POLITICAL NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 14202, 26 October 1906, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES.

[From Our Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, October 25, CIVIL SERVICE SUPERANNUATION.

The Public Accounts Committee re-jKii'te-d against proceeding with the Civil Service Superannuation Bill this session, and recommended that further , actuarial particulars should be obtained in time for the Bill to be dealt with early next session. „ CHRISTCHURCH DRAINAGE BILL. The Christchurch District Drainage Bill was allowed by Mr Witty to be thrown out on the voices this morning, as the Local Bills had reported against it. The committee reported that as a Commission was being asked for to deal with a comprehensive drainage scheme there should not be piecemeal legislation. CHRISTCHURCH TRAMWAY BILL. Tbe Christchurch Tramway District Bill has passed its second reading and g, through committee. Clause 25, providing that the by-laws made by the Board are to supersede those made by the local bodies, was thrown out, Mr Witty saying that if the Board wanted : such unreasonable power it should take over the roads altogether. The Bill was passed. 7 THE ARBITRATION ACT. On the motion to go into committee on the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. Act Amendment Bill in the Council to-night, the Hon J.' Rigg criticised at length the Arbitration Court and all its works. Ho reiterated the Statement that the workers had no confidence in the Court, and he knew, of his knowledge, that in some cases in which awards were being worked under at present (after they_ had run their course) they were afraid to go to the Court in case they might get something worse. than that now obtaining. He did not feel called upon to frame an indictment against the Court, but the reasons for the discontent could easily be discovered. The workers have not received the fair share of the prosperity which the colony had enjoyed for the past few years. In the enforcements of awards little legal subtleties had been allowed to creep into the administration of Idle law, and the penalties for breaches' were very paltry. He objected to the Labour Department compounding with employers who had been guilty of offences. Last year, according to' the report of the Department, £1162 17s in “back” wages had been collected by the Department in cases where “ unintentional breaches ” had taken place. By whose authority did the Department go behind an Apt of Parliament? He also condemned the proposal to appoint a Judge for life. In the case of an unwise selection there would be no remedying the michief. Any pettifogging practitioner was eligible for appointment. It was his opinion that a Judge of the Arbitration Court should be chosen from the point of view of his knowledge of industrial conditions as much _as anything else. The policy of obtaining an active practitioner was not a good one. He asked why District Court Judges and'Magistrates should be overlooked. A Judge of the Arbitration Court should have judicial experience. The present state of things was anything but satisfactory. It was a matter foi] congratulation, however, that for the first time in the history of the colony the Minister of Labour was a man who had taken an active part in the labour movement, and ho looked forward to better things. LAMPS ON TRAMLINES. When the Christchurch Tramway District Bill was in committee this afternoon, Mr Witty secured the addition of the following new clause—“ The Board shall at all tunes when so required by the local authority of the district and to the satisfaction of the local authority, provide and maintain a lamp attached or near to the pole at the junction of the South and Yaldhurst Roads, and one at the furthermost pole on the Yaldhurst Road, and one at the furthermost pole on the Main South Road, on the Ricoarton-Sockburn branch, and shall keep all such lamps alight at such hours as are required by the local authorities.” HABITUAL DRUNKARDS. The Minister of Justice moved the second reading.of his Habitual Drunkard® Bill to-day, and explained its provisions, the essential feature of which was an attempt at some mean® of saving that class of people from themselves. The leader of the Opposition said ho did not object to the Bill, and had little fault to find with its principle, but he thought a list of the institutions should have been supplied to which it was proposed to send the class of people to be dealt with. Ho had once inspected the Waitati Home for inebriates, and came to the conclusion that it was anything but a success. It was in. the wrong place to provide the I amusement and recreation that such people were in need of. The Minister said there were places which were prepared to take cases dealt with under the Bill. Mr Massey: “Government institutions?” The Minister :‘ ‘ No. , Mr Massey thought there should be Government controlled institutions, and he advocated some system of classification of cases. Ho also suggested that cases dealt with under the Bill should be sent to an institution on an island in a place like Auckland tuuhour. ; The discussion was interrupted by the dinner adjournment, but Lie second reading was carried immediately after the House resumed. NOMENCLATURE. When the Waimate Agricultural Reserve Bill came up for its second read- , incr Sir William Steward raised his voice in favour of a revision of the 1 nomenclature of the colony. Here was a Bill referring to the well-known name Waimate. Now, everyone know that whenever Wainiato J was mentinned or shown in piint, the people knew that it referred to an important portion of Ins'(Sir William’s) electorate. If 'there were other Wtumates in the colony, and the Bill proved this inconvenient fact, then something ought

