PARLIAMENTARY.

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1053, 29 July 1904, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

By Telesraph.—Press Association. t WstiiiNQioN, this daj. ( i LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL P' YESTERDAY Tho OouqoH mot [\t 2.80. SECOND HEADINGS The Christchurehltosorves (Canterbury) Bill, Counties Aot Amendment Bill, Laud Drainage Bill, Domain Boards Bill, and fencing ActAmondmont Bill, woro road a second time, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Yesterday The House mot at 2 80 FINANCIAL DEBATE The financial debate was continued by Messrs, Vilo, Arnold, and Parata. SPEEOH BY MR HERMES,

Speaking in tho financial dobato bt night, Mr Henies oxprossod himself as strongly in favour of placing tho Maoris on an equality with the Europeans, and complained that instead of assisting to that ond tho Government had gone in tho direction of makiug separate laws for Europoans and Maoris. Replying to Mr Arnold, ho said that the Opposition was not nt all opposod to the main principles of the Labour Party, and he himself was yery much in accord with many of tho planks of tho platform onunciatod by Mr Arnold, Turning to tho Btulgot, ho said he objectod to tho Government beginning a eystemof buying our own stock. Ifwccould uot float our 8 per cent sioclt legitimately we should not do it illegitimately, Ho was sure that tho pcoplo of the colony would not *?be satisfied at ourmuuey boing invested in our own stock. The system of short-dated dobonturos was a suicithl polioy, it wo could not ronow tbo debentures our finarce was in a parlous way. Why, he askod, should we not faco the position boldly, and meet tho English markot'! . The monoy there, and our credit was sufficiently good to er.able us to got a share of it.

Mr, Harries, replying to Mr, Arnold's remarks, said that the members of tbo Oppositisn party wero not at all opposed ,to the main principles of the labour or. gauisalioos of the colony. The Minister for Mines: What is your policy ? Mr, Herriei sr.id he had listened to tho Mitiisior for Mines for an hour tho other Dight, and failed to find out what tho policy of tho Government was, He (Mr, Herries) represented one of tho Inmost contrei of labour in tho colony, the borough of Woibi, i'roferencc to unionists was in full swing there, and he quite approved of it; but he did pot ajree with Mr. Arnold in try. ing to force it on thoso trades which tho Arbitration Court for good reasons'had refused to apply it to. As far as he was ooncerncd, anything in tho intorestsof tho Labour Party woi'hl bo carefully con 4 flidered, aud as a general rule supported, It was true that soraotimes the Farmers' Union used strong words about tho Labour Party, but the Farmer' Union wai a cla's union, just as a trades union wai a union, and ho always found that each [union lookod to its own ends, whilo tho Kuty.of tho politician was to reconcile chair various aspirations, and ondoavour ho strike a mean between them,