POLITICAL NOTES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18017, 4 November 1920, Page 6

POLITICAL NOTES.

THE “WASHING-UP” BIEE. AMENDED INDUSTRIAL LAW. (By Telegraph). i [From Our Parliamentary Reporter] j WELLINGTON, Nov. 3. | The Washing-Up Bill authorises the Gonville and Castlecliff Town ißoards to fix water charges accordpng to the quantity used. The Feilding Borough Council is authorised to raise a special loan tor purposes connected with the electric lighting system. In the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill (No. 2) the Conciliation Commissioner is required to give seven days notice by newspaper advertisement of the time and place appointed for the hearing of a dispute, and the nature of the dispute in any proceedings before the Conciliation Council or the Arbitration Court. Any employer or worker, or society of employers or workers in an industry shall be entitled to be heard as if they were parties, it they may be affected by any result of the proceedings- The clause which prevents the registration of a multiplicity of unions is amended by the addition of a proviso to the effect that the registrar shall not have power to refuse registration on the ground that there is already a union to which workers might conveniently belong, where members of a union applying for registration have at a meeting called in accordance with the rules of such applicant union, resolved that they do not desire to join that exisling registered union. The scope of a union of employers or workers is extended to include related industries. Amalgamation is to be permitted between unions in related industries. The pay of the nominated members of the Arbitration Court is increased from £5OO to £750.

SHORTAGE OF TRUCKS. WELLINGTON, Nov. 3. | A complaint that there are not sufIhcient railway trucks to meet the requirements of the timber and firewood :trade on the Raetihi-Ohakune branch ime was made by Mr Smith (Waima- ■ ririns engaged in this business, [Said Mr Smith, were iaced with the alternative of closing down unless they ; could get relief. He had received a telegram the previous day from a firm ■ stating that they were seveii-y trucks short, and that another firm were fifty ! short. Another firm had orders for twelve trucks of firewood per week and could not deliver it. | The Prime Minister replied that rail- | W-y waggons were distributed according [ to the urgency oi requirements and purposes for which they were wanted, and whether it was for the transport or not of penshabie goods. It had been impossible to get any Waggons built during " a L but contracts had now been *et for 25(M) in Britain. Unfortunately delivery would be delayed by the strike at Home. J hey were now asking for otters for the construction of 1000 trucks in New Zealand, and in addition a number were being constructed in the Government railway workshops. He knew it would be months before, the first of the trucks would be available, but the British firms promised to expedite matters as much as possible. The Prime Minister added that the order for 25 Bntisn locomotives had been increased to 40. MAIN ROADS BILL. I WELLINGTON, Nov. 3. The. Main Roads Bill is to be introduced this session, but it is by no means certain it will reach the Statute Book. It is a matter in which every local body in the. Dominion will have some interest, and the task of reconciling the opinions of the different authorities and bringing them into line with what would be acceptable to the general Government from the point of view of finance and responsibility for the work is not one that can be undertaken successfully in the last week of a session. Representations of local bodies, both inside and outside the House, will Wish to express their views, and unless the proposals satisfy all parties, which would be little j short of miraculous, the measure will probably have to stand over till 1 nert session. the wool situation. A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK. Information as to the stocks of wool held in Britain was sought by Mr Newman (Manawatu). lie said that the Prime Minister on 12th August had stated that stocks were i three million bales, but a member ,of the House had received a cable yesterday stating that the accumulation was only one million bales. That, if correct, would indicate that two million bales had gone into consumption in the meantime, which meant that the position was much brighter from the growers’ point of view. The Prime Minister said his information was wholly official. It came from the High Commissioner, who had associated with him the New Zealand growers’ committee. He would cable the High Commissioner, asking for the latest information. THE KING’S BOUNTY. “I have a letter from a lady in my district in which she informs me that she has given birth to triplets,” was the sudden announcement made ■by Mr Forbes (Hurunui) in the ’House to-day. “She wants io know ’about the King’s bounty that I think iis paid in such eases. Even if there I is no King’s bounty available. I think . the Government should do somei thing to encourage this sort of thing. ” (Laughter.) “The hon. member is a ]>roud man to-day,” remarked the Minister for Internal Affairs. He proceeded to state the conditions of the grant of the King’s bounty. It was first granted bj - Queen Victoria in 1 892 and was reaffirmed by King Edward in 1902. Application for it must be made within four months of the