PARLIAMENT IS “IN HARNESS"

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 October 1946, Page 4

PARLIAMENT IS “IN HARNESS"

LIVELY NOTE TO LAST SATURDAY’S SITTING

Whether it. was due to the fact that the House was sitting on Saturday or not. there was certainly a lively note or two to the debates on that day, particularly in the morning. That was clear from the broadcasts. At one stage the accuracy of Hansard was in question, and there were points of order and a general marshalling of forces over differences ol opinion.

However, the House sat throughout the morning and again in the afternoon, and then adjourned to this afternoon. Parliament can rightly be termed as being “in harness,” and the task is to pull the legislative programme on to the Statute Book before the session adjourns and the members go out. to face the electors and receive judgment on what has happened these last three years. By now the electors have had a fairly full story of what goes on in the House, and if they are not fully informed on political questions of the day they ought to be. There will be a week or two of Parliament “in harness” to round off three years’ lis-tening-in.

A Press Association message says that when the House rose on Saturday six classes of estimates had been passed, totalling £15,748,310. Only the State Coal Mines Account remains.

At the conclusion of the discussion on the estimates on Saturday, two iocal Bills—the Napier Harbour Board Loan Bill and the Napier Borough (Marewa Area) Empowering Bill—were put through the remaining stages and passed. The Papawai and Kalkokirikiri Trusts Amendment Bill, and the Otaki and Porirua Trusts Amendment Bill were read a second time, went through the remaining stages and were passed.