CONSTITUTIONAL POINT

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 139, 9 December 1918, Page 3

CONSTITUTIONAL POINT

On the constitutional question raised by Mr. Massey, the Hansard report of the discussion gives the following details of Mr. M'Combs's reply:—"£ rosfret that the Prime Minister did not give me notice of his intention to move in this matter. Howoyer, if reference is made to the Legislative Council Act of 1914 it will be seen that Section 1 provides, 'This Act may be cited as the Legislative Council Act, 1914, and shall form part of and be read together with the Legislature Act, 1908.' That provision in the 1914 piece of legislation goes to show, I think, that if it is to be read with the Legislature Act it is part of the Legislature Act; and that consequently when this House is considering amendments to an amendment of the Legislature Act is. is virtually considering amendments of the Legislature Act. I think that under, the circumstances and with that very specific statement in the 1914 legislation, the amendments which have been moved are. in order, because the Legislature Act covers the whole of the Legislature, not merely one portion of the Legislature. When yon are considering the question of the Legislature Act and amendments to it you cannot create watertight compartments. Bath brandies are branches of the Legislature, and I maintain that it is competent to move amendments to a Bill entitled an amendment' to the Lefrislature Act. I takfi it, therefore, that it is competent to move an amendmpnt to an amendment of an Act which itself says it shall be read together with the Legislature Act." ■Mr. M'Combs has received telegrams of congratulation on his amendment of the Legislative Council Act from the National Council of Women of New ■Zealand' (Christchnrch), the Auckland Branch of the National Council of Women, and the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union.