THE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 247, 11 July 1908, Page 7

THE COUNCIL.

ROMAN'CATHOLIC-EMPOWERING-BILL. *•, In the Logi|lative j Goifacil r yGsterda^ : dfternoon the Private Bni's'- Committee "reported that informalities in connection with the Roman Catholic Archbishop o£ I.Wellington Empowering Bill,had been corrected. The committee recommended .that-'the.promoters l) 8; Bill.' < : A' message- on"the* same subject 'was received from the other House, and the Council 1 decided accordingly. ' , ' • . • FIRST READINCsI . The Accountants Bill and the Incorporated Societies Bil' were received from the House of Representatives and read a first'time. INFORMATION PROMISED. Ths ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Hon. Dr. Findlay); agreed to submit' the" detailed, information asked for by the Hon/S.' ThorneGeorge concerning Government property in Wellington, but'intimated that tho Government did not ■commit itself to sympathy .'with Mr.; George's , suggestion :fto'"■•create"-' a new capital city. .• NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDINCS. I

On' the motion of: tho Attorney-General, it .was resolved :—"That a'/ committee be appointed to act in conjunction with any committee appointed. : by itho;. House of .Representatives ■ for the- purpose-of 'inquiring into and reporting upon tho most suitable site for the -ercetion of Parliament Buildings ■ the committee to consist of • the Hon. the Speaker, the Hons. Carneross, Feldwick, Gilmer, MarshaH, Pad, Sinclair, Thompson, Sir u. JM, 0 Ilorke,. and tho .mover. ,, ADDRESS-IN'REPLY. TIMBER, LAND, AND LABOUR. The Hon J. MARSHALL (Westland), 01 ' ' e ' ; : Address-in^. Reply, defended the Inspector of; Mines (Mr. lennant) against strictures upon his official conduct in-connection with -the Blackball Mine. Tho grievanco .which had existed had' been redressed. .He _also defended Mr, Leitch,. the BlaokbalUmmo manager, against unfavourable criticism, and, quoted 'docu- .. discredit. complaints as to the d th° n thommo made,by Mr! Hicfcey

Oregon Pine. Dealing next with the-timber industry, Mr ' h; ar Mr \?"°M nd ( ;. ndorse(l a letter sent rn.ft 'q,-?i ™V cha, .™ an of. the West Coast Sawmillers. Association; - to- tho ■ PretT+b; Jll" £ rcw special attention •fc> tho statement-;that Oregonpine was boine landed in.New Zealand for-l Si 6d. per 100 ft less than .Westland "red. pine. Tfo Anieri-' can millers wero .enabled, .to produce verv cheaply by., using Hindu and Japanese labour the wages being only as irfuch in pence as New Zealand sawmillors had to pay in shilling!. The shipping:facilities .also enabled the American- miller to ship- timber to • New -yealand • at Gd. .peivlOOft; less* on-an average than the freight from port ,to port in this country. ';llc, "therefore, urged the Government to ' increase ."the duty oh imported timber."- Ho'regretted that the Railway Department did not use more" local timber _for sleepers. Black, brown, or red' birch, as milled on the. Coast,..would last for_ twenty years, when used for sleepers, and though it-might riot bo- as good as the Australian article, it .wasi. one-third cheaper. Ho thought it should receive a further trial.

From Nelson. S.l\ (Nelson), speaking on tao labour crisis, said tho agitators wore the chief cause of all the troubles. Thcv should he shipped away to tho Chatham Islands or elsewhere. He uphold tho claims of Nelson as a sito for the capital. Farmers' Problems. The Hon. J. ANSTEY (Canterbury), in the course of his speech, commended the work of the Minister for Agriculture. Ho thought the knowledge obtainable at tho experimental farms should be moro widely diffused. Farmers should bo ajskpd to place small'sections of land of. representative quality at the disposal of. the Department foi "experimental work. Tho farmer would prepare the land, and tho Departmental expert would plant and visit the . crop. Tho. produce would becomo the property of the farmer. .Tho preference to employees clause of the

Land Act, 1907, as administered a few months, ago at Otokaike. liad not resultec (u helping such men as intended by Parlia ment. It was wrong to borrow money foi tho purposo of giving an advantage to moi: already well off. It was an excellent thing that labourers on an ostato acquired by the Government should havo sections adjoining -their cottagos, but tho idea had been'prostituted in tho Otekaike cases. Mr. Aristoy-lilsc pleaded tho cause of the settler without capital, as against tho provision in last year'? Act-,that 15 per cent, of tho purchase rrioncj must bo paid down in purchasing a portion oi a subdivided estate. Ho welcomed tho Governmont's:;proposed special settlement sche'ra< .to onablo owners to cut up estates:into freehold :farms under conditions subject to Government approval, but ho thought care would havo_ to bo taken in framing tho legislation required) lost operations should be thwarted by.failuro of tho would-be settlers to agree among themselves as to the subdivisions.'. Farm Labour and Arbitration. Thoy' lvoro all aware of tho Canterbury farm labourers' dispute, which for about a year had been dragging its slow and'slimy length along. (Laughter.). Ho boliovcd that there was no necessity for any award in tho industry. Every rise of wages in tho cities was accompanied by an even greater riso in tho country. An award for all farm labour would bo useless, on account of tho difference of conditions. They would need a separate award for each paddock, a-new ono ovory morning, and-for ovory ohango in tho weather. (laughter and applause.) At's o'clock, Mr. Anstey was interrupted by tho adjournment of the Council' until 8 p.m. / ■ . / ' To Help ths Worker. .Proceeding; at the evening sitting, Mr. Anstey suggested that the lot of tho worker could be improved by tho Government giving monetary assistance- in defraying the expenses connected with the birth' of children. In regard to a needs wage, a married man would need, more than a single, but a man's family circumstances did not matter to., his employer. Therefore, lie did not see how a difference could bo .made in wages according as a man was married- or single, or according to the size of his family. /Tho ATTORNEY-GENERAL: The principlo is already recognised in tho public service. . Mr. ANSTEY further advocated a national system of insurance as better for the workers than the present system of workers' compensation and employers' liability. Othor Speakers; ' The Hon. R. A. LOUGHNAN (Wellington) argued in favour of tho -erection of Parliament Buildings on the Government House site, and the [easing of tho Departmental Buildings site in-; sections , for business purposes. - Ho supported tho Second Ballot, arid expressed • general. approval of . .tho ■ other measures forecasted- in the Governor's Speech. Ho expressed great pleasure in tho prospect of a reform of tho libel law, which, no Mpefl, would place New Zealand Newspapers _ in the same position as those at Home in the matter of privilege in reporting Police : Court proceedings and-meetings of local bodies, and _would safoguard journals against'being penalised through cases brought by irresponsible persons. Ho considered that tho'position in:regard to industrial arbitration; was not so serious as to call-for.any-irast-io changes'in-legislation. , - Tho Hon; W. BEEHAN. (Auckland) rethe Auckland tramway , strike,' expressing; sympathy with tho employees, but leclarea that he had no/sympathy with the Wellington bakers' strike. • He advocated legislation to compel hospitals to render assistance to friendly societies. " On the motion of the Attorney-General, iho debate was adjourned until Tuesday aext, and. the Council rose at 10 p.m.