EVENING SITTING.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11954, 5 August 1904, Page 6

EVENING SITTING.

Tha House resumed at 7.30. Mr MAJOR expressed himself in favour of tho freehold system of land tenure. Tho Government's land policy had been a progressive one, but he cousideied a, blunder had been made in promoting settlement too rapidly to aJloiv of road.*? and bridges being constructed to cnabla settlers to reach their holdings. Ho hoped something would bo done to increase the salaries of country rchool teacher.--, many of whoro wages did not exceed those of pick and shovel workers. Referring to the dairying industry, ho said the city peoplo had very littlo conception of tho hard work of ;i dairy farmer's life, and urged that these people were entitled to every consideration at tho hands of the Government. Mr R. McKENZIE was generally in favour of the freehold, and he iiddetehut. if the tenure given was not suitable, the people who went on to the land Mould very soon niter it to suit their purposes. He was prepared to give the people any tenure they liked, so long as they would go on the land. With reference" to railway?, ho believed they ought to be made to pay one per cent, more than they were doing. At present he was glad to see there was some inclination to retrench in tho railway service, tlw number of em* ployees having been reduced by 103 during the past year. Mr BUCHANAN* **nid that with all our increasing revenue and with all our increasing demands for public works, there was actually a decrease of £7000 in the amount expended out of revenue on public buildings in 1903-1904, as compared with 1883-1884, while tho expenditure out of loan had greatly increased. As to the. credit of the colony, he pointed out that as a result of the last loan we would be paying interest during the whole currency of tho loan on £160,000 which the colony had not reoeived. The debate was adjourned en the motion of Mr Witty. The House rose at midnight.