BUDGET DEBATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18184, 1 September 1922, Page 8

BUDGET DEBATE.

SPEECHES BY MEMBERS.

• MORE CRITICISM VOICED.

REPLY BY HON. J. G. COATES. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. Immediately the debate on the Budget was called in the House this afternoon, a division was taken on Mr. Holland's amendment, which the Government treated as a motion of no confidence, and which was defeated by 52 votes to 13. Continuing the debate, Mr. G. Mitchell (Wellington South) said it was from the soil, and the soil only, that Now Zealand could hope to increase its revenue. He gave instances of alleged aggregation. Tho law against aggregation was a dead letter, and aggregation was still going on. Tho population figures gave further proof of that, for the drift was from the country to the towns. He trusted that public opinion would not force tho Government to settle the Urcwera Country without careful consideration. There were thousands of acres which would be better if left in their natural state.

Mr. J. Hom (Wakatipu), after traversj ing features of the Budget, deprecated J the party spirit which pervaded our | politics and which blighted them at every i turn. He thought the remedy for the present unsatisfactory position was to go back to the National Government, which had provided the country with the necessary financial reserve, and by which all matters of importance would be considered free of bitter party spirit. Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisbome) complained that the "Opposition had offered no constructive criticism during the debate. He maintained that the Government had done even-thing possible to meet the unemployed trouble, and the> Labour Party's denunciations in this direction were wholly unreasonable. Liquor Issue Raised.' The debate was continued in the even ing by Mr. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North), who said that though he was an advanced prohibitionist he had never obtruded his views on the House. But in the debate the Prime Minister had been challenged to state what he would do if tho people decided to abolish the liquor traffic. He quoted figures in support of his contention that prohibition would benefit the Dominion. Mr. H. M. Campbell (Hawke's Bay) said that though some people abused alcohol the country was best served by a self-reliant people who could stand against temptation. In the prohibition ' calculations no count was taken of the. number of people who died as the result of the drug habit or of tho expense caused bv suppressing sly-grog shops. 'Mr. J. Edie (Bruce) traversed the Budget from the Liberal point of view. The Hon. J. G. Coates, Minister for Public Work#, replying to the Leader of the Opposition's criticism regarding the ! Stores Department, said that the "admin-1 istration of that department was one of the first things he looked into when ho ; took office. The Stores Board was set j up, and a special report was obtained by j an experienced officer, but excellent as j that report was it was found impossible to put all his suggestions into operation, and the fact, remained that, after all, they ! must rely to a great extent upon the j honesty "of the officers, and from the j highest to the lowest that prevailed, no ! matter how many checks existed in dealing with stores. There were 14 different ; checks, which were described in detail, j In. addition stores auditors were em- ' ployed, whose duty it was to follow up the' items to their destination. The purchase of stores had been centralised in the Stores Control Board, which pre- j vented wasteful competition by one department buying against another. Another great reform was ths institution of departmental balance-sheets, which instilled the idea of economy among those responsible for departmental management. Economy Through Delay.

Coming to the accusation that he had deliberately advised local bodies to hold off public "woyks and so detrimentally affect wages, he said this delay was advised because of the peak price of materials. He gave instances in which prices had fallen, and as the result of waiting for 12 months the work had been done at an infinitely cheaper rate. In one case £2 per yard was asked for road metal, which ultimately was supplied at 4s 9d a ystrd. Tnis anomaly justified his policy of delay, which conserved the interests of the taxpayer and the consumer. Relief works were started, not with tho idea of cutting down wages, but with a view to providing temporary employment for idle men. But for this necessity such works would never have been started, and as thi3 was a time of restricted expenditure lavish wages could not be paid. It had been suggested that £1,000,000 should be expended on telegraph and telephone extension, but it must be remembered that in such work the bulk of the expenditure must be on material and not on labour. To get revenue from such expenditure meant a readjustment of charges, and that v/as a difficult matter to arrange. Efforts by the Government to solve the unemployed problem had al! gone in the direction of finding men work, and every part of the Dominion had been treated impartially. As far as possible local work was being: found for local men. There was a perceptible diminution of unemployment now, and he hoped in a few months it would altogether disappear. Mr. R. W. Smith (Waimarino) complained that the Budget disclosed no policy. Its only new feature was a deficit, and it would have been much better if that deficit had been frankly acknowledued.

The adjournment of the debate was moved by Mr. J. S. Dickson, and the House rose.

THE LOST AMENDMENT. HOW MEMBERS VOTED. A DIVIDED OPPOSITION. [BY. TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. The division list on the amendment moved by the Leader of the Labour Party, Mr. H. E. Holland, in the course of the debate on tha Financial Statement, and which was defeated this afternoon by 52 votes to 13j was as follows: — For the Amendment (13). Bartrara Poland Fraser Savage Holland Smith, S. G. Howard Sullivan McCombs Thacker Munro Witty Parry Against the Amendment (52). j Bitchener Lee Bollard Luke Brown Lvsnar Burnet* McLeod Campbell McNicol Coatos Mackenzie Craigie Malcolm Dickson, J. McC- Mander Dickson, J. S. Massey Dixon, E. Masters Weld Mitchell Forbes Nash Glenn Newman, A. K Guthrie Newman, E. Hamilton, A. Ngata Hamilton, J. R. Nosworthy Harris Parr Hawken Potter Henare Reed £ er " es Rhodes, Sir R. H. Hockly Rhodes, T. W U°T Smith, R. TV' Hudson Stewart Hunter Sykes Is'" Williams i Jones Young » Pairs.—For the amendment, McCallum; against, Anderson. '