N.Z. PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 15

N.Z. PARLIAMENT.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11. In. the House of Representatives on Friday the afternoon was spent in a discussion on the question of compensating the lessee of the Rotakeve Domain, whose lease was cancelled by legislation of last session. In the evening the Estimates were discussed at some length, the progress made being somewhat small. ROTOKARE DOMAIN ACT. The Lands Committee recommend -;d to the favourable consideration of the Gov-cn-ment a- petition from the lessee of the Roto- ' kare Domain (near Hawera) for compensation for being deprived of his lease under the Rotokare Domain Act. To the motion that the report be adopted Mr MASSEY moved as an amendment — " That the House is of opinion that the settlers whose , leases were cancelled by ' The Rotokare Domain Act Repeal Act, 1903,' should be fully compensated for their losses." — A discussion on this lasted nearly the whole afternoon, and was interrupted by the 5 30 adjournment. THE ESTIMATES. At the vote for Legislative Departments, £23,559, complaint made that members tad not sufficient convenience provided tor •them for the purpose of seeing their constituents.—Mr SEDDON said it -was fast coming to a question of rebuilding the old portion of Parliament Buildings. — Mr TAYLOR suggested that the Hansaard staff should be thrown open to women, who, he . urged, were quite capable of doing the work. — Several members of the Opposition adversely commented on the form in which the Estimates were put beffore the House". —Mr SEDDON replied that the j Estimates showed quite enough. Money 1 was voted last year, it was expended, and no further vote on those items was required. Why burden the Estimates with a lot of details about that sort of thing?— Mr TAYLOR complained of the difficulty that even members had of getting even a fragment of information. Members of the civil servioe seemed to be in a state of terrorism, and were afraid even to answer 0, simple- question as to the time of day. He moved to reduce the vote by £1. as he ibad reason to believe that the coal used in Parliament Buildings did not come from the State ooa.l mines.— Mr SEDODN replied that the coal came from the Seddonville mine.— -Mr -Taylor's , amendment was nega- - lived on th© voices. — After further discussion the total vote' passed unaltered. Colonial .Treasurer's Department, £44,328. — rAt the vote ■ for £1000 for law costs of the Land and Income Tax Department, Mr TAYLOR said Sthere must be a large number of lawyers 'in' Government employ, and it was beyond" his comprehension why xaojiey should" be' thrown away oh outside firms. The colony must throw away a small, for tune every year^oh legal expenses. 'If Ministers gave more " attention to' their • departments they could save the colony . £10,000 a year.*- We were going to have a period of retrenchment in this country,, and it was a pity 'we did not "make a start ' •now to p-ropare for it. — At the item, £4900 fox extra clerical assistance, Mr TAYLOR entered a protest against thi3 system of casual labour. A large number j of highly-qualified lads were' now passing the civil sorvice examinations, and they should be^ drafted into the various departments in preference to engaging casual assistance.— Mr HERDMAN urged the establishment of a Civil Service Board, and said for waiit of such a, board many branches" of the civil service were becoming demoralised.-^Mr SEDDON said he would not interfere wit/h. the administration of the Tax Department, lie declared "that, with reg-ard to the Commissioner of Taxes and Commissioner of Stamps, for • one case they had lost they had gained 20. j The Premier remarked that the number of people who sent in incorrect tax returns J was surprising. They didn't see any sin an "doing" the Government. — Mi* MASSEY took exception to the vote of £300 honorarium to W. Kennaway for ser■.vices rendered to l the stock and loan agents. He, argued that, if the payment was jtisti■fied,, it should have been charged against ! the loan, and not against the Colonial Treasurer's Department.— Mr SEDDON said the vote- was for- extra work. As to the cost of the last loan, he declared that at would not -cost much more than £25,000. He woiild give the information as soon ps he was able.— (Mr MASSEY: "Besides th© 'prepaid interest?")— Mr SEDDON: That' 3 -another matter entirely. -That, he urged, did not come into the cost of raising the .loan. Altogether the result was. .£97 5s. — ,Mr MASSEY: -urged .that. the cost of the ,ioan did jiot^inoiude .the. prepaid intei*est j (about £4000). That was - part "of/ the cost ' :.of floating the loan.