to be done about it. When during the evening sitting the Bill was in committee, Sir William urged and pleaded with the Minister (Mi- M'Ns.al to change the name of the Bill or put in the title an indication that the measure referred to a North Island district. Th© Minister thought his title was clear, and, would not have it interfered with. Sir AYilliam then moved for the insertion, of the word “ North ” after “Waimate ” in the title. The member for the Bay of Islands (Mr Houston) objected. There was a Waimate in his electorate also, a further confusion, which raised laughter, amid which the division was taken. • Sir William’s effort was defeated by 41 to 24. VAIN ENDEAVOURS. Mr Ell tried to get his principle of the universal vote introduced into th© Napier Harbour Board Loan Bill at this morning’s sitting of the House,, but it was defeated by 34 to 19 votes. Subsequently, when the Christchurch Tramway District Bill was in committee, the member for Christchurch South came within easy distance of getting the application of the parliamentary franchise to the tramway district. He argued that the people generally should have a vote on tramway loans, because they, by their patronage of the trams, would provide the interest on the loans. There was no need to discuss the matter, but a straight-out vote should be taken. The division resulted in Mr Ell’s defeat by 29 votes to 25, The following was the division list;—Ayes (25): —Messrs E. G. Allen, Arnold, Barclay, Buddo, Davey, Duncan, Eli, Fisher, Flat man, Guinness, Hall-Jones, Hanan, Hogan, Hornsby, Laurenson, M’Lachlan, Lawry, Macphereon, Millar, Poland, Poolo, Sidey, Stallworthy, Tanner and Sir William Steward, ' Noes (29) —Messrs Alison, J. Allen, Bonnet, Carroll, Colvin, Graham, Gray, GreenBlade, Heke, Henries, Houston, Jennings, Kidd Lewis, T. Mackenzie, M’Nab, Malcolm, Mander, Parata, Reid, Rhodes, Ross, Seddon, Byrnes, ' Wilford, Witty and Wood. A UNIVERSITY OP DAIRYING. An interesting statement was made by the Minister of Lands when th© Waimate .Agricultural Reserve Bill was being considered in committee to-night, concerning the long-expected experimental dairy school. The Cabinet, he said, had not yet decided upon the site for the school, but would do so as Soon, as the House rose at the end of this session. ' The Minister left the impression that it would be somewhere in the North Island, and would practically be the University of Dairying. There might \be several schools, but there could bo only one university, There would be a model farm attached, and the scope of the new establishment would be of a highly scientific and valuable nature. There was no such instii tution as he had in mind throughput Australasia, and the salaries would run into about £3OOO. With .the amount available from the Waimate Reserve (£1800), only a small sum would have to be placed on the Supplementary Estimate© to carry on his proposals to the. end of March next. It was intended to erecV'a model factory first. He (Hr M’Nab), had already got into communication with the presidents of Canadian Agricultural Colleges for particulars to assist in developing the new project. Mr Wilford suggested Trentham as the site for the school. Mr Harries wanted Waikato fixed upon as the choice. Mr Laurenson called attention to the claims of the Lyttelton or Akaroa districts. Mr Hogg thought Maaterton the best place, but Mr Stevens urged that the place meet suitable from the scientific point of view should be selected. !