GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10886, 1 July 1899, Page 8

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

» — ~— , 1 | (fbkss assooattok telegram.) \ ■~■'. Friday, Juke 30.* ~"'•' LEGISIuITTVE COUNCIL. , The Council met at 2.30 p.m., but ad- ' jouraed immediately until.B p.m., in order Ito await.the receipt.of.the Imprest Supply L Bfll from the Lower House. ,« ! . EVENING SITTING, i The Council met at 8 o'clock, and passed L the Imprest Supply Bill" through all its , stages without amendment. \ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ■> AFTERNOON SITTING. 5 The House met at 2.30 p.m. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. •Leave' of absence ' was granted to Mr i Wright for one week, on account of illness. [ THE MARINE SCANDAL. The Premier laid on the table a copy of \ the text of the commission, issued to the Royal Commission on the Marine Scandal i FIRST READINGS. i. The Referendum Bill (Mr Pirani) and the . Totalisator,Abolition Bill (Mr Taylor) were i introduced, -and read a first time. ; IMPREST SUPPLY BILL. ' r The House went" into Committee to allow > the Premier to introduce an Imprest Supply ' Bill for £370,000. The Bill was introduced, and read a fijst time. ' On thembtion for the second reading, Ctptain RUSSELL said that, while not ' opposing the Bill, he warned Government J that before further imprest was granted the | Government must inform the House when ' the Public Works Statement and Estimates 1 would be laid on the table, j Mr SMITH considered it the duty of the | leader of the Opposition to insist upon timely * notice of such Bills, and also upon the earlier 1 introduction of the Public Works and Finan--1 cial Statements. ' Mr FISHER blamed the Opcosition for delay in obstructing the business of the country by useless no-confidence motions. Mr PHiANI laid the responsibility upon the Premier for the delay in the introduction of financial Bills. Mr DUTHDZ condemned the system of Imprest BULs as unnecessary, and condemned the delay in the production of the Financial and Public Works Statements. Mr MORRISON, referring to the AuditorGeneral's "tag" to the public accounts, said the Auditor was quite within his rights, but - condemned the nasty way in which it had j been done.' r Mr TAYLOR said the real reason for the ' waste of time in the early part of the session * was the delay in bringing' down the Public . Work? Statement, ) Mr KELLY defended the deputation of t members to "the Premier with regard to tie vote last session for- technical education. \ Mr'CROWTHER hoped if the technical 5 education vote came on again, that the r money would >~e equally divided between 5 the different districts. Mr HOGG did not i-hink tiie deb:rte duru ing the afternoon a waste of time. It was merely a bogey to say that the vote for tech--3 nical, education was intended for denominar' tion schools to participate, and thus aim a i blow at the national system. Mr MEREDITH -id, if they eliminated from the Technical Lducation Bill every .vestige oi support to schools outside of public 5 schools there would be no more loyal sup- . porter of the Bill than ha. b Mr MASSEY pointed; out that while i workmen's commutation tickets were issued r on the Wellington to Petone fine, a similar . concession 'had been refused elsewhere. i Mr SEDDON. expressed satisfaction at l the speech of Captain Russell. If, a similar r tone were Continued they would get through fc business quickly. It was nonsense to call r Parluonent together until the public acf counts had been To call Parlia--3 ment together in May would not suit many b people engaged in farming.' The unautho- > rised expenditure would be placed before the fc Public Accounts Committee-for examination, i He denied any responsibility for the delay * in bringing forward the Financial Statement i last yerjr. He could no| bring down the . Public Works Statement until the financial T proposals were first passed] Regarding the i amount paid to Wellington and Dunedin for '. technical education, he that when the i Technical Education Bill|was under consix deration he had explained- ;Jt the time that j the amounts for these sclools had already been paid. \ '.. The second reading was] agreed to on the > voices, and toe Bill was Jien read a" third . time and passed. 3 The House adjourned til 7.30 p.m. \ EVENING SrfTING. The House resumed at 1j.30 p.m. [ NO-CONFIDENCEJ DEBATE. Mr McGOWAN resumed the debate on the } Address-in-Reply, and refuted the charges of the Leader of the Oppdsjtion that the rail- [ ways had been mismanaged and that wages J were never so low as at present, while ne lauded the effect of the pq-operative system T of road-making in relieving the congested state of. the labour market. He defended the old age* pension systemf Objection had j been taken to the Mining Act, but while he r admitted that the regulations were faulty, 3 fault could not be found wifi the Act. With - regard to the Marine Scandjl, he looked upon t the matter as of small imofrtance. 