PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 107, 1 November 1924, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives met at 11 a.m. to-day.

The Thomas Cawthron Trust Bill was reported from a Special Committee with amendments.

Mr. xJ. A. Young (Hamilton) asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the pressing demand for the Honey Export Control Bill to be passed this session, he would permit the House to put it through before the session ended. The Minister (the Hon. W. Nosworthy) said that if it was convenient to the Prime Minister'to commit the Bill, and if there was going to be no objection or debate upon it,.he would be willing to comply with the request. So far as he knew there was no opposition to the measure.

The Leader of the Opposition: "It suggests sweet reasonableness." Mr. F. Lye (Waikato) gave notice of m "'f entlou to ask tila Prime Minister (1)_ whether he was aware that many solicitors and other persons putting in applications to the Public Trust Office for loans on behalf of people charged a procuration fee for obtaining a loan; (2) whether he would have steps taken to stop the practice, seeing that under the Public Trust Amendment Act it was made illegal; (3) whether arrangements could not be made for applicants for loans to have their applications prepared in one of the Public Trust offices or their securities prepared by the Public Trust Office; and (4) whether he. would take steps to limit the solicitors costs in connection with such loans to the proper legal charges for preparing their securities, and have the system of charging procuration fees stopped, thereby relieving the farming community and others of this unnecessary burden.

Mr. J. A. Young (Hamilton) asked the .Postmaster-General as a matter of urgency _ whether he would review the postal regulations with the object of providing for parcel post delivery involving the collection of cash: on the delivery of parcels, as was • done in Great Britain.

The Hon. J. G. Coates. replied that the matter had been considered on several occasions, and he would be glad to have it further investigated. Another question asked by Mr. Young of the Minister' of Railways had reference to men in the railway service who, through failure to. pass the colour vision test, have been taken off the footplate and put coi to other employment, though with no decrease in, pay. These men, said Mr. Young, seemed to be labouring under the idea that they could get very little satisfaction from the Railway Department as to what their future was to be. He asked the Minister if he could inform the House what the future prospects of the men were, in view of their being degraded, not in pay, but in their work. The men felt that the possibility of their making progress wag limited. ■■

The Minister (the Hon. J. G. Coates) replied that the matter was under consideration between the Department and theE.F.C.A. . The Department waa anxious to do all it possibly could to minimise hardship.

(Left Sitting.)