PARLIAMENT OPENED

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 234, 29 June 1922, Page 8

PARLIAMENT OPENED

FORMAL PROCEEDINGS YESTERDAY GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S SPEECH x SOME OF THE " LEGISLATION .‘.to’ / ; The fourth and last session of the present Parlia■i men Was opened yesterday by the Governor-General. ' The Speech read by His Excellency laid stress upon the j;. J necessity for “rigid economy.” The legislation fores’’ *' ■ shadowed ■■ included provision for the establishment of *" agricultural banks, and for the management of the 'public debt. A short sitting of each chamber was held. , ;i< , Th^ Leader, of the Liberal Party and the Leader of the ... r Labour Party each gave notice of a.want-of-confidence motion in the House, . . . i

THE OPENING CEREMONY GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S > ’ SPEECH - ■' ■ \ ' Lan OPTIMISTIC TONE, SOME OF 'THE WORK AHEAD The opening ceremony was. as usual - ait?attractive sight, and the galleries of ?the Legislative Council Chamber “were filled with spectators. His 1 Excellency -was accompanied by Lady ln. attendance upon him were, his personal staff, arid nigh military and .naval officers. A guard of honour, ~ 100 strong, was furnished by H.M.S. Chatham, and a company of 'Scots 1 ' .College Cadets assisted to keep the'rb.trte. .to the buildings clear. His Excellency delivered his Speech in a manner. ,that made it clearly audible ■ the Chamber. The text is ' given below:— Honourable Gentlemen of the Legis--1 .. lative Council, and Gentlemen of Jiguse of Representatives,—

It is with sincere pleasure that I ‘'•again iffl'dot you in Parliament assembled. ?.-' ' J: During the recess the marriagb of the only daughter of our Most Gracious‘.Sovereign with Viscount Lascelles intensified the llyal sentiment which permeates the Empire and provided an .opportunity for ,hn expression of the deep’•affection in which Thoir Majes- • ties-are held. On behalf of the people of ! !f&is (Dominion I sent suitable mes--sages/tof congratulation, to which I replies from . His Princess Mary. ■'Ji The unusual shortness of the . recess •nd the need for paying constant per- , ,Bonal attention to tho important af- •> fairs .arising in this Dominion prevented. my Primo Minister from accepting « the invitation extended to him to attend -the recent leonference held at /Genoa.. My Attorney-General, who is •'visiting Great Britain-, was appointed ''to represent New Zealand, but was able to attend only the later stages of the-conference. m his absence tl/e members of the English .delegation were asked to act for this (Dominion. •He" has also been appointed to represent New Zealand at the conference now being held at The Hague.' -INTERNATIONAL PEACE. A very important conference dealing'.with the subject of national disarmament was held last year at Wash.ipgtofl. As neither my Prime Minis- ' ter . nor any of my • other Ministers /.could attend, the Honourable Sh - John Salmond, a Judge of the Supreme Court, /was appointed 1 to represent 'this Dominion. The results of this, conference exceeded expectations, and have, laid a sound foundation for peace ' among those nations that participated in it. Papers relating to this conference will 'be laid before you for your information. A-conference of delegates from those nation's constituting the League of Nations’was held last year at Geneva, at which the High Commissioner for New. Zealand represented this Dominion. Papers will bo laid before you ..relating to this conference, and you will be asked to pass 'resolutions con•,firming certain of its decisions. For reasons already mentioned, it was found impossible for either myself or my Prime Minister to visit the islands of. the Samoan group during the recess, as had been proposed. Papers relating to the govemiaenwof the mandated islands have been prepaid, and will bo placed before you in due course. . -w Since of the last session. ' of '/Parliament I have had an opportunity of visiting many parts of the Dominion'. Everywhere I have been received with much, cordiality, and have heard expression given "to the deep loyalty, to the Throne which animates the. people of New Zealand. I nave noticed with pleasure the prevalence of an optimistic feeling for the future, and a conviction that the difficulties which were felt when I last addressed yod are in a fair way to be overcome.

