PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2276, 22 August 1908, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

AFTERNOON SITTING,

[Press Association.]

WELLINGTON, August 21. In the Legislative Council, Hon. W. W. McCardle, at the suggestion of the Attorney-General, withdrew his motion urging that the Government should take action re Joshua Jones’ property at Mokau, and said Jones would approach Parliament by petition.

The Coroner Amendment Bill passed the second reading. The Attorney-General intimated that in committee he would move a new clause dispensing with the necessity of the coroner viewing the body where a medical practitioner certified that deceased died from an infectious disease. ■ The Local Authorities Indemnity Amendment Bill was passed, and the Council adjourned at 4.45 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. AFTERNOON SITTING. The House met at 2.30 p.m. A discussion on prisons was initiated on the presentation of the prisons report, Mr. G. Laurenson' declaring that the prisons system ought to be reformed in the direction of making the treatment of prisoners reformatory rather than punitive. Mr C. H. Poole thought the prisons should not be made so attractive as to keep a, considerable class in them from choice. Great discrimination should be exercised ill classifying the ment'sent to tree-planting camps. Mr. W. Herries said that at present dangerous criminals were sent to camps. This should be stopped. Mr. E. G. Allen was of opinion that it was unfair to warders to send subjects for medical treatment to prisons.

Air. T. M. Wilford agreed with the last speaker, and said that the classifi-. cation of criminals by criminal anthropologist was absolutely necessary. The present system of treating all classes of criminals alike ivas unsatisfactory and unscientific. f Messrs Barclay, Hogg, and Hanaw also spoke in the same sense. Hon. J. McGowan, in reply, said that classification was not reform. Scientific treatment was a term tho meaning of which was not clear. .He would introduce reforms in the prison system when desirable. The reforms suggested themselves. The Local Authorities Indemnity Bill passed the committee stage, was read a third time and passed. In Committee of Supply on the Estimates, Class 13, Police Department, total vote £173,499, Messrs Wilford and Izard supported the view that the police should be paid much better wages for the important duties devolving on them. Hon. J. McGowan said that the references to pay were misleading. Married men received Is a day house allowance and free clothes and single men free quarters.

Tlie vote passed unaltered. Oil Class 14, Alines Department, total vote £38,650, Air. E. G. Allen said that the services of the Director of Geological Survey were badly wanted in Otago. Others asked for liis services.

Hon. J. DlcGowan said that the application for Dr. Bell’s services would keep him going for six or seven years. Geological survey must be prosecuted, and lie refused to allow Dr. 801 l or any other Government geologist to bo used as a milling expert by speculators. Gold mining was speculative, and should he carried on by private enterprise. Dlessrs llerries and E. G. Allen said tho staff of the Geological Survey Department should he increased to meet the requirements of the industry. The vote passed unaltered. The House adjourned at 5.30 p.m. EVENING SITTING. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. On class: 15, Department of International Affairs, total vote £120,061, some discussion took place regarding the printing of the electoral rolls, objection being taken to the new system of printing the rolls in Wellington instead of ill each electorate as formerly. Dir. J. Allen moved to reduce the vote by £1 to test the feeling of the House.

The Prime Minister said that to make rolls perfect if tile members wanted to go hack to the old system of striking the names of 11011-voters off the rolls let' them do so. (Hear, hoar.) The new scheme had been adopted to get over many difficulties. He quoted figures to show tile reduction in the cost of preparing tho rolls.

After a protracted discussion the motion was lost by 33 to 10.

On the item, Hegistrar-Gencral’s Department, £7,786, Dir. W. W. Tanner said that the quin-queuniat census was costly and useless, and the decimal census would be sufficient.