THURSDAY. JUNE 29.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 17

THURSDAY. JUNE 29.

In the Legislative Council on Thursday notice was given of a bill to reform the constitution of the Council by making it elective. The debate on the Addrees-in-Reply -was not concluded. In the House of Representatives or. Thursday notice ivas given of a number of bills, while another batch was put through the first-reading stage. The debate on the second reading of the Shops and Offices Act Amendment Bill occupied the rest of the afternoon and the whole of tho evening sitting. The motion was eventually carried and the b^l referred to the Labour Bills Committee, to report within 1* day*. THE OTAGO UNIVERSITY. A meeting of Otago members, convened by- Mr Bedford, was held to-day in connection with the Government grants for the Medical and Mining Schools of Otago University. The meeting- was merely of a preliminary nature. A deputation is to be appointed to wait on the Minister of Education in connection with the matter. I nndtrftand thai one of the grievances obtaining in connection with the University College has been removed, the Cabinet having authorised the payment of £3/5 .(one-fourth of the £1500 voted) for the Medical School. The Government wished the authorities ta provide for the Veterinary School and a!s« for the School of Mines out of this vote, which, however, was regarded as insufficient. Tho deputation to be appointed v, ill dealamongst other matter*, with the grant i"*J the School of Mines. OLD-AGE PENSIONS. The. Old-age Pensions Bill introduced by the Premier provides that the amount ot the pension shall be increased to 10s a week, and that it shall be diminished by £l for every complete pound of income above. £26, and also by £1 for every complete £11

of-the net capital value of all accumulated property. .CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT BILL. '- The Criminal Code Act Amendment Bill, Xhieh has been introduced by the Minister "of Justice, is a short measure, having as its object the extension of the time during tonhich an information may be laid for offences against young, girls from one to six months, and powei- is given to the ecrart fco order the exclusion from the court ot persons under 21 years of age when such a course is considered desirable- in the mtsrestV of public morality. It is Provided also that in any such case the court may - forbid the publication of the whole or any portion of the evidence given therein, and ike breach of any such order may be dca-t jrith as contempt -of court. -GAMING AND LOTTERIES. -The -Gaming and Lotteries Act Amend*ienfr Bill has again made its appearance. Its .principal object is to make it a punishable offence to establish or carry on agencies in the colony for the sale of tickets in, sweeps in Australia or elsewhere. Ihe heathen Chinee is not forgotten, it being provided that the games of pa-ka-poo and lan-ton shall be regarded as unlawful games. . ' "legislative council election BILL. Sir "William Steward's Legislative Council EleUion BUI 'is on the lines of his previous , attempts to alter the constitution of the . .tTppe? House. It provides that the number -of members who are to be elected shaUconsist of -40, and that the term of office «hall be seven years. SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL. The debate on the second reading of the ' Khops and Offices Act Amendment Bill, • which took up considerable time this afternoon, produced little or nothing of a new "character. The speeches on both sides conlisted mainly of a repetition of statements Which have been made time after time in • ■ fehe course of the past few months. Ihe 1 Premier, after stating that he was not aware of' ihe existence of the ciaree until the -amended bill was received from the Upper House", to further excuse him- ■ self by 'saying that when he. moved that the; -cfrise be agreed fo he did not felly grasp its .import. -Mr Massey, in reply to this, ■ quoted *rom Hansard to show that the Pre- , toier-stated -at the time that he considered the"- bill as amended was a very good one. ' (Mr James Allen dealt a severe thrust at the '{Premier 'by pointing out that -in replying; in : December last to the request for a; ■pedal session of Parliament to amend the fcffl he (Mr Seddon) had stated that if a epecial session was hetd the petitioners Would not find themselves very much ahead. '"Does W- as£e-d Mr Allen, really think; efter all that clause 3 is a_ good clause. . The Premier did not enlighten the House; - as to the meaning, of thi3 awkward dis- - ©repancy- A great deal of time was occu-, toied by a wrangle between fhe Government. and tiie. Opposition as to the ongm of the notorious clause" 3. Mr Seddon having again made his oft repeated statement that ije-was-not^aware of the insertion of the clause until the bill was~brought down from the Legislative Council, Mr Massey pointed but 4hat the" clause had been added on the motion of -the Premier's own •olleague, the > Attorney-general. To this Mr Seddon replied that Colonel Pitt had merely moved the clause on behalf of an absent member, but Mr Jas. Allen pointed out that there Vas nothing on the records to show that Mich was the case. Whilst the wordy interchange on the subject was going on Sir . Voseph Ward left the chamber, and a few minutes "later returned with a statement that -he had just seen Colonel Pitt, and obtained his version of what had occurred. ' this was to the effect that the clause had been added by the Labour Bills Committee and that as the Chairman of that - committee was indisposed he asked the 'Attorney -general to move the clause on his behalf, together with a number of other clauses which had been added by the iLafcour Bills Committee. He (Sir Joseph) freely acepted his responsibility in regard to what had occurred, but he thought that all members should also accept their share. ~>Fhe Premier has several times denied that the bungle in regard to the act was due to its being rushed through in the 'dying hours" of the session. In this connection the records of Hansard were brought forjward again, to-day by Mr Massey to show that the clauses added by the LegislativeCouncil (including clause 3) were agreed to' by the House at half-past 2 on the morning of the last day of the session. He asserted that if the bill nad been brought down at an earlier hour in the evening the clause" would- not have been agreed to. Ihe, Premier sought to improve his position to )ome extent in this regard by saying that »o far as the information at his command showed the bill was brought down from ;he Upper House, not at half-past 2, but at .5 minutes past 1. Mr Massey retorted that ac could only be guided by the time >ndieated in the marginal note in Hansard, c.nd this plainly showed that the clauses j were agreed to by the tired and jaded

