PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LII, Issue 9188, 7 September 1906, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

THE TOTALISATOR BILL. (By .Telegraph. — Special to $rAB.] 1 WELLINGTON, September 7. A determined effort was made to-day to stave off Mr Ell's Abolition of Totalisator' Bill by prolonging the debate onMrHonis r . bys 'Quackery; Prevention Bill ' 'The latter measurp wjas, received with a chorus; c,f praise oa all hands, members almost .unaninw»ialy. urging the Government to: ■taike it up. "Alii -the afternobar and for an hour and a half of the evening" 1 members got np' and said what a jc'ranscehdingly' hecepsary Bill it was, Jint^Mr'Honisby 1 began to be afrai^ it would be kijled Vy so much kindness, and Mr EU,had hardly, room to ,hope for h^i pet measure, which was to come on immediately afberwarda: At length the Quackery Bill was /quietly carried on the voices, and Mr' Ell- rose with feTyour. and peaded for/'the'm^rdei 1 of the totalisator. On assuming after the supper adjournment the fact that there | -was no quorum recalled tbe incident of, ! last session when there was a counfcoiit on Mr Ell's Unimproved Ratdng Bill. Mr j Cblviu called attention to the state of the House and walked out. The bell was rung, and Messrs Laurenson, Tanner; . Poole, Baume, Jennings and half a dozen' others came in and saved the position A motion for adjeurnment at 10.30 was lost by 34 votes to 27. Interest in the debate grew as- the night wore on. A+ 11.5 Mr Fisher moved an amendment to postpone the second reading till the 26th inst. to enable provision to be made for the purpose of reducing the number of, permits by one-half until the totalisator is abolished. On a division- being taken members got into a tangle as to the issue. By 37 votes to 25 it was affirmed that, the original motion for the second reading be amended by striking out certain words, and the motion to add the words in Mr Fisher's amendment was then lost' by 35 votes to 29. The only word re-. maining in Mr Ell's original motion forthe second reading is "that," and thus the Bill was killed. ARE BALLOT PAPERS KEPT INTACT? WELLINGTON, September 6. Mr Fisher mentioned in the House today that a ballot paper" wrapper used in fetoe local option poll in the Buller eleotoxate, and signed by the returning officer, had. come into the possession of a person in Napier.' It was originally discovered wrapped round a pair of booto from a bootmaker in Wanganui. He thought there had been a serious lapse on somebody's part. The paper should really have been in charge of the clerk of th 6 House. . The Premier said the statement came as a great surprise to Mm, and to members of the House. If paper was available in suoh a way, there had been a lapse in connection with the administration. lA*' full enquiry would be made, and he wonj'd inform the House of the result. Mr McLachlan suggested tha^Mr Fisher had' found nest/ THE \l The Commerce Committee ,te>-<Jay commenced taking evidence on the reciprocity treaty. Representatives of the FlourmiU.ers' Association, jfxom- different parite" of the colony were heajpd. xu&jiootnwtt bee hopes to present its &>epoxti next Thweday.