OMINOUS CLOUDS.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18159, 25 October 1930, Page 8

OMINOUS CLOUDS.

LABOUR ASSAIL UNITED. ALLEGED BROKEN PROMISE. ARBITRATION BILL. (Special to Times.) WELLINGTON, Saturday. The shadows of doubt which showed themselves early in yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives as to what the Industrial Concilation and Arbitration Amendment Bill held in store developed into omnious clouds late in the evening sitting, and before the long sitting concluded there was witnessed a remarkable revulsion of feeling on the part of the Labour Party against the United Party which it has consistently supported since the 1928 general election. The Appropriation Bill has long been regarded as the last measure of the session, but to give effect to the promise of which he declared he was. ignorant until his attention was.drawn to it only recently the acting-Prime Minister, the Hon- E. A. Ransom, brought the Industrial and Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill on for the second reading debate after the Appropriation Bill had been put through the committee stages.

Reform Stonewall. The bill had been on the order paper for and was known to be contentious. Signs of strong opposition were immediately apparent from the Reform party and by midnight “stonewall” tactics had developed with a view to retarding the progress of the bill. Standing orders afforded to each of the menmers ot the Official Opposition the right to speak for half an hour on the second reading, and a protracted obstruction debate of some ten or twelve hours seemed to be in prospect. Few of the speakers, however, occupied their lull time. The Government appeared to be in a cleft stick faced with a “stonewall ” by the Reform forces if the bill was proceeded with, or alternatively, the posibility if similar tactics as far as the forms of the House would permit if they did not advert to the undertaking given to the Labour Two hours after midnight the acting-Prime Minister moved the adjournment of the debate and following the protest by the Labour member foi Wellington Central, Mr P. Fraser, against'the “sign of weakness which the motion clearly indicated, the Reform Party joined the Government m terminating the debate and having its resumption deferred until next sitting day.” it thus remained in the hands of the Govrenment to proceed with the bill at a later stage, or to refrain from bringing it on again as it chose. ■ The third reading of the Appropriate": Bill was then called on and for two hours Labour members condemned the United Party in strong terms for having committed a breacii of promise. Strong Wards.

Speaker after speaker on the Labour bench got up, and using words which kept Mr Speaker busy defining the limits of Parliamentary expression made clear their disapproval of what had place. It was suggested to the Minister of Labour, who, it was said, had given an undertaking that the bill would go through, that he had no alternative but to resign. One or two speakers declared that the happening would have been a lesson to party, and that It was a pity they had not turned the Government out of office previously. _ , . The Leader of the Labour Party, Mr H. E. Hol’and, took the opportunity to preach a lesson to workers, pointing out that if they wanted. a Government which would legislate in their interests thev had no alternative but to put the Labour 'Par*y on the: Treasury benches. . . . The atmosphere was in marked contrast with that which prevailed a few hours earlier when .the Labour Party was quietly sitting back with the United Party members resisting the Reform Party 'Stonewall, and whole heartedly supporting the Government in its last hour effort to give effect t'o the bill.