OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2229, 29 June 1908, Page 3

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

A FORECAST OF LEGISLATION. CONSOLIDATED STATUTES,:

AN IMPORTANT WORK

[SrF.CIAL TO “Times.”]

WELLINGTON. Sunday evening. Tlio last session of the present parliament, .which is the sixteenth m tho liistorvyfii Now Zealand, will ho opont o rro w. Owing to the crtvmpnature of tho temporary quarters, tho usual formal ceremony will bo shorn of its usual magnificonco. ins Excellency tho Governor,, accompanied by his .private secrotary and aides-de-camp, will perform tho ceremony. Owing to the trees and gardens that surround Government House, thoro will bo little room fot military display, while . inside the building itself tho millinery of the women, suffragists and the uniforms of tho foreign Consuls will bo conspicuous on this occasion only by their absence. Altogether tlio ceiejuony promises to bo unusually uninteresting and devoid of color. Dr. Chappie, the new member for Tuapelca, will take oath and Ins seat, and tho first serious business will bo the pnssing of an Imprest Supply Hill. A short adjournment of tho House will then be niaclo out of respect ot the moinory of the late member joi Tuapeka (Mr. .Bennett). Members have been arriving daring tlio past few days, but the. unequal position of the parties and tlio fact that the session is to bo brief make everyone take only a very languid interest in notifies. Last ses- ' ’ sion tho land legislation kept members and tho community on the tip too of expectation. This year there is to be no land legislation, and the only matter of any moment likely to disturb the general monotony will be an attempted amendment of the Arbitration Act, and possibly the discussion of the principle of the second ballot, a principle, by the way, not usually beloved by tho sitting member who regards possession as lime points of the law. and vote-splitting generally as a club with which to kill the other fellow, Howovor, the Government seem in earnest about the measure, and if tlio whip is applied no doubt they will persuade the •majority of their supporters to vote for'it. If, however, they disapprove of the measure, they have a sufficient excuse for killing it- ready at hand, viz., the general admission that the absolute majority on tho linos frequently outlined by one of tho prominent members of the Cabinet is on the whole a preferable measure. There. are, of course, objections to both systems. In any case, minorities have a right to representation, and, after all, a member represents, or should represent, lus constituency as a whole, and, save in the matter of roads and bridges and public buildings, tho Dominion in general. - It is not to be expected that the second ballot will get through without opposition, and some of its opponents will bo Government supporters. ' The subject of education will, as usual, .provoke some discussion, and, no doubt, an amending Bill will be introduced. The Minister hopes to get through legislation dealing with 'the classification of schools and salaries of teachers. As to a promotion „ scheme for teachers, .Mr. Fowlds thinks it a most difficult question. He will endeavor, however, to make the position somewhat clearer in regard to the power of .Boards to transfer a teacher from a school where the attendance might bo falling to a school in a higher grade in order that his salary might be maintained at •its present value. Mt. Fowlds hopes also to be able to do something in tlio ' matter of limiting the size of school classes. In regard to the superannuation something will have to be done during the session towards putting the teachers’ scheme on a level with the Public Service Supor- - animation Act of last session. A National Annuities Bill will probably bo one of the measures submitted to Parliament this session. The perfect scheme, however, is still in the womb of futurity, and tho Government will ho doubt be content with printing and circulating their present Ideas on the subject. After the recent conference of Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards some amended legislation in this direction ‘may be anticipated. Dr. Findlay’s Judiciary Bill will be again brought down, hut in a modified form. An amendment will be made to" meet various objections raised by the logal fraternity and the : Judiciary to tho measure as intro- / .duced last year. Some native land legislation will- be necessary to give effect to the recommendations of tho Native Laud Commission. ' .... There will require to be some big commitments for costly publio buildings to be erected in the near future. Nearly every Government member I have spoken to on the subject so far is in favor of. re-building Parliament House on the old site. Indeed, it is generally admitted that a mistake has been made in taking Government House for the sittings or Parliament. TVliat tho Government should have done, say members, was to have fixed up a temporary house on tho old site, ftnd to have promptly set about the construction of bettor and permanent quarters there. , Had this been done fa great deal of expense would have been saved to the country, and the bonvenience and comfort of members would have been better served. It is

