PARLIAMENT.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXX, Issue 2, 4 July 1913, Page 6

PARLIAMENT.

! LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. WELLINGTON, July 2. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. v THE COMMERCIAL BANK. A BUI introduced by Hon. 0. Samuel authorising. Hihe Commercial Bank of Australia, LM., to issue notes in New 1 Zealand was°read a first time. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. Hon. J. Duthie movedj "That a respectful address in reply to his Excellency's speech be agreed to." He referred feelingly to the deaths of Sir W. J. Steward and Sir A. R. Guinness. The arrival of H.M.s. New Zealand had enabled the people of the Dominion to realise the true nature of the gift and the importance of a strong Imperial Navy. The question of Pacific defence was one of vital importance, and he hoped that the Minister for Defence would shortly lay before Parliament the matured views of the Government upon the subject, The Lands for Settlement Act had settled a large number of people on the land, but the system was not ..without defects. One evil was that the Government purchases had unduly inflated the prices of land. It was not desirable to press the system too far. The graduated tax was the direction in which they would have to look in future. The democracy would not tolerate large estates. In moderation land would have to be distributed among the people, The assurances of a vigorous native land policy were most satisfactory. The question was surrounded with great difficulty. The Treaty of Waitangi had been honorably observed, but it had been a great obstacle to the progress of the country during the past 60 years. The interests of the natives had had precedence over Europeans, and that must come to an end. Reserves should be set aside for the natives as requirements demanded, and the residuum settled upon terms equitable to the Dominion. The efforts made by the Minister for Customs to develop reciprocity with Australia were most commendable, as were also the proposals for the extension of the old-age pensions. Compulsory military training had been a beneficial set-off to horse-racing and other forms of amusement to which mil' young men were too prone. He hoped that the people would recognise that the discipline of the young was 'iiore valuable to a country than even defence. • Amendments to the Arbitration Act were urgently wanted. Many disputes were not the result of grievances but were due to a desire of Labor to coerce the employers. In so doing the workers were exceeding the rights hey undoubtedly had. It was no longer a pleasure to be an employer. He hoped that the time would soon come when both would be drawn again into sympathy. The loan floated by the Minister for Finance had brought relief, but he warned the country against undue borrowing. To be continually in the market would destroy the credit of any country. He favored an elective Council, but hoped the Government would introduce a measure of an elastic nature. Hon. W. Earnshaw, in seconding the motion, endorsed the mission of the Minister for Defence to England and defended the proposed expeditionary force. He advocated New Zealand tak'ng a share in the defence of the Pacific. He questioned the wisdom of giving the genera] manager of railways £3OOO per year, as this would lead to a jgeneral demand for increases all round. The right type of man had been secured, as no New Zealander could reorgania the service as it must be reorganised. He advised the Government to go slow on the question of light lines. Roadmaking was preferable, as petrol traction was the coming power. He denounced the Labor agitators, who were not representative of the workers but selfish seekers for place and power. He did not fear competition from Australia, and therefore hoped that the reciprocity proposals would be consummated. He favored an elective Council, also an elective Executive. He thought the proposals to reduce the cost of living Utopian. There were as many trusts and coin hi ties in New Zealand as in America, The adjournment of the debate was moved by Hon. J. R. Sinclair, and the Council adjourned until 4.45 p.m. tomorrow. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2 90 p.m. NOTICES OK HILLS. Mr T. M. Wilford Uiutt) gave notice to introduce the Gaming Amendment Bill. Hon. W. F. Masse,v (Prime Minister) gave notice to introduce the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill. FIRST RICA DINGS. The following B.lis were read a first time:—Saturday Halt-holiday for Shop.Bill (Hon. D. Buddo), New Zealand Standard Time Bill (Mr T. K. Sidey), Gaming Amendment 8.1 l (Mr G. Hunter). Westport Public Parks Vesting Bill (Mr J. Colvin), Lights on Vehicles Bill (Hon. 1). Buddo), Gisborne Harbor Board Enabling Bill (Mr W. D. S. Macdonald), Gisborne Borough and Harbor Board Lands Exchange and Empowering Bill (Mr W. D. S. Macdonald), Betterment Bill (Mr It. McCallum), Wanganui Harbor District and Empowering Bill (Mr W. Veitch), Land Transfer Amendment Bill (Hon. A. L. Herdmaif), Amendment