PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 27, 1 August 1917, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

' The House of Representatives resumed at 2.30 o'clock this afternoon. ■ The Speaker announced that, accompanied by members, he had .presented the Address-in-Reply to His Excellency the Governor-General that morning. Dr. Newman presented a petition from Bishop Sprott' and 6600 others praying that liquor bars be closed at 6 p.m. Several other petitions to the same effect were presented by ■•other members. Notice was given by Mr. Wilted to ask the Attorney-General if he will this session introduce legislation to provide tor the employment of women police, for the protection of y.oung women and children. . Mr. Cv J. Parr gave notice to ask the Minister of Defeace whether fie would take step* to see that single men registered in the Second Division were registered im the First Division. Mr. J. Vigor Brown gave notice to ask the Minister of Defence if he will see that all the officers in New Zealand ■who have received distinction and have never been in the firing-line are sent "to the front so that they may be given the opportunity of earning further distinctions. Notice was given by Mr. R. M'Callum to ask the Hon. A. L. Herdman whether he was aware of the methods, adopted recently in Blenheim by two members of the Police Department in order to obtain conviction for breaches of tlib anti-shouting clauses of the War Regulations, and, if so, might the public regard same as an example of the methods that would be employed in future^ : ' In answer to Mr. Sidey, the Minist v of Railways (Hon. W. H. Herries) said it had been necessary to reduce hands, especially in the workshops. The Government desired to conserve its material for repairs, and had had to abandon a certain amount of construction ' work. When there was a shortage to be considered, Ihe first to go were the casuals. As to the Government's policy of appealing on behalf of permanent hands, the idea was that, although they would all go ■ eventually, they ehould go at a date convenient to the Department. . Mr. Jennings brought up the case of a soldier .whose mother has not received his allotment for two'years.—The Defence Minister said the whole subject was being examined into.

Mr. Wilford pointed out that an oversea vessel had recently arrived practically empty, and asked whether that was due to the operations of a shipping ring.— Th« Prims Minister said that the general instruction was that all ships .should be loaded; and also all of them, wera under the direction of the Controller of Shipping at Home. • '

(Proceeding.)