HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 70, 19 September 1912, Page 3

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House continued its sitting after The Post went to press yesterdayi THE MARRIAGE LAW. On the motion for the third reading of the Marriage Validation Bill, a division ■was called for. The Bill was lost by 2?' to 25. / DAYLIGHT SAVING. v . The House went into committee on the Kew Zealand Mean Time (Daylight . Saving) BUI. * -. The Prime Minister said he was not going tp oppose the progress of the Bill. To his mind it was far too drastic. The carrying of it would pro* duce a revolution. A similar measure hads.been adopted in one of the American cities, but it had to be repealed, as it was unworkable. He would vote against the measure. i Mr. Pearce said that if this proposal was put into force the dairy farmers '. would have to get up an hour earlier ■ than at present, and there would be a - revolution. The public 'had never been .fully acquainted with the meaning of the ■ proposal. Mr. Sidey, who had charge of the Bill, said_he was going to ask the House to allow him to withdraw it. He took thafc attitude- owing to the stand taken by the Prime Minister, who knew that a majority of the House favoured the Bill. It was a case of the minority coercing the majority. Mr. Okey said he did not think it was right that the member in charge of the Bill should seek to lay the defeat of tho Bill at, the door of the Prime Minister. Mr. Malcolm said he was in favour of , tho 'Bill, and he could assure the House ; that no coercion had been attempted at '. all. Mr. Forbes suggested that the Minister for Labour should take up the Bill and approach the different bodies con- , cerned, with the view to seeing how they viewed the suggestion. / Mr, Sidey's motion that the Chairman should leave the chair was agreed to. ■ and the Bill was killed; *• SIGNED ARTICLES. , ■ The Legislative Amendment" Bill. . irt . charge of Mr, fiindmarsh, was consider- * ed m committee. Mr. Hino thought that the portion of ■ the Bill deading with signed articles in ', newspapers, would receive the- condem- ; nation of every member in the House. Mr. Forbes said that the party which ; now occupy the Treasury benches were < really responsible for the introduction . of the Bill. A Bill with principles of that sort should be taken up by the Goveminent. At 5.26 p.m. the member in charge of • th© Bill resigned his charge, and the Bill ' therefore lapsed. Nk SUPERANNUATION AND EDUCATION. The Local Authorities Superannuation Amendment Bill was read a third time."' A long discussion -took place on the third reading stage- of the Auckland Education Reserves Bill. In the course o* his remarks the Minister for Education (Hon. J. Allen) said that in 1900 the State spent on primary education £487,000, and last year the expenditure totalled £892.000.. Corresponding in-<-creases'had also been made in regard to - secondary and technical education. For secondary schools last year the total expenditure was £91,000, for continuation and technical schools it was £58,000, i and for higher education £30,000. The .expenditure under this heading was not sufficient, and he was going to ask the House for a larger amount. The third reading of the Bill was car1 ried.oh division by 41 to 26, LAND AND INCOME TAX. The amendments made by the committee in the Land and Income Assessment Bitt! were agreed to, and the Bill was put through final stages. HAURAKI PLAINS. A Bill to amend the Act dealing with th© Hauraki Plains was brought down hy Governor's message and read a first time. The Bill gives power to the Government to raise an additional £25,000 for the drainage of the plains. PUBLIC SERVICE. Th© remainder of the sitting was occupied with a discussion on the Public Service Bill, which was reported on ( at 1.15 a.m., when the House rose.