POLITICAL NOTES.

Patea Mail, Volume XXXIX, 29 June 1914, Page 3

POLITICAL NOTES.

PARLIAMENTARY DOINGS. (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, Saturday. The Legislative Council. Friday's proceedings, so far as the Ligislative Council was concerned were ef short duration, the whole lasting some eight minutes only. The report of the Inspector-General of the Overseas Forces (Sir lan Hamilton) was laid on the table. The IHousip. The House met on Friday at 2.40, its time from then onward being largely occupied by notices, questions, and new Bills. The Opposition attempted to make capital out of the recent Land Board appointments, contending that only Government supporters had been appointed. MrMassey frankly said he had not appointed men opposed to his land policy, but at the same time he had appointed meu-who had opposed him in the past, . . Theßelisious Instruction m Schools Referendum Bill (the Hon, J. Allen) was introduced and read a first time. This Bill as circulated provides for a poll to be taken in all electorates on the day of the general election, all persons

qualified to vote at the general election liting entitled to vote on the referendum. The Bill provides for a straight-out issue for or against the proposal that ministers or accredited substitutes should have the r gbt to teach Bible lfissons in the State Schools iu school hours from a book provided by the Department. Parents to have the right to withdraw their chddren during the time the lessons are being given if they so desire. The result of the referendum is to be placed before

Parliament on the first day of the eejsiou in 1915. The Public Service Bill. Sir Joseph Ward" introduced the Public Service Amendment Act, and in doing 80 accused the Government of t*!»ing away the right of appeal from civil servants, but the Hon. A. L. - IlVrJman replied in a very effective Bpeech ani poiuted out that civil servants bad the right of appeal at the present time under section 52 of the Act, whereas thf-y bad nothing of the kind when Sir J soph Word and his colleagues were in power. The Bill was read a first time.

Imprest Supplly. An Imprest Supply Bill providing for a to'al supply of £974,000 was introduced bv Governor's message. At the second reading stags there were quite a number of passages at arms between members of the Government aid the Opposition, Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Russell being very prominent in pestering Ministers with questions, a great deal of time being wasted in the discussion of all sorts of local questions. For all the practical good done the Opposition could have allowed the Bill to pass in a few minutes. The Bill was finally read a third I ime and passed. Wasting Time. Some further time was wasted during the afternoon by a great deal of unprofitable heckling on the part of the Opposition. Mr G. Witty wanted to know why the' member for Lyttelton had not been appointed to the Lyttelton Harbour Board in'place of Mr Scott. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher in reply

stated that if the late Mr Laurenson had been alive he would have been reappointed, but be had yet to learn that any member of Parliament bad a mortgage on any seat oil any Harbour Board in the Dominion. If this were so why was it not applied in the case of every Board, The whole thing was absurd on the face of it. Mr Scott's appointment had given every satisfaction. . . , i Further bickerings over trivial local matters occupied a great proportion of the time of the House, which finally adjourned at cine minutes after midnight.

The Upper House. The following are spoken of as probable "appointees to the Upper House in the course of the next few days : Mr 0. B. Morison (Wellington). Mr Graves Aicken (Auckland). Mr Gilbert Carson (Wangairoi). Mr W. H. Triggs.(Ohristohuroh). Mr J. G. Wilson (Wellington). Mr G. W. Leadley (Ashburton). ( Mr J. E. Sinclair (Otago). Mr G. Penwick (Dunedin). Mr J; 0. N. Grigg (Ashburton). A Hundred Square Miles.

" Civis "inthe Otago Daily Times remarks :—" Challenged as to his own territoiial possessions, Mr Eussell at one Otago meeting confessed 60,000 acres, at a latter meeting 64,000, which area is exactly a hundred square miles—the honest acquisition of a latid reformer under 21 years of " Liberalism !" There are sovereign estates in Germany not much bigger that the Eussell principality in New Zealand, and the independent kingdom of Monaco in Southern Europe is very much less."

Frank Morton's Comments. Frank Mortou, writing in the Mar.a« watu Standard on the political situation has the following :—I do not believe that Mr HerJman's seat is in any serious danger. Mr Herdnaan stands more snlidly in the esteem of the great bulk of the electors he did three years ago. He £has made great mistakes as some of us think; but iu a pisition of exceptional delicacy and difficulty be acquitted himself like a man. He kept a stiff upper lip when tbousauds of average people were becoming hysterical. He merits consideration at the hands of such oldfashioned people as like downright honesty. I don't know Mr Herduian personally, and I don't think he is half so brilliant as some of bia admirerß would have us believe. Bui lam convinced that he is a straight goer and no shicki I don't care to say much about the Opposition. For one tLlng, most of my personal frieuds aro on that side of politics. For another, there is no phraseology of polite English in which I can express my contempt for the crass Stupidity of some members of that party. At a time when tho pat ly was in great daDger, some of them fought for personal place as savagely cs hungry curs fight for a bone, and apuarently cared no whil though the party and the countiy went to the devil. Men who are party men ic that sente—dwdifinjc the needs of parlj to. the mean ambitious of their owl Undistinguished persons —move in mt nothing but a sick disgust.