time; clause 92 proposes an important amendment in. the provisions of the Land Act regarding the disposal of pastoraJ runs, which it was supposed would be Drought down in a separate Bill after the dropping of the Land Bill. The biggest clause ot the Bill, and on 6of the most important, is No. 87, which includes eighteen sub-clauses and six schedulesquit© a fair-sized Bill in itself. This clause enables the Government and tne Corporation of Wellington to carry out the 'scheme of street-widening, streetclosing, exchange, and co-operation required in connection with the rebuilding of Parliament House. The average member will have a fairly accurate idea o f the effect of this clause, but the other 97 he will be content to whizz through as fast as the chairman can put them with little more knowledge of their meaning than if they were written in Chinese. What they have done they may find out later when somebody begins to make a fuss.

A new and up-to-date factory of fireproof construction is in course of erection for the Equity Boot Company, Ltd, which is installing the latest improved machinery for the manufacture of footwear. The buildings, which will cost upwards of £3000, comprise factory and stockrooms, having a floor area of about 8000 super feet, besides office and engine-room. The plans have been" prepared by Mr. W. Fielding, architect, and the contract has been secured by Mi:<. P. .0. Watt, of Bfrhampore.