THE HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 977, 18 November 1910, Page 6

THE HOUSE.

: ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION J BILL NO. 2. ; kY P u the of tho sitting of ! S F°, us( L? f , Representatives yesterday,' i the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitral i turn Amendment Bill.was introduced and [ read a first time. HARBOURS AMENDMENT BILL. i ; The_omendments made by the Legislallve Council in the Harbours Amendment Bill were agreed to. i LAND SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATIONS. ; ' QUESTION OP HOLDINGS. > «, A Mini sterial reverse was then given to ' tonZT^f? bi T taa P& the Council m the Land Settlement finance 1 . Mr. MASSEY raised the question that ■ i? on f of ., lts amendments the legisla- : tivo Council had committed a breach of . privilege in that it had deleted Subclause 7 of Clause 8, a money clause . Mr FBASER (Wakatipu) was of opfnl . ion that as the result of another amend- . ment made by the Council it was doubt- . lul whether members of an association • % er ?. no l P er , so naHi' liable in tho event ot tho default of one or more of their number. ; '£ h ? raiME MINISTER said that tho bo icitor-General had advised that, as tho ; 1.111 now stood, no joint liability was' imposed under the debentures. . Mr. ALLEN (Bruce) said'that if any personal liability were known to exist there would bo great difficulty in getting people to take up land under the Mr. Fraser: It would kill it! Tho PRIME MINISTER said that an association was a corporato : body and members were no more personally responsible for its debts than tho inhabitants of. Wellington would be for the debts contracted by the City Council. Mr. Myers: Who are liable for the debentures? Sir Joseph Ward: The corporate body. Mr. Jiraser: And who compose the corporate body? ■ ~ I am satisfied with too Solicitor-General's opinion. A motion that -the amendments be agreed to with the exception of tho deletion of Sub-Clause- 7 of Clauso 8, which should be declared a breach of privilege was carried by ii votes to 23. "was-then moved as an amendment by Mr. Poland (Ohinemuri) that exception should bo taken to the Council's deletion of Clause 10, ■ inserted by the House to prevent tho holding by anyono of more than one allotment in an estate under the. Bill. The PRIME MINISTEITTaYd that if tho House desired to give members of associations a ■ title with which they could do nothing, it should adopt tho amendment. Mr. ROSS (Pahiatua) said that'-al-though he was an ardent freeholder he must support the amendment as he did not believe in giving opportunities for reoggregation. The amendment was carried against the Prime Minister'by 30 votes to 20. For the' Amendment (30), . Allen Laurorison Anderson M'Laren. .Arnold Malcolm Davey . Mander Dive . _ Massey Duncan, X Newman Fisher Nosworthy Glover Okoy Guthrie Parata . , Hauan Poarce Herries Poland Hine Rhodes Hogan Ross Hogg Scott i Lang .Weight Against the Amendment (26), Bollard Millar grown _ Ngata Buddo Poole Buxton Rangihiroa Craigio Russell . Dillon - Seddon ■ .-•'•"' Duncan, Hon. T. Sidev Ell Smith Graham Stallworthy Kaihau Steward kuko Thomson, J. C. Macdonald Ward IfKenzie, Hon. B. Wilford When Mr.- Speaker was about, to put the question that the motion as amended ' be agreed to, ' ' The PRIME MINISTER said'that he did not propose that it should be put. Speaker: You propose to ask that the debate be adjourned? , Sir Joseph Ward: 'Yes. ' Mr. Speaker: As you have already spoken on the question some other: member will have to do that. . The H 0 „. T. Y.. DUNCAN then moved. . and Mr. Hanan seconded the adjournment of tho debate, which was agreed to. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS BILL. In moving tho second reading of the Public Holidays Bill, Tho Hon. D. BUDDO said he knew the measure would not receive unanimous approval. Ho had that day been asked by representatives of. the Cambrian Society b include among tho bank holidays tho Patron Saint Day for Wales. Mr. Russell: You might just as well ■ include Fiji Day. (Laughter.) • Continuing, Mr. BUDDO said that he would not object if Whit Monday were deleted from the schedule, and the substitution of another day in its stead. , Mr. MASSEY was of opinion ihat the Bill was one which should have been re- .' ported on by the Commerce Committee.It was felt by many people that there were too many bank holidavs. .Mr. DILLON (Hawke's Bay) made a ' strong plea for the substitution of. St. David's Day for Whit Monday. (Hear, hears.) After further discussion, .the Hon. J). . Buddo replied that ho would agree to the Bill being -referred direct to tho I Commerce Committee. The Bill was then read a second time* MONOPOLY PREVENTION BILL. ' Tho second reading the Monopoly Prevention Bill was agreed to. RAILWAYS AUTHORISATION. \ VARIOUS COMPLAINTS. £ The Hon. R. M'KENZIE, Minister for < Public Works, moved the second reading £ of the Raihvavs Authorisation Bill. 1 Mr.-MASSEY regretted that a number of branch lines had not been included. Sir Joseph Ward: The Waiuku lino? ' Mr. Massey: Yes. Mr. Massey also men- J tioned the Opunake and Tuaneka- lines as among thoso'which had special claims to construction. ' f Mr. ROSS (Pahiatua) expressed regret i that a linn in his district had not been constructed. Ho asked why tho HuntlyAwaroa lino was being constructed. Last 1 year it was arranged that the local t bodies should find ,£.IOOO and the Taupiri Coal Company X2OOO for tho bridge in ' connection with tho line. Now, the Government was takiug the entire financial ° responsibility on its shoulders. He and ° other members had been urging tho Government to construct lines on which four i .per cent, was guaranteed. They had been i