— (Mr . SEDDON: "No, no.") — Mr MASSEY went ,on to express a • fcelief that the cost of' the loan would be meaner £30,0(50 than £25,91)0, ,and he contendied that a return should be presented showing the actual cost of the loan. The colony, he urged, was paying. 4 per cent, for a loan which did not net £97. — Mr TAYLOR upheld this , .contention, and moved that the vote of £300 to Kennaway be struck out.— Mr SEDDON said the £300 covered -three yeaxs, and had nothing to do with the last loan.— Mr DUTHIE moved a prior amendment to strike out fihe item "' Expenses attending the annual drawing of debentures issued under 'The Consolidated Loan Act, 1867,' £336." The servioes given, he urged, were not worth a quaiter of the money.— Mr SEDDON said fhe act of 1867 was the authority for the payment, and there was. ne .help for it. iVir DIJTH.IE withdrew, his amendment. t M r SEDDON said ,he would give the House details of th© expenses of the last loan before the next Imprest Supply Bill was brought down.— Mr Taylor's amendment was lost by 33 to 6.— The total vote ,was then agreed to on the voices. Progress was reported. LAND COMMISSION'S REPORT. It is now four weeks since the report of the Land Commission was presented to Parliament, but as yet the date for the commencement of the discussion on the report ftas not been fixed. The niinutes of th© proceedings of th© commission, which are entirely devoid of any information -of \nterest, were laid on the table of the House today, and fir Massey took advantage of 'the occasion to ask the Premier whether ■lie was prepared to fix a day for th© discusekm of the report. Mr / Seddon replied *hat he was not pre Dared at th© moment 'to answer th© question, but he hoped to 'Tjp able to give a definite reply on Tuesday: next. THE FACTORIES ACT. The Labour Bilk Committee ha^ taken,

evidence and reported on the Factories Acfc, 1901, Amendment Bill. It is, proposed to add the following paragraph to section 31 of the act: "Every person of the age of 20 years or over who has been employed in any capacity in a factory, or factories, for a period of not less than four years shall be entitled to l'eceive from the occupier payment for the work at such rate as is agreed on, being in no caso less than 17s per week." The bill as introduced by Mr Taylor provided that anyone "of the age of 20 who is employed in any capacity in a factory" should get this minimum wage. The Labour Bills Committee, .however, modified it as above. ! JOTTINGS. " ! If we could only' get Ministers to take a little interest in their departments, said Mr Taylou to-night, I am sure they could save hundreds and thotisands of pounds. Retrenchment, he said, would have to come some day, and a nice screaming row there will be when the pruning knife is put in. The inclusion of an item of £80 for soap and blacklead in a group of contingencies in the House of Representatives votes/ aroused the inquisitiveness of some of the members to-night. ",Why," said Mr Hawkins, " that is enough soap to last the whole lof Wellington for 12 months. I should like Ito know wher© it goes to. I am not satis1 fied that it is legitimately used." "Appoint a Minister of Soan!" was th© brilliant inspiration of Mr M'Lachkn. The Post says: "We have Mr A. R. Atkinson's authority for contradicting a published report that he will contest th© Riccarton seat at the coming general election. Mr Atkinson says that he has not even been approached on the subject." I SATURDAY, AUGUOT 12. HOW PARLIAMENT DOES ITS WORK. meagre amount of interest taken by members of th© House* generally in the passing of the large sums of money represented by the it-ems on the Estimates was once more apparent ou Friday night. The members of the Opposition wen'e well in evidence, and tte New Liberals of course took a promi- ! nent part in criticising some of the votes. The attendance off Government supporters, however, was very small. At 20 minutes after midnight there were 30 memters pre- ; sent, including 10 who might fairly be classed as Oppositionists, and one of th© remaining 11 Govern aient members was j palpably asleep. In addition to the Pre- i mier, only one Minister (Mr Hall-Jones), j who also appeared to be asleep, took suf- | ficient interest in the proceedings to vwt in an appearance. A a quarter of an hour later the Minister of Railways, the Minister ! of Lands, and thte, Commisp-ioner of Customs ' were in their places, but even with that I addition the amount of interest in the txto- i ceed'irigs was ' slight indeed. Throughout I the proceedings the number of members j present was less than 50 per cent, of the whole, ' and the final . division, just before i 1 a.m., disclosed: rhe faot that only 39 were i present. ! A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING DEPART- ! 