POLITICAL NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25, 29 July 1911, Page 9

POLITICAL NOTES.

A DEMOCRATIC MEASURE. The Hereditary Titles Prevention Bill, introduced by Mr. E. Newman, is designed, as its name implies, to prevent any person rteident in .New Zealaaid from accepting a title which can be handed down from father to son. Mr. Newman is desirous that the Bill shall not be debated until Sir Joseph Ward is present, a.iid hot> had Ihe date of tho eeoortd reading put olf until 2«srd August, by which time it is understood the Prime Minister will bo in attendance. COUNTRY RACING CLUBS. Ths Gaming Amendment- Bill, introduced by Jtlr, W. T. Jennings, proptaeß to givs the Minister for Internal Affairs power to grant totalizator permits for one day to those racing clubs which have been deprived, of that privilege bj tlio report of tht Racing Commission. When the grievances ot tliccc clubs weie bioughl under the notice of Sir James Carroll recently he stated that the Government could not be expected to bring down sucli a measure, but lie ako suggested the possibility of ' the Government facilitating its progress . in th© House. VVhat action the Government will take in the matter remains ti> be seen/ but the extrenic antii gambling section of the House is already ; considering the possibility of moving a.n | amendment to the Bill with the object of wiping out the totalisator altogether. MENTAL DEFECTIVES. Somo important amendments to the existing law are proposed by the Mental Defectives Bill, whk'h is in charge of thu Hon. G. Fowlds. A mentally defective person is defined as "a person who, owing to his mental condition, ie quires oversight, care, or control for his own good or in ths public interest. ' ' With regard to lfcoption orders, a magistral© having mads euch an order, th<3 person concerned may bo detained until death or discharge Th© new Bill proposes that after tho end of the year in which theorder is made it shali bo periodically reviewed by tho medical oflicer of tho institution, who has to fiend to the In-spector-General a cerhi'dcalo that further detention of the person to whom the order relates is necteaary for his own good or in tno public interest, and thus the order \e kept alive. If the medical officer caotiot. ssnd such a certificate the inmate is discharged. Provision is also made for testing the mental condition of persons awaiting trial or sentence where there is any doubt as to their state ot mind. Instead of tho observation being made in prison, it will be competent for the Minister of Justice to tranSf ci' the ' person for- a period to an institution to be put under skilled observation. A simple method oi procuring the admission of minors into mental hospitals is provided, with safeguards against unnecessary detention. One of tile most important provisioits is that by which persons who feel that they need looking after ma,y voluntarily enter a mental hospital for observation and treatment, and to ensuro that they shall not be let out at a ihna when their malady is beginning to develop or .has developed, the Medical Superintendent is empowered to -detain them for seven days after they apjjlv to be released. Tho process by which application for the discharge of a patient may bo made is considerably simplified, and in the final resort a1!!a 1 !! enquiry will ba M&dv by a rna^istrat*, who has the poy.er to order the patient's discharge or further detention, j Another new prou'sion is that by which more than one patient whoee malady is j not confirmed may bo kept in a public or special hospital not 'conducted for ! gain for a period of three months. ■ JOTTINGS. Mr. I). M'Laren has presented a petition from James Johnson Wilson, formerly in the Colonial Navy, under the terms of the Australasian agreement, praying foi' a monetary allowance for injuries received on li.M'S^ Challenger, which necessitated his retirement. In lieu of compensation, ho aake for some permanent employment in the Government service. Jfr. Arnold wants to know why the Railway Department recently gave a private firm a contract to build eleven locomotives when the work could have been done in the Hillside workshops. The Government is being urged by Mr. Buchanan to acqttit's tho Haulotar* estate, nt&t Martinborough.