THE WORK OF THE SESSION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10541, 24 August 1910, Page 2

THE WORK OF THE SESSION.

DETAILS BY THE PRIME MINISTER. LAND BILL NEXT WEEK. By Telegraph. (Special to Oamaru Mail.) Wellington, August- 23. In response to a suggestion of Mr Massey this afternoon that the Prime Minister should bring down a Land Bill, Sir Joseph Ward remarked that although the present was no time to make a detailed statement .011 the business for the rest- of the session, he was willing to say that he proposed to ask the House to go on with the whole of the Bills forecasted in the Governor's Speech. If the House would grapple with its business and get on w'tli ordinary expedition, he had very little doubt that the whole of the Government's proposals would be put through this session. The House would get the Land Bill next week, and he hoped that Mr Massey would be found supporting it.

'"lf it's a good freehold Bill I will do so," said Mr Massey. "You cann.'t think of anything but the freehold," said Sir Joseph, who added that the Bill would be found to contain proposals which he was fairly confident the country would support. The Land Bill would be down all right; there need be 110 fear about that — ("Hear, hear"), —and it would contain some very important proposals. He hoped that the Opposition would see that the Government was pretty progressive in this matter and that it would help the Government to put the Bill through. "It will do its duty," Mr Massey remarked.

"And so will me," said Sir Joseph. The Prime Minister said that lie hoped to introduce the Local Government Bill by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week. The measure would certainly come down, but it would be for the House t:> say whether it should go through this session. His own opinion was that it would not go through, hut the people should at least have an opportunity of considering its important proposals before it uas passed. There was no reason why all the other proposals in the Governor's Speech should not be carried out if the House only got into working order, which, however, it seldom did before the middle of the session. He did not expect that the House would finish its work before the middle or end of November. He. certainly would not attempt to drive the House, but would ask it to keep early hours. In fact he saw 110 earthly reason why they should not rise before midnight right to the [end of the session. He hoped to introduce the Post Audit Bill on the following day, and thought it should be passed into law this year. There should be no difficulty in getting through with the maternity scheme, the national annuities, Defence Bill, Crown Suits Amendment, Receipt of Commission, and Public Debt Extinction Bills. There was really no reason why the bulk of the Government's programme should not be passed and if that was done it would be a very good thing for the whole of the country.