PARLIAMENTARY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 5196, 17 July 1891, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

{BT TE-E9BAPH.) WELLINGTON, July 16. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. THE KAITANOATA FUND. Tho Kaitangat- Colliery Kxplosioi Committee reported that tho fund hid been faithfully and .-judiciously administered. ALIENS ACT AMENDMENT BUT.. _r Buckley moved tho second roiding of tho Aliens Act Amendment Bill. Mr Fulton characterised tho Bill as a mieernblo neod'cßS attempt at legislating againnt a harmless race (tlm Chinese). Fie moTed that tbo Bill be read a Becond timo that day six months. Afier n debate Mr Fulton withdrew his amendment, and the Bill was read a second time. OFFICIAL SECIHSI3 BILL. The Official and Colonial Defences Secrots Bill was committed, reported with trilling amendments, read a third time, and passed. MABBIAGE BILL. The Marriage Act Amendment Bill was farther considered m Committee. Mr Wilson moved a new clans?, tho effect being to lcgitium'iso children born out of wedlock. A long debate onsusd, Iho general tonour of which was against the clause being insetted m the Bill. Members thought tho clause an equitable one, but one which should be inserted m a separate Hill. After tbe debute progrea* was reportel and leave given to sit again next Tuesday. Tho Council adjourned at 4.35 p m. HOUSE OF BEPRESBNTATIVES. The Houso met at 2 30 p m. POST AND TFLEGBAPEC CLASSIFICATION. Replying to Mr Wright-. Mr Ward said that the classification of officiate m his Department bud been prepared by the permanent hoads of the Department. Tho number of appeals lodged againat tbe classification were 80 from the Postal Department and 162 from tbe Telegraph Department Those appeals would be dealt with as noon bb tho Clarification Bill bad passed the House. DIMS PASSED THBOUOn COMMITTEE. The Christchurch District Drainage Act, 1875, Amendment Bill, and tho Christchurch City Reserves Act, 1877, Amendment Bill, wero committed ond reported with slight am"ndmenta. SECOND HEADINGS. Tho Canterbury Society of Arts Reserve Act, 1859, Extension Bill, and the Auckland Harbour Board Empowering Bill, Were read a pecond time. The House roso at 5.30 p.m. The House resumed at 7-30 p.m. LAW PBACTHION-BS BILL, SirGoorge Grey moved tbe second reading of the Law Practitioners Bill. He said that what Parliament was asked to do to-night was to Bay that all that a person required to enter the legal profession was a perfeot knowledge of his own native languago and of thß laws of hia own country. Mr Hutchison (Dunedin), Mr Reea, and Mr Smith (New Plymouth) aupportod the Bill, and Mr Rhodes opposed it. Tho motion was agreed to on the voices. PBIVATE SCHOOLS BILL. Mr Hutchison (Woitß.ro) moved tho second reading o£ tho Private Schools Bill. It wae ur_od m many quarters that, tho Btato system of education would bo endangered by a measure of that kind becoming law, but he had a better opinion of tho State oyatera of education than to think that it would bo m any way endangered by nuch a moieuro of justice as tbia. Mr Scobie McEenzio rose to oak tbe Spaakcr's opinion an to whether tin's was not j rc_Uy a money Bill, and should have been introduced m Committee, und with the con- 1 aent of the Crown.

The Speaker said that ho must maintain the ruling of hi» pred-oossor that tho Bill need not bo introduced m Committee.

Mr BuHc thought that every denomination Bhould bave a right to maintain their own schools, and reeoive a grant when there was an overngo attendance of GO children. He Bhould support tho Bill. Mr Percaval admitted that tho majority of mombera wore against tbo Bill, but they ought to give their reasons for eueh opposition. It was idle to imagine that tho Catholics would over fall m with the present eyatem of education, as it wob altogether contrary to thoir consciences. Tho Catholics would continue to make the sacrifice which they had mado so long, because tbey bolieved it was m the cause of religion and tbo oauso of good. Mr Reeves and Mr O. H. Mills entirely agreed with tba main principle of tho Bill. Mr James Milia opposed the measure, as he thought that it should have boen brought m by tho Government .and. not by a priva'o member.

Tho Hon. W. Reeves could not support the | Hill, because it would load to the degeneration of tbe national system of education. Tbey muit either give tho Catholics tho samo oapitation grant an the State schools or none at all, and for his own pnrt he would say, givo them nothing. Tho peoplo of the colony rlifl not think that there was any danger of tho Private Schools Bill passing, but once they knew Jth?.t there was a chance of it bocoming law, tbey wwH rjpo en manse against it. Captain Bussoll. would support tho Rill, un he did r.ot believe that any harm would bo dono to the pr.sent syatom of education by a Bill granting relief to Catholics. Mr Fish supported tho Wl), although he j locked pn it a» a forlorn hope-

The Premier supported the second reading, ' as it appearod to bim that tho passing of tho Bill would not prejudice or impair t.hn present sohool system. His opinion was that it would leave things pretty much as they w«re, and tbe educational system, as far an the country districts were conoernod, would remain as it wae. If thoy approached thiß question apart altogether from religious feeling, he felt sure that the House would grant the '•oncossion asked for by the Bill He did not approach tho quostion from a religious point of view at all, but from a moral point, as he wished to see an educated people, not a nation of larrikins. Sir J.iuu Hall thought that a great blot on our school Bjßtem was the entire abssoco from its tenoning of religion and morality. He believed that four-fifths of the parents of children m the ochools of the colony wero m favour of reading the Biblo m schools. Ho did not think that the Bill would interfere with our national system, and he would thoroforo Bupport tho second reading. Mr Scobio McEenzie, Mr Buokland, Mr R. M. Smith, ond Mr Meredith, could not support a Bill of this kind. Mr Reos considered that it was a fatal mistake lo banish tho Bible from schools. Ho did not think that tbo Bill would interfere with the present course of instruction given m tho aohoole, and he would therefore vote for it. Mr Sauodera agreed that education . was improving m England, aud tho reisori for that was because donominationalism was going down there, aod eocular education waa going up. Ho cppoßed the Bill at some length. . ■ „, Mr Pinkorton. W- ---"wo. and Mr Moore, PEQ I,_ .__in.c the Bill. (Left sitting at 2 a.m )