MORTGAGE BILL

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21423, 15 March 1935, Page 12

MORTGAGE BILL

EQUITY PROVISION CAUSES DELAY SECOND READING NEXT WEEK ATTITUDE OF COALITION MEMBERS [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, March 14. Points for and against the equity provision in the Rural Mortgagors Final Adjustment Bill are still being debated privately between a section of the Coalition party and members oil the inter-departmental committee which has assisted the Minister for Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) in the preparation of the legislation. It is not expected that the second reading debate on the bill will be begun before next week, and no further caucus of the party is likely to be held until some completion has emerged from the current discussions. The unexpected delay in initiating the main debate on the measure in the House will almost inevitably result in prolonging the session until the end of the month. The possibility of consideration of the bill being deferred until the next session has been mentioned in the lobbies. It is believed that the Government would be unwilling to delay final consideration of this question which has been the mam one before' the House since the resumption ot the session a month ago. The likelihood that the next session will not open until July and will be concluded earlier than usual in view of the general election campaign, is another lactor making it desirable that the bill should be dealt with this session, it at all A considerable section of the Coalition party is in favour of the equity provision being dropped altogether. "The 20 per cent, clause will.go, declared one prominent private member of the party to-night. "There is no need for it. The farmer who is worth his salt will be independent at the end of five vears. He gets his equity as he goes along in the form of his production from the land. There is resentment among those who hold mortgages, that at the end of the period 20 acres out of their 100 acres should go to others. And I can sympathise with that viewpoint, even though I am a farmer who has known adversity." It is also known thai, the bill's proposal for farm budgeting and supervision have not appealed to some members, and that they think this system unnecessary and cumbersome. On the other hand, of course, it is admittcd that the deletion of these provisions, and the watering down of the equity proposal, would largely emasculate the bill, and that this , would be undesirable. Many members of the Coalition party are mistrustful of the far-reaching nature of the legislation, and although they have known for some months roughly what the | Government contemplated, the actual appearance of the adjustment bill has rather alarmed them. The future of the bill is still uncertain; but until there is seme definite development in the direction of retaining, remodelling, or dropping the section dealing with the final adjustment of liabilities, with special reference to inequity provision, the political atmosphere seems likely to remain quiet.