POLITICAL NOTES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21256, 30 August 1934, Page 8

POLITICAL NOTES

fFrom Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, August 29. j Preference to British Goods The view that New Zealand should be prepared to give definite (preference to the products of Great Britain over and above that given to any other part of the Empire, and Ithat New Zealand should not allow its appreciation of the importance of the British market to end merely in lip service, was expressed in the (House ofßepresentatives to-day by Mr A. E. Ansell (C., Chalmers), speaking on the second reading of the Customs Acts Amendment Bill. Mr Ansell claimed that it should Jje made perfectly clear at the earliest possible moment that New Zealand would give Great Britain such additional preference as might be necessary to direct her purchasing power to the United Kingdom, the people of which v/ere, after all, New Zealand's best buyers. Wages Protection Bill Notice of his intention to introduce a Wages Protection and Contractors Liens Amendment Bill was given in the House of Representatives to-day by Mr P. Fraser (Lab., Wellington Central). The«bill proposes that it shall be unlawful for an employer to require from a worker any sum of money or other protection against loss incurred by the employer through any action of the worker or any other person. The bill also stipulates that any bond, deed, or agreement binding a worker in cases of this nature shall be null and void. Second-hand Dealers Objections to certain sections of the Second-hand Dealers Amendment Act, which is now before the House of Representatives, are contained in a petition presented to the House to-day by Mr H. T. Armstrong (Lab., Christchurch East) and signed by nearly 40 Christchurch dealers. It is stated that the proposed law requiring license-holders to retain possession for one month of any second-hand article before disposing of it would lead to hardship and inconvenience. It would mean an accumulation of more goods than could possibly be stored and might result in a fall in the sale value of the article over the period of storage. It is also claimed that the section of the bill making this law operative immediately would mean a complete cessation of business for one month. Alsatian Dogs Bill An enquiry as to whether any time was to be given in the House of Representatives to consideration of the Alsatian Dogs Bill, now before the Legislative Council, was made by Mr J. A. Lee (Lab., Grey Lynn) in notice of a question in the House to-day. Mr Lee said he asked the question, as members were being inundated with correspondence on the subject. Duty On Beer The opinion that Mrs McCombs had been ungenerous in her comments on the Government's action in reducing the duty on beer was expressed by the Minister for Customs, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates. replying in the House to-day to the second reading debate on the Customs Acts Amendment Bill. "I will deal with general principles at this stage, as I anticipate there will be considerable discussion on various iterfis when we are in the committee stage," said Mr Coates. "We shall then probably hear a lot about needles and anchors, and about beer too. When members are talking about beer I would say they should be careful, in case we finish up with sixpence olf instead of only threepence." Mr Coates then referred to Mrs McCombs's remarks on the subject yesterday. '1 cannot say her remarks were altogether generous," he said. "From a member of the gentler sex we usually expect comfort, advice, and sympathy." Mrs McCombs: Didn't I give you good advice? A Slip of the Tongue A slip of the tongue by the leader of the Opposition (Mr M. J. Savage) caused loud laughter in the House to-night. Mr Savage was in the middla of a forceful argument when the Speaker's bell rang, -to indicate that only five minutes' speaking time remained, and the Minister for Lands (the Hon. E. A. Ransom) promptly rose to move an extension of Mr Savage's time. Evidently that interruption temporarily derailed Mr Savage's train of thought. After the extension had been agreed to. Mr Savage said, "I thank the Minister and the House, and now. ladies and gentlemen—" After the laughter had subsided, Mr Savage, smiling broadly, remarked, "I thought I was speaking to the people of New Zealand- I have been talking to some of the many thousands of intelligent people throughout the country in the last few months, so perhaps I can be excused if I thought I was still, doing so."