(PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1888.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1840, 28 January 1888, Page 2

(PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1888.

MORE LEGISLATIVE BUNGLING

The usual results of all night sittings and the rush and hurry which annually disgrace the procedure of the Parliament of New Zealand are making themselves more prominently apparent this recess. The errors and omissions happen to have occurred in most important Acts this year,and, therefore, they are the more noticeable. The Loan Act, above all others, is now found to be so faulty in construction that doubts have been started as to whether any money can be raised under it, while it is beyond all doubt that the Act says and does that which Parliament had no intention of saying and doing. The error and the circumstances under which it was made are thus set forth in the New Zealand Times : —

When the New Zealand Loan Bill was introduced, which authorised the raising of a new million loan for public works, immigration, &c, it contained no proviso prohibiting further borrowing for three years, nor was it intended by the Government to embody such a proviso. The Treasurer had announced in his Budget that a pledge would be given that the colony should abstain for three years irom further borrowing, and it was purposed that this pledge Bhould be given in the customary way by public announcement by the Agent-General in the London papers when offering the loan. But several members urged so strongly that the pledge should be embodied in the Act authorising the loan tbat the Government at length gave way somewhat reluctantly, and drafted a clause to the effect that, " subject to the provisions of this Act," no loan should be raised in Great Britain before 31st March, 1891. In Borne unexplained way this new clause as drafted was inaccurately written out. Nobody knows to this day how the error was made, or who made it, but the clause, as passed by the Committee of the whole House, ran thus on the Statute Book : — •• Subject to the proviso to this clause no loan, of which the principal or interest shall be payable in the United Kingdom, shall be issued by the General Government of New Zealand before the 31st day of March, 1891. Of course the substitution of the words " proviso to this clause " for " provisions of this Act " completely altered the purport of the clause by making it refer only to the proviso which was subjoined, and which simply excluded from the operation of the restriction the North Island Trunk Railway Loan and the loan to be raised under the Public Revenues Act. The alteration escaped the notice of all the financial and legal authorities in the House and in the Council, and it was only when the Act had been printed and came before the Cabinet as the law of the country that the unintentional prohibition of the very loan the Act was meant to authorise became manifest. The Times proceeds to argue that no harm can come from the error, because the prohibition accidentally legalised does not affect the million to be raised on account of the North Island Trunk Railway, nor .£400,000 authorised to be raised under the Public Eevenues Act; that the prohibition does not prevent the loan wholly or in part being raised in the colony ; and, further, that there was no intention on the part of the Government to raise the loan before next session, so that without interfering with the plans of the Government, matters may stand over until an amending Act is passed by Parliament at its next session. So far so good, but clearly it is more by good luck than good management that the error is not attended with serious evil results. The incident will necessarily do the Ministry harm, though of course they are not to blame if the statements of the New Zealand Times be correct. The whole fault lies with our system of legislation. And when we consider the manner in which Parliament does its work, the wonder is that mistakes are not more frequent. If the sessions are to be practically limited to three or four months in length, there must be reform of procedure so as to secure that time shall primarily be devoted to the consideration of Government business. At present days and weeks are absolutely and entirely wasted in discussing the crude, useless, trashy bills of private members, while Government orders lie by and in the last week or two are rushed through hastily, the discussions generally being talk without thought and the amendments often most mischievous. If the House could be got to see tbat its duty is to do the public business and to decline to waste time in discussing " fads," a good step would be taken towards more careful legislation. Another much-needed reform is some system of " closure," under which, subject to the due protection of the rights of minorities, a stop might be put to the interminable speeches of half a dozen members who monopolise most of the time of the Parliament to the exclusion of others who could and would contribute useful suggestions if they only had an opportunity.