MORTGAGE FINANCE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 119, 13 February 1935, Page 10

MORTGAGE FINANCE

« Caucus of Government Party BILLS DISCUSSED ' Favourable Reception : Reported VITAL PRINCIPLES ACCEPTED In preparation for the reopening of Parliament to-day, an all-day caucus of the Government party was ' held yesterday to discuss'the legis> lative measures drafted by the .Minister of Finance, Kt. Hon. j. G. Coates, (dealing with mortgages and the rehabilitation of farmers’ finance. About eight members of the party were not in attendance, but their (absence was accounted for ; either by letter or /telegram, and held , no special significance. As the Prime ; Minister put it, in reply to a question, "no one was sulking in his j tent.” ' When the caucus ended in the late 'afternoon the Prime Minister, Kt. Hon. Q. W. Forbes, explained that the'party had discussed two Bills with thoroughness and in a tine spirit of goodwill. These were .the National Mortgage Corporation Bill, which had been designed to set up a special body on a basis of broad representation, and the Rural Mortgagors and Tenants Final Adjustment Bill, which, quite qpart from the first-mentioned measure, aimed at providing means and methods for rehabilitating thousands of financially distressed farmers. The Prime Minister, of course, did not disclose the provisions of the Bills in detail, but he was frank in replying to questions about proposals which Were made common knowledge through the Finance Minister’s special pamphlet on the problem. The discussion in ’ caucus, he said, had covered a wide field, many points having baen raised and many suggestions made by different members. He indicated that differences of opinion -had been most marked as regards the Rural Mortgagors and Tenants. Final Adjustment Bill, but, as the Minister of Finance had explained to the party, the Bill was not submitted as representing a conclusive measure. This gave scope for. an interchange of constructive ideas, and it appeared certain that several amendments would be made before the Bill was presented to Parliament. i Rehabilitation of Farmers. There was a good deal of discussion on the budgeting proposals and the question of equity. It was made clear ■that the system of determining valuation of farms by the Court of Review would be a flexible one. The problem could be described fairly as of exceptional magnitude, and it was not easy to lay down a fixed rule to cover all .varying circumstances. The question of allotting 20 per cent, of the valuation' to the farmer would almost certainly be discussed again and threshed out in the House. Mr. Forbes, in reply to a question as to whether the Bill for rehabilitating farmers would be made applicable to suburban properties, said that matter would not be included in the Bill. It had to be recalled, he said, that the Dairy Industry Commission had investigated very thoroughly the 'position in respect of rural properties, tout had not given others the same close attention.

As regards the National Mortgage Corporation Bill, Mr. Forbes indicated that although some alterations had been made in detail, the amendments were not vital. In other words, the structure of the Bill had not been changed. The Bill, which contained about 40 clauses, would be introduced this afternoon. It would be read a first time, and, either on Friday or early next week, the House would proceed to the second reading.: It was not the intention of the Government to rush the measure through the House. The Prime Minister emphasised that the caucus had been an exceptionally good one in every way. Mr. Coates Satisfied. The man" who had been responsible for the construction of these important measures —the Minister of Finance — also appeared to be very satisfied with the reception given by the party to his arduous work. Mr. Coates said that the National Mortgage Corporation Bill had been finalised without having been “knocked about,” and that it would certainly be introduced in the House this afternoon. The measure, of course, would not be referred to any select committee of the House; it would be dealt with by the House in the ordinary courses of procedure. In reply to questions, the Minister made it clear that while his proposals were definite and embodied in the Bill, he had no intention of being stubborn in the face of constructive criticism during the debates on the measure, so during the debates on the measure, so that if any further suggestions were considered acceptable by the Government such amendments as were necessary could be made in the committee stage. All the points had been discussed very thoroughly in the caucus, and Mr. Coates did not think it likely that much, if any, alterations would be made.

The position was very different as regards the Rural Mortgagors and Tenants Final Adjustment Bill. “Here it is,” he said, “with its $5 clauses. But it does not represent anything like its final form.” Mr. Coates explained that the Bill would not be submitted to Parliament for at least five or six days, so that in the interval revisions would be made. As-far as this Bill was concerned, the discussion in caucus turned largely on the section dealing with the establishment of a special court of review and arranging for the supervision of farming under a budgetary system. Members of the party discussed at length the proposals regarding such control, with particular reference to the question of allotting 20 per cent, of the valuation of farm lands. This percentage, however, was not fixed at all in the Bill, and in all probability provision would be made for giving the court a wide latitude in accordance with the circumstances of each case.

The Minister expressed satisfaction with the manner in which his proposals had been received by the party as a whole.