POLITICAL POINTS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14047, 18 July 1916, Page 7

POLITICAL POINTS.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE GALLERY. A SLACK WEEK. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, last night. Last week was a week of wasted Parliamentary afternoons. The House is a constant enigma to a business man. it declines to do serious business until about midnight, and a-arely turns out important statutes complete until the end of a long session; when they rush pell-mell from tlie Government printer. An influenza epidemic has been mainly responsible for the "nothing doing" attitude of last week. The Prime Minister fought a cold until it became severe, mid he was obliged to lay up. A similar infliction upon the Minister of Defence took an obstinate form, and kept him at home all the week, doing only urgent business by his lireside. The epidemic has gone around the House with deadly imparitality. Gaps m the Ministerial benches have caused gaps m the current Parliamentary programme. The Military Service Bill has been suspended m its final stage all the week because the Minister ot Defence has been unable to ' Attend the Conference necessary to' adjust differences between the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council over tho exemption of religious objectors and the establishment of a central. Appeal board. "FILLING IN" THE AFTERS OO'NS. Under the extraordinary circumstances, members deliberately set out to fill m afternoons with, futile talk. One whole afternoon was . taken over a discussion upon a very formal paper relating to the transfer of credit balances from one State • account to another. Wednesday afternoons are devoted to discussing Ministerial answers to questions. Members are permitted to comment for ten minutes upon the answer, and the Minister, usually adds a few soothing phrases by way of final rejoinder. Last Wednesday the discussion went on with only ' one Minister to listen — and he did not reply! A third afternoon pressed drearily with obviously vamped speeches about the native land question. Nobody was prepared, but time bad to be filled m until a long order paper came from the Government printer' containing amendments to the Finance Bill. The dinner adjournment arrived before the order paper, with the result tliat nothing had been done to clear up .a single item on the legislative programme. WHEN WILL IT END? The end of July has been fixed m a more or less definite way as tho date of the sessions' end, but the bulk of tho legislative programme is still untouched. Final touches have to be given to tho Military Service Bill. The War Regulations Bill, with two highly controversial questions involved m its clauses* is as yet untouched. Early closing of hotels, and the control of a disease which threatens our welfare as a race, are the subjects which Parliament must discuss' with practical results before membei-3 go home. Tlie Public Works Statement has to come down, but nobody expects to win' an extra sixpence for his constituency by dint of eloquent pleading, so that it will be early disposed of. No session is complete without its "Washing-up Bill/ and this session's measure is to be of average bulk. The Appropriation Bill, last on the programme, is always accompanied by the Supplementary Estimates, . which are of exceptional interest to public servants, as they provide for a war bonus. Apparently the Government will deal with the high rent problem, but no other phase of the niatter. Unless more is done, severe criticism will be levelled at the Government, all of which will take time. Then there is talk of extending the duration of Parliament. How it can all be done within a fortnight, only the "old hand" who' has seen a typical : ''end-of-the-session" scramble can adequately realise. But it can be done, because the two leaders of the National Cabinet have to catch a certaal mail steamer,, wliich, like the tide, waits for no man. NATIVE LAND ALIENATIONS. A member rightlft described it as a strange spectacle -wlieri the House last week had to hear a plea from a Maori representative to provide land for Maori soldiers when they return from the battle-line. These former owners of all New Zealand are already m. the position of suppliants.'* Where they have adopted European farming methods under skilled guidance, they flourish. A notaible instance is on the East Coast of the North Island, where a large Maori community farms the common heritage under the direction of the Hon. A. T. Ngata. Alienations of Native land which took place last year are detailed m the Native Land Department's report. In the native townships four lessees m Otorohanga and two lessees m Te Kuiti have acquired the freehold of their sections. Tn addition the Native Land Purchase Board, on behalf of the Crown purchased the freehold of 18 sections m the Taumarunui native township, and negotiations were m progress and have since been completed for the purchase on behalf of the Crown of the freehold of 53 sections m Taumamniui township extension No. 1, all of these sections being within the borough of Taumarunui and comprising very valuable land. During the year some 73 blocks* comparising 116,655 acres, were proclaimed Crown land. The actual purchases made during the year totalled an area of 154,006 acres, as compared with a total of 96,256 acres acquired during the previous period. On the West Coast settlement reserves the area purchased from the beneficial owners on behalf of the Crown amounted to approximately 10,000 acres, while m the Urewera reserve an area of 84,700 acres was secured, making the Crown purchases m the Urewera total 125,495 acres as at the 31st. March last. Negotiations are m progress at present for tlie acquisition of some 793,306 acres of native land, and a start is being made with the purchase of a number of fresh blocks m the Urewera country. Tlie total area of native land alienated by way of sale during the last six years is approximately 1,568,394 acres, and of this total an area of some 531,848 acres or more than one-third of the whole has been acquired on behalf of the Crown, indicating the extensive part which the Crown has played m securing native land for bonafide settlement.