PARILIAMENT. YESTERDAY'S SITTINGS. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 55, 2 September 1903, Page 2

PARILIAMENT. YESTERDAY'S SITTINGS. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

The Council continued its sitting yesterday afternoon. THIRD READINGS. The Dairy Industry Act Extension Bill and tho Wireless Telegraphy Bill were read a third time and passed. CROWN GRANTS. The Attorney-General moved the second reading of the Crown Grants Act Amendment Bill. He said that many Crown grants had been left in the offices for years incurring custody fees, which accumulated fees on some lands in the Auckland district had come to amount to more than the land was worth. Tho object of tho Bill was to give the Registrar power to compound with the owners of the land as to the amount of custody fees payable, but the Registrar, could not accept less than 10 per cent. of v the value of the land. This would enable tho taking up of lands which would otherwise be forfeited. The second reading was carried on the voices. FERTILISERS. The Fertilisers Bill was read a second time pro forma, and referred to the Stock Committee. ! INDICTABLE OFFENCES. The Indictable Offences Summary Jurisdiction Act Amendment Bill was read a second time and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee. The Council rose a^3.5 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House continued its sitting after we went to press yesterday. CONSIDERATION DEFERRED. Consideration of the Legislative Council's amendments in the Dairy Industry Act Extension Bill and the Wireless Telegraphy Biil was deferred on the Premier's motion. Mr. Massey asked if the Council's amendment in the latter Bill meant that the Bill would not apply to persons who used wireless telegraphy for purposes other than hire and profit. The Premier replied that was the effect of the amendment. STATE FIRE INSURANCE. The Premier moved that the amendments made in Committee in the State Fire Insurance Bill be agreed to. Mr. Allen said that, notwithstanding the' Law Officer's advice, the Bill should be as a matter of common cense recommitted and put right. The Bill was recommitted, and the necessary technical amendments agreed to. The Bill was reported, and on the motion for the third reading, Mr. Herries said that the blot in the Bill was that one-half profits were to go to the sinking fund (which would never be used to repay, but would be collared, or debentures would be issued against it) ; and that one-quarter of the profits were to go to reserve and onequarter to insurers. Mr. Buchanan said the late hour rush-ing-through tactics — adopted although there was no obstruction — were to blame for the faulty state of the Bill. No one had done more than he to fight exactions in this colony of insurance companies. He knew of no other part of the Empire where they had to run to the Government for assistance for protection against such exactions. Had they not business men in the colony able to protect themselves against such monopoly? Mr. T. Mackenzie : Why don't they do it? Mr. Hogg asked what about freezing companies that paid 40 per cent, dividend. Mr. Buchanan considered that Mr. Hogg did not know what he was talking about. He 'objected to the Government being saddled with another expensive Department. Mr. Massey supported a sinking fund in connection with the scheme. He had one reason for opposing the Bill — that the money could be used to very much better advantage in other directions. Mr. Hogg denied that the Bill provided that the insurers should only get onequarter profits. The profits would be divided between the. reserve fund and the insurers. The first use of the reserve would be to redeem the amount of capital. There were too many 'companies earning 20, 30, and 40 per cent, at the people's expense. Too much of the insurance profits -went to absentee shareholders — out of twenty-eight companies only six bad their headquarters in the colony. The Minister for Justice considered that Mr. Buchanan's efforts' to get Lloyd's to reduce their rates had nothing to do with the Bill. Mr. Jas. Allen considered the Bill was not worth the paper it was printed on as far as securing a reduction of premiums was concerned ; the Premier had practically admitted it. Mr. T. Mackenzie said that the fire insurance companies had no thorough inspection of the values of stock fluctuating from time to time. Whatever premiums the large meat companies might get, if a small farmer went to one of the large insurance companies and asked the rate for reinsurance of frozen mntton, he would be told 655 ; whereas 15s would fairly cover the whole risk. The State Department would be able to reaace rates. Mr. Barber supported the Bill. The Premier said the issue was between Government reform and a standstill Opposition. Reductions of premiums would ultimately follow. He believed they had already started. Another conference would probiibly be Held, and they would probably reduce the rate uxed by the last conference. Ho did not wish to create friction between the companies and the Governnient. The clause put in the Bill providing that the Department should not enter into agreements with the companies was a, direction by Parliament to the Government; as far as this Government was concerned he would accept it as an instruction. The division of profits under the present Bill was that half profits, after certain deductions in connection with tho triennial valuation, went to insurers and the other half to reserve. The State could afford to pay the best price for brains, though he admitted that Government salaries for the best men were at present often not equal to those paid outside. The Bill was read a third time and passed on the voices. ARBITRATION COURT. The Arbitration Court Emergency Bill was considered in Committee. The Premier moved to amend clause 2 in the direction of providing that in the event of a vacancy occurring the President of the Court shall expeditiously request the Employers' Associations at