PARLIAMENT DAY BY DAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12586, 17 October 1911, Page 3

PARLIAMENT DAY BY DAY.

(From our Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, this day. CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS MADE

The Estimates contain a vote of £20,000 to commence the new Parliamentary buildings. The Old Age Pensions Act Amendment, Widows' Pension, and the Guaranteed Advances Act Amendment Bills passed the Second reading. The Shipping and Seamen's Act Amendment was committed.

The Rating Act Amendment Bill went through Committee. Clause 2of subclause 2, relating to a poll of the ratepayers, was made mandatory instead of permissive, by the insertion of the words, "Shall on receipt of a petition signed by 15 ratepayers, take a poll." The Land and ■ Income Tax Bill was put through without amendment. The Death Duties Act Amendment was also reported from committee, without amendments.

The Public Works Act Amendment was reported intact. Various Bills reported fronv committee were read a third time and passed. The House rose at 3.55 a.m. IN THE FUTURE.

The member for Hutt asked the Prime Minister last evening if, m view of the fact that m the; near, or distant, future, there was a possibility of the; Proportional Representation Bill becoming law, had provision been made m the consideration of the new Parliamentary Buildings for a possible large increase of members m the House. ' -,■s-. r ', « : ;; Sir Joseph Ward replied that m. coiht mittee he had pointed cut that the number of members might double and treble m the : future, and he had been informed that'there M-as ; plenty of room available for the provision of a greatly increased mimtofer of members. The announcement was received with murmurs of •approval; but whether at the possibility of the Parliamentary grounds for a move extensive pile of buildings, or at the prospect of proportional representation, could not be very clearly gathered. .•■' ' .MORE RUMOR. The temper of the House was considerably ruffled m the first few minutes of last evening's sittings by an inquiry from the member for Stratford. Mr Hine put a question asking if it were true,, as stated m a press message from Christchurch, that the Government had changed its mind regarding the hearing of the petition of the second division of t Amalgamated Society of Railway fc.orvanta.

. "dome, of the people whom you are supplying with information outside the House are deliberately lying," exclaimed Sir Joseph Ward. Several Opposition members demanded to know whether he meant to imply that they Were guilty of talking with the "double tongue." . "I say," retorted the Prime, Minister, "that people to whom vi:»u are supplying information are delib Tv-.tely lying, and later .on I shall take aaio^iiort unity to prove "it," A number of members on both sides of the House jrined; m. tfie discussion which followed, nitsnibers of ihe Railway Gominittee declaring that the Government had nothing to do with the matter, which rested with the committee.

. The Hon. J. A. Millar said that so far from' "hiviii'g changed its mind the Government had every determination to obtain a report before the session ended. It had been hoped by the Railways Committee to hear the second division evidence on the morrow, but it rested entirely with the railwaymen themselves whethar "they wanted a report this. year or not. The whole of the necessary evidence could be taken m a day, or two days v at the outside, but if they were going' to. call ' witnesses on all of the thirty odd .points there would certainly be no chance this year. The good faith both of. the Railway ' Committee and the Government' could not be questioned, on the very face of it.

NEW BILLS. • Sir , Joseph 'W^rd'gaVe' notice last evening to introduce ' a flyegielaturo Amendment/Bill ■'-.." ' ' : •.TheHqn. 'D: Buddo.gave notice to introduce the Locai Elections and Poll Act Amendment .Bill. :-' ■ •

• MACD'QNALD ATTACKED. A, grossly unfair attack upon the memjier'oi:' the ! Bay of Plenty , -was brought '• junde p • the : notice of .the House at ' Representatives last evening, and the unanimous. . declarations of members ahowed' that thY allegations "were quite unfounded. . ■>".'■■[',.' >,W£ien the House resumed Mr Davey, chairman,, pf. the, committee considering the .petition of. the, Taupo Totara Timber Company, drew attention to a .statement ipad© by Mr Raw, vice-president of the Rofcorua Chamber df Commerce, and published m a Rotorua paper. Mr Ram' was r'epor,ted to have declared that. Rotorua ' had'jib' friends either m the Government or members of. th'a Government. He furthermore" asserted he could get no sympathy fi*orri' nidmbers of *the committee dealing- with : the petition, whilst Mr MacDoriald was also against them, and was: strongly m favor of the proposal. Mi\ Mac Donald had, he assevtecf, singled but- meirjbers' to form 'the- committee to suit his purpose. Mr . R-aw. also com - pjtfiried' of Jiis treatment at the hands of the committee, and that the Prime Mm ister. when approached, had put th'e Rotorua Taupo scheme out of court. The only sympathy they could hope to ge£ was from the Labor members, and Messrs Masffey and. Herries. In characterfsing the as absurd, Mr Davey said that the member for the Bay of Plenty hail not done anything to influence him or other members. The Prime Minister stated' that, he had explained to Mr Raw that' tjvere was no prospect of the Government being able to undertake the proposed Rotorua-Taupo and Taupo to Mam Trunk lines for some years, as the work would not par. Mr Mac Donald also explained his position to the House, pointing out that he

had merely presented the petition as member for the district and had not attempted to influence the committee one way or the other. He left the matter entirely to the merits of the case, and requested members to inform the House if lie had urged them to report favorably on tho petition. Several members, including Messrs Myers, Guthrie (Opposition) and Poole corroborated Mr Mac Donald's statement, and the incident dropped. \

SO