Incorporation Bill (Hon. A. L. Herdman), New Z?aHxnd Institute of Architects Bill (Hon. A. L. Herdman). STATE LENDING. Hon. J. Allen (Minister for Finance) made the following statement! in connection with the State Lending Department:—The £SOO limit in resnect if advances to settlers came into force :n March 1, 1912. The present Government came into office on July 10, 912. On Mav 26, 1913, the limit of 'JSOO imposed on March 1 was raised io £6OO, owing to the better position )f the finance. The Advances Board has now decided to further extend the imit of advances to settlers loans from ;600 to £750. The question as to whether loans should be granted for renewd of mortgages coming due has been arefully considered, and it is not leemed advisable bv the Board to provide for these at the present moment, ft is hoped, however, that' the increase from £6OO to- £750 will make it easier for those who have loans coming due o renew them from outside. The limit f £SOO for loans to local authorities wj's made on January 15, 1912, aud of £IOOO Under section 9 of the Act of' 1.912, on May 17 last. The Advances Board has now decided to gtant loans-, not exceeding £2OOO to local 'bodies in; outlying districts. The Board is now 4160 prepared to consider all applioa-

tions tor. loans; jitt districts which, come inthin "the'purposes provid-; e& for in the State Guarantee Ad- > vances Act, 1912, wnilic do Hot texceed £2OOO in amount. That is to 'say, if the application is a bona fide one from an outlyingdistrict in a county the' £SOO limit will not apnly to that county. The sum of £500,000 has been set aside for advances to I6cal authorities for the purposes mentioned in subsection 20 of section 9 of the State Guar-; anteed Advances Act, 1912, namely, for the construction of roads and bridges in outlying districts, and for metalling such roads for the first time, and it rvill be recollected that under sub-sec-tion 3 of the same section the Government will hpve to pay out of the Consolidated Fund into the Advances Account in each 10 .years of the term and any loan an amount equal to 1 per cent, of the anftniut of the loan, and in each of the succeeding l'O years an amount equal to hall per cent, of the amount thus relieving local bodies to that extent. In regard to advances to workers, loans were reduced to a maximum of £.''oo in November last, but were increased to £4OO on May 16, 1913. There had been some mkvnderstand'ng in the oountry with regard to the State Guaranteed Office', tie wished it to be thoroughly understood that the office was outside Ministerial control. He had never been to a meeting of the Board, which was ciuite free from political in- J fluences, ana always had l>eeii. Evoiyone knew that there hod been, stringency in the money market, and it had become necessary to limit the amount advanced in various quarters, i He had that morning signed an authority totf £25,975 for opening up lands for settlement and reading and bridging. Replying to questions Jlr Allen stated that- the existing conditions made it absolutely necessary to reduce the amounts advanced to local bodies and otln : s, but he hoped to be able to raise the amounts shortly. \\ ith regard l to the quest-ion of advances for the purpose of raving off mortgages the Minister tmtvrl that the Act was not intended to apply in that manner. The measure so far as he understood it >vas intended to provide for homes for workers, not to pay off mortgages. He recognised that there were •several deserving cases of that description and they would receive attention. The Department received a great number applications for assistance, which we"e quite out-icV the scope of the Act. The House adjourned at 4.15 p.m. till 7.30 p.m. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. .In reply to questions Ministers stattJ , that the Government was in favor of retaining the present national system of free, secular, and compulsory education. rh« Government did not intend to introduce any legislation this session enabling a referendum, be taken on Bible reading or Bible Lessons in State schools. The question of amending legislation, I which is intaulvd to prevent- members of the Oivil Service from, becoming members of_ certain local bodies, must be the subject of cominunioatio<n between the Ministers and the Public Service Commissioners, and the Government will confer with the Commission crs accordingly. Owners of property affected by the graduated land tax had no alternative but to pay the assessed tax for 1912-13, 'evied on their properties, because such tax was payable according to ownership I ind value as at March 31, 1912. After March 31, 1914, the first year's effects I of the new scale will l>e ascertainj able. Judging from sales made recentv. however, it was apparent that the 1 cutting up of larger properties was be- [ 'tig accelerated' foy the increase of the i £ra dilated tax of last session. The Government had not been advised that t!hi> provisions of the Tramways \mendment Act, 1910, relating to the Appeal Board were defective inasmuch is no satisfactory provision was made to secure compliance with the determination of tlie Board. The Government would prepare any amendment of the Act necessary to enable effect to be given to the decisions arrived at by the Board. