5

I.—B.

and upon the responsibilities of Ministers of the Crown. Mr. Speaker is not in the position of a Minister of the Crown; nor has he, or any other officer, any authority to vary the appropriation of any of the votes." Upon the question being put, " That the resolution be agreed to," a division was called for, and the names taken down as follows :— Ayes, 6 : Mr. Saunders, Mr. W. Hutchison, Mr. Guinness, Hon. Mr. Seddon, Mr. E. Thompson, Mr. T. Thompson. Noes, 5: Captain Eussell, Hon. Sir J. Hall, Hon. Mr. Eolleston, Hon. Sir E. Stout, Mr. G. Hutchison. And so it was resolved in the affirmative. Words retained. Moved by Hon. Mr. Seddon, "That the word 'following' be struck out, and that the words ' arrived at' be inserted in lieu thereof." Upon the question being put, " That the word proposed to be omitted stand part of the resolution," it passed in the negative, on the voices. Word struck out. Upon the question being put, " That the words proposed to be inserted be so inserted," it was resolved in the affirmative, on the voices. Upon the question 'being put, " That the resolution as amended be agreed to," it was resolved in the affirmative, on the voices. Moved by Hon. Mr. Seddon, " 3. That there are several officers receiving large annual salaries whose duties do not occupy them at the most more than six months in the year, and in some instances four months, while officers of the Hansard staff are only employed during the session. There is, therefore, no good reason why such officers should not be employed during the recess for the benefit of and with economy to the Public Service. That the full employment of only partially employed officers will enable the Government to lessen the officers otherwise employed, without affecting the efficiency of the Government service, and will in no way lessen the independence of such officers during session or trench on the privileges of Parliament." Upon the question being put, " That the resolution be agreed to," it was resolved in the affirmative, on the voices. Words retained. Moved by Hon. Mr. Seddon, " 5. That the officers of the House, with the exception of the Clerk and Clerk-Assistant of the Legislative Council, Messrs. Stowe and Bothamley; the Clerk and Clerk Assistant of the House of Eepresentatives, Messrs. Friend and Otterson; the Eecord Clerk, Mr. Eutherfurd; and the Sergcant-at-Arms, shall be at the service of the Government one month after the session closes, and up to within two weeks of the next session thereafter. That two weeks before and one month after the session the officers of the House shall be solely under the control of the House." Amendment moved'by Hon. Mr. Seddon, " That all the words after the word ' thereafter,' to the end of the paragraph, be struck out. Upon the question being put, " That the words proposed to be struck out stand part of the question," it passed in the negative, on the voices. Words struck out. Upon the question being put, " That the resolution, as amended, be agreed to," a division was called for, and the names taken down as follows :— Ayes, 5 : Mr. Saunders, Mr. Guinness, Hon. Mr. Seddon, Mr. E. Thompson, Mr. T. Thompson. Noes, 6 : Mr. W. Hutchison, Captain Eussell, Hon. Sir J. Hall, Hon. Mr. Eolleston, Hon. Sir E. Stout, Mr. G. Hutchison. And so it passed in the negative. Eesolution struck out. Moved by Hon. Mr. Seddon : " 6. That, with a view to promoting due economy in the public expenditure, it is advisable that the Government should continue, as directed by the resolution in Committee of Supply in 1891, to have charge of the Legislative estimates." Upon the question being put, "That the resolution be agreed to," it was resolved in the affirmative, on the voices. Words retained. Moved by Hon. Mr. Seddon : " That the following be the preamble to the report: The Privileges Committee, to whom the correspondence between Mr. Speaker and the Government relative to the appointment of Hansard Beporters has been referred, have taken evidence and obtained information relative to the several matters which form the subject of such correspondence, and have the honour to report as follows." Amendment proposed by Hon. Mr. Eolleston, " That, seeing that the decisions of the Committee indicate an absolute carelessness of the privileges and position of Parliament, as the same are recognised in every British colony, and are an infringement of the rights and liberties of the representatives of the people in Parliament assembled, it is expedient that no action should be taken at variance with the custom which has obtained for many years, until there has been a new election." The Chairman ruled that the amendment proposed was out of order. Upon the question being put, " That the preamble be agreed to," it was resolved in the affirmative, on the voices. On motion of Hon. Mr. Seddon, Resolved, That the Chairman do draw up a report from the resolutions passed, also that Mr. Guinness do bring up the report on Tuesday, sth September, 1893. The Committee then adjourned sine die. 2—l. 8.