THE SESSION.
THE WORK REVIEWED. INTERVIEW WITH THE PRIME MINISTER. POINTS FROM THE. ORDER: .PAPER, "I am more than satisfied'with tho-wort of the session," said .tlio, Primb- Minister, when interviewed by a -.Dominion*, rcprcsentativo 011 Saturday. An .examination into it would show that measures" of' the greatest impoitanco to tho people'of t'he Dominion had been passed, and lie lelt' yery ,; p"6iid of tho way in which Parliament had'cairied<out< its important duties. " The-Legislation! had been carefully prepared, ;and. nearly all tlie. principal Acts now upon., the . Statutp, Book had' formed tho subject of careful investigation by committees of tho Houso the result being, that upon their return for considera-, t-ion by tho House it could be felt that great caro had been exercised by what might be called oxpert committees.'' - 'This ally helped to expedite the passage .through Parliament without anj? sacrifice of 'that'investigation and caro 'which'Vas' so (essential in ensuring legislation in as perfect'a"form as possible. There had.alsgjb.een.an absence of personal feeling, extreme .bitterness,'or anything approaching scenes iii the House',' and this also had been a potent factor in helping to deal with such "a lot of'important work. In this respect that grand characteristic of the New Zealand Parliamentary life had again boon emphasised—a characteristic that had shone out so markedly past; and so long as that high standard was acted up to by members need>be/.little-,fear, for tho future Parliaments proceedings,,,of the Dominion. This did.not jpcan that there had not been full criticism- iii the House, because that would be. contrary to fact. "Hansard" would show that most intelligent reviews of measures had been uttered. The Buildings;
Had some of the .fears at the.beginning of tho session legarding the likely inconvenience of tho buildings been realised? In tho Prime Minister's" tefFect' of Parliament having met in temporary premises had not had any detrimental.,effect on tho work of. the session. He.thoughVit bo the opinion of every impartial member that, so far as tho work of Parliament was concerned, tho accommodation,. of,, both branches of the Legislature had in no way interfered with the work, nor indeed with tho personal comfort or health of;, the members. Of course, ho recognised there'.was not as much room as was absolutely'essfehtial to the full comfort and proper carrying,out qf tho business of the country, and that before tho noxt session sumo necessary alterations —to last for tho three years that Parliament would probably, be held there —were necessary. These would be provided,' and'at a comparatively small expenditure. From the Party Standpoint. Questioned on the work of tho session from his party's standpoint, the Premier saidthat as Leader of the Houso he had every reasoD to appreciate tho work done .by. the. Government party. Tho members'„liad been active and alert in their desiro to have laws framed to benefit all classes, and nothing of material consequence had suffered for want of attention and close application to those important, if onerous, duties devolving upon representative . men. He felt co'nfiMnt "that "the"ilripartial judgment of those who had followed tho proceedings of tho sLiberal,, who were fair in their''assessment of' the work tho members of it had done, would agree that as a party they had elevated themselves in the estimation.,..of tho peoplo. It had to bo remembered;.'that -there ba'd^.beeu; some most difficult- matters legislated'upon.' Laws affecting practically l '-every -class of the community, and involving consideration for the interests of those Who ! wfer'e-" so closely affected, required not only; care .and zealousness on the part of tho Government,, and the members of tho party, but called for the exercise of a broad-minded";dutlbok, v iri;no':seiise parochial. Necessarily in dealing with the amendments of laws vitally affecting not only the industries but employees and the employers, tho people's' representatives had to look far ahead.. Though it was recognised that amendments°bf 'the laws should take place from time tdi'time, still- they had, as practical poople, to so frame their Acts that they would not cause, unrest 1 and uncertainty. Advances to Settlors. Amongst the most important legislation passed was the amendment to the' Advance's to Settlers Act, authorising-further financial assistance to those requiring',it. <>;This; Act was of vital importance to the community, even apart from those directly -benefited:"" It" indirectly affected tho . whole community. There was at present, however, evidences of relaxation of the stringency' '"-m tliS* money market, and he was suro that. tho. additional authorisation that had been" obtained' in'this respect would enable the.'Advances .'to'-Sot'tlers Department, not only the. individuals/ but to improve matters;.,,J Local Bodies Act.