RIGID ECONOMY IN ESTIMATES. Speaker and Gentlemen of the ' House of Representatives,— The estimates have been prepared ■‘■with a-- view to rigid economy. Much has been done in curtailing public ox"tiefiditure since I last mot you, but ’ iny advisors are of opinion that much 7" more must be done in order to main--1 tain the desired equilibrium in the finances of the Dominion. I feel sure that you will give your earnest assistauce -’,towards such a desirable objccyittVOiW - ■The . signal success of the fave per Cent. 5 five-million loan recently floated ' irt London at par is a gratifying indication'of the prestige and credit this /■Dominion enjoys in the financial cen■’L'tta.'.’ti'fitWe world. ■ • essential that development must proceed . vigorously by maxing more land available for settlers and ,by increasing the ’ facilities for internal transport. The greater part of the loan will' be used for these purposes. Special provision is being , made to cope with such unemployment as may occur during the winter, months. Thftinew Customs tariff passed last ' working smoothly, and is giving general satisfaction. During■> the recess my Minister of Customs visited the Commonwealth of Australia with, the object of negotiating for a reciprocal tariff arrangement between this Dominion iand the Commonwealth. The tentative agreement there entered into will in dtio course be submitted to Parliament. The"vSUal Bills ‘relating -to- finance havo-.been prepared, for lyoiit consideratiorifyincluding the anntiaP.TA.xing Bill. tod c '’tilso certain amendments of the Land 7 and Income Tax Act, relating to the incidence of taxation. There will submitted for your consideratlbn a'‘Bill relating to the management •f th® Public Debt.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRADE. Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House-of Representatives,— ; It is with great satisfaction that I note that there has been a material advance in the prices of our staple products, and at the same time a considerable saving in the cost of production.

It is also a. matter “for congratulation that Manchester, Bristol, Hull, and other largo centres in tho United Kingdom are now asking for shipments of New Zealand products. Tho Meat Export Control Act passed last session is working satisfactorily, arid has already been the means of reducing the cost of marketing the frozen meat products of tho Dominion. Tho confident anticipations of my advisers with respect to the commercial and financial recovery of the . Dominion, as expressed to you in my Speech when I last met you, are now being realised, but some time must elapse before this improvement can be reflected in tho country’s finances.

My advisers are satisfied that, if continued vigilance is exercised over expenditure, the grit and determination so characteristic of our people, combined with the many natural advantages of our Dominion, - will enable it to emerge within a comparatively short time from financial difficulties which are inseparable from the a/termath of a great war. BILLS TO Blj DEALT WITH.

Bills consolidating various Acta, especially those relating to harbours, tho Public Trust Office,’ and stamp duties, will be submitted for your consideration. ;

You will also be asked to consider, among 'other-? legislative measures, amendments of the Land Act, the Mining Act and Coal Mines Act. the Industrial Conciliation and 'Arbitration Act, the Public .Works Act, and the Native Land Act.

, At the request of the Imperial Government legislation will bo introduced making provision for the reciprocal enforcement 'of judgments obtained in superior courts within the Empire. Legislation will also be introduced making provision for fi-he establish-/ meht of what are known as agricultural or people’s banks. These institutions, which are primarily for the benefit of small agriculturists and artisans, operate by means of a system of co-operative credit, and have proved to be highly successful in several European countries, arid also in Canada rind the United States. In view of the length of last session and the largo amount of important legislation which was then' passed, my advisers are of opinion that this session should not be of more than average duration, thus permitting members to have a proper opportunity of visiting their constituencies before the date of. the general election. I commend all these matters to your earnest consideration, and pray that' Divine Providence may so guide your, deliberations that the result will be for the good of the Empire and of lasting benefit To the people of this Dominion. in thFhouse ■ YESTERDAY’S BRIEF < PROCEEDINGS QUESTIONS AND NOTICES The members of the House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m., and after the Speaker had read the usual prayer, pledging them to “lay aside all private interests, prejudices, hnd partial affections,” they nad to waita feiv minutes for the arrival of theUsher of the Black Rod with the summons to attend the Governor-General in the Legislative Council Chamber. The House wore its familiar aspect. The members of the Reform Party filled the benches oil the Speaker’s right, and overflowed into the Heft cross benches', where they rubbed shoulders with the compact Labour group. Political enmities are not permitted to interfere with the social life , of. Parliament. The Leader of the Labour Party smacked a Government Whip on the back quite jovially, and shook hands with some of his “capitalist” friends bn the near benches. Everybody looked cheerful and neighbourly. THE FIRST PETITION

Presently the Black Rod arrived, .and the metnbers of the House, preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms with the mace, made their way to “the other place.” They were hack within a quarter of an hour, and then tho Speaker opened tho routine business of tho session with the familiar inquiry, “Are there any petitions?” 1 A Labour member presented the first petition, a bulky document; praying the House to permit tho bookmakers to come to life again under a system of licenses. Other members had similar petitions, the total number of signatures being well over 10.000. Then came notices ofimotion. Mr. W. H. Field (Otaki) was on his feet at once with a .request for information about the intentions of the Government concerning ithej "soldier settlers. He suggested that, it would be better to face the necessity for revaluation at once rather than to postpone temporarily tho payment of interest and rents. LABOUR BILLS x Labour members gave notice of intention to reintroduce the Workers Compensation Amendment Bill, the Unemployed Workers’ Bill, tlvs Quarries Amendment Bill, and the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Six Days Week Bill.