1 MENT. • I During the discussron on the Estimates j last night Mr Taylor made a strenuous attempt to make the House fully acquainted ' with one feature of the careful supervision ; which, according to his statement, the Government exercised over members of Parliament and the remarks they make in their public speeches. He said that in the , Government Buildings there is what is known as an Executive Library, the purpose of which is to keep a record of what miem- : bers say to their constituents as recorded in I th© public prints. The usefulnes of this j department, as explained by the member ; for Ghristohucih, is often made apparent in ! -the House, and the records there'kept are available at a moment's notice for Ministers, who are able to confront a member with what h& actually said, and also serve to I inform the Government of the attitude of every member on praotically evei-y subject I which is likely to come before the House. Mr Taylor made repeated efforts to discover from what vote the people who run this department are paid, but the Premier successfully bowled him out on points of order, and 310 information was forthcoming beyond a vague assertion that Mr Taylor would have a, chance of bringing up the matter ' under some other class. i THE TROUBLES OF MEMBERS. Objection was raised in the House to a system that has grown up of persons — it was alleged, they were inebriated— accosting ir-embers in the parliamentary grounds. Mr Barber complained that he was "stuck up" in th© grounds by people who would not be allowed on Lambton quay. He suggested thata policeman should be -stationed' in the parliamentary grounds. The Premier, said -there was a good story going round that a man' who was intoxicated sent in for Mr Bedford as he wanted to take the pledge. — (Laughter.) Seriously speaking, however, he would mention th© matter to the Minister of Justice to see -if some steps could not be taken to prevent i>eople from troubling members. I OUR COASTAL SURVEYS. The work of surveying th© coast, says the Minister of Marine in his annual report, has been continued by H.M.S. Penguin, which has now been employed on it for four years. The work has been carried out under an arrangement with the Imperial Government under which the colony pays half the cost. The arrangement with the Admiralty has been terminated as from the end of this year's work. In view of this, the department is establishing a marine survey for which ifc is proposed to ask ParliaI ment to make the necessary provision during the session. Thore is still a. good deal of coastal work to bo done, and the most important of this should be carried out before any harbour work is undertaken. TUESDAY, AUGUST 15. . Th© Legislative Council reassembled on Tuesday after a fortnight's holiday. A motion was passed placing on recox'd a recognition of the services of the late Hon. H. K. Taiaroa, and the Council adjourned as a mark of respect to the deceased member. In the House of Representatives on Tuesday, after formal busine«, the question of the voucher for an alleged payment to Captain Seddon again came up. A petition was presented by three civil servants in Christchurch asking that the inquiry into the matter should be: open to the press In their affidavits, which have now been produced, they state that they saw and

handled a voucher for a payment to Captain Seddon. As a counter-move, a petition was also presented by Captain Seddon, with a declaration that he has never received any such payment as is alleged since he has been, in the service of the Government. The incident disposed of, the Houseadjourned earlier than usual as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Hon. H. K. Taiaroa. In the evening, the Shops and Offices Bill was considered in com- ! mittee, progress being eventually reported. SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL. The Shops and Offices Bill came on for discussion in the House to-night. The • debate made it evident that the Labour i Bills Committee, despite the considerable 1 time given by it to the question, has not succeeded in " licking " the measure into a shape generally acceptable to the people ; concerned. In the first place- it was pointed ' out that the committee, whilst it had reI stricted the hours of assistants, had not in any way restricted the hours during which j shops should be open. Mr Barber, a member of the committee, made the oandid con- ! fession that when the bill left the com- . mittee the members were under th© im- ! pression that they had restricted ths hours of closing. In the haste with which