THE HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 299, 11 September 1908, Page 9

THE HOUSE.

AGREED TO. The Speaker took the chair, at 2.30 p.m. The amendments, made ,in .the Legislative Council to the Roman Catholic Archbishopof Wellington Empowering Bill were adopted. IMPOUNDING -ACT AMENDMENT. The, House went' into Committee on the Impounding .'Act Amendment Bill. Mr. MASSE Y 'objected to the amendments matlo in Committee to Clause 2 with respect to charges payablo on impounded stock. The Bill, as ■ amended; providos that payment shall be at the rate of " Is. per head for"the first ten head, and 6d. per head for all over that,number forevery mile-or fraction of a mile for. which the cattle have been driven since they were'seized." Mr. Massey said this would be a most onerous' charge. If driven over .ten or twelve miles the cnargea would-mount up to nearly the full value of the. animals. Reference to the distance should bo omitted. Ho moved accordingly. . The Hon. J. M'GOWAN said he had thought the words would have been,safe in the nands of the Agricultural and Stock Committee. . The clause, however, was obviously too drastic. The words were struck out, and the following -were substituted: "Charges for driving cattlo to the pound provided in Part II oi the, second scbedulo of the principal Act." This reverts to the old charges. The'Bill'was then reported. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. The Agricultural Produce Sale and Im portation Bill was next considered. The MINISTER'for AGRICULTURE (tin Hon. R. M'Nab) said the Bill firstly sough to' prevent tho spread, of..noxious weeds ii ch'atf'and agricultural produce sent from oni portion of the Dominion to . another' b' giving power to have such .produce destroyed On ono occasion tlie/whole of ono lot of chai had' been purchased ! by " the Government am destroyed. Regarding . the second portioi of tho Bill,, maize had been brough recently into, the port of Auckland, and th Bill gave power to prevent such diseased pre duco being disposed of. Mr. NGATA said that seeds that cam from the South Island wero responsible to considerable extent for the dissemination c thistles in the North Island. Seycral members pointed out that in th southern portion of . Otago the chaff gene rally contained Californian thistle seeds. Mr. T. MACKENZIE argued that dis trict's should be defined south of Dunedi wliero the weed existed, and in those district sales between fanners could take place, bu that no sales should bo made of such chaff t • districts freo from the thistle. Mr. RUTHERFORD (Hurunuj) referred t the : administration of the Agricultural D( partment in the matter of noxious weeds a unsatisfactory. Though inspectors wero aj pointed under the Act. the weeds were sti spreading. The only .good thing the Ac seemed to be doing was to give employmcr to a number of individuals; He thought tli present Bill could, at least, do no ham Mr. T, PARATA said that' in 1888 .tl Government had pooh-poohed the neccssil for a Noxious Weeds 'Act; now, twenty yea: after, when the evil, was done," they propose to place hardships upon-the farmers. Mr. REID (Taieri) moved to make tho Bi apply to any seed "likely to germinate," bi this, after;a lengthy discussion, was lost 1 40 votes to 15.

