Petitions to Parliament

Southland Times, Issue 10996, 27 July 1907, Page 4

Petitions to Parliament

bo JKiPK I'KoM CoMMI TTKES. NEW icAH.W.W* I’.Aiiili'.ib v.'rom our i’arliameutary KeporU-r. i (F.y Telegraph.) W IvLT-i Nt TO ■ N . J'ilv Tiro.- ,■ hem time past it has in n -he t i ■ net ice for petitions for various I a Idle ivorks .'to be referred to I'u'--■m-u commit lies ( l the House ior I i ons-idera t ir.u. but according t° ,l statement made !» the Premier bus r. uivn'-oou any iuvourtvii.de recommend.- 1 alion from committees will p.jve nu weight with the Govern- ,~ ent which will deal with each ah* i iicii’i u oa bs merits. The matter cropped up ia cvmu’Cliou with a ; etitirm for a gram of M.M'O Ter the erection *-f a bridge near Auckland. The A to 1- De-litioiis l.'iiiiinultcc. in r-porting i.li lib’ peiitiun. stated ’lh;A it hail nu recommendation to mar.*. lin ,i it run her rePoiTted that iu iP; opinion all similar petitions sm.a' t in future be reported direct to the Government instead of lining' - s ' nt p> Petition (Tiimniitee*. Mr Alas-.,.-.,- Uioutdd that ill' t.tnnr,; jt t_e.. should haw rci-nvd nhe p"Hiio,,' i,, i he (b,venom to for ('ousldcvnti'.n 11" ha f l no objection to y 11 ‘‘ pet i l ions going dirctii U> the eniu-c'd but he considered that there should be a public works committee to which all such petitions should Tin referce'd. lllenr. hear.) TP.e Premier "said that the oracliie of . } t >.r up petitions for public •.ver'i's for the purpose of getting Pi' o'li-dde r comiuendations in ngani to them from committees tended to mislead the petitioners, as it juade them expect that their requests

| would be acceded to. The .suggestion - * to set up n public worlds committee J j might seem feasible, but there 1 objections to ut. The Government j was in the best position to deal with these matters. A recommendation I from a committee in regard to any j public work did not have the sligiutj rst weight with the Government. Ii the Government were to admit the principle that such recommendations should carry weight, they would I inner bo able to carry on at till, i They might, for instance, have n commit toe bringing down a recommendation in favour of a vote of Tl.'iO.ono for a particular railway.

An Opposition member '• Or £’ooo,000 for a tunnel.

Sir Joseph Ward : “Wc can do that already with the sanction of Parliament." Referring to the repivsrntations made r.o the fact t-hat the construction of the Midland railwai tunnel should not be carried tint, ho ocrid that if they wore rfiven eft act (i in would mean that the two endsof tlio railway on cither side of the tunnel would be rendered useless. As railways generally, there were IS or ID lines already on the list, which was as many as could bo provided for.

Mr Massey : Are you going, to -have an Authorisattion Hill this year '.’ Sir Joseph Ward said that no new railways would be provided for. To give efleet to all the applications for new works would bo impossible unless the colony went in for a loan of lli'oe or four millions. Mr Jas. Allen said that if the position suited by the Premier had been tnkeu i,y the Government Parliamnit should have boon informed of it Before, as it would baAo saved the committees the trouble of considering those petitions. The Hon. J. A. Millar said that if -the principle of giving effect to comu it tecs' ivi ofinui ndat ions were to 1.-c followed, it would mean, that those ■ members who wore active in the pionudion ef the petit i-ms wo-u’d get the largest share of public monies. After further discn»s,on t-tc repo-i. of Ihe committee was adopted.