PARLIAMENTARY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LV, Issue 5775, 19 September 1893, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

(By TauSBArH.) WELLINGTON, Ebptbmbbb 18. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Council met at 2.30 p.m k BILLS PASSED. Ihe limber-floating Bill and (be Fublio Revenues Bill were passed. THE lIQUOB BILL. Sir Patrick Buckley moved the third read* icg of the Alcoholio Liquors Bale and Control BiiK He explained that there was a paragraph m the Bill under which the preient Lioenaing Committees would continue m office until the firefc Committees under the now Aot were constituted. Sir George Wbitmore moved that the Bill be recommitted for the purpose of consider* ing olause 8, whioh substitutes " elector " for " ratepayer " m the Licensing Act. Dr Grace wanted to reinstate the clause whioh bad been atruok out, subjecting olubs to the provisions of the Lioensing Aot. Mr Kerr agreed with Dr Grace. The kernel of the Bill would be taken out if clubs were exempted from its provisions. Sir Patrick Buckley urged that the Bill be now read a third time, leaving any amend* i mente for a Conference to consider. Ike motion for recommittal was lost by 28 to 10, tind the Bill was read a third time end passed. LEGISLATIVE OFFICERS The debate on the question of the control of legislative officers was resumed. An amendment by Sir Patrick Buokley, getting up a Committee of Privileges, to consider the matter, was agreed to. SECOND HEADINGS. The Native Land Validation of Titles Bill, the Native Land OouL't Certificates Bill, the Halswell Siver District Drainage Bill, and the Civil Servico Officers Insurance Bill, were read a Boeond time. Tbe Council roio at 5.10 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tbe House met at 2.30 p.m. THE BLBCTOBAL BILL. Sir John Hall asked the Premier whether the Electoral Bill had yet been sent to tbe Governor for signature. The Premier said that it would be sent to His Excellency next morniug. GOVBBNMBNT BAILWATS BILL. Mr Sandford resumed the debate on tbe Government Railways Act Amendment dill. He eaiJ that after the admirable speech delivered by Sir Bobort Stout on the Bill, tbe principle of the measure should bo fairly jjatabjiebed m tbe minds of honourable momfcerp. He read a large quantity of statistics to prove that tbe railway service as carried on by the Commissioners was greatly overmanned, and he charged the Commissioners with having given to the House as little information as they poßsibly could, yheye bsd »Jgo been an enormous wasto of time m the railway workshops owing to over officialdom. Thp ema.ll farmers and manufacturers of the polony weya dftaatieGcd with the pregjnfc management, He strongly justified the introduction of tbe Bill. Mr Mitohelson could not agree with the provisions of tbe Bill. Referring to Sir Robert Stout's speeoh ho eaid that the honourable member was up m the clouds with 5 regard to this question, and had dealt with c it from the standpoint that Sir Eobert Stout must control everything. Sir Bobert Stout 1 hipMolr when Premier had on more than one .occasion ptf into the Governor's Speeoh '.paragraphs referring to the desirability of constituting Eailway Boards of Management, " but nothing had come of »fc. He (41* Mitchelson) held that no reasonable man would object to a Minister having a seat on " *}:* Board so long as he had not the power to > veto any &<.rfcj«i4ar question, and it would be , m the interailflbf the colony if a Minister 1 had euch 'a position without Mo right o\

I, j voting. At to the Piemier's epeeoh on Friday night, it wan simply a two hours' tutack on the Commie*ionera, aud showed him to bo an autocrat anxious to seize all power to manage the railways. Mr Mitcholrod strongly defended t.he Railway Act of 1887, for which he was partly responsible, d but he pointed out tbat three of the present 0 Ministers voted for that Bill, namely, Mr Reeves, Mr MoKonzie i.rd Mr Carroll, > but it was true that Mr Seddon voted b against it. The commercial men and the 2 farmers of tbe colony were quite satisfied 3 with tho Commissioners' management, and 2 were decidedly opposed to political control of 3 the railways. Mr Mitohelson went into a 7 lengthy defence of the administration of the Oommiiigionere, and said that if the present Bill passed, they would simply be tbe ) creatures of the Government with no minds 1 of their own. The moet> reasonable course 5 for the Government to take would be to 7 roappoint the Commissioners for auother year, and leave the no* Parliament to deal with the question. If the Government agreed ) to let the electors deo\de tbe question, Mr ) Ihlleston would withdraw his amendment, ) but if they persisted m going on with the Bill > they would find the debate on it would ocoupy ) a long time and the business of the House ! would not proceed bo satisfactorily as they desired. Mr Earnehaw agreed that the question ' should not be ditcuaeed from a party point of ! view* It was a queition of fundamental > prinoiple, m whioh the Opposition were as l much interested as the Government side of the House. He admitted that tbe Oommi-,---i sioners had done tho best according to their lights, and he questioned very much whether an expert from Home would have done any better. He had gone carefully through the authorities, acd could find no support for a system cf bureaucratic abaoi lutism. He should therefore support the Bill, although it did not go far enough. Be deprecated the political influence possessed by the Bailwuy Commissioners, espechlly at the time of a Gon<ril ISleotion. It was utterly wrong that the Commissioners should have the control of £20,000,000 of property, and practically the control of 15 000 votes He was not paitioiilarly favourable to the Bill, and thought tbe best plan would be to repeal the present Act altogether, and let the OJuntry decide on the best form of railway mauagement. He\egretted that Mr Rolletton had moved bis amendment, as it could effect no gocd purpose, and he also regretted thut tha Government hud not taken the bolder course of repealing tho present Act altogether. Mr Buekhnd had no doubt that tbe majority at tha Premier's b »ck would carry thia Bill m some shape, but ho folt euro that the people of the colony would not approve of it. He warmly defended theOoinniiasiocers, and thought that they were entitled to the grateful thanks of tbe country for tbe action which they had taken during tho recent strike. In view of the approaching election the House should be very careful m rushing into any new scheme of railway manßgomont. He was convinced that the Bill was only brought m to secure political capital for the Government at the ooming elections. