LEGISLATION BY EXHAUSTION

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14304, 25 February 1910, Page 4

LEGISLATION BY EXHAUSTION

The Canterbury Employers' Association whose quarterly meeting, was held last night, protest in their quarterly report against the continuance of the practice of rushing important legislation through Parliament at the end of -each session. This growing scandal • has been denounced on all sides, and no defence is ever made, but session after session sees it repeated in aggravated form. Apparently nothing will cure the Government of the;habit;until';a determined " stonewall" is erected by some group of independent members, and we may hope that public indignation will finally induce this to be attempted. Intimately connected with legislation by exhaustion is the extraordinary waste of time during the earlier months of each session, members vying with one another in placing, their views upon every conceivable topic before their constituents,' transforming Parliament for this purpose into a mere political platform. The business of the country suffers monstrously in the process, legislation seriously affecting industry -being enacted without due consideration and with a most dangerous ' iudifference "•' to the result. The Canterbury Employers' Association report suggests that, as formal protests have failed, "some other steps" might be taken to* stop the evil complained of. : But it is difficult to see what can be done unless members of Parliament themselves determine that no business whatever shall go unchallenged while legislation by exhaustion is being attempted. If twenty members would keep themselves fresh by abstaining from idle and meaningless speaking while Parliamentary time is being wasted, they ought to be able to compel the Government to close the session in a decent mariner,:. , ■;