refused, yet this bridge was "being constructed for the benefit of the Taupiri Coal Company. Mr. Massey: It is in opposition to them. "A Suspicious Circumstance." • Mr. Eoss said it was a suspicious circumstance that ilr. Masssy was in league with the Government in this matter. The bridge was going to benefit a. huge monopoly like the Tauniri Coal Company, which evidently had some secret influence. Mr. Massoy: Good gracious, it is dead against them. Mr. Greenslade: So it is. Mr. Ecss said ho doubted'if the Minister for Public Works even knew where Awaroa was. The Hon. ft. M'Kenzie: You are on a fishing expedition now. Neglected Masterton. Mr. HOGG (Masterton) complained that his district and adjoining districts had been badly treated, although they contributed largely to the railway revenue. He attributed the meagre treatment meted out to him to the fact that he was a consistent Government supporter. There. were other members who possibly had been treated in a similar' manner, and, if so, he sympathised with . them. Mr. Hogg contended that the journey from Wellington to Masterton should be shortened by an hour. Mr. Millar had diverted the traffic to the Manawatu line, but he contended it would be necessary to revert to the use of the Wairarapa line, for traffic Wellington and Napier. Mr. Hogg advocated' that the line between Wellington and Napier .should t>9 straightened,. the making of the Rimutaka deviation, and the construction of the lino through the Forty Mile Bush district, between Masterton and Waipawa or Waipukarau. The Rimutaka Deviation. Mr.-BUCHANAN (Wairarapa) dweltonthe necessity for-the construction of the line from Featherston to Martinborough. The Minister for Public Works had gone over the proposed route, and had seen the prospects" of "traffic, and he had told a deputation that waited-upon him that the line was bound to pay. ■ There were a number of railways authorised in. the Bill which were not by any means the certainly as far as traffic was concerned that the Featherston-Martinborough line .was. As to the, proposed Eimutaka deviation, it would not possible to expend •£300,000 (the sum the. deviation would cost) so profitably in any part of' New Zealand as in getting rid of the miserable incline which they had to get over to reach the Wairarapa. The deviation had been urged ,by the people of the Wairarapa for years past,. and still they were no nearer getting • what they asked than they, were years ago. There'appeared to bo no prospect of the works of the district having fair attention from the Government, but he hoped that next session the Government would at last realise that its duty is in the matter of giving attention to works in.tcs Wairarapa. ' . A Ministerial Somersault. Mr. POLAND (Ohinemuri) complained of ; the non-pushing on of the East Coast line from Waihi. Mr. Poland .drew attention to the somersault of the Minister in connection with tho Tauranga-Te Puke - section. He said in the district that", the line would never be started, and then he came back, and three months afterwards authorised the' line. The Apathy of Auckland. Mr. HERRIES (Tauranga) also expressed disappointment that the line was not to be continued from the Waihi end, and -urged (this should be done at the earliest possible date. He also urged the claims of the Paepoa-Pokino section. He wondered at the apathy of the Auckland people. They were 'allowing the Wellington people to take trade which should rightfully belong to Auckland. He did not know what the Auckland people were thinking about, but his impression was that the Wellington peoplo were too smart for them, and that this was tho first step towards tapping the trade of Gisborne towards Wellington. He hoped the line towards Auckland would not be stopped:ati.Jlotuy,and then be prosecutec towards Napier,' a'nd' tho connection with Auckland be left to the period of the Greek calends.' Mr. WILFORD (Hntt) presented the duplication of the Manawatu line. He had 'that day addressed a letter Jo the Minr ister for Public Works, asking him to have a survey made of a new. route from Upper Hutt station to Akatorawa, joining the main line at Waiknnae. This would avoid the heavy haulage over the Paekakariki'Hill. ■ " Stratford-Ongarue Line. . , Mr. JENNINGS (Taumarumii) expressed regret that there was no mention of the Raetihi or Kawhia lines. Surveys had been promised for both these lines. If there was one line that would pay, it would be a line from Kawhia to Tβ Awamutu or Otorohanga. Mr. Jennings ; also advocated the starting of. the Strat-ford-Ongarue railway from Ongarue end. Mr. M'Gowan, then Minister for Public Works, had promised that' the lino would be started from Ongarue when tho Main Trunk line was finished. He'also had implied promises from Mr. Hall-Jones that the line would tEen be started. The peoplo between Ongarue and Mangaroa could not use wheeled traffic for seven or eight months in tho year. He intended to test the feeling of the House by 'moving a resolution at tho proper time. The Prime Minister in Reply. : The PRIME MINISTER said no less ;than seven new lines of railway had been urged by tho Opposition, in addition to those in the Public Works Statement. The expenditure would be from a million to a million and a half additional to the ,£2,855,000 already down, and the .highest amount eet down in the history of the country. It was nothing short of political hypocrisy, and he did not use tho'.phrase.:offensively, that lion, gentlemen should urge tho Government on the one hand to be economical, and then one after another, ask for a large increasee expenditure which the country could not stand. He had come to the conclusion that their expressed desires for economy wore insincere. Tho Government was not going to do what was urged in regard to. these additional railways. They would do all that they could year by year. It would mean absolute ruination if all that was asked by'the House was carried out. The Hon. E. M'KENZIE, in reply, said that, from the noise which the northern members were making, one would think that they had been treated badly, whereas, as a-matter of fact, they had been treated better than, ever before in the history of a Public Works Statement. .. Tho Minister said that-if tho East .Coast lino was started at tho Waihi end within tho next five or .six years that would be as. early as-it could bo started. Referring to the StratfordDngarue railway, he said it would have to be extended another 30 miles before a start could be made from the Ongarue end, if it were started from that end at all. ■ The second reading was agreed to, and the Bill was set down for commital to : day. ■ The House adjourned at 2 a.m.