House at exactly one minute after half-past UNWORKABLE LAWS. In the course of his remarks on the Shops and Offices Bill the Premier, referring to the non-enforoement of the act, said that the act was imperfect and unworkable, and that the people who had been fined for infringing it need not have been iined had they been aware of the fact. He also asserted that there were other laws on our Statute Books which were in the same position, and which no Government dare attempt to enforce. " Tell iis the names of one or two," interjected Mv James Allen. "I am nob a walking enclyoopasdia," retorted Mr Seddon. " I refer you to your Attorney-general, the member for Mount Ida . (Mr Herdiman). You go to your Attorney-general and I will go to mine." Mr Allen : "Is the liquor act one of them?" ''No, ft is' not," snapped the Premier. THE ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. The- Address-in-Heply to the Speech delivered by his Excellency the Governor is ' a fearful and wonderful composition. There are several sentences without predicates, which is a contradiction in terms. Here is one: "Also any bills that may be submitted to us relative to the occupation of the Native lands, and for an increased supply of water for mining and irrigation purposes in Central Otago." Then there is a misuse of prepositions, such as " the traffic of" ovir railways instead ofi ' the traffic on" our railways. In another sentence the omission of the word .." we" makes the " mining industry" hope that the improved , organisation of the Geological Department , may lead to further discoveries of gold and other minerals. Another sentence makes Sir Alfred Jerome Oadman, K.C.M.G.. now dead, still Speaker of the Legislative Council. Here is one sentence that may b& regarded as a .perfect gem: — "It is satisfactory to hear that the United States has made reparation .for the treatment the New Zealander who had been refused permission to land at San .Francisco, who was improperly treated at Honolulu on his way back to the colony." These are only a few of the mistakes with which the Reply bristles. Yesterday Air Seddon objected to . have several amendments made in this precious document. To-day, however, it was found that it had been .somewhat improved. Mr James Allen, noticing this, asked if it was a breach of privilege for anyone to alter the wording of a resolution after it had been passed by the House. The Speaker replied that literal errors, such as .mistakes in punctuation, could be altered, and that it was also permissible so long a* the purport of the resolution was not. changed, to change a word or two in order that the Governor might be able to understand what was meant. The Speaker's reply was' received with a burst of hearty laughter. Mr Seddon muttered that he could not be responsible for every comma in a resolution, " fco which Mr Allen retorted that it was a. . question of a good deal more than a comma. THE RIVAL- CABLE ROUTES. J Some interesting -figures in respect to the • Pacific and .the Eastern Extension Com--pany's cable routes appear as an appendix to the -annual report of the Post and Tele-, graph Department. The number of ordi-' nary messages sent during the year 1904 over the Pacific route was 74,80*, of- the value of £+3,636, as compared with 72,595 messages, of a value of £39,512, in the previous year. The number of press messages via the Pacific cable ak.o showed an increase last year, there being 486, of a value of £518, as against 325, valued at £297, in 1903. The ordinary messages sent over the Eastern Extension Company's route last year numbered 12,395 (value, £7204), as compared with 16,351 (value, £10,344) in 1903 ; ; and the number of press messages over the fame route decreased last year from 1270 (value, £938) to 1065 (value, £629). BELL AMY'S. The dosing of Bellamy's at 10 o.m. is leading to some complaint from members of bcth Hotises. The liquor drinkers hope that if their privileges are cut off the blue ribbon brigade will not be able to get tea or coffee after 10 p.m. A trial of strength on the question may be expected when the House Con-.rail.tec is being set up. JOTTINGS. According to Mr Lang tho Land Committee cf the Hou=>e, which was formerly - one .of the mosr oiderly of committees, is now " more like a bear garden than anything else." . i Mr Fisher ■vrUh'is to eecuro an increase in the penalties pro\ ided for &ly gvogselling. A petition has been presented praying ' that the sentence of five years passed upon Thomas Brown at New Plymouth in September last for an illegal operation on a young woman should be commuted on the grounds of the prisoner's previous good character, his age (62 years), and the fact that immediately upon his arrest he confesed. Certain Legislative Councillors appear to i bo already contemplating what may happen to *uy one of them in the event of their

Chamber being niade elective. Speaking on the subject of pensions to-day, Mr Beehau said ho considered that members of the Council on retiring after years of service should be allowed to retain the title of "honourable" as well as their railway pass for life. The Hon. Mr Wigram wants the Government to abandon the idea <-f competitive desgins in connection with the building for the Colonial Exhibition at Christchurch, and to give the work at once to some wellknown architect.

The Hon. Mr Bolt quoted a long array of figures in the Legislative Council to-day with the object of showing that the muchTaunted prosperity of tho colony is shared by all except the -wage-earning olass-es. During the last 13 years, he said, the value of lands held by private owners had increased by no less than £26,500,000. Speaking of the proposed training ship Sparrow in the Council this afternoon, the Hon. iur Jenkinson said the vessel was out of date, and only fit to be used as a reformatory, and he did not think this was the object of those who had advocated the training-ship movement.