A WIDER RANGE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 1, 1 July 1926, Page 17

A WIDER RANGE

PROGRESS OF ADDRESS-IN-

REPLY

SIXTH DAY AND DISCUSSION

CONTINUING

RURAL SUBJECTS PROMINENT.

Yesterday was the sixth day of the Address-in-Reply debate in the House .of Representatives, and. when the House rose last night it was still unfinished. The noconfidence amendment having been wiped off tho order paper, members made use of tho opportunity to embrace a wider range of subjocts in their speeches, and rural' topics wero well to the fore.

Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Avon) said lie thought the debate had been considerably enlivened by the Opposition's criticisms of the Government.'s methods at the General Election, and of the "curiosities" in the shape of Reform advertisements which had been ccrllocted since the campaign. Mr. Sullivan proceeded to criticise the Prime Minister's attitude in connection with unemployment, and stated that Mr. Coates had not lived up to his advertisements. He suggested that steps should be taken to limit the- amount that a party, could spend during an . election. The Minister of Lands (the Hon A. D. M'Leod): "It was not unlimited." "Mr. Sullivan said that it had been rumoured that the Government spent no less than £400,000 on the election. (Loud laughter.) Mr. Sullivan said that if the rumour was wrong, perhaps the Minister of Lands would tell the House and the country just how'much was spent. Referring to the Imperial Conference, Mr. Sullivan expressed the hope that before : liis departure the Prime Minister would take the House into his confidence and give a full and frank statement dealing with tho attitude he intended, to take up. In the past there had been a lack of information in Imperial matters. Mr. Sullivan stressed the. importance of consultation between the Homo Government and the Dominions on all matters affecting the welfare of tho Empire. NO CAUSE FOR REGRET. Colonel Allen 801 l (Bay of Islands) said that his action throe and a-half years ago in deciding to. support the late Mr. Massey had never given him any cause for regret. It,was in, the, interests of the country and the Empire. That his action, was approved by the huge majority of the people of Now Zcalaud had been plainly demonstrated. Ho contended that the election methods of tho Reform Party were perfectly fair, and that Mr. Coates would carry out the pledges which ho had made. Ho criticised trades union activities, urged that the workers should be paid according to what they produced, and commended to tho Government the idea of cxtonsivo ttecplauting as a means of-.ijelieving unemployment. Mr. A. M. Samuel (Ohinemuri) dealt with the question of farmers' finance. Short-dated loans, he said, were the bugbear of tho farmer. (Hear hear.) He would like to see some institution whereby the fanner could ask for temporary accommodation without fear of being turned . down.. The banks had been>,good to the farmer....iil =t .".boom" times, and sometimes he had been tempted to extravagance. An institution was wanted from which the farmer could get money in ' times of depression. He was very pleased to see the scheme outlined' by the Bank of New Zealand, and trusted that other banks would follow suit. If the Rural Credits Commission had "been the; cause of the Bank of NeW Zealand .'submitting its scheme, then the;-' Government would have been Well repaid for sending the delegation abroad. He urged that fertilisers should bo made available at' a cheaper rate, and suggested that the Government should set up crushing plants in various parts of the Dominion, or 'else lend money to farmers' companies to establish their own crushing plants, the Government to 'have representation on tho directorates. If this were done he was sure the price of fertilisers would' soon come down. He was pleased to learn that the Government would,',if neces.sarv, take steps to resume large estates, and then, dealt with the need for eradicating noxious weeds and of settling waste lands. MORE ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT. ' Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Phristchurch East) opened by congratulating, the mover and seconder of the Address-in-Reply motion upon the absence of bitterness in their speeches.:':. Dealing with the unemployed, the speaker .said the Government so far had "shown,nothing but mere sympathy, while.nbthing really useful and practicalrhadyot been done. He blamed the Government for the unemployment situatio'n,'.and said it was for them to provide;relief for the thousands who wore being, dismissed in the country districts'.' ">What provision had the Minister in Charge of Immigration made for the 2000.immigrants now on their way to 'Jvfew;Zealand? The Hon. \V. Nbswortby: "They have something to go to." '' Then they are „ going to displace 'some of the workers employed at the present time," ;- declared 'Mr. 'Armstrong. "They .are going to add another'2ooo to-the, unemployed. If the Government can. Aid work ..for them it can find work for those that are unemployed at the present time. "The speaker went on to refer to pensions mat : ters and the representation of Labour at tho International Labour Conference. Discussing the family-allowance proposal, he said that if itwas paid out of the Consolidated Fund it would cost the Government-'£2,000,000. The Hon. W. Nosworthy: "How would you raise it?" Mr; Armstrong said it could havo been given long ago if the Government had not given back to the wealthy institutions the amounts they had paid in taxation. The Government would probably now raise the money by further exploiting the poor. "Do you know a country in the. world,"'asked Mr. Nosworthy,■>'where the people are bettter off?" Mr. Armstrong said it was a auction of the'standard of living the coun try could afford to concede to tho work ' ing people. He went on to show. hoy. Customs duties had increased, and tr. state that tho Government had increased by li per cent, the rate of interest to workers and by i per cent, to farmers. Mr. Armstrong contended that a State Bank should be' established to enable the people to get cheap money, j Mr. D. Jones (Ellesmero) contended that the Reform Party was the real Labour Party of Now Zealand. The La- , hour Party had nover lifted up its voice on behalf of the immigrants—it wanted I New Zealand for itself. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central): "That is incorrect." , ] Mr. Jones went onto defend- himself , against the remarks, of Mr,. Lys'nar ; concerning the Poverty Bay - Meat. AVorks, this portion of his speech being reported in another column. RURAL TOPICS. Mr. D. S. Reid' (Waikato) contended that only in the last two or three y_ears

