HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Evening Star, Issue 14635, 3 August 1911, Page 4

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Mr Macdonald led off in the House yesterday afternoon by congratulating Sir Arthur Guinness ar.d Sir .lame? Carroll on the Coronation honors conferred on them. Great strides had been in ado by tho Government of lato years in the matter of land settlement. On March 51 last there were 1,523,202 acres of Crown lands open for selection. Xo\y that tho Natives realised that the Government were doing the best for all concerned, they might bo relied on to come forward and offer their land for settlement. The great majority of the people of the Dominion had adopted the defence system, and were quite satisfied to have their children trained for defensive purposes. Mr Lawry alluded to the prosperity of the country, and claimed that tins was due to the policy of tho Administration. If the National Debt were offered in the public market a syndicate would readily be found to subscribe SCO per cent, for it, so high wero our assets valued. Mr Poole expressed the opinion that iu accepting a hereditary title the Prime Minuter had made a blunder which must be injurious to the spirit of democracy ■which was being fostered and developed in the country. In saying this he did not wish to detract horn Sir Joseph Wards great work on behalf of the Empire and tho Dominion. Regarding the Imperial Conference, he was pleased that at last the authorities at Homo had thrown off their reserve srd had taken the oversea ■visiters into their confidence. Expense of distribution was the cause of the present high cost of living, and to combat monopolies he suggested State competition, which invariably resulted in a reduction of prices. A reduction of mil way fares was of no benefit to the country if employees were not paid decent wages. He pleaded for a greater expenditure on roads in the. North Island, wlvi-ch hud not tho natural means of. transport of the Ncith. As to the withdrawal of the charge made bv Mr Massey last session against the late Mr T. E. Taylor, he pointed out that tins did not constitute a complete vindication of Mr Taylor's character. If the withdrawal was intended to be whole-souled he was satisfied, but if not so intended tho Leader of■ the Opposition should give a full and complete vindication, and so clear the dead man’s character. .Alluding to Imperial Federation. Mr Malcolm put in a plea for a closer form of unity. He deprecated the idea.of forming an Advisory Council of Empire. Such a council eonld not act promptly, and in the case of a crisis would be compelled to refer questions of significant importance back to the component parts of the Empire. At the recent Imperial Conference too much devotion hud been paid to units and far too little paid to tho Empire. For years he had thought that Imperial Federation was an impossibility, but lie had now come to the conclusion that the matter should be persecuted with tiro utmostexpedition. Air Luke protested against tho Prime Minister waiting till ho reached Sydney before telling them what action he. proposed to take at the Imperial Conference. Defence and cognate subjects ought to have been discussed on the. floor of tbo House prior to the departure of the country's envoys. Mr E. H. Taylor, referring to Mr Poole's observations, said that those who sneered at Coronation titles were not true to the monarchy to which they belonged. If the King desired to honor any of his subjects, who were they to decry those honors? The debate was adjourned at this stage, and the House rose at 10.35 p.nu