the report was completed he said th© committee did not understand how the bill stood when it left their hands. He did not believe that even the Premier, as the member in charge of the bill, understood it. The discussion showed that the question still remains one full of vexation and perplexity, and it more than ever emphasised the difficulty of framing a measure to suit all the interests involved. JOTTINGS. Mr Duthie has given notice to ask the Government under what arrangements is the Government life insurance business now being undertaken in London? In the issue of the New Zealand Times of the 14th inst. its London correspondent mentions: — "The business transacted on behalf of the New Zealand Government Life Insurance Department shows an increase. The number of policies registered in London during 1904- was 539, as against 499 in the previous year." Mr Herries wants to know who is responsible for the introduction of the American racoon at Rotorua ; whether the Minister is aware of the destructive nature of these animals, and if he will take steps to have them destroyed? Mr Duthie is to ask on what Conditions, and to whom, is th^ .privilege of the u®s of scenic negatives taken for the Tourist Department granted, and why is this advantage refused to .others? WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16. In the Legislative Council on Wednesday the Mutual Fire Insurance Act Amendment and Motor Registration Bills were put through the committee stage. In the House of Representatives on Wednesday the whole afternoon sitting was practically taken up with replies to questions and the debate arising out of these replies. In the evening the Marriage Restrictions Removal and Statutes Compilation Act Amendment Bills were passed. A debate, which lasted beyond midnight, then foiv lowed on Mr Ell's Rating on Unimproved Value Acfc Amendment Bill, when the discussion was adjourned. The debate had the effect of preventing Mr Sidey's Bible-in-Sehools Plebiscite Bill comdng up for consideration, and as yesterday was the last Wednesday on which private members' bills take precedence, Mr Sidey's measure is not likely to foe heard of again this session. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. In reply to questions Ministers stated : That the regulations for training colleges provided for the inclusion in the curriculum of special courses in Nature-study of elementary agriculture, and as soon as aiTangements with regard to the training colleges at the four large centres have been made the necessary training in rural science will be fully provi?J°d for. That J. B. Heywooo*, Secretary to the Treasury, is responsible for the payment of claims made against the Imperial Government, and payments made in this colonyout of Imperial funds are duly audited by the Imperial Audit Department. v. That a bill has been prepared dealing with the recommendations agreed to at the recent conference of Acclimatisation Societies, and it is hoped to proceed with it this session. That it is* not the intention of the Minister of Customs to refund any portion of the £75 received by him as travelling aliowance while on the Mapouriki islands trip. The adjournment of the House was moved and the- usual discussion took place on replies to questions. LOCAL BILLS. The Local Bills Committee has reported the Education Board of the District of Otago Empowering Bill with amendments. These consist of substituting "lease" for "sale" as applied to the land from which revenue is sought to be derived by the Education Board and applied to the building of a new Normal School, Training College, and School of Art. This is in accordance with the arrangement lately come to by the deputation from the Otago Board recently in Wellington and the Minister of Education. The Local Bills Committee has also reported the Dunedin District Drainage and Sewerage Act, 1900, Amendment Bill. By this the board is to be empowered to borrow further money up to £100,000 (r.oc £150,000, as originally sought by this bill), making £300,000 in all to be borrowed by the board up to date, instead of £200,000, as originally provided in the act of 1900. The rating power is increased to Is, Bd, and 6d for eewered, unsewored, and outer areas. The same committee has reported the Dunedin City and Suburban Trams and Watei: Power Act, 19.03, Amendment Bill without alteration. Mr Millar is in charge of theso three bills, and they have been recommended by the committee to be allowed to proceed. QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT. j The present system of dealing with questions is causing increasing Only two hours are allowed for members to speak to the question of adjournment.