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. When the House resumed at 7.30 p.m. Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Egmont) moved the Ad dress-in-Reply. After paying a tribute to tliie memory of Sir A. Guinness he proceeded to congratulate the Government on the prosperity of the country. The freehold tenure was the foundation of the prosperity of that nart of Taranaki he represented. He strongly advocated a more energetic immigration policy, the cessation of dredging for gold, ana the pushing on, of irrigation ol lands in Cenl ral Otago, The native laud problem was calling pressingly for settlement. Light railways in country districts were absolutely necessary, and local foodies should have power o construct tramways to bring in metal lor roads. He favored an Elective Legislative Council, but protested against the electorates being too large. The reduction of the cost of living had his sympathy, but he did not wish to see freetrade adopted' to kill tjie industries. He advocated the remission of duti ® on articles in daily consumption, and the imposition of taxation on motorcars, trusts, and an increase in the income tax. -He suggested that a Board of Commerce be set up to inquire into the proceedings of trusts. He endorsed the military training .scheme, and favored the establishment of our own navy, riie workers' homes scheme was worthy of extension. Forestry was deserving of greater attention. Mr C. E. Statham (Dunedim Central) in seconding the motion, congratulated the Government on the business-like statement put into the Governor's hands. He claimed consistency between the pledges and performances of the Reform Party. It had set afoout putting the finances in order, and the success of the loan on the London market proved that English investors had now implicit confidence in the Government. The Government was not the friend of the large landowners. Large estates must, be broken' up with tlhe use of the graduated tax increase. Large areas of land also were purchased, This month 29,669 acres were available for settlement. The Government intended to deal fairly with the natives. The Gov-1 eminent was alive to the interests of the workers. More money had also been spent on railways than during the previous year. The selection of an English manager of railways, and the provision, for the extensions or the Pensions Act were matters of great ipublic benefit, but the Government should be careful not to exceed the financial resources of the Dominion. Other legislation passed was reviewed tjo show the party's efforts were in the direction of progress. He claimed that the Civil Service was now, free from political influence. The amendments of the PubJio Trust Act wefe calculated to increase the efficiency of the office. He rcTjU'diated the idea, that the jegaijSrQfeesion was hostile to i the institution. Military training was only th;o pf.tfce youth of tme Ironkaicn, iMae wMWIy

supported the scheme. The Arbitration Act should not be abolished, but amended and given another trial. If the speech was nioffc full of promises, what was promised would be fulfilled. Mr W. D. S. Macdonald (Bay of Plenty) speaking for the Opposition, congratulated the mover and seconder on the temperate tone they had adopted. If the mover desired to check monoDolv he was on the wrong side of the House, his party having fougjht for monopoly during the past 20 years. He questioned whether the Elective Council would settle the legislative problem, and lie doubted if the pakelia lessees in Taranaki were the chief sufferers from the native land tenure. He knew lessees who had sub-let their land and were living in retirement on the increased value. He was strongly of opinion Tnat the natives were the greater sufferers. Mr Macdonald dealt exhaustively with the land settlement proposals of the Government, Ho had no confidence in the Prime Minister as Minister for Lands. He had no knowledge of backblocks conditions whatever. All the knowledge he had gained t had been either from a motor-car or railway train. He adversely 1 criticised the purchase of the Beet-ham estate, and declared that if the Govemnvant remained in office for all eternity it would not be able to settle as much land as the Liberal Party, who had opened up 2,000,000 acres, and placed 38,000 settlers on the land. Ho ridiculed the talk of oiie law for the European and one for the Maori. Tlw- position was beset with difficulties, but the administration of Sir Jas. Carroll had prevented thousands of natives from becoming paupeirs. Dealing with finance, he wondered whether Hon. J. Allen's success in London was due to his own ability or the excellent work done by Sir Joseph Ward. The time limit interrupted the speaker. and the debate was adjourned till 2.30 p.m. to-morrow on the motion of Hon. W. Eraser (Wakatipu). The House rose at 10.55 p.m.