PARLIAMENTARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7063, 24 August 1894, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

(From our Special Reporter.) Wellington, last night. TIIE KAITI ESTATE. The Waste Lands Committee, reporting on the petition of Messrs Murdoch, Mathews, and Russell, praying they may be empowered to refer their claim to the Kaiti estate to the Valuation Court, state that the petition shouJa be reV-red to the Government for coiisideratiw .. KIVtXXO> HAKr.OUK KILL. In the lion*-: 'he Riverton Harbour Bill monopolised the afL'iuoon. The Bill was recommitted, and a eLune inserted providing for a poll of tiio mte^ayers of the County of Wallace before the Act comes into force. The debr.lo on ihe third reading comes again next Monday. LEGISLATIVE ( ' >I"M IL. In the Legislative O. >:oil this afternoon the Companies Account: Audit Bill was , read a third time. I The second readin.3 <>• he Lands for Settlement Bill was fK \ 1 to Tuesday. OTHER BI- v i --.. Mr Pcrani's Fire Bn-n.l-V Bill provides that the Government. L.oiv! Bodies, and Fire Insurance Companies sh*ll contribute equally towards the m\iut finance of brigades. Mr Earnshaw's motion that the Government be forthwith requested to deal with the anomalies m the tariff, especially m regard to the necessities of life, met with short shrift at the hands of the Tariff and Industries Committee this morning. The Committee are now considering the Customs duties item by item, and will report to the House m about & fortnight. THE LICENSING BILL. +. There is one subtle feature m the Licensing Bill which will be strenuously resisted by the temperance party, and is sure to be amended. It is that whereas under last years Act the votes for prohibition are added to those for reduction, and assist to carry reduction, under the new Bill this is not permitted. Each vote must stand on its own merits, and thus the temperance vote is skilfully divided between reduction and prohibition. The Premier says that personally he would like to see the Licensing Bill passed this session and the licensing question got out. of the way. It will altogether depend on how Ihe House treats the measure whether it will pass into law this session or not. The alteration from the Act of last year to allow that votes for prohibition shall not bt counted for reduction is to enable a straight out vote to be given on the prohibition question. factories' act. Mr Reeves says that Sir Robert Stout's proviso, by which all mule employes as well as females aDd young persons, are to have a weekly half-holiday, will render the Facttories Act unworkable. He points out that & difficulty will arise m the case of flour mills, foundries, brick kilns, etc. The Council will be asked to strike out what the Minister regards as a crude proposal. GAMING BILL. " The Gaming Bill was considered m Committee m the Council yesterday, when all amendments made by the Statutes Revision Committee were agreed to. The discussion ■was confined chiefly to clauses 4, ,"5, and 6, which allow money to be sent for investment to the authorised agent of a Racing Club ; rastricts the issue of permits to two-thirds those granted m 1892-93, and provides for the President of the New Zealand Racing Club, if it is formed, to have the power now vested m the Colonial Secretary of issuing totalisator permits. In clause 8, which prevents wagers or racing prizes being recovered m the Law Courts, au attempt to exclude races other than horse racing, failed by IS to 6. UNIVERSITY BILL. When the motion for the Committee of the Middle District of New Zealand University College Bill was reached m the Council to-day, the Hon. Mr McLean made v& determined onslaught on the measure, contending that the Wellington College proposed to be created, wanted to rob Taranaki of some reserves as endowment, and he opposed a college m Welliugton as not being required. If the residents m JNelson, Wanganui, etc., had to leave their • homes for educational purposes, they might as well reside m Dunedin, Christ-church, or Auckland as m Wellington. The Bill was due to jealousy on the part of Wellington, and he believed some peoplo had gone college mad, and wanted colleges m every small town. Colonel Whitmore charged Mr McLean ' with jealousy of all colleges out of Otago, 1 an<l said that province had robbed the colony of lands to endow its university, •which brought Mr Reynolds up with a recriminatory speech to show that it was Wellinaton that robbed Otago, by getting more than a proper share of public expenditure. Mr Shrimski moved the adjournment of • jjde debate, which was agreed to. Wellington, to-day. SATURDAY HALF HOLIDAY. The Factories Bill was considered m Committee, when a long discussion took place on matters of detail. With a view to test the feeling of the House on the principle of a Compulsory half holiday on Saturday afternoon, Captain Russell moved to that effect, and for the striking out of the proviso which enabled the Local Bodies to fix the day. This provoked considerable discussion, after which the motion was lost by 41 to 12. On Sir Robert Stout's motion it was provided that all employees m factories shall be entitled to a weekly half holiday, special •exemption being granted to dairy, bacon, rabbit factories, meat preserving works, and newspaper offices. No other material amendments were made. JOTTING!--. The Married Women's Property Act Amendment Bill passed the Committee of the House unamended, and wa3 read a third time. With a view to hastening the end of theses- * sion, the Premier gave notice of his intention to move that on and after Wednesday next, Government business take precedence on --* 2^*^HHk^* a Act Amend--«nent 39^Rfl a stcniiy^wj^age, Marsden 'TbompjoJ^minir.j that the r-y-i' visions as to the nusibe^fc a crew U> 1>: uui-i itd would iay up niacSPjmall coasting vosv.ivs. Eventually the disputed schedule v. as j'oW.t onsd, and the House rose at 2 a.m. N .