: Mr. J. ALLEN (Bruce) sought to have an amendment to excludo California?! thistle from tho operation of tho Bill, since to do othorwiso would be to place great disabilities on Otago. I Tho ■ amendment was-lost. Tho MINISTER moved tho following now clause: —"No proceedings shall be taken for any offence under this Act except on tho information of an inspector of stock." Tho penalty undor the Bill was altered from &20 to £10. > ' -. Tho Bill was reported with further slight amendments. INSPECTION OF MACHINERY. The House then passed to the second reading of tho Inspection of Machinery Act Amendment Bill. The Hon. J. A. -MILLAR said that tho Bill was largely composed of machinery amendments'.' /Thero were, however, one or two innovations. The definition of boilers, for instance, was enlarged. Under the old Act tho definition was too restricted. It had applied effectively in tho-past, but with tho advance of the times new boilers had come into use that were not included. The Bill would remedy this. It was also laid down that no boys under eighteen could have charge of,-hydraulic lifts. (Hear,'hear.) If a safety-valve was loaded, under this Bill the responsibility would rest with tho loader. The Minister reviewed tho various clauses. Tho LEADER of the OPPOSITION (Mr. Massey) objected to tho extension of tile definition of machinery, which, ho said, : would bring windmills under tho Act, so that they would havo to be inspected ; and when repairs were necessary the; inspector would havo to bo sent for. Ho did not see why a lift-boy who really had nothing to do with tho machinery should,not bo under 18. He also objected to Clause 4 on the ground that it would- brim? agricultural machinery, such as chaff-cutters and harvesters under tho law as to inspection, and-make it necessary to report as to repairs, a change, which, ho thought, was quito uncalled for. Ho considered.'that boilers used in steam trollies should not ho exempted from inspection as appeared to bo provided by Section 24, subsection 2. Such bojlers were of very high prossuro, and if out of repair caused considerable danger. ■ ' ' . Mr. A. R. BARCLAY (Dunedin North) said ! tlie bulk of tho machinery accidents occurred at tho wood-working establishments, which employed altogether 10,000 hands, while no otherjn'dustry had more than 3000 employees. Ho suggested that an expert in wood-working should be appointed to. the inspectorial staff. Harassing Restrictions. Mr. W.-H. P. BARBER (Newtown) said tho'Bill would place harassing restrictions on many New Zealand industries. Thero was almost no industry, that did not' utilise small steam appliances 1 of some kind under pressure. Thus, lolly factories had steam-jacketed coppers for sugar boiling, and 'many Establishments had stoam-heating pipes. All such appliances would apparently have to be licensed and fees would have to bo paid annually. He hoped somo change would be effected in committee. Mr. T. M. WILFORD (Hutt) congratulated tho Minister on Clause 22, which provides recognition of railway locomotive drivers' certificates. Ho said there were two or three hundred men who'would be glad to find that tho Government recognised their right to bo permitted to drivo a locomotive or stationary engine after leaving tho- railway service. . Mr. C. H. IZARD (Wellington Nofth) suggested that the Bill should be referred to tho Labour Bills Committee. Ho thought tho boiler or its : equivalent. in a steah motor : . car under two tons should bo inspected. Provision should bo made for regulating tho speed of motor-oars, and every person who drove a motor-car—either steam or internal combustion—should bo- required to. pass an examination. : Mr. 0. H. POOLE (Auckland West) Congratulated tho Minister on the Bill, but ho believed a few amendments wero necessary.. • • , ■ Mr. J/ ALLEiNT (%uce) sjidjthe provisions of the.-' Bill','wero harassing and -drastic in their because ' marine conditions wero insisted, oil in regard to boilers. He. argued that tho pro-Visions-imposed for the "staying" of tho railway locomotive boilers, should be applied to private locomotives. " 'He objected to .Clause 4, which seeks to enact that 'every repair to a piece of machinery must he reported to the inspector. He disagreed with tho proposal to prevent second-class certificates being obtained'by oral examination. The Minister's Reply. The HON. J. A. MILLAR replied at 10.55 o'clock. He explained that tho existing law regarding inspection of machinery covered overy existing machine. It would be possible to exempt certain classes by Order-in-Council if necessary or advisable. Ho showed that'thero was no necessity for the inspection of tho boilers of small motor-cars, and : it would mean unnecessary > expense 'in the appointment of additional-inspectors. In reply to Mr. Barbel- lie said small industries would not bo affected', as the _ exemption clauses could be put into operation. As to inspection fees coming heavily upon small industries' ho, said that a fee of £1 had been charged'since 1896. Mr. Massey: I didn't pay it.- (Laughter.) . The : Hon. Millar, continuing his reply, said he was prepared in committee to accept any reasonable amendments. The Bill was read a second time. DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS BILL. Tho committal of the Declaratory Judgments Bill was moved by the Hon. R. M'Nab. Discussion, ou this Bill was reported in its passage through the Legislative Council. Its Provisions. Tho Bill confers upon the Supremo Court moro extensive powers of making declaratory judgments or orders —that is to say, binding ' declarations of rights, and authoritative interpretations of statutes, regulations, deeds, contracts, and other written documents. At present, except in special cases, there is no means by which a person intending to act under a statute, for example, can obtain: by way of anticipation an authoritative judgment from any Court as to the true meaning of a doubtful provision in tho statuto. The Courts will not interpret a statute until somo caso actually arises- in which it is necessary to cnforco or apply it. As tho law now stands, any' I ''person proposing to lend monev to a company or local authority, and doubtful whether such a loan is within the powers of tho company or local authority cannot get a decision on tho point until he has actually lent the money and seeks tc enforce his contract, when tlis Court maj ' hold that tho loan was ultra vires and tin money not recoverable. Under tho Bill lie 1 cau, by application to the Supremo Court obtain a declaration, "binding as between hin and tho company or local authority, as t( i the validity or invalidity of the proposec 1 loan.' ! Mr. NGATA recognised the value of th ' Bill, but questioned whether it would no ! throw too much additional work upon th Supreme Court Judges. Tho arrears of th Judges wore already considerable, and th 1 general work heavy. He showed that the Bil i could bo applied' to tho. interpretation Of Na c tivo land laws in certain suits, and said tlia in this way much money could bo. saved t privato individuals and to tho Crown. Tho MINISTER, in replying, said that tlioug adidtional work would bo directly' throw: " upon tho Judicial Boncb, the ultimato an indirect result would bo to lessen legal com l plications, and consequently in timo the re duction of the work of tho Court. The Bill Passes Committee, The Bill was committed. 3 Tho MINISTER moved tho following nc - clause, which was carried:—"Tho costs of an I action, summons, or appeal under this At t shall bo in tho discretion of tho Court, an t tho Court nay, in tho excrciso of that di; a crotion, order tho ivliolo or any part .of tlios . costs to he paid by any party, although su< 6 cessful in the action, summons, or appea y and may in any .case dircct that costs awarde s to any party shall bo taxed either as'betweo d party and party,'or as between solicitor, an party." .... II ' Tho Bill was reported. t Tho llouso, with - manifestations .-< y plcasuro, then adjourned, tho olock showin itho hour-of midnight. -