THE SESSION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 117, 3 May 1932, Page 9

THE SESSION

BUSY WEEK AHEAD TRADE TREATIES AND OTTAWA. FINANCE BILL TO-MORROW. By Telegraph.—Special to “Tribune.” Wellington, May 2. .fudged by the amount of work yet to be done it would appear that the emergency session will not end this week as predicted by the Prime Minister last week, but will most likely run on until the first or second sitting day of next week. Mr. Forbes remains confident that this cau be managed, however, and in answer to a question this evening bo said that there was no doubt about it. The Government was shaping its remaining legislation to enable Saturday to mark the close of tho session. If this is to bo brought about greater activity will have t u be shown. The back of the work has been broken with the passing of the National Expenditure Adjustment Bill, although this measure has yet to pass the Legislative Council. It came before the Upper House to-day, and after being read the second "time pro forma w.... sent to tho statutes revision committee, which seems to indicate that it might not have such an easy passage as was at first believed in Government circles. QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE. This assumption is more or less born out by the suggestion that a difference is likely to arise between tho House and the Council on tho measure, chiefly tho question of whether the Upper House is empowered to insert amendments. This issue has a direct bearing on the question of privilege, tho opinion being that the Lower House will declare that tho measure is a money bill and that therefore the Council has no right to amend it. Tho first business for the House tomorrow will be tho second reading of th. bill ratifying the Canadian trade treaty. From the discussion on the resolutions brought down last week it does not appear that there will be much delay in passing this, but there will bo many who wi’l want to talk. Following that one or two of the remaining bills will probably be introduced so that, they may be placed on the order paper and circulated among members for perusal. These will include a bill extending the life of Parliament to four years, tho Fruit Control Amendment, the annual taxing bill, the Land Laws amendment and the Finance Bill. THE FINANCE BILL.

The Finance Bill is not expected to appear until Wednesday, however, as the final drafting is not yet fixed. This measure will contain quite a number of legislative items which the Government has been wanting to settle, and the procedure of placing them in the Finance Bill has eliminated the necessity for special legislation for each. One of its clauses will arrange for the payment of income tax by instalments.

The measure which is being held up temporarily is that ratifying the trade treaty with Belgium, which was signed last January. It cannot become operative until both Parliaments have approved it, and as the Governments are still negotiating, ratification this session might be impracticable. The Ottawa delegation has not been chosen yet. Mr. Forbes says that the personnel will depend largely upon the size and nature of the agenda.