THE PREMIER AT WELLINGTON.

Evening Star, Issue 12867, 17 July 1906, Page 8

THE PREMIER AT WELLINGTON.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL REFORM. A NAVIGATION CONFERENCE. I The Hon. W. Hall-Jones, Premier, was present at a meeting of the Shipmasters' Association at Wellington yesterday, called for the purpose of presenting the Association gold "badge to Mr Frank Bullen, the well-known author and lecturer. \ Mr HallJones, in reply to a toast, made a speech having several important points. He had, he said, been called upon to, for a time, succeed Mr Seddon. ( Matkrs would, go on as nearly as possiole on the lines laid down by the late Premier. There had been an increase in revenue for the June quarter .of £118,064, made up principally as follows :—Railways, £56,438; Customs £19,614; Land lax, £1,358; Income Tax!, £2,042; Beer Duty, £783. The finances were sound, the country was prosperous, and Ministers were going to do all they could to keep it so. It would be necessary for New Zealand to enter the field with Australia in seeking trade for produce in the East. Within the last few w eks certain members of the Legislative Council retired through their term of othce having expired. For some time there had been a controversy with regard to the constitution of the Upper Chamber—whether it should be mended or ended. His own view was that in connection w, the Upper House there should be at least a Revisory Committee, consisting oi anything troni twelve to twenty members, without power of initiative. He recognised, however, that the colony was not quite prepared for that, but he did think the time had arrived to consider what should be done to mend the Legislative Council. When he first entered Parliament one plank of his platform was that the Legislative Council should be elected by the House of Representatives, and after giving it considera-.e thought, and comparing the proposal that the Council should be elected "by electorates, he was still of opinion that the best way was to have election bv the Lower House. It had not been considered advisable" to make reappointments to the Council, and the House should be affoided an opportunity to consider the matter before any further appointments w,re made. Relerring to the New Zealand Shipping and Seamen Act, the Premier remarked that with even all the benefits which that Act had conferred, he did not think they had yet gone far enough. At present a sailor's minimum accommodation on a ship was fixed by the Act at 72 cubic feet. That was to say, his living quarters were 2ft wide, 6ft long, and 6ft high. But it was not the limit, though, strange to say, under the New Zealand law there was restriction as to the maximum, which was not to exceed 120 ft. He was pleased to say tliat tneir Aus truhan friends, in dealing with the Navigaio£ B ' U '- ha<J 3n ßfe Testol a minimum of 120 ft, which, he believed, was a step in the right direction. If th y went on board some of the big trailing steamers, he was happy to say, they would find the space nearer 120 ft than 72ft. On some of the colliers in the Old Country, however, the conditions of Living were' simply deplorable. In 1903 the New Zealand Government passed a Shipping and Seamen Act, and when that Act went Home it was eighteen months before it got the Imperial assent. He could not understand at the time the cause of this long delay, but he did now. The Act was very much in advance of the law in vogue in England, ;uid certain shipping firms objected to what they believed to bo prejudicial to their rights and privileges. Finally the Act was assented to. Then the Imperial Government asked for a conferencj between deleK atcs fr °n> New Zealand, Australia, and the O.d Country for the purpose of going into the general law concerning shipping and seamen throughout the whole so that they might have a common law! the 1 remier, replying to a remark bv Captain Manning, in regard to the proposed Navigation Conference, in which doubt was expressed by the speaker as to the utility of that conference, as the New Zealand delegates would be out-voted, said the New Zealand Government had recived an invitation. They had been asked to send three or four delegates—one representing the seamen, one the sliipownera and others, and one or two representing the Government, aa might be thought fit. He had had the pleasure of accepting that invitation, and the conference, if convenient, would t;ke place next April. The Government were going to send representatives, and if anyone believed that New Zealand was e in K to lose anything by that conference he wanted them to disabuse their minds of it. that conference could have no legislative power It could only recommend what was to be done, and the changing of any existing law would have to come before the Zealand Parliament. Of this they could rest assured: that when the matter came before Parliament again, whatever the Navigation Conference might do. the interests of owners, officers, and seamen alike would all be given due consiueration. Nothing would be done detrimental to the mteiests of those concerned.