THE SESSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 177, 29 July 1898, Page 2

THE SESSION.

YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, Thursday night

In the House this afternoon there was little prospect' of anything of an exciting character, this being private members' day, and the business onlthe Order Paper'being mainly of a local character. Amongst the petitions was the annual protest of Archdeacon Dudley against the passage of the Divorce Bill, which was presented by Mr W. Crowther. NATIVE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL RESERVES. Several petitions, largely signed, ■were presented from natives at Porirua and elsewhere, praying that certain trusts, originally set apart for Maori schools, but which had been misapplied, should be restored to the native owners. These petitions relate to the endowments set aside in the early days by Sir George Grey for the religious, educational and industrial training of children of all races of Her Majesty's subjects and the children of other poor and destitute persons in New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, which have been diverted from the conditions of the grants to different purposes. AN ATTACK BY MR DUTHIE. '._ Several local Bills having been advanced a. stage the House proceeded to the motion for the consideration of the Imprest Supply Bill in Committee, which afforded Mr Duthie an op^ portunity to forestall the debate on the Budget by delivering a financial speech on tariff questions. The member for Welling-ton, comparing- the methods of the Premier with those of thelate Mr John Ballance, said the latter brought down his Financial Statement within a few days of the beginning of the session, while Mr Seddon had kept it back for 33 days, 40 days, 33 days, and 36 days, in font successive sessions. Speaking of the Imprest Supply Bill, and the proposal to transfer £125,000 to the Public Works Fund, he characterised it aa a most pernicious habit, and the practice of withholding the Public Work* Statement, until after the Financial Statement was brought down led to the degradation of hon. members in the manner described by the Premier when he spoke of members climbing the back stairs and wearing out the carpets in urging the claims of their district to expenditure. The member for Wellington made a strong appeal to democratic support in condemning the taxation on tobacco and other luxuries, and he concluded with an amendment to the effect that the operations of the Tariff Act of 1895 should be fully inquired into, especially as to the taxation upon the industrial classes and the Finance Committee to report to the House during the session. THE PREMIER'S REPLY. The Premier replied somewhat elaborately to Mr Duthie's speech. He said the action taken by the hon. member was discourteous and futile, having regard to the promise he had given yesterday to bring down tho; Financial Statement next week. The debate on this question would have the effect of diorganisingv'the business.of the House and preventing private members' business from being, proceeded with. The resolution was nothing short of a no-confidehce motion (Opposition jeers), and that without the slightest warning. The Opposition pretended to treat as a joke the idea of this being taken up as a motion of no confidence, but if it were carried their next act would be to ask the Government to declare their intentions. (Mr Smith: Oh.! of course they are always strictly honourable.) The motion emanated from the Left Wing. (Loud 'noes' from the Left Wing benches.) It was a left-hand slap at the Government. (Mr Duthie had been fidgetting uneasily in his seat and making frequent interruptions in monosyllables.) The horn. member for Wellington had put him under the lash and now he was'under the whip he ought to grin and bear it. This •was no time to discuss the tariff, which had been only two years in operation. To continually tinker the Tariff disturbed business and caused serious injury to trade. As to the transfer of money from the Consolidated Fund to the Public Works Fund during the period the present Ministry had been in office, £1,330,000 had been so transferred, and he defended the practice of assisting reproductive works but of surplus revenue as economical as it did not necessitate sending interest out of the colony. As to the operation of the Tariff since the present one had been in operation the increase of taxation On what were regarded as necessaries had amounted to £ 155,000 ' and the decrease to £ 116,000, leaving a net balance _of £38,749. The reduction" of- taxation on tea alone amounted to £65,838; fencing wire £22,000; woolpaeka £9,000. The taxation on tobacco fell highest on the superior qualities ppt consumed by the working classes, and the whole taxation on tobacco was chiefly on cigars and cigarettes. A GENERAL DEBATE. Captain Russell said he was of opinion that Parliament should meet on the Ist of May each year and the Financial Statement be brought down on the 15th. Unless this were done members would not have that control of the purse which was essential to good government. In a period of four months a sum of a quarter of a jnillion had been transferred from the Consolidated Fund to Public Works Fund without any information being given as to the financial condition of the country, or what the public works proposals were likely to be. Thes Leader of the Opposition then drifted on the congenial subject of the accomodation in the lunatic asylums. The Minister of Lands contended that the present Government had spent more money on lunatic asylums than any of their predecessors. He exposed the inconsistency of the Opposition in condemning expenditure from Consolidated Fund on public works when they were opposed to j providing the money from additional taxation. Referring to the subject of members 'crossing the bridge of sighs' leading to the Ministerial rooms with requests for votes for their districts, he declared that Mr Buchanan (Wairarapa) was one of the most troublesome and persistent in worrying Ministers. k From this point up to the half-past 1 five adjournment the discussion was I of the most mediocre kind. I At half-past 7 several bills sent down I from the Legislative Council were read J a first time. Apropos of this, it is I worthy of remark that whatever opinions may be held as to the necessity for a second Chamber, our Upper "■^wise has, so far as. the present ses-

