LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 43, 14 November 1907, Page 9

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

'first readings

The ■■ Railways. Improventent Authorisation 'Jill, the Butter : .']Ssp'ortj-lJ}jj|'ifip JJps'pitals and Gharjtabje Il lnst;it.utio i ns. iijll,; and ; th'e Defence' Act Amendment 'Bill' were", received from the Lower House and read a first time. '~'• ■* HEALTH ,|N-SCHOOLS, ■-. - SANITARY ANP MEDICAL. INSPECTION. The Hon. Captain Baillie (Marlbprough) nioved/" That it is desirabje that the Government'should take into consideration during the comjng recess the desirableness of ■ preparing legislation to proyido for thp sanitary' inspection of ajl schools and colleges, privatp as we)!'as pubjip," The mover said that the late Mr. Sedtlon had promised to-.effect what was suggested in' this motion. He"'recognised that private interests might b , ■•'affectedi but the interests of health should be : parapifiunt. It was particularly desjrable tnafc the. dormifcaries should be. largo enough v and properly ventilated, and thai;': children .isufforihg from consumption, should not sleep in the same, room with others. He spoke .of a.school for girls, where the pupils had to dress and make their beds in half an hour,, and said that under such a rule the beds could,not be properly, aired. Tho Hon.- S. T. George suggested that , the'motion should be extended to cover the ! medical and dental inspection of the pupils! I The Hons. .W,,C, Smith, Dr. Collins, R. A. Loughnari, and J..; Barr supported .tho motion, and agreed with tho further suggestion of the Hon.' S. T..' George. The Hon. Mr.-Barr also advocated the use of brick, stone,, ..or reinforced concrete for school buildings, and the .univorsal adontion of single'.desks. Intentions of the Covernmont. The Attorney-General (Hon. Dr. Findlay) expressed sympathy with the object of the • resolution, and pointed out what tho Government had already # dpno in connection with , infant life protection and other measures. Some of the public schools were already being inspected by the Health Department. The Council would/however, see that the proper medical and dental examination in all the widely-scattered schpols of this young country would be a very expensive undertaking, and that must make the Government pause. Tho Minister for Education and Public Health had assured him that ho realised, .the force of tho pensiderations urged in this matter, Ho had already given thought to it, and would do so still further during the recess, and the Government hoped ;to be ahje ,to • make some proposals for dealing with tho matter next session. The motion iyas amended by adding to it' the words "aiid for the medical inspection of the. pupils, aiiel was carried on the voices.

THE USE OF ARMS. . ; • UNIVERSAL TRAINING.' The debate on tho Hon. R. A. Loughnan's motion in favour of the military or naval training of all adult males was resumed by Tho Hon. J. :b. Oallan, who alluded to possible dangers in the future frorn China and Japan. Ho did not believe in conscription, but thought somo stops, should bo taken to make it obligatory for evory young man in New Zealand to serve in a Volunteer corps for a few years, say from tho age of seventeen to that of twentyrtwo. Drill in Schools. The Hon. Dr. Collins said the right time for learning drill was in school days, and it should ho part of tho curriculum. At the age. of eight, the hcigljt, weight, ehost measurement, and vaccination marks of every child should bo registered. This ehould be repeated at the ages of nine and ten, when drill should be begun. Tho rillo should bo introduced at fourteen. At tho end of each term, the schools should he addressed by tho headmaster and a member of the Council of. Defpnco, and they should bo told of'their duties to the State* and urged to-join some Volunteer force. Thqy should elso bo. addressed by a health officer. Tho record of physical development should bo given to tho boy, to the, Health Department, end to: the Defence Council. The Council should keep in- touch with the boy in his after career. Somo of the boys would prize this register, and hand it down to their descgndants. • It- would help masters to regulate the studies of the boys according to their physical fitness.' The discipline and knowledge of drill and the encouragement to the boys to keep up thoir drill on'leaving school vrnnld bo valuable from the military point of view, and would greatly assist voluiitcoring. The Defence Council, moreover, would bo able to "ut its hands on every