had tho Government ha^ aa opportunity to doal with land settlement. A great many of the large estates were not fit for closer settlement, and it would bo a great mistake for the Government to cut them wp. It was better for a few people to havo such land than to cut it up. If settlers wero to bo put on poor land they should be placed there ront free for five to fifteen years. He folt they would then make good. Unproductive lands should bo planted with trees, and all lands capablo of yielding produce should be developed so that at last there would bo no unproductive land in the Dominion. No matter what legislation was introduced there would bo unemployment until the end of time. Ho contended that before a worker ceased at one job ho should start looking round for another. He agreed with the Labour members that people who had broken down in health should be assisted by the State, but he wished to encourage the spirit of independence in every young man in tho country; they should be able to hold their own and finding a living without- outside assistance. He made a plea for greater facilities for back blocks education, and also appealed to various Ministers for assistance to his own electorate. No Government, he said, had gone through such strenuous times as the present Government, which was a credit to the country. Mr. J. C. Rolleston (AYaitomo) thought more could bo done, at farm schools- and on experimental and demonstration areas than by scientific research on small areas of land. As many demonstration plots as possible should bo established in order to show the farmers the best way to go to work. The Department of Agriculture should bo able to inform farmers as to tho best fertiliser's to use in their particular districts. Referring to land settlement, he-said the eyes had been picked out of the best of it, and there was little of the best now left. The Government should endeavour to make the inferior lands lnore productive, and it would bo a sound proposition if lands infested with noxious weeds and rabbits were settled rent free. What would help the farmer more than anything, clso to-day would bo the reduction in the price of everything which made for the high cost of production. Tho Government should change its policy in regard to roading Native lands. Under the present system it denied responsibility for roading these lands, but the speaker contended that the settler taking up land from Natives was entitled to be given access. He hope a more oquitablo system would be evolved in regard to main roads, for under the present conditions the rates in rural districts wore being piled up higher and higher. Mr. J. R. Hamilton (Awarua). moved tho adjournment at this stage, and the House rose at;'ll p.m. until this afteflioon.