sion has gone, set an excellent example to the Commons in the way of industry and abstinence from useless obtruction and waste, of time. If the policy of obstruction which has marked the tactics of the occupants of the' front Opposition benches so far be persisted in, it might beworthy of consideration whether the present practice of initiating most of the bills in the House of Representatives, and sending them; to the Upper House, should not be reversed.'. _>'.-.'•'. TARIFF DEBATE RESUMED. The debate on Mr Duthie's amendment, on the motion for further consideration of the Imprest Supply Bill, was resumed by Mr G. Hutchison (Patea), who charged the Treasury with contemplating another loan of £500,000 to be raised temporarily in the colony,'and ultimatly floated on the London money market. . From this point the debate, which had begun with the tariff question, drifted away into a general and discursive discussion which ought to have beeq, reserved for the Financial Statement. The member for Patea quoted from a table or sort of anticipatory budget, prepared by himself, which he contended showed that since the present Ministry took office the taxation per head on actual taxpayers had increased by £1 a head, and that upon the total population the increase per bead between 1897 and. 1898 was 6/9. ' , The Hon. J. G. Ward completely demolished the argument of the previous speaker, showing by tables that last year the Customs tariff per head of population was only 3d per head in excess of any year from 1577, whilst the imports for 1897 showed an increase in value of £1,600,000, or 24.5 per cent, since 1879, causing a large increase in the amount of Customs revenue. Mr Massey expressed regret that the Premier had treated the amendment as a no-confidence motion, and he could not help thinking that if the Premier's majority, was a little narrower, he would not be so ready to regard every move from that side of the House as an expression of want of confidence in the Government, He contended that since the Ministry took office there had been considerable increase in the Customs taxation; for example, on hats and caps, boots and shoes, patent medicines, machinery, traction engines, drapery, and many other imported articles. He had compiled a table which showed that there had been since 1595 an increase of £244,000 in Customs duties collected, nnd the increase had fallen mainly upon the industrial classes. The statistics of last year showed that the exports of food amounted in value to £15 3/10 per head in 1891, but last year the rate had fallen to £13 7/8. He contended that the trade of the colony was not holding its own, but was retrograding. Between February and June of this year the arrivals were 6515, and the departures 8775. Taxation had considerably increased, causing dissatisfaction which ended in people leaving the colony. As to the assertion that the time had been ill chosen for discussing the financial condition of the colony, he said the circumstances were exceptional owing to the unnecessary delay in bringing down the Financial Statement.' If the debate produced no immediate benefit it might expedite the Financial Statement in future sessions.

Mr Morrison quoted from the statistics of trade and interchange to prove that the increased duties had fallen almost wholly on the well-to-do classes. The increased duties since the present " tariff came . into operation amounted to £179,000, and decreases to £132,000, the net increase being £47,000. Referring to the objection to money being transferred from the Consolidated Fund to the Public Works Fund, he asked whether the occupants of the Opposition benches would be willing to bear the burden of au extra 2d in the £ on the land tax. Talking to little more than a bare quorum, Mr Gilfedder (Wallace) accused the Opposition of wasting £135 a day by their systematic obstruction of business. The discussion was flagging at 10.30 when the House adjourned for supper. MR DUTHIE'S AMENDMENT LOST. At 11 o'clock Mr Taylor resumed a disquisition on the tangled question of finance, and continued to get the issues more mixed up than ever. The Premier did not deign to reply, and a division was taken on Mr Duthie.'s amendment, which was negatived by 37 to 19. The Imprest Supply Bill was passed through the preliminary stage iv a few minutes. CORNET WRIGG AND THE N.Z. CROSS. On the motion to go into Committee of Ways and Means.Mr Hutchison (Patea) raised the question of the award of the N.Z. Cross to Mr Harry Wrigg, formerly a cornet in the Colonial Force, for an alleged act of bravery in 1866, in carrying despatches through a disturbed Maori district. It appeared, that Wrigg had allowed 30 years to transpire before he preferred his claim, and obtained testimonials in support of it. No recommendation had ever been made by any officer commanding the force or district, as required by Order-in-Council. Mr Hutchison read, amidst considerable amusement, a letter from Captain Bower, who had recommended Wrigg for the Cross, regretting his action in connection with the 'infernal thing,' and expressing himself as 'heartily sick of it,' and declaring Wrigg had no more right to the decoration than a certain Maori chief who was in a 'funk' and had the pluck to show it The Minister for Defence said the whole matter had been inquired into, and the Government beiieved the circumstances fully warranted the granting of the Cross. Captain Russell thought the Minister of Defence had allowed his generosity to run away with his judgment in granting the Cross, and he suggested that the evidence of persons like Major Mair, who had a knowledge of the circumstances, should be taken. The Premier strongly stigmatised the action, of the member for Patea as merely intended as an attack on the Government, and read an order from the commanding officer detailing Wrigg and Trooper McDonald to convey despatches through the country in which Bennett, White, and the native mailman had been murdered. The Premier also read other letters' from ex-officers of the Colonial Forces, who were serving in the district at the time, one of whom said the country through which Wrigg passed was 'swarming with the enemy.' The discussion assumed quite a farcical phase. THE IMPREST SUPPLY BILL PASSED. After the discussion dropped, the Imprest Supply Bill was reported and passed through its remaining stages, and the House adjourned at 1.5 a.m.