POLITICAL NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIV, Issue 16352, 23 September 1913, Page 8

POLITICAL NOTES.

[From Our Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, September 22. • IMPREST SUPPLY.

Tuesday week" being the last day of the month an Imprest Supply Bill will doubtless be introduced on or before Friday next. Thr* Labour members have announced their intention of making up for their lost opportunity when the Labour estimates wero put through without, discussion, and in their absence. They intend to bring under review certain industrial and Labour matters which would ordinarily have been thrashed out on the Estimates. ROYD GARLICK COMMITTEE. It is understood that tho Royd Garlick Committee will present its report to the House to-morrow afternoon. The findings are said to be unanimous. LAND BILL. The Land Bill, which went through the Lands Committee on Friday, will be reported early this week, lhe Committee's amendments are understood to have been merely minor one's. The second reading and the debate will probably come on this week, when a very keen discussion is anticipated, tho Opposition being likely to have a good deal to say about land aggregation. THE STONEWALL SPECTRE. Much anxiety was shown on the. Government side over the plans of the Opposition party on Friday evening. The week-end holidays of southern members generally include the Friday night, but only one or two Government supporters could .prevail on the party whips to let them go, .as another stonewall on the Estimates was feared. Nothing of the kind, however, was contemplated, unless the Government fail-ed-to keep to the terms of its surrender—namely, the production of the annual departmental report before passing the annual appropriations. Things were cut very fine over the Agricultural'Department, tho reports for this big State activity being circulated unofficially only an hour before the Estimates came on. The report has yet to bo presented .in the proper way to Parliament. Excellent .progress was made on the Estimates when they wero last tackled, the talk being strictly to the point and mostly useful. As Defence matters are being considered by a, select committee and there is a Dofence Bill to come down this session, Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Myers, two ex-Ministers of Defence, refrained from speaking on the Estimates, in this way materially assisting tho Government to got a good day's work done. Mr Massey, however, wanted still more at 1.30 a.m., hut the straight indication from Sir Joseph Ward that if ho took the State Guaranteed Advances Department Estimates at that unreasonable hour Sir Joseph would speak on every item caused a swift change of plans, and the week-end t was quiet and refreshing for jaded legislators.