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1929. NEW ZEALAND.

STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE (REPORT OF THE). (HON. Sir CHARLES STATHAM, Kt., Chairman.)

Presented to the House of Representatives, and ordered to be printed.

ORDER OF REFERENCE. Extract from the Journals of the House of Representatives. Fbiday, the 14th Day of December, 1928. Ordered, " That Standing Order 219 be suspended, and that a Select Committee be appointed, consisting of eleven members, to consider such amendment of the procedure and Standing Orders of this House as will facilitate the despatch of business; the Committee to have power to sit in the recess, to have power to call for persons and papers, and to report to Parliament on or before the Ist day of August, 1929; five to be a quorum : the Committee to consist of the Hon. Mr. Speaker, the Hon. Mr. Forbes, the Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata, Mr. Smith, the Right Hon. Mr. Coates, the Hon. Mr. Downie Stewart, Mr. Eraser, Mr. H. E. Holland, Mr. McCombs, Mr. Nash, and the mover."—(Right Hon. Sir Joseph Wabd.)

REPORTS. The Standing Orders Committee, appointed by resolution of the House on the 14th day of December, 1928, with power to sit during the recess, to consider such amendment of the Procedure and Standing Orders of this House as will facilitate the despatch of business, has the honour to report — 1. That the Committee, has found that the work entrusted to it has involved the revision of the whole of the Standing Orders. 2. That the whole of the Standing Orders (other than those relating to private Bills) have been revised and rearranged. >3. That the outstanding alterations relate to (a) Sitting-days and sitting-hours, (b) time-limit of speeches, (c) new provisions for discussion of parliamentary papers, and (d) provision for discussion of urgent public questions. 4. That the Standing Orders proposed with respect to the time-limit of speeches have been agreed to by the Committee with a view to avoiding, if possible, the application of the principle of the closure, which has been adopted by a number of other Parliaments. 5. That the Committee recommends that new Standing Orders, as shown in the draft accompanying this report, be adopted and the existing Standing Orders repealed.