WORK OF THE SESSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17726, 10 September 1919, Page 2

WORK OF THE SESSION

PROBABLE LEGISLATION. DISCUSSION JN PARLIAMENT. (Fnoii Our Own Corhesi-ondent.) WELLINGTON, September 9. btatemenls regarding tlie probahlo duration of tiio session, tho business to l>o done, and Uii) date_ of tho election were made to the J-loiiso of Representatives by the'Prinio Minister to day. Tho statements wcroraiido hi reply to ndestions 'asked by tho Loader oi the Opposition and other members bir Joseph Ward a slc«l tho Prime Minister to inform tho House what business ho intended to t:iko during tho whole of the session. It was now within six or eight weeks of tlit! usual date for the election, unci the people had not been appealed to for iivo years Tins being so, he thought com-pli-to frankness from tho Government was de.sn-a.ble. bo { ar us J le coul j speak ff)r ])U t-itle of tho lioiiso members were anxious to help to put through tiio business of the country. Jho Prime Minister ami his associates must have- mado up their minds as to. the business to bo done, 'and iu the. circumstances as they were there, should bo no such thing as taking- party advantage* ot tnis knowledge) or withholding it from members generally. He thought also that the irime Minister ought to-inform tho •House and the country .13' to when tho general election would bo held. He admitted that this was not usual, but tbe circumstances woro unusual, and in view of the fact that both sides of the House would in! willing to help to put tho necessary legislation through, the country should not be kept in any doubt, as to when the election would take place. Ho declared that members of the Houso had a. right to this information. Was tho election to be held in the last week of November or the first week in December, or was it to be in tho second week of October? If the Prime Minister would givo this information it would ce tor honourable members to assist him to put tho legislation through. Tho Prime Minister might also tell tho Houso when the financial-Statement would come down and he might also say when tho proposals o[ the Government for tho payment of gratuities to soldiers would bo declared. This was a matter in which hundreds of thousands of people were interested. Mr Massey said the Leader of tho Opposition was quite within his rights* in asking such questions. He wished to assure tho Leader of the Opposition and members of the House that there was no intention on the part of the Government to tako any party advantage of tho knowledge it might have of tho business to be done during tho session. Ho hoped that never again would

they go back in New Zealand to the old system of party warfaro to which they had been accustomed in days past. Ho would not discuss this matter further, but there had in the past been too much party. , •Sα- Joseph Ward: "Hear, hear." Mr Massey: I am glad the honourable gentleman agrees with me. Sir Joseph Ward: -You take a lesson from me, and you will bo all right. Mr Massey said the session must be a short one. yiv Seinplo: The shorter the better. Mr Massey: It is all very well to say •the shorter the bettor," but the country expects to have a, certain amount of business put through. Mr Massey went on to deal with the business of the session'. There would bo financial legislation. The Financial Statement would bo ready in a week or toil days. Ho thought another sitting of tno Cabinet would be required before the Defence Minister would be ablo to make a statement to tho House regarding gratuities. This matter has already been given very full consideration, and every member of the Government wished to do the right thing by the soldiers as well as to do the fair thing by the people of the country, lie believed that the gratuities would give satisfaction to every right-thinking man and woman in the country, and ho believed also that they would give satisfaction to the soldiers. There would b* legislation dealing with education. So many promises had been made to the House that the people of tho country expected this legislation, and ho hoped that tho House would put it through. Thero would be legislation dealing with railway .-natters. would bo a little legislation dealing with lands, especially with repatriation, and there would be some Labour legislation. There wouid be a Mining Bill and a Coil Mines Bill, and there would bo legislation dealing with the housing problem. This was in preparation now. Thero was a Bill the purpose of which was to place women in the same political position as men, but this Bill was not ready yet. Thero v>ould be tho Cost of. Living Bill, which was already printed and ready for circulation, and he intended to introduce it latci in the sitting. There must be legislation dealing with tho future government of Sanioa. Mr Myers: You haven't got the mandate. Mr Massey said the Government- had it in cable form, and this would suffice for present requirements. The legislation he had mentioned should not prove contentious, and he did not anticipate that it would be delayed in its passage through the House. Thero would doubtless be some discussion on the Financial Statement. He hoped that it would bo short, although thero were no reasons why members should be denied their right of freo discussion. The general election would have to takes place this side of Christmas, and it must not be too near tho holidays. Mr Witty: Can't you carry on for another yoar , ' —(Laughter.) Mr Massey: Wo aro only getting accustomed to carrying on without elections.— (Laughter.) As soon as ihe business of tho session is completed I shall tell the Houso as nearly as possible when tho election will bo held. It is not possible to fix a date until the business is over. As a matter of fact, the date of' the general election is nover fixed until about three weeks before the election is held. He added that he was quite willing io take tho Houso into his confidence, and as soon as there was any further information ho would bo only too glad to lay it before the House Sir Josephi Ward asked (ho Prime Minister to tell tho Houso whether in the Icrislation dealing with Samoa it was intended to deal with the delioato and intricate* labour problem. Ho referred to coloured labour, which, ho said, was essential to the industry of tho island. Mr Massey..• It is not intended to deal with tho labour difficulty in tho legislation now bo.ng prepared. Thero is nothing in tho Bill up to tlto present with regard to tlie labour difficulty at Samoa. nwndate? lfOnl: M * W ° b ° Und to tako tho Mr Massoy? As loyal citizens of tho Empire I hope thero will be no objection to our accepting our responsibilities so far as Samoa is concerned. Mr P. Fraser asked the Primp Minister whether, among his non-contentious measures, he would introduce another non-con-tentious measure to brins: widows' pensions up,to the rate paid to women who became widows through tho epidemic; also whether he proposed to increase tho old-a.go pensions. _ "Mi- Massey: The whole subject of pensions is under consideration at tho present moment Mr .Fraser: "Will tho legislation bo introduced '!

Mr Massey : I am unable to answer that question. Mr Russell asked tho Primo Minister ■whether lie did not think that, after: fou'F years ot nothing but war legislation, it was tho duty of tho House, before it faced the elector?, to put in three months of solid \vork to make this session a working session. Unless this was done he thought this Parliament would go shamo and dishonour as a Parliament which had surrendered all its prerogatives to the National Government while the war continued, ..and which' as soon as the war was over scuttled to got to tho polls. Mr Witty : That is not a question; it is a speech. The iSpeaker drew Mr Russell's attention to the fact that he had pone further than was allowable in asking si question. Mr Massey said there was no intention of making this session anything but a working session, but it could not bo a long session. Tho honourable member has" suggested that it should bo of three months' duration, but this could not bo done unless tho elections were postponed. Mr Witty: Thut is what sorno of them want. Mr Mussey said that a .liree months' session woild be impossible without postponing the elections. He did not think that this should be necessary, as members generally wero anxious to assist the Government to pet on with the work. Ho hoped that when tho end of tho session wns reached memljers would ba able to look back on a satisfactory programme of work done. Mr Je?ininp made a suggestion that the "Was.h:ng-up" Bill should be circulated early,-and tnat if necessary n. supplementary list of olai!SO3 could bo added Inter. Mx Massey said that although tills had not been tho position in tho past one or two sessions, it would havo to be understood that this session there could bo no contentious clauses in the Bill.