BONDS VALIDATION BILL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15374, 8 August 1913, Page 8

BONDS VALIDATION BILL.

adventure' IN COMMITTEE. mr. Harris nonplussed. MEASURE GIVEN ANOTHER ' : ; CHANCE. ' [BY TIXEGEAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Wellin :to.\, Thursday. In all the history of Parliament a Bill has not often been more quickly made an end of than was the Premium Bonds Validation Bill in the House of Representatives this evening. The House went into Committee on the Bill at 8.2 p.m., and two minutes later the member in charge of it—Mr. A. Harris ' (Waitemata) —was walking away from the table, carrying his dead Bill under his arm.

When the Chairman of Committees (Mr. A. S. Malcolm) rose to put the short title of the Bill, Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) jumped up quickly, and said: " I move, sir, that you do leave the chair on this Bill." The Chairman immediately put the motion, " That I do leave the chair on this Bill." There was a hearty chorus of "ayes," and not a single no." Mr. Malcolm declared the motion carried, and at once left the chair. .

Mr. Harris was completely taken by surprise, and evidently did not realise the situation. He sat at the table for a moment or two in a state of utter bewilderment, not knowing exactly what had struck him, while loud laughter rang out all round the House. Then he got up and exchanged a few words with the Prime Minister before walking slowly and saddy | back to his seat. "I never saw anything j like that before," he remarked. ; | The point of the incident was. that if | Mr. Harris, or any other member, had | called out " No," the Bill could only have been killed upon a division. The incident was one of the principal topics of conversation in the lobbies during the evening. "First Aid" to Dead Measure.When the Hon. Jas. Allen moved the adjournment of the House at 11.25 p.m., Mr. Harris interrupted to move, " That on Wednesday, September 3, the House do again resolve itself into a committee on the Premium Bonds Validation Bill." ' '-■ Mr. T. M. Wilford (Hutt) contended that, the motion could only, come up when pub lie business) for the day had been disposed of. The Commercial Trusts 'Bill had been called, and until it had been disposed ■of in some way the motion was not admissible.y ; Th© Speaker did not uphold the;bbiec-; tion. and the debate on the motion, continued. ■ - ••• ~ Mr. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) said that the debate on ; this Bill had made it clear that the House was not in favour of the measure. ' ' " '; /.^-' '■■'• "•■■■ The Hon A. T. ;Ngata:- f There would have : been no necessity for the honourable I gentleman to move this motion at all if lie had not "missed the 'bus" in commit tee. If he had been aware of the standings orders what occurred, in committee would not hive' occurred.V- >- ;?;? >'. ■•; V '■■: ; '^'^' : )■■. Member and .Minister. ■ Mr. Russell said the House had /ample opportunities, of expressing its ■-. opinion on the Bill. / - . '"■ Tho Hon. W. H. Hemes: The House did: not. '. The committee did. Mr. Russell asked the Speakerl;tb>restrain the - Minister • for Railways, "who was acting like a perfect larrikin in the House.'" ■ (Cries of Order). " > • . ; Mr. Russell substituted .the term ''political larrikin." If the '• honourable gentleman had no sense of dignity of his position, he should be sensible of the dignity of the House. Mr. Hemes (laughing): Order, order. ■After some : further discussion a division was taken, when ■ by 29 ~yoteEr"'tb "23 . the; : motion for re-committal was carried. The; division was on party lines, and was more a reversal of Mr. Russell's move in committee than deliberate support-of the Bill. The- Bill was;formally.set down. for.re-' committal on September 3, but 'in' the or-, dinary course it will hot again come to the top .of the Order Papers, as' there will be no' more private members' days this session. .'