Each member has 15 minutes, and of necessity Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition can always catch Mr Speaker's eye. This leaves space for very few others if each speaker takes his full time, as is usually the case ; but what is most urgently demanded by the unsatisfied members is some plan under whicls members who sit patiently , in the House and rise half a dozen times ' shall not be brushed aside in favour of some member who Jias only just entered the House, or only rises once and is im1 mediately successful The remedy appears to ho the curtailment of the time allotted to members. The irksome feature of the present .system is that members who do j nofc_ ventilate grievances are considered by 1 their constituents to be neglecting their duty. BLOCKING THE BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS BILL. This evening's sitting was token up with a lorog, dreary discussion on Mr Ell's Rating on Unimproved Values Bill (No. 2). The mover and the subsequent speakers for the mobt part unburdened themselves of their eloquence to empty benches. The bell had _to be rung repeatedly to keep a House, and members who remained in the chamber made no effort to pretend an interest which they did not feel in regard ,to the proceedings. The evident object of keeping the debate going all the- evening was to block Mr Sidey's Bible-in-Schools Plebiscite Bill the committal of which appeared as the next business on the Order j Paper. As this is ■ the last Wednesday on . Which private members' bilk are to take s precedence, Mr Sidey's bill will, unless by special courtesy of the Government have , no further chance of getting into committee, ! and its doom is generally regarded as i sealed. The debate dragged along till halfpast 12 (after which no new business could be taken). A motion for the adjournment of the debate was then carried, and it may 1 bt> expected that no more will be heard of ) the bill this session. The Premier, in ' moving "that the House do now adjourn,'' remarked: "I think that niy resolution to make this the last private members' Wednesday will be received v/ith unanimous approval of the House." Mr Massey: "I quite agree with the Premier. The night , has been wasted." , j SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL. : Mr Massey scored an imnortant point in. regard to the Shoiis and Offices Bill last night when he succeeded in carrying an j important amendment to section 21 of the principal act, which allows a majority of the shopkeepers in a district, by requisition, to fix any hour for closing the shops on an ordinary working day. The Leader of the Opposition moved that a tbree-fiiths i majority should be necessary for this purpose, and the House supported him by 36 votes to 28. The present position of the bill, apart from this amendment, ' is that clause 3 of last year's act has been repealed, and that the hours of shop assistants are retained at a maximum of 52 per week. j IMPERIAL PAYMENTS. The Colonial Treasurer was asked this afternoon by Mr Herdman whether payrarents made out of moneys received from the Imperial Government for disbursement in New Zealand were audited, and if so, by whom. He received' the following reply :— " The Secretary ,to the Treasury (Mr J. B. Hey wood) is the Paymaster-general, and is responsible for the payment of claims made against the Imperial Government, and payments made in this colony out of Imperial funds are duly audited by the Imperial Audit Department." Mr Herdman, in the course oi some remarks on the subject, said that some months ago a young man who had served in one of the contingents had received a demand from a Government Department for a irefund of the sum of £46 which had been paid to him in error, and he was threatened with legal proceedings. He did ,n»t comply. There had, he believed, been several such oases. This showed a laxity in the administration of sums received by the Government for disbursement. An audit, he said, should be made here. Mr Taylor, who also spoke on the subject, said he had been informed that claims for £30,000 or £40,000, which had been made by the colony against the Old Country, had been repudiated by the Imperial Government on the around of insufficient proof of expenditure. In consequence of this the amount had had to b© charged to thfi Consolidated Fund. The ! Premier explained the demands made for i refunds by saying that payments had been duplicated in South Africa. He said ther-a was no truth in the allegation that the Imperial Government had repudiated the I large claims mentioned by Mr Taylor. They j had, he said, a paymaster appointed by th© Imperial Government, and as the (payments ; were also ohecjked by the Undef-secretary for Defence this was, he thousrht. sufficient. Mr Fisher has given notice of a motion bearing on this subject. It is as follows: " That there be