WORK OF THE SESSION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17955, 6 December 1932, Page 5

WORK OF THE SESSION

PLANS FOR ADJOURNMENT MEASURES TO BE HELD OVER SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. It is not the intention of the Government to drop any legislation now before the House prior' to taking the long adjournment on Thursday. The Rt, Hon. G. W. Forbes was asked last night if it was intended to clear the order paper of a number of small measures, such as the Poultry Registration Bill. He replied that the position was quite different from what it would be if the session was ending, and the Government intended to leave the order paper as it was and carry the legislation not completed forward to January, when the House would resume in the ordinary wav.

The Poultry Amendment Bill is now before a Select Committee. Its proposals for a registration of all commercial poultry keepers with a minimum fee of half a crown, and an additional 2s 6d for each 100 head of poultry over the first 100, have aroused so much opposition that the committee is obliged to hear a good deal of evidence. It is not expected to report the bill hack to the House in time to secure its passage this week.

During the week-end. the Cabinet sat for 13 hours, including six hours yesterday, considering legislation which it is intended to introduce before the adjournment is taken.

SHORTAGE OF FINANCES Mr. Forbes announced that a measure would be introduced setting up a trust board to take charge of tho site of the signing of the Treaty of "Waitangi, which was presented to the nation by Bledisloe last May. It was the intention of the Government to complete this business immediately, and it was not anticipated that there would be any difficulty about putting, it through the House without delay. He also announced that supplementary estimates would be introduced on Wednesday. He said they probably would be the smallest in modern history, and it was not at all likely that they would be the cause of delaying the progress of the House, as there would be very few items to discuss. No more striking evidence of the shrinkage in the financial resources can be found than in this document. Members formerly looked forward hopefully to the inclusion in this document of votes for public works and otherwise which had been omitted from the main estimates, but were reinstated on representations. The gross amount frequently leached £250,0C0,. but it is anticipated that the current supplementaries will not reach £IOO,OOO, and that tho most notable decline will be in the publio works grants, aggregating what in normal times might be absorbed in one new vote.

In reply to /questions concerning the progress made with the measures to assist primary producers through their present difficult period, Mr. Forbes said there had been no conferences during the past few days with representatives of the banks. In the meantime, the Cabinet was devoting itself to legislation which would be introduced before Thursday’s adjournment.