PRESENTATION OF REPORTS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 98, 7 December 1928, Page 5

PRESENTATION OF REPORTS

METHODS OBJECTED TO.

- LABOUR VOTES WITH REFORM

-WELLINGTON, Last \ Night,

A. statement of the finances of the Dpniinion for the first seven months of the financial year was laid on the table in the House of Representatives? to-day hy the Minister of finance, th 0 Hon. W. Downie Stewart.

Sir Joseph Ward raised a number of objections t. 6 the course followed, mainly on the ground that such a paper should not be laid on the table within a few minutes of th e debate on the Ad-dr ess-in-Reply commencing, when no member of the House had an opportunity of perusing it. Mr Stewart, in reply, said the Leader of the Opposition had followed practically the same course m 1912, when he went cut of office. The present! paper was modelled on the document then tabled by SU Joseph Ward. The paper was prepared for the information of members and the country.

The Prime Minister laid on the table a statement regarding the working of the railways up to the present -data.

A paper relating to the work of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was also laid on the table by the Prime Minister. To all three papers Sir Joseph \yard objected. All departments must, he.said, lay their reports on tihp table annually, and these sectional reports were not in accordance with .the law.

On the question that a paper must be laid on the fable and h e printed, Sir Joseph called for a division, and it was at one© seen that Labour was going to vote with the Government, the result’ being that the United Party suffered defeat by 43 votes to 33.

Following is the division list:— Ayes (43).—Ansell, Armstrong, Barnard, Bitchener, Burneft, Campbell, Carr, Chapman, Coates, Dickie, Field, Fraser, Hall, Hamilton, Harris,, SHenare, H. H. Holland, H. E. Holland, Howard, Hunter, Jones, Kyle, Langstone, Linklater, Lysnar, McCombs, McKeen, MacMillan, Mason, Massey, Munrc, Nash, O’Brien, Parry,. Poxnare, Samuel, Savage, St&iyart, Sullivan, Waite, Williams, Wright, Young.

Noes (33). —Atmore, Black, Bodkin,: Byoadfoot, Clinkard, Cobbe, Do La. ferelle, Donald, Fletcher, Forbes, Hawke, Healy, Hogan, Jenkins, Lye, McDonald, McDougall, McPherson, Makitanara, Martin, Munns, Murdoch, Ngata, Poison, Ransom, Rushworth, Smith, Stallworthy, Tavener, Veitch, Ward, Wilford and Wilkinson. __ The Hon. R. A. Wright adopted a different course .in presenting the report on the finances of the Education Department 1 , He read the document to the House, and it was accepted without comment.