laid' before the House a j return showing (1) the particulars of all payments made by the Imperial Government through" Ihe New Zealand Govern- ] ment for _ the services of colonial officers ; rendered in New Zealand between the Ist June, 1899 and the Ist June, 1905, (2) the names of the persons to whom any payment or payments, have been made, (3) the nature of the services rendered, and (4) whether these payments were duly audited by the Controller and Auditor-general. STIRLING RAILWAY STATION. Mr J. Allen asked the Minister of Railways if he would place a sum on the Estimates for satisfactory aproaches to the Stirling Railway Station, or, better still, reorganise the railway yard and evect a new station, and so make belter provision for the heavy work involved by so much coal traffic. Sir Joseph Ward ' replied as follows: — "It is recognised that a road giving access to the back of the Stirlingstation would be a convenience. In order to provide the road it would be necessary to acquire additional land, and at the present time there arp no funds available for such a purpose. The work is moreover not a pressing ore The reorganisation of the station yard and ihe erection of a new station would involve a very heavy expenditure, and in view of the faot that the existing facilities v^a^onably meet present requirements and that there are many moie urgent and important works standing in abeyance* for ■want of funds I cannot at present authorise compliance with the request." A QUESTION OF FENCING. In answer to a question by Mr James Allen a 1 * to whether it is iu?fc that the Crown should refuse +0 admit liability for fencing upon the boundaries of land dividing Crown tenants or other holders from un-

occupied Crown lands 01 Government reserves the Minister of Lands to-day stated that under "The Fencing Act, 1895," th« Crown has no liability in respect of the fencing, but section 18 provides that when euch Crown land is taken up the occupier of the land adjoining may recover from the selector of such Crown land a duly proportionate share of the value of the dividing fence he has erected. Section j further provides that a Urown tenant may pay interest on the cost of the proportionate share of the fence which may have been erected between his and an adjoining holding instead of having to pay cost down. FREIGHT ON PHOSPHATE. Replying to Mr Donald Reid in thei House this afternoon, the Minister of Rail-i ways stated that phosphate rock direcfe from the mines in the natural state is

already carried at 'Class 'Q rates, this being the lowest rate for minerals in the tariff. , After tbe phosphates Have been treated at the , works and Hgrqun.3 down, they are charged at -the same rates, as all other local manufactured manures — namely, Class E, which is an exceedingly low rate, and was especially granted as a concession to agriculturists. "What is desired is that ground phosphates should" be char-ed the same rate as phosphate ore in the ' crude state, and this. -requires careful consideration. In charging ground phosphates at the rate for manure- the Government is doing what is , reasonable. Tha' minimum quantity for - Class Q is four tons. The minimum for j Class E is one ton an 3 a-half, except in <jje case of manures, in which it is scwt. OTAGO UNIVERSITY. - Mr J. Allen asked 'the Minister of Education whether he would introduce a bill to amend -the Otago University Act in order to "make -provision for the payment of the itravelling^-expenses of members of the Uni-' versity Council residing away from Dunedin. The Minister replied as follows:— : "TJy the direction of . the Cabinet a bill was prepared last* year to amend the constitution of the council of fche'-iOtago University, and a clause was added' enabling reasonable travelling expenses actually incurred by any member to be paid by the • council. ■ No action has as yet been taken session -in respect to the matter in question." -FREIGHT ON MTT,TiED" GRAIN. "for reference =to -return freight on "the railways -'lor gram "sent to molls to be gristed, and for -grass seed sent to be' cleaned, -Sir Joseph Ward to-day informed Sir" Steward -fehat the regulation governing! the carriage of New Zealandgrown grass -seed to and from seed-cleaning establishments vraa gazetted on May 2, 1895, and -amply provides -for grass seed. ■With regard -to j grain sent to be gristed or cleaned, the .Minister cannot see his way to authorise arty concession. Our grain rates are exceedingly "low, and. J3ir Joseph is ,not prepared to agree to any extension of the principle of conveying ,goods free " over the railways. Similar applications for free carriage of various articles of com- | merce locally produced in -the colony have been declined in every instance. - SMALL GRAZING RUNS. Mr Herdman asked the Minister of ( 3Jands whether he. will have the law amended with, a view of