able-bodied man in the country at short notice. A National Standard of Health. Those, who saw tho cadets in Newtown Park on Dominion Day must have folt that they had learnt more than drill, and had, in fact, acquired n sense of responsibility. Ho thought every boy over fourteen should have a week at the butts, and a prize should bo given to the best marksman among them in-tho Dominion. Tho scheme would b« of tho greatest benefit from a public health point of. view. It would establish a standard of national health which no country v -at present had. This meant the health of every person in tho community. It supply statistics as to modifications of health due to ago, change of climate, and occupations, diet, and race. Very little was known statistically on these questions. Much more' attention a should bo given to milk .supply, and prizes should bo given to tho dairymen whose cows maintained the best standard of milk. Tho scheme of physical examination of children which he had ■ recommended would enable the appearance pi adonoids to be detected. It would enable data to bo obtained showing the normal physical development, at different ages, These statistics would be very valuable, and would he sought after by scientists in other nations. Child/Labour and Health. . |'. Knowledge as to the healthiness of localities and as to the spread of epidemics would also be secured. Similarly, valuable information would be obtained iii regard to the dental condition of the young, and this would be useful for military purposes. Statistics would also be obtained showing whether vaccination had any injurious effect on general health. The constant record showing variations of-weight would enable tuberculosis to be detected in. its early stages, and thus many lives would be saved. Tlie methods he proposed would also be of assistance in coming to a decision as to whether the ampunt of early,and late work done by some children in certain country districts was physically injurious to them. He would'also llava all girls taught cooking, domestic du'tios, and 'the caro' of infants. The post of establishing a national standard of health as ho hnd suggested would not be great. ' Reserve Corps. , The Hon. Captain Baillie said a great difficulty in volunteering was the objection raised by employers to the absenco of. the men on 'training../ Tho cadet movement called for every encouragement, and ho suggested that reserve corps should bo formed in all the large centres, consisting of men who had boon trained'as .Volunteers. They could.he paid £10 a year each, and drilled by thoroughly instructed officers.. . The Hon. B. A. Loughnan, in replying, again urged the merits of the Swiss system, which, lie said, was different from conscription as generally understood in Europe, though ho admitted that it involved compulsion. Referring to Dr. Cojlins's .suggestion that compulsory drill should cease with schooldays, he said that the sense of duty would generally'not be strong enough unless reinforced with a little compulsion, He regarded Dr. Cpllins's proposals as an argumGnt in favour ,pf compulsory military training, because this would bo tho best basis for a -national standard of physical health. /

The Council diyided ,on the resolution, which was as follows :-r-"That, in ordor to effectively defend the/Dominion against, possible enemies, it is imperative that all ablebodied ndult males should be trained to the use of arms, and^instruetpdtinfguch'military or naval dr.ill as may bq necessary for tjie lhe motion was carried by "I to 4.-

PREVENTION OF FOOD MONOPOLIES. THE BILL FASSEP. The Flour and other Products Monopoly Prevention Bill was further considered in Committee.- . ,' It is provided in Clause, 7 that the .price of potatoes shall be deemed to be unrcasqiir ably high, when the average wholesale.'price in Now Zealand exceeds £7 per ton. The, Hon. J . Barr moved to substitute £16 instead of £7. Lost on the voices. Clause 10, Sub-section 2, was amended, on the motion of the Attorney-General, in order to mako it clear that the. agricultural representative on the Arbitration Court shall hold office only in respect of the particular enquiry for the purpose for which ho is appointed-. ' ■ The Bill was reported with amendments. The Hon. J. Rigg moved to recommit 'the Bill with a view to inserting in Clause fi words declaring the price of wheat to be excessive when it exceeds 6s. a bushel. The mover , said this would ,brjng tho clause, into line with those relating to flour and potatoes. ■ The Attorney-General said the Government could not accept tho amendment..

■ Tho motion to recommit was lost on the voices, and the Bill was. then read a third time and passed. i

BILL PASSED. The Coal Mines Act Amendment Bill (No. 2) was further considered in committee, reported, read a third time, and passed." BILLS OF EXCHANGE BILL. The Cqu.ncjl agreed, with one slight niodiiication, with the amendments made by the House of Representatives in the Biljs of .Exchange Act Amendment Bill. SEA FISHERIES BILL. THE OYSTER TRADE. ' The adjourned debate on tho second reading of the- Sea Fisheries liill was continued by The Hon. J. B. Callan, who supported the Bill, but thought it should be furnished with a preamble to explain that legislation was necessary to preserve the . rock oyster from extinction. Tho debate was continued by the Hons. W. W. M'Cardlo, W. Beehan,' A. Baldey, R. A. Loughnan, and Barr (all iof whom supported the Bill), C. D. Louisson and T. K. Maedonald (who thought the Government should confine its enterprise to the wholesale trado in oyqters), i< , .' Trask (who said somo better moans of protecting the oyster should be devised), and H. P. wigrain (who said ho preserved an open mind on the subject). The Bill was read a second time and immediately committed. Oyster Shops. . The Attorney-General inovwl to amend Clause 3, which gives the Minister power to cause oysters to bo sold either wholesale or by retail, by substituting words giving power to sell wholesale, either by contract or auction, or by retail, if the prices being charged by, retail traders, having regard to the wholcsalo prices, are excessive. The Hon. S. T. George moved to strike out the words, "either wholesale or by retail," thus giving the Government aii undefined power to soil tho oysters picked by trie persons employed by the Minister. The Attorney-General accepted tho amendment, which was curried.. The Bill was reported with amendments, read a third time, and passed. The Council rose at 10 p.m.