PARLIAMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8688, 14 October 1913, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

(Per Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, October 13 Land Bill.

When the House resumed at 2.30 j p.m., the debate was continued on the Land Bill. . . The Hon. W. F. Massey said it had been his original intention to use the Monday sittings for the passage of local .Bills, but as there had been obstruction to the Land Bill he proposed Ito go on with the measure for the present. He intended-to give another day for the consideration of local Bills. Sir Joseph Ward asked the Prime Minister how far he intended going at that sitting with the Bill. One Minister had declared that the Bill was going to be put through at the sitting. If that was the position, he said the Opposition would strenuously object. Their opposition had not been to the Bill, but to Clause 25, which had been ruled out by the Speaker.

So far as the Opposition was concerned, they had achieved the object they had in view. He -asked if the Prime Minister intended to put,, the Bill through that sitting. He wanted to publicly state that such a course would be unreasonable, 'and the Opposition was not prepared to agree. There was only : one alternative, but they did not want to adopt that. J < was the easiest thing in the world to keep the.Bill going for a month, but, again, they did not want to do thnt. The reasonable thing to da was to ta a time for the rising. He suggested going till midnight and then rise. Mr Massey proceeded to review the proceedings of the previous sittings to show that the request of the Opposition to adjourn at 5 a.m. on Saturday .orning was unreasonable. He was, however, prepared to meet the Opposition, and he suggested going on tiji 530 p.m. if reasonable progress wsr made. He would then intimate wht.fc course he was prepared to adopt, on .the understanding that the stonewall was lifted: ■ , Mr T K. Sidey was proceeding to discuss Clause 25, but the debate was carried on chiefly by the Labour Party and leaseholders and mining representatives, the latter objecting to the freehold being given, in the mining districts, and appealing for preferential treatment to be given to the Hauraki district. . After 22 hours' discussion, a division was taken'on the clause at 5.20, when the voting was : Ayes 34, ISoes 2a. The committee then passed on to the consideration of Clause 26, providing for foe simple of L.I.P. grazing runs. The division on Clause 25 of. the Land Bill was as follows:—Ayes (34): Messrs Allen, Anderson, Bollard {I), Bradney, Buick, Campbell, Coates, Dickson, Escott, Fisher, Iraser, Guthrie, Harris, Hevdman, Hernes, Hine, . Lee, ■ • Mander, Maswy, W worthy, Okey; Pomare, Reed, Rhodes (2), Scott, H. H. Smith, Statham, Svkes J. M. Thomson, Wilkinson, Wilson, and Young. Noes. (25): Buddo. Clark, Colvin, Craigie, Dickie, bU, Forbes, Glover, HananHmdmarsh, Laurenson, Mac Donald, Millar, A. K. Newman, Ngata, Paiata, Payne, Poland, Robertson, Seddon. Sidey, Ward, Webb, Wilford and Witty. Pairs—Ayes: Pearce and Hunter and Bell and" Buchanan. Noes: Rangihiroa and Brown and McCallum and Myers.

Other Clauses.

At clause 26 (granting fee simple or L.I.P. leases and grazing runs) Mr Witty moved an amendment to provide that the freehold shall apply to privately owned lands. ■ The Prime Minister said the amendment was irrelevant, as the Bill only dealt with Crown lands, The Chairman ruled fthat the amendment was not relevant to the clause. The Speaker, on being appealed to, upheld the chairman's ruling, and added that probably the amendment could be moved at the end of the Bill. In reply to an objection by Mr Robertson that under the Bill owners would be able to aggregate holdings, The Prime Minister declared that a person wishing to acquire Grown lands would have to satisfy a competent | tribunal that such acquisition would not be prejudicial to the public interests He believed the Act would prove satisfactory, but if it did not, he would strengthen it. He hoped to bring down another Land Bill next year. Mr Webb said he opposed the clause on the same grounds that he had opposed every clause—that of protest against the Government parting with tlie freehold. The' system of freehold meant that the great mass of people would be landless, and that they would be condemned to everlasting Mr Massey refused to entertain a suggestion by Mr Hanan to insert a provision against owners of the tee simple subletting; he did not want to spoil the Bill. Replying to Mr Forbes, Mr Massey intimated that he had drafted a new clause, providing for the re-classitica-tion of Crown lands. The House divided on the clause, which was carried by 36 votes to 21. The clause, with minor amendments, was tiien added to the Bill. / Mr Massey agreed to increase the frontage for a residential .section m urban and suburban areas from ddtt to Another amendment was passed, providing that aliens 1 "shall bo allowed to acquire land in New Zealand, where they are the subjects of any treaties between their own countries and Great Britain, The countries concerned are Uruguay, Paraguay, Greece, and

proposal as to the extension of time for the purchase of Crown or settlement lands upon deferred pay-ment-from nine to 19 years was passed without opposition. , The clause dealing with the , sale or settlement lands by auction was amended to read that the deposit money shall be 5 per cent, and the balance at the same rate per annum. Progress was reported, and the House rose at midnight. ■