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 p.m. adjournment. The ixouse returned at 7 30 p.m. Mr Fißh continued the debate on tho Railway Bill. He said that it' they handed the railways over to tbe Government they would hear just as many complaints us they dow heard u^ainst theGommissnnerj, but be freely oafessed that the munagomont of the railways should be brought into doaer touoh with Parliament^ The present Bill, however, utterly failed to achieve this end, ami was intended to put the whole control of tbe Department into the hands of the Minister of Public Works. How that tbe General Election was so close at band tho House would do well to postpone the question for the consideration of the constituencies. Although he had no wish to appear as an apologist for the Commissioners, he thought that their management had not been so bad as to justify the House m passing a drastio Bill of this kind. Tbe Commissioners had per* haps done some injudicious things, but he thought that the majority of the railway servants approved of the present rule. He would have supported the repeal of tbe preeent Act altogether rather than assent to the present Bill, and he hoped that members would rise superior to party and vote against it. Mr B. M. Bmith heartily supported tko Bill. He had nothing to say against the Commissioners, but he disapproved of Parliament divesting itself of a groat national properly such as the railways. If the Bill were stonewalled m Committee members on tho Government side had quite as much backbone to carry it through as the Opposition had. Mr Duthie defended tbe Commissioners, and said that the Premier had never ceased for the last three years to hurl charges against them and stir np antagonistic feeling. He held that the Com* missioned bad established a good service, and notwithstanding what had been said about high charges he thought the rates for goods traffic wero as low mile for mile as they were m England. The Premier had told them that the working men m the service were discontented with the preeent slate of things, but the fact was that the Premier himself had nevor lost en opportunity of stirring up discontent amongst the men, and tho wonder was that tho dommisßioners could carry on at all m the face of these tsotics. He declared that if this Bill passed and Mr Seddon got control of the railways, half tbe proeent employees would be discharged to make room for friends of tho Government. Mr Taylor supported the Bill because he thought it would be m the interest* alike of the Uommisaionera and the people. Mr George Hutchison said that Mr Rolleston's proposal was one whioh commended itself to the House, and be would have supported it if ho thought it practicable. He pointed out, however, that if legislation were not passed this session the Act of 1887 would shortly ooaso to be m operation, and they would have to revert to the position they were m before that Act pne«ed. He did not believe tbat the peop.'e would egree to this, He held thut jt was intolerable that £750,000 should be spent entirely without the control of Parliament, and it was abcolutely unconstitutional that threo gentlemen should have control over one-third of tbe revenue of the colony. The administration of the Gomoußeioners had uot been altogether a success, and ha was convinced of the necessity of Parliamentary control. Dr Newman advised tho Premier to be more careful of the charges he so constantly made against tbe Railway Commißsionera, or Bo:no day an aotioa for libol would be brought against him which even a prime minister might uot cure lv defend He thought the Ocmmisßioners on tbe wbolo did their work well As for tho present Bill he would have preferred the I roaeurer to bo a member of the board inetead of the Minister for Public Works. It was idle to deny thi.l railway travelling was nor much easier now than m the past, and he belioved that Mr Maxwell had made more useful reforms thnn any other man m the service Mr Bruce strongly protested against the Bill, and as id that tho Commissioners hud always acted with credit to tho colony. If tbe Bill were passed the Premier would undoubtedly ba absolute dictator on the Railway Board, and he (Mr Bruce) would like to know what qualification the Premier possessed for such an office. Mr Hogg supported the Bill BDd oondemnod the management of the Commissioners. Mr Wright like some other members had a grievance against the Railway Commissioners, and if the Bill before tho Home offered any prospect of redresa he should vote for it ; but he Bfj w no guoh jjrpa'pept jn the Bil'.' Taking every thing into CQnpidoration he thought the Commissioners had fully justified their ap« pointmont. Mr Buiok thought if tho Premier became a member of the Hail way Board he would be an excellent offioer. He was opposed to a Minitt?r haviDg the power of veto and would vote against tho Bill if it were retained. It was absurd to appoint three Commissioners at high salaries and then give another person power of veto over them, Mr Saundera was speaking when the tole> graph office closed at 2 a.m. ~ — ,. ' ' _ In a debate on the liquor question one of the speakers claimed that drinking was due to the existence of the trade ; the other that the trade exists because of the drinking. Between E these stools what is the ground of truth like ?