THE DEBATE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1913, Page 3

THE DEBATE

AFFAIRS AT COOK ISLANDS MINISTER REPLIES TO MR. ISITT. The debate on the Financial Statement in the House of Representative* yesterday was very quiet. The only feature was the reply by the Hon. Dr. Pomare to Mr. leitt on the administration of the Cook Wands, the Minister'^ j chief point appearing to be that the | brewing and drinking of bush beer is an inherent defect in the nature of the Cook Islanders, and that,MT. I«itt was biased against any such indulgence. DR. POMARE'S DEFENCE. Following on remarks by Mr. Harris, of Waitemata (whose speech is condensed into a paragraph reported in another column), the Hon. Dr. Pomare, Minister in Charge of the Cook Islands, set out to answer Mr; Isitt's statements a« to the administration of the Islands. He carefully repeated seven charges, and then; digressed to clap at several of his honourable friends on the opposite side of the House, hitting most heavily the member for Riccarton, who, he said, reminded him of a, very clever parrot- he •had seen and heard in Mexico. It could repeat any remark after one hearing, but was cleverest at crying, "Ain't I witty; ain't I witty." Coming back to his main theme, the Hon. Minister declared there was nothing in regard to the administration of Cook Islands which the Government was afraid to lay on the table of the House. Judge M'Cormack's report was furnished at hn, request, and not at the, instance of any member. It was, therefore, quite natural that he should keep it in his own office. Concerning the Native who had misappropriated Government moneys, he stated that the official in charge at the time hushed the matter up after getting the money back in order to give the lad a chance to retrieve his character in another island. Did the member for Christchurch North object to that? Would he not have given the lad a chance? As to the appointment of Mr. tforthcroft, the Minister said that that official'^ age was 66 years, only one year over the retiring limit. Here, the speaker said, Mr. Isitt had thought he nad got on to a soft thing as usual. Then, he added, "But he'll grind his teeth with sand this time." BUSH BEER DRINKING. Continuing his speech at the evening sitting the Minister urged that it was \try difficult to prevent bush beer drinking in Rarotonga. For 4 eighty years the missionaries had been trying to persuade the population from pursuing that vice, and had not. yet succeeded. Mr. Isitt, he suggested, was Obsessed with the idea that no one should drink any liquor. Bush beer drinking was an old custom of the ra-tives; it had been known since t ananas were known; and it was difficult to teach Old dogs new tricks. . The hon. member had condemned the whole population of One village, Arorangi, of having been under the influence of liquor. Under cover of Parliamentary privilege he had the audacity — the sneaking audacity he might call it — Mr. Speaker: The hon. member must withdraw that statement. Dr, Pomare : I will withdraw it. I do not mind withdrawing anything that is unparliamentary. Under the cover of Parliamentary privilege, the hon. gentleman indicts the whole of these people, as being under the influence of liquor, which was a wild statement and one that should not be made by any honourable member. Judge M'Cormack had reported that bush beer drinking was decreasing rather than increasing. "PLAY THE GAME." Mr. J. Robertson, who followed, contended that the Hon. Dr. Pomare had not, by the manner of his speech, added to the dignity of the House. The bluster, and heat and personal abuse that had characterised his speech were less than they had a right to expect from an honourable Minister of the Crown. He urged that the Government should "play the game" and 'not appeal to religious prejudices. He thought the Government was open to condemnation for not having tackled the question of raising the salaries of teachers in a businesslike way. As to the increased cost of living, he said that any party which was not in * -hurry to assist the general mass of the people would not long occupy the Government benches. MISREPRESENTATION AND INNUENDO. Mr. R. W. Smith contended that the "Reform" Party had been born of misrepresentation and innuendo, and as it could not prove tho charges it had made it should acknowledge that it had made a mistake. If the Ministry did that the public would think all the better of them. The public generally was expressing disappointment at the Government's lack of initiative. The people who were promised the freehold were r as loud in their condemnation as anyone else.' Mr. Wilkinson contended that too much money was expended on public buildings, especially in the larger centres, while at the same time the country | districts were being starved. Incidentally, he remarked that Mr. G. W. Russell appeared to be convinced of the soundness and prosperity of the Dominion. Mr. G. W. Russell : We all are. Mr. Wilkinson: "I am very glad to hear that." He contended that the Liberal- Party had failed to reduce taxation on behalf of the poorer people, and in this connection he made complaint that the late Government had let in free of taxation one and a half million pounds worth of motor-cars, while it had excessively taxed many other things that were needed by the poorer classes of the people. He also complained that while the late Government had heavily taxed corrugated iron it had allowed the rich man's Marseilles tiles to enter duty free. He put forward the suggestion that the tax on tobacco should be reduced and the loss made up by an increase of the tax on New Zealand beer. At 11.35 p.m. the debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr. Ell, and the House rose.