THURSDAY, AUGUST 24.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 17

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24.

I In the Legislative Council on Thursday lly? Motor Registration Bill was passed and a number -of local bills were advanced a stage. In the Hbu«e of Representatives on ' Thursday the afternoon was devoted to local bills, of which a dozen wore passed' and eight put through committee, among thelatter being the' Otago Education Board Empowering, Danedin District Drainage and Sewerage, and Oamaru. Volunteer Drillshed Site Bills. The evening sitting was devoted to the Electoral Bill in committee. THE ELECTORAL BILL. The Electoral Bill was further considered in Committee. At clause 99, " nomination of candidates," Mr TAYLOR moved to amend the clause by striking out subsection 5, which reads : " Every nomination paper of a woman as a candidate shall be absolutely void and of no effect, and shall be rejected by the returning officer without question." It was, he said, an insult to half the electors in the colony. He did not believe there were five women in New Zealand who would accept nomination, but there were women of exceptional ability who should not be excluded 1 hy statute. — After a short discussion the amendment was lost by 48 to 23. Mr BUCIi-ANATJr moved to amend clause 100 by substituting 10 per cent in place of one-fourth as the proportion of the successful candidate's vote requisite to be polled by an unsuccessful candidate to -avoid forfeiture of his deposit. This was lost by 37 to 35. At clause 101, Sir W. J. STEWARD moved an amendment which was designed, to alter the whole system of recording votes. ■ This was rejected by 53 to 14. At clause 128, which makes provision for absent voters, Mr M ASSET nioved an addi- ■ tion to the clause to provide that every ; duly-registered elector who is incapacitated i by illness at the time of the election shall i be entitled to receive an elector's right, i Sir J. G. WARD and others objected to < this proposal on the ground that it would' s ojjen the door to impersonation.— Mr 1

i r Massey'g motion was Io=;t by 31 votes to 50. ' At clause 130 progress was reported. THE LEE STREAM. The Goldficlds and Mines Committee, in - reporting to-day on the Dunedin City and 1 Suburban Tramway anci Water -Power l Amendment Bill, recommended that the bill J bo allowed to proceed, subject to. tho pror visions that, instead of tho proviso to see5 tion 6 of the act j>f 1903 being repealed f (with certain exceptions), it should be susp ended for a period of five years from tho passing of the present bill. STATE COAL SUPPLIES TO DEPARTI MENTS. * The amount o£ coal rai;ed from, the State ' coal mines since they came into the pos- ■ session .of tho Government to June 30, 1 1905, ha? been as follows:— Point Eliza1 beth colliery. 171,893 tons; Seddonvillc col- > liery, 59,310 tons;— total, 181,204 tons. Tho ' parlies or departments of the service to [ whom this coal has been supplied arc: — Point Elizabeth/ ' Secldonville. Tons. Tons. Railways m .. 85,924 -.„ 22,270 Education **. ■„« '49 .-« " — Prison'i .. i* „ 121 .„ " 4 Defenca „ .. '«* 29 -..g 313 Lunacy .* „ „ 978 .. 661 ' ' Marino .. . < «« 34S „, 850 Public "Works „ 1,125 '.. 250 H.M.S. Psych© .. 201 .. — Shipping companies and dealers .. 23,114 M 34,955 I i Totals .. .. 121,593 .. 59,310 j LAND FOR SETTLEMENTS. A parliamentary return brought down yesterday shows that eight estates — Artlgowan, Hatuma, Kumcroa, Forest Gate, Argyll, Matamata, Lindsay, and Flaxbourne — have been acquired under tho compulsory clauses of the Land for Settlements Act. The price paid was £800,427. Tho unimproved land tax value wa3 £621,089, and the amount of land tax paid was £4616. The cost of surveying, loading, and so on was £41,907, and at March. 31 "last thsro were -residing on the land 392 tenant?. The total receipts to date in connection with the estates were £76,885. A FISHERIES BILL. The Fisheries Conservation Act Amendment Bill, introduced by Sir Joseph Ward, provides that in addition to the matters mentioned in the act of 1903. with respect to which regxilations may be made, the Governor-in-Council may make regulations ■ — (a) for prohibiting or restricting tho sale of or having in possession during the close season any fi&h, whether frozen or chilled . or not, of any species existing or acclimatised in the- colony; (b) for the mode tf keeping books or registers by carrying companies, proprietors, or tenants of freezing chambers, and forwarding agents, show- ' ing the receipt and delivery of all fish and the inspection thereof by fisheries' officers; ' (c) for the inspection of freezing chambers and refrigerating woa-ks; (d) for prohibiting or regulating the export of trout/ salmon, as any other acclimatised 1 fish ; (c) for i'h& erection or construction in any waters, rive;-, or stream in which salmon or trout exist of fish ladders, or other means of ingress and ogress for fish by perfons constructing dams or weirs, so as to allow TT«.h to pa;s and return at all times. QUESTIONS. Mr Bedford is to ask tiie Minister of Railways if he will relax the stringency of the regulations for electrical tramways at' railway crossings. He says that the Cor- , poratdon of Dunedin has been- charged byi th-e Railway Department with the wages ] of a special signalman and the cost of /his cabin at Anderson's Bay crossing, although t,he_ department has a flag-man to signal vehicular traffic v.hen trains are approaching. The same double signalling is also insisted on by the department at the Kensington crossing. Mr J. Allon is to ask the Minister of Mines if ha has submitted for tlio con- 1 of the Cabinet tho question of 1 the injury to Inch-Clutha Island by the silting' up of the Clutha. River. Mr Flatman is to ask the Minister of Railways whether ho will consider the expediency of allowing fruitgrowers to rot-ail fruit on board the -express trains' running between Christchurch and Dun-| edin on the same conditions as were' granted by tho department in. bvo'O'ie years.