POLITICAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 147, 22 June 1923, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES.

: KEEPING UP THE PACE, j

(By Telegraph.—Parlinmcntary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. The House has agreed to the Premier's proposal that sittings be held on Mon- , day evenings for consideration of Gov- < , ernment business. Mr. T. M. Wilford i ehowed concern about private mem- i bers' legislative privileges being inter- J fered with through the Government taking up so much time. Private members had to fight hard for their privi- • legee, and when they introduced bills it •.-was only fair they should get discussion •j on a subject close to their hearts. i ' Mr. Massey suggested that if the Op- '■■ position Leader would remember he (the I Premier) had always stood for private > ! members' rights. He intended to pro- ' coed with the Address-in-Reply debate i: on Monday, and to present the financial ' statement immediately the debate ' ended. Private members would be given t their opportunities. The Government i also had some important bills ready for ■ consideration. 1 j "REFORM" STANDS FOR COWS. I I Mr. Veitch, who is on the front Opposition benches, told the House to-day j that the speeches of the mover and ' seconder of the Address-in-Reply seemed ! to him a jumble of cows and sheep, beef ' and butter, pigs and calves, mutton and : manure, "frulv," he added, "New Zea- ' land under Reform is becoming more and more a country for beasts, leas and less a country for men." ! TWO QUESTION'S IN* ONE. : j A new point on the Imperial Confer- • ence was raised by Mr. Sullivan (Labour 1 member for Avon), who complained that 1 it was unfair to ask the House to decide - whether New Zealand should be repre- • sented at conferences by Mr. Massey or ' not at all. There were two questions, and • they should be separated. The House i r should first decide whether New Zealand i 1 should be represented; then it should' decide who their representative should r be. It did not follow that a Tory was 2 the best representative of democratic 1 New Zealand, and, indeed, Mr. Massey ' might bo considered too impetuous for 1 the position, judging by his reply to Mr. ? Lloyd George's famous cable on the Near f East menace. Whoever the representa- ■ tive, Mr. Sullivan held, he should urge 1 revision of the Versailles Treaty. : I THE MIDDLE PARTY. j i The Liberal party was defined by Mr. . Veitch to-day as standing between the t extremists in politics. It stood, he paid, ! in the middle of the road. Loud Minisi terial laughter greeted this suggestion, 7 but Mr. Veitch persevered with his . simile, declaring that Liberals would v hold that position even if they became a nuisance to both sets of extremists; and, judging by the reception of his statement from the Reform bcnchc3, they were suet, ceeding very well. 1 SQUEEZING THE FARMERS.

' A striking document was produced by Mr. Masters, showing exchange charges made by the Associated Banks on the j proJuca'of farmers. The document was a communication from a bank advising a dairy company that, per arrangement with the Associated Banks, it had been decided to raise the rate of interest by ! one-half per cent to all dairy companies ; who did not have the whole of their ! supplies remitted through that particular j ' bank, and that the rate of overdraft ' would be 7 per cent, the overdraft I account not. being classed as a good account. Did the Premier stand for j that? asked Mr. Masters. Mr. Massey: The whole thing has been altered. Mr. Masters instanced a case where a charge of £44 14/7 was made by a bank on a surplus coming back to farmer-; amounting to £2065, while the charge through an agent had been only £160/11 lon £2570. With 16 million pounds worth lof produce exported annually an immense amount of money was involved, i EVICTING A SOLDIER. I A telling example of the treatment meted out to returned soldiers who are suffering from over valuation of their land was given by Mr. Masters (Stratford). He quoted a Taranaki case where the total purchase price of a 120 a?re farm was £5100, the soldier settler beinff unable to make ends meet. After he left the farm the Land Board reduced the price from £43 to £25 per acre. : Mr. Wilford: To the soldier? Mr. Masters: Not to the soldier. The Land Board was prepared to lose £2160, but the land was under offer to a well-to-do Stratford man. It was manifestly unfair and unjust. A Member: Have you put it before the Minister? Mr. Masters: It 13 before him now. We do not know from day to day who the Minister is. A letter to the evicted soldier was quoted by Mr. Masters as follows: "I do not wish to arrange for your ejection without giving you an opportunity of leaving the property. T'f you do not leave immediately I will instruct t!ie Crown solicitor to issue instructions." Was that fair treatment for the soldiers? It was a crime to turn out a ,' man, his wife and two children by threat of ejection. i TO ENCOURAGE GOLD MINING. Twenty-eight persons interested in • gold mining petitioned Parliament, ! through Mr. V. 11. Potter, praying that 1 legislation of a progressive nature be 1 passed in view of the thorough stabilisation of the gold mining industry. It was ' urged that syndicates spending large ■ sums of money exploring for gold . should be protected from claims being 1 jumped as soon as their capital was ' exhausted. Petitioners also ask while ■ syndicates are endeavouring to obtain • capital for working auriferous areas the f ground should he thrown open to i tributers. They also desire a rebate on > gold taken by the Government durins I the war at £4 per ounce, when the open market value was £3 to £0. They J consider it absolutely unfair that mining J companies having headquarters in Lon , don are compelled to pay double taxa 5 | tion. and ask that substantial reduction i i of taxation on gold mining be granted.