granting to -small | grazing runholders the rebate on rent at •present allowed to other Crown tenants, i The Minister replied that he would consider "the matter. Se, however, pointed ■out that small grazing Tun tenants pay an ' Annual rental -of 2£ per cent, of the capital value of their land only, whereas the -fcen&nts holding land on " occupation. . with right of pur-chase and lease in perpetuity, •or land for settlements tenure, pay rental sS the rate of '5 per cent, and 4 per cent, respectively. "MR ELL AS REFORMER. : The other day Mr Ell drew attentioß tjy : question to the high price of building ajv.ti' furniture timber, and suggested that we . Government should consider the adfts- : ability of holding the remainder of the milling timber forest lands, and establishing State sawmills, in order that the timber therein may be cut and . supplied at the lowest possible price '

to the public. The Minister of Lands, replying to the question to-day, said he "was afraid the withholding: of the milling .timber from disposal would only have the effect of still further increasing the cost of both building and furniture, and, moreover, +he very large number of workers and their families engaged in this industry all over New Zealand made it necessary to act with great caution in introducing any disturbing element to tbe present state of affairs. JOTTINGS. Mr Taylor has given notice to ask the Premier whether the colony is being made to pay the cost of the 50,000 oopies of the 'S-neddon voucher which are being -printed in the -Government Printing Office and circulated. Members ar-e anxious to see "the balance sheet of the State coal mines, especially in view of the discussion that has -taken place on -the subject during thu session. The Premier, in reply to Mr Herdman, announced that the balance dheet was now in the hands of the Audit Department, and ho ■would take an early opportunity of laying it. on the table of the House. "The cause of -women shorthand writers was advocated by Mr Taylor, who urged, that they should be> -given an opportunity on the Hansard staff. He averred that there were some women in the colony who had passed -examinations in speed a-nd quality -of -work that would beat any Hansard reporter on the staff. " What about ■ •the .hours?" asked an hon. -member. " They | go to bails and dance all night," interjected Mr M'Laclilan. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17. In the .Legislative Council on Thursday the Shipping and Seamen Act Amendment and Maori Land Councils Act Amendment Bills were read a second time. The Criminal Code Amendment Bill, extending to six months the time within which an information of an offence against young girls can be laid, was put through committee. In the House of Representatives on Thursday the afternoon and evening sittings were devoted to local bills. The Dunedin Tramways and Water Power Act Amendment, Dunedin District Drainage and Sewerage Act Amendment, Otago Education Board Empowering, and Oamaru Volunteer Drillshed Site Bills were read a second time. PAS&EB COMMITTEE. The 'following local bills were put through committee : — Auckland Harbour Board and Devonport Borough Council Empowering (Mr Alison), Dilworth Trustees Act Amendment (Mr I/awry), Dannevirke Education JXeserve Transfer (Mr Hall), Auckland Harbour Beard Empowering (Mr Baume), Eastbourne Road District (Mr Wilford), Auckland Waterworks Loans Sinking Funds and Borrowing Act Amendment Bill (Mr Kidd), Gisborne Harbour (Hon. J. Carroll). Havelock Commonage (Mr Jas. Allen), Oamaru Athenasum and Mechanics' Institute (Hon. T. Y. Duncan), Wallace Hospital District

(Mr J. C. Thomson), Petone Borough Empowering (Mr Wilford), and Eltham Public Hall (Mr Byrnes). A QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE. In the. House yesterday afternoon Mr i Herdman raised a question of privilege. On the 28th July, in the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill, he had, he said, made 1 use of these words referring to the Premier — v 'ls he prepared to assert, on oath that never in the whole course of his experience has he as Prime Minister ever made use of the public mofiey for the purpose of furthering his political ends? Would he bo prepared on oath to say before a court of justice that he never put his hand into the public till wilfully and used the public moneys for the purpose of keeping himself in office?" Mr Herdman said a sentence of his speech had been cut in order to make right an interjection by the Premier put into Hansard. He wished to make it clear of his constituents that the Premier never uttered these words which had been inserted as an interjection: — "The Right Hon. Mr Seddon : "Would you dare ask me that -question outside the chamber, or state it unless protected by privilege? I have never authorised spending public money to keep myself in office, and