The Local Bodies Act Amendment Adtwasofvery considerable importance to -local-, bodies. It would enable them to 1 " obtain 'moneys" outside the country very much easier than "they would have been able to do had -this-law upt, been passed. The fact of their stock's being' guaranteed by the country 1 would do morb ; to put them-in the.. position :of" gilt-edged < securities, which would become'available' ( for: ordinary purposes, and in trust'estate would' give another solid secu,rity-that*injjtunj;wquld' ensuro to the local bodies fa*larger' i supply".df money to'meet requirements;' than under the limit they could now obtain.under, the.Loans, to Local Bodies Act; Conciliation and Arbitration. - The amendments to - and Arbitration laws —upoii "which there' had' been diversity of opinion, and; which dealt ivith matters of a very delicate character—had placed this legislation on a stronger basis, aud ho was hopeful, as every well-wisher of tho country would bo, jthp.t : tho„ made, and which had been''shown'to be'necessary, would help to effacp .a great deal of . the friction that in portions of "the country had unfortunately arisen in recent times. It must be recognised that the law was a vory good one, and one ho sincerely hoped would do much to remove some of:the difficulties that had presented-themselves. V ," My colleague, tho Minister for, La "added the. Prime Minister, " has given/very closo attention to the whole matter,' and" has'devoted himself very assiduously-to try and help -to improve the conditions under which both Capital and Labour in this country world He is deserving of that recognition which his services entitle him t0.",. JThe JPrime, .Minister was sure that the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act improved' the law, defining matters as it had done, and adding materially to tho smoother working of this legislation. Superannuation. "The laws dealing with the' Public Service classification and superannuation, a.swell as superannuation for local bodies, wore in the right direction, and they, ensured,, so far as cortain Departments were concerned, that woll-deserving members- 'would rcceivo benofits when old age or physical incapacity overtook them. Tho reform;in the,.old., age pension law was also one that 'would be..appreciated both by those direotly-concerned lind : by the vast majority of tlyi public: who had kindly feelings towards those whom old ago and long residence ibrbught 'witliih the opera-" : tion of the law. The removal of some of the 1 severe penalties would.,be,,a. source of great. ! satisfaction. . Second Ballot, Tho Second Ballot Act . stood- high in importance. It was to bo upon its trial, and the I'rimo Minister's opinion was that jt ' would work olTectively. Ho did not hold to the opinion that it was palculatod to destroy, j tho effectiveness or power of tho "minority; as the indisputable fac,t. remained that both f at tho first and second ballot every person • had tho undoubted right to cast his vote : upon the man of his', choice', .'and 'if' tho : majority, as thoy must do finally, selected ' who was to represent them, those in the minority could scarcely complain that they -
were not represented. It was a fact that the effectiveness of their voto in such a case had not succeedod in getting tho man of . their choice returned, but his ekpericnco waß that when a member held proper views of his responsibilities and of his duties to his constituents that ho quickly gained the respect of tho whole community. Manawatu Railway. I ' Tho Manawatu railway acquisition was another matter of national importance. It brought into tho railway service of the coun- ■ !try, 84 miles of railway—a-railway, tliat formed part of tho great North Island Main '. •Trunk.. The time for its acquisition had ' just arrived —the time' of the completion o' th'e Main Trunk. ... ; Education Act. . The. amendments mado in the EducationAct need not be recalled to show their lm'p'ortance. The altered status and tho improvement in the payment of teachers throughout tho Dominion must bo appreciated by every right-thinking person. Tho measure was one of justice to the teaching, profession. Tho improved position of their superannuation system ho s had already referred to. His colleague, tho Hon. G. Fowlds, had devoted himself with very great thought-to the Act, and was to be congratulated upon the improved position thai* this important Department now occupied. Other Points. There were other measures of more or lest, ■ importance among the 70 odd that had been placed upon the Statute Book that 1 could ba • referred to. He particularly • mentioned the Naval Subsidy Act. By passing this Act, effect had been given to what he was sure , was the sentiment of all the people of tho Dominion. He was very pleased that it* had received tho unanimous of the House, not one word of opposition being sajd regarding it. .- • •• . Legislative Council. "Considering the vaU amount of work that .has passed through "the Legislative Council," said tho Prime Minister, "I should i like to give expression to my sense of recog-.' nition of the able way in which my colleague, the Attorney-General, led that branch of, the Legislature. All those who know what an amount of.application and. attention is' required there will realise' that the way that •work has been carried out reflects very well' upon my capablo colleague." • OPPOSITION LEADER'S REVIEW. ' NOT A SATISFACTORY SESSION. NEGLECT OF RURAL INTERESTS. ''I can hardly say that the session hai been'a particularly satisfactory one," said, Mr. Massey to a Dominion reporter, "and T am -very glad that it has come to ail end without moro harm having been done. What I" am thinking of is the tendency that has grownup on the .part of the Government supporters to accept without question, and without sufficient r consideration, almost everything which is proposed by Ministers. This is a very dangerous state of , alfairs, and throws a groat deal moro responsibility on . Opposition members than should be the case, 'because' everything in the way of proposed legislation should be properly analysed and criticised before being agreed to. The whole ( -.of such work should certainly not fall upon the shoulders of those members' who sit on the Opposition side of the .House. If tho Opposition party was double its strength, there would bo less, cause for complaint on this account, but it is certainly not in the country's. interests that there should be a Government party of over sixty, and an Opposition of under . twenty.' I trust the electors will bear this in mind wheu they record their votes in a few weeks from now."
