I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 19th February.

seconded.

I hope the Minister will defer the second reading stage until a later date than that. There is a little Bill of my own dealing with liquor, the second reading of which I was hoping to move on the 20th; and if the Minister would set down the second reading of his Bill for some time after the 20th, I should be much obliged.

I do not think the two Bills have anything to do with each other, as far as I can judge from reading them. The Bill of the hon. member is our old Local Option friend to which we have got so well accustomed in this House, and, as far as my Bill is concerned, I think it covers entirely different ground.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 18th February.

seconded.

I appeal to the hon. Minister, in view of the fact that we have several second readings set down for this week, that it should be set down for the following week, so that hon. members may have more time to read and study the Bill.

I have no objection to that. It is merely a formal matter to put it down for Wednesday to get it on the Order Paper. In all probability it would not come before the House on the 18th.

The hon. Minister and the Government are in a stronger position than private members. They can set it down any time they like, but if it is set down for the 18th, members will not have much time for studying it.

I have no objection to meet hon. members’ wishes. I suggest it be put down for second reading on the 25th inst., and amend my motion accordingly.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 25th February.

seconded.

I suggest that the date be put forward a fortnight so that hon. members may have more time to study it.

I have no objection to meet the wishes of hon. members, but the Bill was published weeks ago in the “Gazette,” and I think every hon. member has had ample opportunity of studying it. I think it is not unreasonable to ask that the second reading be put on the Order Paper on Wednesday, the 25th inst.

If it is merely going to be put down as a matter of form to get it on the Paper, then the objection of my hon. friend is absolutely met.

I am afraid the discussion is out of order. The Minister having replied, the discussion is closed.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 23rd February.

seconded.

I was just rising to ask the hon. Minister not to put this down so early. We have already had put down for second reading 11 Bills for this week and the early part of next week. Everybody in this House knows that it is quite impossible to get through the second reading of these Bills during this time. We are simply blocking the procedure of the House. Members will be asked, if they want to discharge their duties faithfully, to read and study these Bills correctly. We know that these Bills cannot come on the date mentioned, therefore from the point of view of procedure I would ask the hon. Minister not to put it down for this date. We are simply having members put to the great inconvenience of thoroughly studying these Bills knowing they cannot come up. I think the Government has adopted a very unusual procedure in throwing before the House at the commencement of the session this enormous-number of Bills. If they were judiciously distributed at the early part of the session I would have no objection. I think the House should start at once and not waste time at the early part of the session. It is quite a different matter to have a large number of Bills flung at the House when it is impossible for hon. members to digest and deal with them. Members are put to an impossible task to attempt to read them all. I would ask that the Bill be put down for a later date. But the hon. Minister must not look upon me as being hostile to this Bill. I do not wish him to draw that inference; it is simply on account of the convenience of hon. members and giving them a chance to digest what is brought before them that I would ask the hon. Minister to have a later date fixed for this important matter.

The Government have the fixing of the Order Paper and there is nothing to prevent them placing it down for next Monday if they see fit. If the Government want to push this Bill forward they could put it down first for next Monday because the Order Paper is in their hands. It is not fair or just to the House to put an important Bill like this down for such an early date.

There might be a very great deal in the remarks of the right hon. member for Standerton (Gen. Smuts) and the hon. member for Cape Town (Central) (Mr. Jagger) if this Bill had not been published, and furthermore this and the next Bill I am introducing has, if I understood the report of the right hon. gentleman’s speech, attracted a great deal of attention from himself. He is entirely familiar with it. I do not suggest that his comments showed that he had given a close study to this Bill, but at any rate he is familiar with it. We have taken the course of enabling members to acquaint themselves with the legislation we are bringing forward at the earliest possible time.

It is simply a question of procedure.

Of course it is a question of procedure. It is our desire to get as many of these Bills as are likely to go to Select Committee read for the second time as early as possible. However, I am quite willing to postpone it until Thursday the 26th, and amend my motion accordingly.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 23rd February.

seconded.

I should like to point out that we do not even have this agreement before us. The plea with regard to the other flood of Bills poured on this House has been that they have been published. But in this case we have a most important document which has not been published. The Government has kept it very confidential and secret so far, and now we are asked to agree to the second reading of this Bill being set down for next Thursday. I would ask the Prime Minister to treat us fairly. I do not think either the House or the country is being treated fairly. Let the second reading come on at a reasonable date, say some time in March. I believe we have reached the 2nd of March in our forward march of legislation. The hon. Minister may consider that this Rhodesian agreement is a matter of importance.

I should like to see the agreement on the Table.

If the hon. member for Standerton (Gen. Smuts) would not be so impatient he would see that this agreement is a schedule to the Bill which I am now laying on the Table of the House. Hon. members will have four days in which to study it.

Four days?