•pointed out that the best portion of the old buildings still remain on the site, and that it is only the old wooden portion that has been destroyed by the firo. A great deal of this old building was in an insanitary state, and would in any. case have been pulled down to make way for a more permanent structure. Government-. House, itself, members urge, is .quite good enough for another 15 or 20 years. As for selling the site on which,the present Government buildings, stand, some of the Government’s staunchest supporters point out that it is an extraordinary tiling for a Government that profess to bo in favor of national endowments to oven hint at the sale' of this land, which is one of the most valuable endowments the Dominion possesses in the capital city. This is more especially the case, seeing that the Government has during recent years been acquiring lands in the city at considerable cost from private owners. The scheme for a change of . site and expensive rebuilding schemes necessary Jn consequence will, , if the Government is wise, be--dropped, especially in view ’of the fact that a great deal of money will have to be paid out within the next few years for such costly buildings as the Public Trust Ollico, the new general Post Office, and a new-railway station in tho capital city. Wellington citizens would, no doubt, benefit by tho suggested big buildings scheme, but ,in view of the facts mentioned above and tho needs of the backbloek settlors they, are patriotic enough to prefer the more moderate scheme, and both the “Post” and tho “Dominion” strongly oppose, tho suggested extravagance. Other legislation to bo introduced will include a measure providing for •; superannuation of the employees of r local bodies. It is also fv. m tom plat d to make a change in the srstcui audit, tho idea being in admit ".-n* post-audit system int-tuad <>t lhv pro audit sySr tcm - ~ Amejidnicnti arc necessary in tho following Acts, mil will be duly introduced :—Shipping and Seamen’s Act, the .Slaughtering Inspection Act, Teachers’ .Superannuation Act, Tramway Workers’ Compensation Act, ; Education Act, (as far Vm teachers salaries are concerned), -Police Superannuation Act, .Contractors and Workmen’s Lien Act, the Corporation Contractors Act, Destitute .1 arsons Act, Friendly Societies Act. Private members’ Bills may be expected to get short shrift this session, and for their own peace of mind and tho good of the country generally, members iv.-uibl do well to‘desist* for a time from their, well-meant efforts to improve various matters and gen- !- ’.'P' 'orally to regenerate the country. Tho discomforts and -inconveniences- of tho

I temporary quarters, together with tho break for fleet week - and tho I coming general election will not. mako tho majority of members vbry keen to assist “the man with a Bill. indeed. it is safe to predict that there will be no timo to carry out ono halt of tho Government, programme outlined above. , , The placing of the Consolidated Statutes on the list of\ Acts passed will, after all is said and done, be tlio piocivdo-vosistanco ,of the coining session. This work has boon in process during the last fivo yours under the eyo of a commission consisting of tho Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Dr. Fitchott (Solicitor-Gene-ral), and Mr. AV. S. Roid. Fifty volumes of statute have been condensed into five. Each of tho fivo volumes will contain about DOO pages, ami as a large demand is expected some 2500 copies of each are being produced. The work is ono of very considerable magnitude. It is probable that an extra_ volume consisting of a comprehensive index will later on he printed, but in tho meantime each volume will ho complete with a separate index. Each consolidated Act will also be printed separate, and will lie available in this form. 11l tho volumes the statutes will he arranged alphabetically. A coinpleto set of the 500 volumes cost. £SO, but the five volumes <'f revised and consolidated men -ure< will be available at considerably less than £2O. The volumes in Mill form will be ready for issue to the House, early in the session. The new order of things will be a great boon to the Bench, tlio bar, the press, and tho general public of the colony, so that in this respect alone the last session of the sixteenth Parliament of New Zealand will bo a milestone along the road of progression. .