. v. IMPREST SUPPLY BILL n. j ■The' Prim&’-Minister.-told tb«t.;Jlouso ■ that ho proposed the next day to proceec]f with motions relative to deceased. members of the Legislature. The Imprest Supply Bill would b« taken on Friday., The House adjourned at 3 p.m.

MR. STATHAM MOVES BACK

The new ■ Labour member, Mr. Munro (Dunedin North) had not appeared in the House. Mr. Statham (Dunedin Central) had disappeared from the front Opposition bench, that he shared with Mr. Wilford at the end of last session, and had resumed his former seat among the semi-de-tached and Independent Liberals at the back. Mr. Sidcy (Dunedin South) was with Mr. Wilford. Mr. Clutha Mackenzie (Auckland East) walked in and took his seat with the easy assurance that makes his blindness easy for his friends to forget. Some of the seats were vacant. Habitues of the galleries grow familiar with the names of the members who are always late for sessions.

WANT OF The Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Wilford) gave notice of intention to move an amendment to the Address-in-Reply. This is the usual mariner of presenting a want-of-confidence mo tion. The Labour Party’s leader (Mr. Holland) followed immediately with notices of an amendment to the motion to go into committee upon the Imprest Supply Bill on Friday. Other members wanted information about soldier settlement expenditure,! honours granted to New Zealanders, and the proceedings of the Washington Conference. MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS Dr. A. K. Newman .- (Wellington East) is asking the Minister of Public Works when will the electric current from Mangahao be available for the city of Wellington. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central) is asking the Minister of Pensions whether he will introduce legislation during the present session to .amend the Pensions Act by extending its benefits to deserted wives and their children. Mr. H. Atmore (Nelson) wishes to know if the Minister of Marine intends to “improve the totally in ado- 1 quate lighting a-4 the French Pass this session.” Mr. M. G. Savage (Auckland West) has given notice to ask the Minister of Marine whether, in view of thq recent shipping disaster at tho Great Barriei Island, and many previous ones, he will take steps to have additional lights placed at the entrance to Hauraki Gulf. Dr. A. K. Newman . (Wellington East) 'is asking the Prime Minister whether the Government have decided to introduce and pass . a Public Service Act Amendment Bill this session. Experience has shown, 'he states, that a number of amendments are much needed, and they have'long been promised.

THE COUNCIL WELCOMES ACTING-LEADER

COMPLIMENTS TO SIR WILLIAM FRASER

In the absence of the Attorney-Gen-eral, Sir Francis Bell, Sir William Fraser is Acting Leader of the Legislative Council. He explained his position when the Council met yesterday afternoon. He was fully aware,. h<s said, of the' difficult task he had before him in endeavouring to follow in the footsteps of one who possessed the qualifications of Sir Francis Bell. Nevertheless, with the aid of the members of the Chamber, which he felt sure, would not be withheld from him —(Councillors: Hear hear)—-he saw no reason for which the Council . should not- carry on its business with the usual decorum. Councillors would be pleased with the Government!s choice of their Leader to represent this country in the conference at Genoa and The Hague. They would regard it as a compliment to them as well as to their Leader. (Hear, hear.) Sir Francis Bell was not expected to return for some months. The Hon. C. H. Izard said that as a member who. had not been appointed to the Council by the present Government, he felt it his duty to congratulate Sir William Fraser on having been chosen for the high office of Leader, and to, express an assurance that though he might perhaps be considered to be in Opposition, Sir William Fraser and the Government could count on his loyal support at the present juncture. No person was more able to steer the country through its present difficulties than the Right Hon. the Prime Minister. If he thought that there was anyone else who could serve the country better he would probably transfer his allegiance to that person, but in the present circumstances he believed New Zealand was guided bv the most sterling man it could have. He was confident that he spoke for those who shared his political views when he said that Sir William Fraser would have their hearty support Th" Hon. G. J. Smith, said that the' Council was very fortunate in having Sir Wdliarn Fraser for its Acting Leader. He was sure that all the members would give Sir William every assistan The Hon. J. Barr regarded Sir William Fraser and Sir Francis Bell as both possessing the sterling quality of roHability. The Council, he said, considered without respect for party distinctions the legislation that was submitted to it. Tho Hon. H. L. Michel and the Hon. R Moore also tendered their.congratulations to the Acting Leader, and Sir William -Fraser briefly thanked the Council for its expressions of good will.} The Council adjourned till Friday afternoon.