.. . , Some of tho Legislation. V.;*of'.course, somo of the now Statutes meet iwitliiyoui. approval ~ f "Certainly. 'For instance,'approve of the Education 1 Bill,, tho Old Age Pensions Amendment Bill, the Naval Subsidy Bill, and a number of others of minor'importance. We gave a qualified support to tho Industrial Arbitration Bill, and:admit that it is ah improvement on the law as it formerly stood; bul there is still fan'too much compulsion . and. not enough of/conciliation, and until'that fact is'-realised, industrial matters will not'run ; -as smoothly as the wellwishers of the" country: desire." . The Settlers' interests. ' How do .you consider rural interests have fared at tho hands of the Government during tho session? ' ...''Not a bit better than what we already knew and tho Government would lead us to expect. , You have only to'look at the constitution" of the Cabinet. There is not a mai> among tjiern who has .a thorough knowledge of _ country wants and requirements. -T-heir-legislative proposals are the best proof * of t-heir want- of knowledge in this respect, and I am inolmed to think also of the trend of . '.their', sympathies.; The different Land Bills wo .have had, tho increases in' the duty on agricultural' and mining requirements, tho proposed tax on dairy farmers, the attacks :.on ;fjreeliold and .the expressed opinions' of several members of the Cabinet, all go to they , are certainly not tho friends, ,of ..the' settlers—unless of course when tha jvotes of/the settlers are required for Government candidates. Unfortunately, perhaps, for the' settlers, r that is'only onco in threo years. I may remind you that thero was a promise made in the financial Statement that'assistance would bo given byway of a guarantee to associations of settlers who de;sirpd to purchase, blocks of .land for closer settlement, and . a Bill for the purpose was Actually , laid before Parliament, but it was ,upt proceeded with, aud, as a matter of fact, 'was one .■ of tho few legislative _ innocents slaughtered at .the end of the session. These 1 facts speak for themselves, and I think should boremembered at tho proper time. And, of course, I need hardly mention the notorious Dairy Regulations." '
, , But what of tho £250,000 a year for back- ' blocks .'roads and bridges ? ' "■'l. dealt with that'pretty fully 'in my speech oh the Public Works Statement, .and I showed that although Parliament was being asked t-6 provido £250,000 for tho improvement of means of communication in tho back- - .blocks,, the ordinary road votes were at the samo timo vory much less than in preceding years, and consequently tho supposed increase was more appareut than real."- >' Tho Final Rush. | Replying to another question, Mr. Massey jsaid tho " end-of-the-sossion rush" was bad but not-, in his opinion, so bad as .usual. . The Opposition endeavoured to put tho brako on as hard as possible, and to jinsist on tho different measures being-given 'some degreo of consideration. . Though the hours were very late during the last week or two, there were no all-night sittings, and ha could not remember any occasion during-the .last dozon years when so much time was given to the Supplementary Estimates. "Personally," continued tho Leader of tho Opposition, I. think tho rush at the end of tho session is very much to bo deprecated, aud I , would rather stay, in-'Wellington a few dayi ' longer than see-the business driven through in the way we havo experienced on many occasions. - r i " I should just liko to in conclusion that-I-regret very much tuany-uscfu' '.men are voluntaril.'- d:- f ". mentar.v life—at all ev That remark apples.to i-. , sides of the House, fi>j- V that of the ten men wlw - . • are supporters of the Govir >;:•. i' are associated with the Opp. -vrion : .Meetings will be held.at Johnson 'night.and at Khandallah to-mono j purposß of submitting to the Gov,,; alterations required in the subuib.., ' when it takes over .the ..tn-awal: Tho Government has promised to gi\c iconsideration to any suggestions tin t residents of the. suburbs may. make, meetings, which aro advortiscd in this issiw jaro being called hurriedly, as~ ; the' Governs mont require tho recommendations by Wed. fnesday next. It is expected that quite half-'.a-dozen alterations will be made. Amongst : those suggested are trains leaving town at 2.20 and 6.20 p.m. on Saturdays, trains into ' town. ovory day about 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. the daily 9.30-p.m.'train delayed to 10 p.m.! ani a-traitt to. ,-tomt.and back on. Sundays.
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Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 325, 12 October 1908, Page 7
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2,541THE SESSION. Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 325, 12 October 1908, Page 7
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