HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 74, 25 September 1917, Page 8

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House met at 2.30 p.m. Notice was given by Mr. J. C. Thomson to ask the Minister of Justice if he will bring down drastic legislation dealing with the subject of motor-cars driving too fast round street corners. In answer to questions by Mr, Hornsby and Mr. Witty, on the subject of exaggerated accounts of the earthquake and an alleged strike in New Zealand, the Prime Minister said he had done his best to contradict the storiee referred to. Some three weeks ago he was asked by cablegram from Australia on the subject, asking if it was a fact that, 50 Queenslanders had been shot in the revolution. He was glad to be able to inform his questioner lhat nothing of the sort had occurred. .That morning he had received a copy of the Daily Mail giving an alarmist account of the earthquake. He would communicate with the authorities with a view to having these alarmist rumours stopped. The Minister of Marine, in answer to Mr. C. J. Parr, said the Government had approved of an additional charge of 2s a ton on sugar by the Auckland Harbour Board on the assurance that the additional cost would not be passed on to the consumer. The Prime Minister also stated that he had that day sent a further cablegram to the Home authorities in regard to butter. Mr. Wilford wanted to know whether the Prime Minister wasi aware that butter is selling in America to-day at 2s 2d, and that a deputation was going to wait on him, asking that the «utput should be cold for American consumption. Mr. Massey eaid the Home authorities had expressly laid it: down that no foodstuffs should be sold without their consent, and that it was inadvisable to export anything in the food line except to England. . ' Mr. Sykes said there, was a rumour in Wellington Ithat- the Government intended to nail up discharged soldiers for further examination. ' Sir James Allen said that a discharged soldier could not be called up ior examination. He could nof. understand how such silly rumours arose.

(Left- Sitting.)