1 Mr J. W. THOMSON! objected to the 3 statement that the Marufe Scandal was a }. matter of small importante. The honour r of Ministers and the good fame of the colony i were ;it stake. He depiefl that the colony • X was in a prosperous statef The value of -* the staple "products had gjjhe steadily down - since the Liberal party came into power. I He condemned the Premiefffor ranging about i the country/ from Auckland to Invercargill - electioneering, to the neglfct of public busit ness. jf £ Mr MEREDITH thought that the session r should open earlier in thelyear. A great - deal of time was wasted p. useless debates - on the Address-in-Reply |nd no-confidence motions. He'contended tlu| members should suspend judgment on th|. Marine Scandal until the whole of the Evidence.and the l report of the Commissionels.were before the I House. He defended th| Premier against : the attacks that had- beeil.made upon him by the Conservative Pres| and a powerful but disorganised Opposition. Speaking [ upon the proposal of soml members to do away with the RabbiJ'Department, he strongly opoosed it, as m contended this ) would be the ruin of Ntrth Canterbury, Nelson and Marlborough. I Mr J. HUTCHESON w& surprised Ministers had not attempted to Hefend themselves from the accusations madefagainst them on every platform in the oology on the matter ? of the Marine Scandal. ' ffhe enquiry was 1 really into the Ministers with " officials in carrying out tlfe duties imnosed 1 upon them by law. The premier had said in one speech that what h| had done in re- ' gard to the issue of a certfecate to Captain x Jones he would do again inder similar cir--8 eumstances. It was thaT statement that * had induced him (Mr Hitcheson) to take 3 the stand he bad done in tie matter. Had 3 the Premier admitted tha[ he had made a 1 mistake, be would have couponed the action, 1 but there was danger to' t|e Democracy in » the autocratic and unconstfntional action of * the Premier in persisting, fc such a line of r conduct. Having traced <|c history of the s application by Captain J|a&s for a certi- " ficate. he said his charge the Premier - was that he had put upqn Mr Hall-Jones the responsibility of grantilg Captain Jones permission to sit for an examination certificate of competency withofe a service certis ficate, and Mr HaM-Jonesf-in turn, placed , the responsibility upon t»- officers of the Department, and repudiates'afterwards any r pergonal responsibility in rfead to the matter. ' ' . . %■ L Mr HALL-JONES . saidl Mr Huteheson had been playing into the lands of the shipb ping ring, and degrading £c value of the certificates issued to officer£w>ho had passed I their examinations in Nej| Zealand. He said he had nothing to feargroni the enquiry r into the matter. He consid&ed Mr Hutche- ■ son, who had been retur»d as a Labour 3 member, bad acted with dtjpjcity in regard I to the matter. The Opposition ver e great at t getting up scandals, but mem-- - bers of that party had beeifguilty of much i greater scandals than those|cUarged to the b Govmunent. If any blanieK&aohed to the I issue of the certificate, thefecretary of the Department said heWuld take the 1

" '~■ , "■■'■■■ j . ■■- ■ ;■ ■", YY" 's Joneic had .alw ays claimed a.certificate!. He,declined to give permission for toe- issue:/bf a certificate. Whence case came l»fore the Supreme Court .why did not the' Opposition, see that the facts of the case were.fully . 'elicited. The Premier and he were" then on oath, and could .nave been cross-examined.'. He was prepared to go before the Royal Commission and give all information. ' It the Opposition that, the Government dare not cancel Captain Jones's certificate for fear of revelations that would be made, but.the certificate was cancelled. It had been further said that the Premier and he would not give evidence in Court, but they had done so." It was not Captain Jones that the Opposition wanted to get at,, but the Government; but there was not the.slightest truth in any of the allegations of favouritism that had been levelled against them. On' the hustings Mr Huteheson had said he would stand by the Government for the session, and if they did anything that he could not approve of he would rather . come back to his constituents and resign his trust. He (Mr Hall-Jones) was prepared to place himself unreservedly in the hands of the Commission, so that the House and country could -judge as to the charges brought against him. The debate was adjourned at 11.50 p.m., and the House adjourned till Tuesday.