POLITICAL NOTES ITEMS FROM THE HOUSE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 November 1927, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES

ITEMS FROM THE HOUSE

“STRANGERS” IN LOBBY. A LICENSING SIDELIGHT. (BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL TO "THE STAR.”) WELLINGTON ,Nov. IC. One of the innovations in the House of representatives during recent. years has been a gallery for visitors at the back of the chamber on the same floor as the members. This was crowded wnen the Licensing Bill debate opened on Tuesday and something must have happened which prompted Air V. 11. Potter this afternoon to raise the question of privilege. He asked Mr Speaker if it was perm is sable for strangers to congregate in the lobbies and intercept members coming into the House.

“Has this actually happened?” asked Air Speaker, and an assurance was given that this was the ease. “It hap. pened yesterday and it occurred again to-day, replied Mr Potter. Sir Charles Statham gave a. detailed description of the proeeedure adopted in allowing visitors to use seats on the main floor, and declared that strict instructions had been given to the Parliamentary staff that these visitors must pass through to their seats without remaining about the corridors.

MAORI MARRIAGE,

PENSIONS LAW INTERPRETATION

The attention of the Minister of Pensions was called by Air Brunett to an interpretation of the law relating to wido tvs ’ pensions, which he said, had caused a difficulty in securing an allowance to a Maori widow in his district, because the applicant had been married at Chatham Islands according, to Maori customs. The magistrate would not grant her the pension and Air Bruuett suggested that a hearing might be taken in another magistrate's district.

The Hon. G. J. Anderson stated that the ease had been considered several times. According to clause 26 of the Act, before the Minister could approve of a pension, he must receive from a magistrate a certificate that the applicant was fit to look after, her children. He understood that the magistrate ruled that because the woman hjad. not been married according-to the European rites. He could not grant the application. The clause was inserted in the Act to deal with such difficulties, in cases where the parties had lived together and the man had died leaving a family. The Pensions Department had drawn the attention of the magistrate to the clause, and its. object but-no reply had been received.

LICENSE BILL TACTICS,

A SILENT AIAJORITY.

It was a dull debate on the second reading of the Licensing Bill, because there w*as no real clash of opinions. Those who preferred alterations to the Prime Minister’s measure were given an almost clear field, but sitting silent in the House, was the group of wellorganised members who are 1 credited with possessing a majority of . about three capable, if they get to a division of carrying the two issues ballot paper with a bare majority and cutting down the six year period of the Bill to the present one of three years. 'Parliamentary tactics (assuring this to be the position) warranted the opponents or tluse principles in staving off a division and a plain hint of this plan .was given by Air Lee (Auckland East), who was one of the earliest speakers on the committee discussion of. the short title of the measure, evhich gives opportunities for. debate almost as extensive as those of the second, reading. There were two factions, he explained, and neither could get far. They should be intelligently amalgamated to kill the bill now, at 11-o’clock, instead of at dawn, after the exhaustion process. “I appeal to the sober sense of the prohibitionists to take this humanitarian division.” he said. As evidence of the capacity to delay progress, he pointed to a large sheaf of amendments, said to number l'lO, and capable, he added, of papering the whole walls of Parliament. Assuming that some progress could eventually be made, the committee was due to reach one. vital issue in clause two, that the licensing polls be taken onlv at alternate general elections, but tnt short title'debate was proceeding with vigour an hour later.