PARLIAMENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 17 October 1930, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

GOVERNMENT BILES. Government Bills are occupying the attention of Parliament at the moment. Pour measures took up practically the whole of the time of the House of Representatives yesterday. One, the Local Legislation (washing-up) Bill, contained 72 clauses ,mostly of considerable importance to various local bodies, and it was to be expected that members Avould have much to say upon them. With both the washing-up Bills out of the way, the session may be said to have entered upon its last stages, •but with the volume of work still re.maining it does not appear as though the proverbial “dying hours” through which every session is said to go will be reached before most of next week has gone It is significant that several Select Committees have finished their business and made their last reports, although the Lands Committee had to .be revived yesterday in order to clear up a doubt whether a correct finding had been made upon a petition. It was not until fairly late in the ■d4sTthat the second readings of the Local Legislation, the Census Postponement, the Tramways Amendment and __the Slaughtering and Inspection Amendment Bills were reached, a considerable part of the afternoon being with the discussion of Select Committee reports and a. host of re* solutions was presented expressing appreciation of the services of those who carry out much of the unseen work of Parliament in the committee rooms. Much interest was shown in the Government ’s proposal to postpone' the 1931 census on the score of economy and not a little opposition was directed against the suggestion to save £30,000 by this means. Several speakers were against the postponement on the ground that a valuable statistical continuity would be destroyed. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle, who was in charge of the Bill, took the keen edge off the remarks of his jtritics by promising that if the financial position improved by early next

f&ax he would have the census taken on the authority of an Order-in-Council, and when interviewed later in the evening he said this would be done if it could possibly be arranged. Although specially promoted to meet ,the needs of Invercargill, the .Tramways Bill has a general application concerning the regulation of “one-man” trams. x

A division upon the constitution o'f the appeal board was defeated, and an adverse motion ujron the short title of the Slaughtering Bill was defeated by a large majority. 'The House passed on to consideration of the Native Trustee Bill, a consolidating measure, late in the evening, and the five Bills were put through all stages and passed shortly before midnight. The Kawarau Gold Mining Amalgamation Bill was then introduced by .Governor-General’s Message. This aims to give investors “one more chance” in a venture which has so far achieved little success, although £IIO,OOO has been sunk in the Central Otago district. The Bill was read a second time pro forma and referred to the Mines Commitee. Wellington Bills feature largely in the business set down for to-day. Local Bills will be taken and of these, five have a distinct bearing upon Wellington questions. THIS MORNING’S SITTING. (By Telegraph—Pres3 Association). WELLINGTON, This Day. The House of Representatives met at 10.3 Q o’clock this morning. The House agreed with amendments made by the Legislative Council in the following Bills:—Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment Bill, Stock Amendment Bill, Arms Amendment Bill and Canterbury Agricultural College Bill.