Yes. You never gave us more. This Bill deals with slaughter stock coming into the Union. It is a matter of the greatest importance that this should become law as soon as possible. I am willing to make the date Monday, and amend my motion accordingly, but it is impossible to put it off two weeks as suggested by the hon. member for Standerton (Gen. Smuts), It is absolutely essential in the public interest that this Bill become law as soon as possible.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

For leave to introduce a Bill to amend section four of the Mines and Works Act, 1911 (Act No. 12 of 1911).

There are some occasions when a measure brought before the House is of such far-reaching importance that those who are opposed to it in principle should make their Voices heard at the earliest possible moment. This Bill which has been published is not a secret to us. It is of such far-reaching importance that I think it is my duty to make my voice heard in protest. I oppose leave to introduce this Bill now, and shall do as I did With the late Government’s Class Areas Bill— call for a division on the first reading. The Bill now before the House seeks to upset a decision of the Supreme Court of the Transvaal. The Government is seeking for power, not merely on the Rand but right through the Union to make regulations restricting the issue of certificates of competency to persons other than natives or Asiatics. Although it does not apply to all coloured persons, this Bill lays down a, distinct colour principle in regard to industry in the Union. For these reasons I am opposed to the introduction of the Bill and shall call for a division on the first reading.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be now read a first time.

seconded.

I call for a division.

Upon which the House divided:

Ayes—84.

Allen, J.

Anderson, H. E. K.

Badenhorst, A. L.

Barlow, A. G.

Bergh, P. A.

Beyers, F. W.

Blackwell, L.

Boshoff, L. J.

Boydell, T.

Brink, G. F.

Brits, G. P.

Brown, G.

Christie, J.

Cilliers, A. A.

Collins, W. R.

Conradie, J. H.

Conroy, E. A.

Creswell, F. H. P.

Deane, W. A.

De Villiers, A. I. E.

De Villiers, W. B.

De Waal, J. H. H.

De Wet, S. D.

Duncan, P.

Du Toit, F. J.

Fick, M. L.

Fordham, A. C.

Fourie, A. P. J.

Geldenhuys, L.

Giovanetti, C. W.

Grobler, P. G. W.

Hattingh, B. R.

Havenga, N. C.

Hay, G. A.

Hertzog, J. B. M.

Heyns, J. D.

Hugo, D.

Kemp, J. C. G.

Keyter, J. G.

Lennox, F. J.

Louw, E. H.

Madeley, W. B.

Malan, C. W.

Malan, D. F.

Malan, M. L.

Miller, A. M.

Mostert, J. P.

Muller, C. H.

Mullineux, J.

Munnik, J. H.

Naudé, A. S.

Naudé, J. F. T.

Nieuwenhuize, J.

O’Brien, W. J.

Oost, H.

Pienaar, B. J.

Pienaar, J. J.

Pirow, O.

Pretorius, J. S. F.

Raubenheimer, I. van W.

Reitz, D.

Reyburn, G.

Rider, W. W.

Rood, W. H.

Roos, T. J.

de V. Roux, J. W. J. W.

Smuts, J. C.

Steyn, C. F.

Steytler, L. J.

Strachan, T. G.

Swart, C. R.

Te Water, C. T.

Van der Merwe, N. J.

Van Heerden, G. C.

Van Hees, A. S.

Van Niekerk, P. W. le R.

Van Rensburg, J. J.

Van Zyl, J. J. M.

Visser, T. C.

Waterston, R. B.

Werth, A. J.

Wessels, J. H. B.

Tellers: Sampson, H. W.; Vermooten, O. S.

Noes—27.

Ballantine, R.

Brown, D. M.

Buirski, E.

Byron, J. J.

Chaplin, F. D. P.

Close, R. W.

Gilson, L. D.

Grobler, H. S.

Harris, D.

Heatlie, C. B.

Henderson, J.

Jagger, J. W.

Krige, C. J.

Louw, J. P.

Moffat, L.

Oppenheimer, E.

Payn, A. O. B.

Pearce, C.

Richards, G. R.

Rockey, W.

Sephton, C. A. A.

Smartt, T. W.

Struben, R. H.

Stuttaford, R.

Van Zyl, G. B.

Tellers: Alexander, M.; Snow, W. J.

Motion accordingly agreed to.

Bill brought up and read a first time.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 18th February.

seconded.

I wish to say in reference to this first reading that the members on this side of the House who voted with the Government did not prejudice themselves in any way in regard to the principle of this Bill, but we considered it unfair to vote against a measure even before it has been read a first time and before you know what is the principle at stake. When we come to the second reading we shall fight it, and I would ask the Minister not to be so hasty in putting down this Bill for second reading. It is a most contentious measure; I don’t know whether hon. members know how contentious it is. It is going to raise a fight; the hon. Minister and the Government are going to raise a fight over this Bill, the dimensions of which they little foresee to-day. It does not merely concern this House; it concerns interests that transcend by far the importance of this House, as the Prime Minister knows. He knows what will be the repercussions of this Bill. I would ask the Minister to let us have some time to study this Bill. It is a short Bill, it is true, but it requires some consideration, and the Paper is already blocked with Bills.

