HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 137, 11 June 1909, Page 8

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

,The House met at 10.30 a.m. PRELIMINARY BUSINESS. Furiher petitions were presented from Various parts of the country urging the Government to establish a scheme of free immigration of domestic servants ;from the Old Country. Mr. G. M. Thomson gave notice to ask the Prime Minister if he has had any test made of Dall's or any other yote-recording machine. Notice was given by Mr. Witty to ask the Premier if he will amend the Land Act by deleting the preference clause. I BELLAMY'S "LICENSE. Poole asked tho Prime Minister if' he intended tn give members an opportunity of voting on the Bellamy Ecense. . The Prime Minister : Yes. J The Leader of the Opposition : Will the law permit it? The Act says the vote must be taksn on the fourth Tuestlay of the session. - The Prime Minister : Subject to the few, the veto vill be taken. (Laughter.) f, PUBLIC SERVICE. IThe debate on Mr. Herdman's Public {JeTvice Bill is reported under another heading. * NEW BILLS. • Mr. Fisher's Sunday Labour Bill and Jlr. Sidey's New -Zealand Time Bill were read ri first time. ' The House adjourned at 1 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. ADDRESS-JH-REPLY. ' When the House resumed at 2.30 p.m., Mr. G. W. Foib?s (Huriumi) moved Ihe Addrpss-in-Rsply to his 'Excellency's Speech, lla expressed strong approval ox the wiso and statesmanlike policy fonlaiiied ia ihe Speech, and urged that any expenditure incurred by iNew Zealand in aiding u t eat Britain to retain th? position of Mistress of the Seas, and so cuiUjlc her to kt:ep uratie routes open, v. as money spent on sound commercial lints. (Hear, hear). He spoke in «erms of ,high praise of the otfer by the Government oi a Dread'lioughtj ion\ail"ing that the >poldness and unexpectedness of the gift gave it a greater value than any contribution which they m'^ht make in future towards the cost of naval construction. He urged the necessity of breaking down the .system of land monopoly" which prevails m various parts of New Zealand. The task might be an unpleasant one, but they must expect to have to do unpleasant things in the process of carrying out reform. Mr. E. H. Taylor (Thames), in seconding the motion, said that in his speech his Excellency bpoke of a change in the Navy.' Did this signify a change in the management, or in the manning of our Navy ? Dkl it mean that our obsolete vessels would have to go, and that our obsolete weapuns would have to be | thrown ou the dust heap ? When was this change to be cmv.ted, and how farTeacliing was it to be 1 These were the i questions that would come before the , Naval Conference, and who so able to discuss them, so far as we were concerned, as our Prime Minister? Did wo • realise that out of every £1 of taxation in the Old Country ik> less than 16s o£d •went to the Army and Navy? Speakiflg on the question of adjourning Parliament, Mr. Taylor said : "My patrioti.fen consists in something more than trying to embarrass the Governm&Tit." Patriotism was above envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. M*. Massey : A jjood sentence. ' Mr. Taylor continued that we should give our representative a free hand to do the work we had placed in his hands. (Laft Sitting).