BUDGET DEBATE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 893, 12 August 1910, Page 6

BUDGET DEBATE.

VIEWS OF A MINING REPRESENTAV TIVE. Continuing tho debate on the Budget, ; Mr. POLAND, (Ohinemuri) urged that the Workers' Compensation Act should be amended by increasing the maximum amount of compensation paid for accidents. There should bo reciprocity between New Zealand and. the .'Australian States, in the matter of compensation. Cases of hardship had come under his notice of relatives of men killed in NewZealand being- refused compensation because they were living outside New Zealand.' A better system of prospecting was wanted. When the present Minister for Minos took ' office he - undertook to keep one State prospecting party in each Island, but that had. not been maintained.

MR. ROSS WANTS NEW RAILWAYS. ilv. ROSS (Pnliiatua) :'said that ho would have little to say on the land question. ■ On each occasion that he had had a chance, he. liad backed up his opinion on the question by his_ vote. In the future lie would record his vote in the saine way as he had done in the past. He wished to strongly advocate the construction of a railway from Masterton to Waipukuraii. The length' of the line would be 45 miles; it would serve over one million acres; and benefit 20,000 people. There should also he a line from Pahiatua to . Pongaroa, which would bo 35 miles in length. 'In regard to the Government's water-power proposals, he hoped that the Government would sec its way to experiment first of all in connection with the Makuri Falls in his district. ' He was of opinion' that the Government'made a huge blunder when it abolished the Roads Department. Towards the end of the existence of- the Department the : money . was being judiciously expended, anil good work was being done.- Through the action of the Government the. backblocks settler had been handed over to Hie' Philistines—the Public Works Department. Referring to . the delay which' had occurred in connection with works in'his district, he would say that unless the Minister changed his attitude the Sooner there was an alteration the better. He went on to say that the Minister should protect the settlers against the' local bodies spending' thirds on formation works, for the thirds should be expended on metalling. He did not believe that 2s. 6d. in the X of money voted for his district last year had been expended. Mr. Fisher: "Wait till next year. (Laughter.) Mr. Boss said that handing over public works to the local bodies would mean the stoppage of co-operative, labour for the settler?. The Government might well adopt the* same system that was in force in Denmark .for helping the settlers. In his district there was a lot of Crown kind ' and Native land, which was' vcry suitable for closer settlement. One of the estates which ho wanted thfc Government to acqnire in liis district some years ago had since been sold for ,£BO,OOO more, privately. Technical, education should be extended to the country districts. MR. BROWN ON THE LAND QUESTION. Mr. BROWN (Napier) confined his remarks principally fco. tile land question. There was not, he said, one province in New Zealand which had such a large extent of land wrapped up in a few men as the Ilawke's Bay. He quoted twentyfour owners who owned in all 518,541 acres between them. He believed the time had come when these large estates must be dealt with in some way. The capital value of tho land mentioned was .£2,003,408, and tho unimproved value was £2,170,505. This land would settle at least 15,000 people, and why, ho asked, was .the land not settled? The men who had settled on the estates that had been cut np were well satisfied. He had come to the House to support a progressive land policy, and if he could not got it from the present Government ho would resign and stand again. The Government had a progressive land policy, and he was going'

to help it along, and make it liioro progressive by settling the people 011 the The debate was adjourned at 10.55 p.m. on the motion of the Hon. Mr. Ngata.