HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 133, 12 June 1909, Page 5

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 10.30 a.m. "PRELIMINARY BUSINESS. More petitions were presented urging , the Government • to establish a system; of free immigration for domestic ser. vants. Mr. Henare Kaihau (Western Maori) was present for the first time, and too* the oath. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. Mr. Buick (Palmerston North) re, -sinned the debate on the Address-in, •Keply. He approved of. the Dreadnought offer, and the proposed visit ofi the Prime Minister to England, bu* objected to the business of "Parliament being postponed till his return. Mr. J. P. Luke said he was going la vote for the amendment proposed by, the Leader of the Opposition, in favour, of going on with the business of -tha country. He was not the Government candidate, and did not ask to be one. He said then that he would vote for the Government generally, but he did not consider that in this case the proposal of ' the Government was in tho interest of the country, and therefor** he should vote against it. During the electoral campaign he said he pinned his faith to the British Navy, and h» endorsed fully the action of the Government in offering a Dreadnought, but he also expressed the belief that the real secret of the Premier's visit to London was to vary the proposal intj> some other form of assistance. (Hear, hear.) In regaid to the postponement ot the business, he contended that ii was time we had an end of this oneman Ministry, and he declared/ his belief that the Premier was m this respect putting the question of party betore the true interests of the Dominion. (Hqar, hear.) The Hon. Mr. Carroll was thoroughly fit to lead the S° US rr e T m Sir Jo . se P« Ward's absence, lhe Hon. Mr. Millar was also a capable man, as were other/ of the Ministers, and he expressed his belief that there was sometfrrj"; air the bbt'tom of this • business between the Prime Minister and his colleagues. THE GOVERNMENT'S BIGGEST BLUNDER. Mr 1 . Luke warned the Government that it was the biggest blunder that ifc had ever made in proposing to shut up the business of Parliament for three or four months. It was all very well for ' the Government to talk lightly about* tho present position of the Dominion. He had never known trade so bad in his own business— the iron business— and he expressed the highest indignation at the way in which local industries were ne.glected in favour of firms from abroad. The foundation o£ this distress was tha land question. He was in favour o£ the leasehold system, and would always support the Government on that/ subject. As to financial stringency, n« said that a period of "funk" had set in. Regarding: his own position in- the House, he declared that he would vote for the. Government w r hen he agreed with the Government's proposals, and for the Opposition when the Opposi* tion's views accorded with his own. lie urged that no flimsy building should be erected for the new Governor's cesjdence, although he, thought the present Parliament Buildings were good enough for the next ten years. The plans of the uew Wellington Post Office should never have been cut down by one story, which would have to be added at some future date. THE MINISTER OP LABOUR. The Hon. A. W. Hogg commenced with a reply to Mr. Biiick's references, to dumb dogs. All the growls came from ' tho Opposition side ot the House. He had been described as a fly in amber} and it was wondeied how he got into the Ministiy. His position in the Ministry was not due to any solicitation on his part. He had never acted the paro of the caterpillar on the gooseberry bush by crawling. For the last twenty years the Opposition had had its eyes on tho Treasury Benches. They were just as near to-day as they were twenty years agot Quite recently it had been suggested that Mr. Massey should become I something approaching a Minister. ' I The Opposition protested "No." " Yes," shouted the Government support&s. Mr. Massey : If the Government asks me, I will tell the House and tho country who suggested that I should accompany the Prime Minister. Continuing, Mr. Hogg said he had received letters of congiatulation from all parts of the country on his elevation to the Ministry. THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION. " Notwithstanding what had been said, the industries of tho country had multiplied and prospered during the last *ew jtarj The member ior Manauatu — who* was always .shouting freehold — was a retailer oi what he called "Toiy icecicam," which would not go down the palates of the people. He declared that too much money was used for speculative purposes in New Zealand, and not - enough for investment in wages. Men in this country would send their money away to Queensland to-morrow if they could get another half pe* cent, for it because the iniquitous system of land monopoly had been dealt with by the Government. The people were going t,o have their rights, and the 4and question was going to be brought up again in a more formidable form than it had ever assumed before. The Government had had to pay huso sums for estates in order that* neonlG micKt bo Kottfori nn

St. That policy would be continued, but there had to be land taxation, so that every worker would be able to get on the land on reasonable terms and earn a livelihood. ' LAND-GRABBING. • They must not allow this native land to be grabbed in the way that it had been grabbed in the past. The land problem had yet to be .solved. Lani .was the great employer, the universal provider. '"There is room enough for all in a country like this," he remarked. Turning to the currency question, he said thai' the State, instead or hanks, should have the right of issuing notes. * „ THE 'MEMBER FOB WAIBARAPA. S Mr. Buchanan expressed the hops that'the Hop. Mr. Hogg's speech would commend itself to' the supporters' of the (Government. The .proposal to send the .Leader of the Opposition Home with ,the v !Prime Minister came from the GoiVernment side. Xhe Prime Minister : I am in a position ito 3??ove that that is not correct. Mr. Buchanan, speaking on the unemployed question, said, that in the hard tim?» of 1895 he and other settlers in the IWairarapa- spent hundreds of pounds in relieving swaggers. That was now 'being done in Ms district, and yet men who Jrad'.been doing that sorb of thing for years were to be met with opprobrium. Be" urged that the Hon. Mr. Hogg would be "well advised to get the Government to <k> its duty in regard to noxious weeds /on lands, and also on un©cctfpieil native lands, instead of inveigh-angj-against settlers who had been doing thefr duty "in that respect for many years. Dealing with the Department of Agriculture, and the changes that had •beea made there recently, he expressed disapproval of a man without practical experience being made Secrotdry of the Department, and of the Chief Veterinarian being given charge of stock inspectors. Then there was tho case of SMis . Clifton. The Prime "Minister : He has been /very well ttreed.a + cd. Mr. Buchanan : He is in charge of rabibitfe. and noxious weeds. The Prime Minister : The department is jtnore efficient '-than it has ever been. 'Ml 1 . Buchanan expressed approval of itho -Imperialistic views of the Government, and strong disapproval of the postponement of the business of the session for three months. He hoped that if tho conference came to the conplnsion that. New Zealand's offer of a 'Dreadnought was not in the interests of ifche Dominion or the Empire, he would ieep an open mind on the subject. Ab 1 p.m. the House adjourned until 2.30 p.m. A SOUTHERN MEMBER. When the House resumed at 2.30 p.m. Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) carried on Jthe debate. He expressed disapproval of the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition, as national intei'ests had, he urged, to give way to local interests. It was necessary that the Prime Minister should be present to lead the Party during the first session of a new Parliament. The country woukl not fall to pieces beeau«o the subjects ef land tenure, finance and native lands, ' for instance, were not dealt with for the j next three months. He regretted that ! by moving the amendment' the Opposition had depreciated the high spirit which had characlerised its own action regarding tbe Dreadnought offer and the representation, of New Zealand at the Imperial Conference. As to the retrenchment si-nerne, he urged that the -Opposition hud never opposed the, growth of the service and the increase of public expenditure, and it must take its share of responsibility foi- the condition of things which had compelled that retrenchment. (Left Sitting).