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left to the committee stage, and that other papers of equal importance should be proceeded with by the Conference in the order already agreed upon. Mr. Bishop : Might I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that the Standing Orders should only be altered to the extent of allowing Mr. Poison to get his quarter of an hour to answer these questions to-morrow morning. He will then have the opportunity of sorting out the more important questions ; and the remainder can, of course, be reserved for committee work. To my mind, there can be no question of him using more than the quarter of an hour allowed. The Chairman : That should be understood. Mr. Poison's reply will only occupy a quarter of an hour, whether given now or to-morrow morning. Mr. Poison : Could not the papers be referred direct to the committees ? These questions seem to demonstrate the absurdity of the procedure adopted. The Chairman : That may be, but that is the course laid down by the Business Committee. Mr. Poison : That does not say that we should not alter it. The Chairman : But we are bound by it for the present. I will put the motion. Upon a show of hands being called for, Mr. Roberts said : You gentlemen [referring to the professors] put your hands down. You have no vote. Professor Tocker : Mr. Chairman, oxir right to vote has been questioned. We were invited here just as all the other delegates were invited, and we claim the same status and the same right to vote. Hon. Mr. Barr: Sir, the question has been raised as to whether the professors who have been invited to attend this Conference have a vote or not. It has been understood right along that the only parties who have no vote are the members of the Parliamentary Committee. That has been understood all along ; and, in support of that, I would remind the Conference of the fact that the professors have taken their part in the proceedings of the Conference, and have submitted their papers, which were as liable to objection as the paper under consideration. Mr. P. Eraser, M.P. : On that matter, I think the minutes of the Parliamentary Committee should be looked up. I think they are quite definite on the matter. Members of the Parliamentary Committee understand that only the delegates of the two parties, employers and employees, have votes. Mr. Roberts : My information from the Secretary was that no vote was to be taken at all. The Chairman : That is a matter of procedure. Hon. Mr. Barr : The understanding was that all things would be decided with unanimity, and that the Conference would deal with its own matters. The Conference has taken the matter into its own hands. The professors are invited members of the Conference, and the matter is now out of the hands of any body other than the Conference. Mr. Bishop : May I make an appeal to the gentlemen on the other side to give Mr. Poison a fair opportunity to answer these questions, which I think were asked in an honest endeavour to elicit further information from him. If that is so, the intention of the questioners will be defeated if he is to get up immediately and attempt to answer some forty-four questions. lam only asking you to give him a fair chance to sort them out and answer them in fifteen minutes to-morrow morning—only asking you to give him an opportunity to supply the further information you yourselves have asked for. Mr. Roberts : Mr. Chairman, the delegates on this side, as stated by Mr. Bishop, had the desire that their questions should be answered. We expected them to be answered, and that the gentleman giving the paper would answer them immediately. Seemingly, Mr. Poison is not prepared to give his answers now. We will therefore agree to the suggestion made by Mr. Bishop that Mr. Poison shall answer the questions to-morrow morning, We will not, however, ask for any time on our side. We will answer the questions, whatever they are, so long as time permits. What we wanted was to save time, not to get a point on to any delegate on the other side. I want to say that a vote on this matter would be very undesirable, because we do not want to give the professors the balance of power. They are outsiders, anyhow. The Chairman : The motion is that Mr. Poison be allowed to answer his questions to-morrow. Motion agreed to. Professor Tocher : Mr. Chairman, might it be decided quite definitely to-day whether we are members of the Conference or merely here in an advisory capacity ? Professor Murphy : I do not think the question of a vote is of great importance, but I am not prepared to be a mere nonentity. I was asked personally by the Minister of Labour to join the Conference, and understood I was to be a member of it. We have been advertised as such, and will not accept any other status. Mr. Nash : I propose that we refer the matter to the Parliamentary Committee to-morrow morning to decide. The Chairman : The heads of Departments are also present, and they do not claim a vote. Hon. Mr. Barr: In the circular forwarded to representatives here the question of the heads of Departments is specifically mentioned. They know their position and will not take part, but are present in the interests of the Departments interested in the questions before the Conference. Professor Fisher: I entirely agree with Professor Mxxrphy. Ido not think the question of a vote of any importance. In the letter circulated there was no suggestion of any difference in status between the Professors of Economics and the other members of the Conference. The Chairman : The question of the status of the Professors of Economics on this Conference will be referred to the Parliamentary Committee and discussed by it to-morrow. Mr. Bishop . Mr. Chairman, might I ask that we decide definitely that questions should be submitted in writing, and that questioners should not enter into long dissertations on them. The time has been taken up with long addresses, and some of us do not know what the questions are.

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