PARLIAMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8203, 28 July 1915, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(Per Press Association)

WELLINGTON, July 27. The House met at 2.30 p.m. Bills. Mr McCombs gave notice to introduce the Local Elections and Proportional Representation Act Amendment Bill. On the motion of Mr A. M. Myers, the Shops .and Offices Act Amendment Bill was discharged from the Order Paper. The following Bills wore introduced and read a first time :-—Springs County { Council Reclamation and Empowering (the Hon. .11. Heat.on Rhodes), Lytteltdn Borough Council Extension (Mr McCombs). ' Imprest Supply Bill. An Imprest Supply Bill (No. 2), providing for £903,000, was introduced by Governor's Message. In .reply to Sir Joseph Ward, tho Minister of Finance said there was nothing' unusual in- the Bill, and the amount asked, for was £382,000 less than tho first Imprest Supply Bill. Mr Payne;said: he would- like to see something; done at an early date to relievo the cost of living. He would have liked to have seen provision made in this Bill-for. the establishment of a State-owned fleet of colliers. He would also like to see some steps taken to acquire a coalfield .by. which coal might bo reduced in cost from 10s to 15s per ton. State , colliers would reduce the freight by 75 per cent., which would mean that instead of the State mine scarcely' paying* it would pay handsomely. He recommended the Government to commandeer the. whole of the dairy output, fixing the retail price, of butter .at not more than Is 2d per pound, and selling tho balance to the best advantage to the farmer. Retail repositories • for the sale of moat and general produce should' be opened by the State, and the rent question should bo tackled by tho municipalities. Unless Parliament forced these problems and found a remedy, members of the j House were simply taking the people s ; money under false pretences. Such re- j forms would benefit not only the con- j sumers, but also the primary producers. They were practical methods by which the cost of living could bo reduced. The increase since the outbreak of war was anything from 30 to 40 per cent., and no matter called more urgently for j immediate settlement i'rdm a non-party | standpoint. Mr Walker said that in the reduction of the cost of living a plentiful supply of fish would be an important factor. He advocated the carrying into effect of Professor Prince's report so as _to give the people,cheap fish. The coming harvest should bo commandeered, and the duty should'be removed from .all foodstuffs. Our industries should be organised. A, fleet of colliers was desirable, and lignite should be supplied to the cities-along-.with State coal. Mr P. C. -Webb--complained that victimisation was still being practised in labour circles on the waterfronts of the Dominion, and it was time the Primo Minister made an exhaustive enquiry into the. matter. Mr Webb also stressed the need for a Royal Commission to enquire into the working of tho .State coal mines. Mr Wilford said that unless the cost of living was decreased, wages must be increased. The wage-earners of the Dominion had given moro in proportion to thoir income to the patriotic funds than any othr class in tho community. Men who derived large increases in value for thoir produce owing to the war had not contributed anything to the War Fund. He pointed out that the purchasing power of the sovereign at as last August did not now equal 15s. They must all realise that the wage-earner had n most difficult time to. provide for his family, luxuries being out of the question, and they had to lift the load off the man now carrying more than he could bear. He urged the Government not to wait for the appointment of a Royal Commission, but to look into the question at once. Mr Hanan predicted a period of hard times after the war, and strict economy was necessary in all circles. Even the | children in our schools were feeling the pinch, and when we hnd reached that state it was time something should be ldone. He. urged that a day be set i apart so that the House could fully discuss the question of the cost of living. After further discussion the Bill was put through, its remaining stages. Cook Islands Bill. , The Cook" Islands" Bill'was read a third time nud passed. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. War Pensions. The Hon. James Allen moved the recommittal of the Wai' Pensions Bill, to consider amendments brought down by Governor's Message. Mr Allen stated that the principal 1 amendments were intended to (1) widen the definition of "dependents" so as to make the position of Maori wives secure; (2) improve the position of a j pensioner requiring an attendant; (3) increase the powers of the Board. The remainder of the amendments wero purely technical. Sir Joseph Ward pointed out that the new definition of " dependent" excluded from the benefits of the pension the mother of a soldier's children, who might be married to himaafterr r tho (children had been born. _ The illogitiJmatc children, were provided for, but i the mother of those children was not.

Messrs Hanan, McCombs, Okey, and Isitt urged the Minister to mako uiis part of the definition more libei-al.

Mr Allen said he had made the, Bill more liberal. Tho amendment asked for by Sir Joseph Ward might open the door to very dangerous proceedings, and he hoped members would not press their request too far. ■ • . . ;

\Mr Isitt said the amendment as. pro!- --! posed would only- encourage. people to live in a state of immorality. . Thpy dught to be encouraged to marry. Mr Parr said the policy of our present law was not in the direction of compelling a father to make jiny prosion for the mother of his illegitimate children, and the proposal of Sir Joseph Ward was to some patent introducing a new principle. He. however, felt disposed to siipport it. because it went in the direction of encouraging people to legitimise their children.

At the suggestion of Sir Joseph ward, the Minister agreed to renort progress on the amendments, with a view to referring the whole of them to the Defence (Secret) Committee for consideration and report. Tho VolWine: i s the now definition of " dependents " j^ proposed by tho Minister:—"Dependent" moans (a) the wife of n- member of the forces at the *ime of Ims denth or disablement, but does not include a woman who may

marry a member of the forces after the date of his disablement; (b) the children of a member of the forces, whether born before or after his death or disablement, but does not include illegitimate children born after the expiry of 12 months from the date of the departure of the member from New Zealand, or the children of a marriage solemnised after the date upon which the member was disabled; and (c) any other member of his family who was in fact, wholly or in part, dependent upon his earnings immediately prior to the date upon which he became a member of the forces.

The following are the provisions applying to Native women as proposed by the Minister : —(1) Where application is made for a pension tinder this Act in respect of the death or disablement of a Native member of the forces, a Native woman who was married to such, member in accordance with Native customs, and whose marriage is subsisting at the time of his death or disablement, shall be deemed to be his wife within the meaning of this Act, and the children of such marriage shall be deemed to.be his legitimate children; | (2) every application by a Native woman to whom this section applies for a pension under this Act in respect of the death or disablement of her husband, shall be supported by a certificate signed by a Judge or Commissioner of the Native Land Court that the applicant was married according to Native custom, and. that the marriage was subsisting- at the time of the death or disablement of the husband.. Various Bills. The Hon. A. L. Herdman moved the second reading of the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill.. The second reading was agreed to without debate. The Settled Lnn*l Act Amendment Bill passed through Committee without amendment. The House rose at 9.10 p.m.