I fully appreciate the importance of this Bill. I hope the right hon. gentleman does not think I do not appreciate it. The Bill consists of one article which certainly involves a very big principle, but I propose to put it down for Wednesday, the 18th. It has been published since January 22nd in the “Gazette,” and has been commented upon, and to a great extent Wednesday is a pure matter of form. I won’t rush the House to the Bill, but let it go down for Wednesday, as I want it on the Order Paper.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 18th February.

With such a terrible deluge of Bills as you have now, members will come to the House in the morning and won’t know what work is going to be taken that day. The Government has the regulation of the Order Paper, and it may take any Order, first, second, or just as it pleases. Members will thus come unprepared for the work of the day. They will come from Muizenberg or Sea Point without having seen their Order Paper. I wish to ask the Prime Minister whether that is fair to hon. members. We should know what we are going to discuss on particular dates. As it is, with the number of Bills put down already we do not know where we are. That just shows the spirit of fairness in that corner of the House. They are always calling out for fair dealing. Is this fair dealing? I hope the Prime Minister will give us some assurance that members may know a couple of days beforehand which are the particular Bills that they are going to have to discuss.

I would also point out that as far as my knowledge goes, this Bill has never been published. Some time should certainly be given before this Bill is read a second time.

I am sure my old friend, the member for Worcester, is not the only member of this House who wants to know where he is. I should think there are members of the Government who do not know where they are with the jumble of legislation which has been placed on the Paper. I would ask the Minister of Agriculture whether this Bill has been published. Surely the hon. gentleman cannot expect a Bill of this kind to be read a second time without publishing it? I am taking upon myself the flattering unction that this is the Bill which I published. The public know nothing about this Bill. I do not think looking at the faces of members of the Cabinet that they know very much about it themselves, because, herculean as their labours and wonderful as their memories are, as we have been told through the Press, I should imagine there are members of the Government who have not read this Bill themselves and who do not know what they are committing the country to. Of course, they have their cast-iron majority and we cannot do anything if they mean to go on. The steam-roller which they say they are prepared to use leaves us helpless. All we can do is to protest. I say it is a most unfair thing to introduce a Bill of this character and take it to the second reading stage before hon. members and their constituents know its contents. I hope the Minister will put off this Bill for three or four weeks, because I do not think there is any possibility of getting it on before that time. Sufficient Bills have already been placed on the Order Paper to last this House until the end of December.

Seeing that this Bill has such a far-reaching effect and that it has not been published, I would like to ask the Minister whether he intends to send it to a Select Committee.

I really do not understand why members on the other side of the House have so many objections to-day. At first they said, “Why don’t you come before the House with business?” In the Transvaal the Leader of the Opposition had said, “I look forward with interest to the Sitting, because we are going to have lots of fun.” We have come for work: not for “fun.” But if members have so many objections and perhaps have not so much come for work, I am prepared to accommodate them. I withdraw my motion, and I now move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 23rd February.

Agreed to.

I move—

That the Bill be read a second time on 26th February.

seconded.

I would like to ask my hon. friend if this Bill has been published by the Government, or does he propose to introduce a Bill which was recently suggested to be brought into this House? We really do not know what steps he intends to take in this matter of orchard cleansing. My hon. friend knows I am entirely with him in the matter of the cleansing of orchards, but I want to know what lines he intends to proceed on.

This is only a little Bill of nine articles; and I think and hope that it will not take my hon. friend many days to read it. Under the circumstances I hope that he will have no further objection to the second reading being set down for Thursday, 26th instant, and that this will allow members sufficient time to study the Bill.

There are thousands of people in the country who take an interest in this matter and who will want to know what are the proposals contained in this Bill.

The motion was agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee on Native Affairs be appointed, the Committee to have power to take evidence and call for papers.

seconded.

Agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee be appointed on the management and superintendence of the Library of Parliament, the Committee to have power to confer with a similar Committee of the Senate.

seconded.

Agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee be appointed to consider and report upon all minutes recommending special pensions and all petitions for pensions, grants and gratuities not authorized by law which may from time to time be referred to it, the Committee to have power to take evidence and call for papers.

seconded.

Agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee on Public Accounts be appointed, the Committee to have power to take evidence and call for papers.

seconded.

Agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee on Railways and Harbours be appointed, the Committee to have power to take evidence and call for papers.

seconded.

Agreed to.

I move—

That a Select Committee be appointed to consider and report upon all such recommendations for the disposal of Crown lands, or servitudes thereon, or conditions connected therewith, or the reduction of the purchase or allotment price thereof, as may be submitted by the Government under the provisions of any Act or law requiring Parliamentary approval, the Committee to have power to take evidence and call for papers.

seconded.

Agreed to.