THE DAY IN PARLIAMENT.

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 91, 14 October 1922, Page 7

THE DAY IN PARLIAMENT.

A debate on daylight baking opened *h« main business of the House of Re>ipresentatives yesterday. A Bill on the ■ subject was introduced earlier in tha session by Mr. M'Comba,' and yesterday tha Labour Bills Committee recommended that-it'should not be allowed, to proceeds Labour members protested vigor-* ously against this, but the recommendation yras duly tabted. The Committee stage of the Land and Income Tax Bill was reached soon a-fter half-past four ' o'clock, and it says much for the work of < the Chairman of Committee that, by the dinner adjournment under an hour later, , ho had succeeded in putting through the contentious clauses. Labour raised an. objection to the- reduction in the super land tax, which, they claimed, had been , imposed for the purposes of meeting war j expenditure. To take it off now' would \ place tho burden on other shoulders. .Mr. 1 Massey denied the imputation that he '< was legislating for a class, and maintained that any redaction in taxation ■would benefit everyone. To test tho l opinions of other members, Mr. Holland.\ moved that the reduction should ' apply only to rural land with a taxable balance not exceeding £10,000. Fifty-one mem-; bers opposed and thirteen supported him. Mr.. R. M'C^um's proposal that properties exceeding £20,000 "in value should be removed from the operation of the clause found rather mor,e support, but was still defeated by 42 to 21. When the income^ tax section of the Bill was > reached Mr. Holland divided the House on the proposal to remove the super tax. He was defeated by 42 to 7. The schedule and the clause limiting the tax on Native lands were held over for. later consideration. A long debate on the Workers' Compensation Bill followed, Mr. Parry proposing te make an increase in tha compensation payable to the dependants of the lower paid man relatively as great as the increase given within recent years to dependants of .higher paid men.^The Minister of Labour said this would involve a 20 per cent, increase in the £500,000 of premiums now paid annually, and he was not prepared to ask employers to meet that charge in the present state of trade. Mr. Parry lost his amendment by 35 to 24. After that the clauses wont through rapidly, and the Bill was passed.; The Aged and Infirm. Persons Protection Amendment Bill was passed with no, comment, and the ■ House rose at 11.5 p.m. "