EVENING SITTING.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12849, 6 July 1907, Page 11

EVENING SITTING.

Tho House resumed at 7.130 p.m. Mr LANG, who continued tho dobate; stated thnt tho Gcvcrnmor.t had been criticised iar moro severely by their own supporters than by member of tho Opposition, consequently he did not see- why the debate should bo nrolonged. Uoloiring to tho La:id Bill, hi* urged that tenants under tho Lease-in-perpetuity tenure should bo allowed to transfer their holdings to tho O.R P. tenure. Hf added that tho only icaso this - extraordinary land proposal ivm mado by tho Government wae because not one of tho Ministers had ever boon a practical farmer, and if it came to a straight out division, they would find the country members in one lobby and tho city and euburhan members in the other. (Cries: "No, no.") Whenever any measure affecting tho country camo beforo tho House, it waa always the city members, like tho member for Newtown, who know most about it. (Lnuuhter). Mr RUTHERFORD said ho did not approve of the propoeal to change tin title of New Zealand to "Dominion." It reminded him of a email mnn wearing a very largo hnt. He did not think thoro was any pressing need for a fast mail service, ns all thnt was required for commercial purposes was a regular eervico via Sydney and Suez. , Th<» greator portion of tho buying ami selling of business houses was done p*r medium of cablo messages, and th<? mail was only. uw<l for tho purpose of confirmation of tho transactions t>v cablo. Ho wns .strongly opposed to al lowing Chinese to enter tho colony, and if tho treaties permitted, he kliouW like tho Chinese to bo given three yean • » which to wind up their rmsirorraes and clear out of New Zealand. Referring to tlio recent appointments to tnf Uppsr Houm), ho eaid it appeared to him that they were quite up to usual standard of the men appointee to that House. Ho could not supp Tt tho suggestion that mor* Ministers should bo appointed. He- thought that too much running about tho country, for the purpose of opening bridges, halls, etc., was expected of Ministers. Mr OAR'ROLL said that all through the hietory of tho colony, the native* had been most magnanimous in trying to moot tlio interests of tho colony an<l the desires of the European settlers, Contrasting Maoris ana Europeans, ue said tho moro tho latter acquired wealth, the more selfish they became, but not co the Maori, who, when he amassed wealth, realised the responsibilities of his position. At Masterton 2408 acres of land were still he... by natives, ■whi.tet 3G50 ncres wore leased to Europeans. They hod solo. 1025 acres to Europeans, and 57,0i0 acres to the Crown tor settlement purposes. Wb,o Mould say that these natives retarded sittlc-mont, and who was going to deny tho right of the natives to be settled on our land. The Maoris had been generous in tho past, nnd no Government ever had any difficulty in gotting from them largo areas of land for settlement. Hβ anticipated that the result of tho Native I<and Commission would be to put on the Statute Book legislation beneficial to both races. Tho debato was carried on by Messrs Macphereon, Reid, Remington, and j. C Thomson, and was then adjourned. The Houeo rose at 11.43 p.m.