in respect to publio expenditure I have been guided by what- was in the public inier-est, irrespective of personal or political consequences, and have had to veto importunities for moneys put forward to keep you in your position." Mr Seddon said that in the Hansard proof, in the part referring to the interjection, there was the word "Inaudible," and he filled in, so far as his recollection served him, his reply. As a rule he did not wish to put more into Hansard than what he said. .The words he had put in conveyed the spirit of the interjection. He had thought the remarks of the member for Mount Ida were rather strong at the time, and so he (the Premier) rad interjected rather strongly. COMPLAINTS AGAINST HANSARD. The official record of members' speeches known as Hansard was under discussion in the House yesterday afternoon. The discussion was chiefly remarkable for the fewwords which fell (from the member for Napier, Mr A. L. D. Fraser. Be said that when he first entered the House he was under the impression that Hansard was a truthful, correct, and reliable report of what was said hi the House. After some years' experience he now wished to say that there was no more misleading publication in the colony of what members say, and hesuggested that that extravagant piece of ostentation might well be- turned in the direction of roads and bridges. The only thing to do was tc wipe out Hansard for ah time as a record of what took place in the Hoiise. No other member had any comment to make after thi=>. AiIERICAN VISITORS, The Premier informed Mr Aitken yesterday thai Mr W. B. Lefungwell is the accredited representatives of some 40 influential American newspapers, and is not in receipt of any payment, directly or indirectly from the- Government. There is no intention en the part of the Government to employ him directly or indirectly to write a book. '

' or articles for magazines or papers in- the , advertising of New "Zealand. Mr Leffingwell, who is visiting New Zealand at the instance of Mr Donne, had nevea- asked the Government for payment or compensation for his work, and does not intend to do so. Mr Donne was advised at St. Louis that if he cuuld induce this gentleman to visit New Zealand, the courtesy of a railway pass would be extended to himself, his wife, and secretary. No other services of the colony have been placed at his disposal free. NATIONALITY OF TEACHERS. i The nationality of school teachers cropped up in a question put to the Minister of Education by Mr Symes, who asked if the Minister ;s aware of the fact that an unnaturalised 'foreigner has been appointed a teacher in one of our State schools. Mr I Seddon said the appointments in public schools are made by the Education Boards, and the department is not, generally speaking, in a j)osition to know the nationality of persons appointed as teachers. There ' did not, .he said, appear to be anything in the Education Act to prevent a board from appointing a foreigner Tirith suitable qualifications as a teacher in a public school, and it is quite possible that for some positions, as for teaching a foreign language in a district high .school or a secondary school, it might be thought expedient to appoint a foreigner. SHOP ASSISTANTS' HOURS— THE CASE OF WOMEN WORKERS. With regard to shop assistants-, Miss Hawthornes, inspector of factories at Wellington, in iher annual report remarks : — "A question I am often met with is why •women shop assistants should have to work 52 hours per week, as against 45 worked by factory workers of the same ccx, and it is a question I have no reply to, ias my own opinion is that a shop assistant who has to stand all day, very often in cold, draughty shops, requires the short hours as much a«. the factory workers who are sitting in «, clean, well-lighted, «fnd well-ventilated workroom, and further, with regard to assistants who are employed in refreshment rooms, there should be some stipulated time for starting and leaving business. As the act stands at present an employer can have his workers back to business at 2 o'clock in the morning if he wishes to do so." INFORMATION WANTED. Mr Sidey has given notice to ask the Minister for Railways for information regarding the duplication of the DunedinMosgiel i-ailway. and the matter of tlie Ken-sington and Caver-sham sidings. DITNEDIN BILLS. The Dime-din City and Suburban Tramways and Water Power Act Amendment Bill, the Otago Education Board Empowering Bill, and the Dunedin District Drainage and Sewage Act Amendment Bill (all of which are in charge of Mr Millar) passed their second readings to-night. In the case of the first-named bill a condition was made that it be referred to the Goldfields Committee. In regard to the Dunedin Drainage Bill Sir Joseph Ward intimated that he would move an amendment in committee to safeguard the interests of the Railway Department.