STATE ADVANCES

Evening Star, Issue 18332, 20 July 1923, Page 5

STATE ADVANCES

SOLVING HOUSING PROBLEM. BILL PASSES SECOND READING. (Feu Unttid Pmsso Association.] WELLINGTON, July 19. When the House of Representatives sat at 7.30 last overling the second reading debate on the Stale Advances Amendment Bill was continued. Tire lion. W. Noswortihy said the Bill was tho most democratic over put before Parliament. It bad been suggested that an agricultural bank would be tho best means of relieving the financial stringency, but he ventured to say 'that tho Stale Advances Bill would go much further in meeting the needs of settlers. Ho was confident that the provisioijs regarding workers would prove satisfactory, and equally confident that there would bo no abuse of the conditions. Ho would bo disappointed if tho measure did not go a long way towards solving tho housing problem. When the time came millions could be borrowed on broad acres, and then tho country would bo in a position to enjoy greater prosperity than it bad ever experienced before. One of tho greatst difficulties settlors had to face was tbo short-dated mortgage of from three to five years, and tho steps now being taken by the Government to give the settlers cheap money on conditions muter which part of the principal can bo paid oft at each payment of interest was one of the greatest stop fonvaul yet taken. The position was becoming so favorable that ho anticipated that it would not bo long before tho State would bo the chief lender on broad acres, as no private lender could compete with the State in the class of business it was so well fitted to carry out.

Mr D. G. Sullivan contended that the Government had not administered the law on tho Statute Book, and consequently local bodies had been hampered in their building operations. Air A. D. M’Leod urged that in cases of loans for housing provision should bo made for weekly repayments to encourage thrift. Air W, A. Veitch said that if the same amount of money ns was being made available under this Bill had been put into tho Housing Act of 1919 results would have been more satisfactory, because that measure was economically more sound than the present Bill,

Air V. H. Potter was afraid that tho Bill would sap tho disposition of tho people to become thrifty.

Air J. APCombs declared that the Government was not sincere in previous legislation of this kind, and ho wondered whether this Bill was only so much “ window dressing.’’

Mr W. S. Glen said that tho Bill was the most satisfying effort ever made by any Government to supply the people with cheap money.

Sir H. Poland said that the farmers should have the same right to receive up to 95 per cent, as the workers, and he appealed to the Prime Minister fo make that concession.

Mr G. Witty asked that tho Bill be made applicable to the Chatham Islands. 'They were a portion of New Zealand, and should enjoy the benefits of our legislation. (Money was required to build dairy factories and to improve the stock. Mr P. Fraser said that this legislation should be pushed on, but the 1919 legislation should not be dropped. Land should bo opened up and tho price of building material must be kept down; but, above all, funds must bo provided to make the Act a living piece of humanitarian legislation. The debate was continued by (Messrs J, A. Young, J. Horn, G. R. Sykes, H. T. Armstrong, R. A. Wright, 11. E. Holland, and S. G. Smith. At midnight Mr Massey rose to reply, lie said that little of any moment had been said against the Bill, and ho hoped to see it soon upon tho Statute Book. He, however, wished to make it clear that tile Bill was supplementary to, not in place of, the Housing Acts already in force. If the Government had not done more under those Acts, that was because money was both dear and scarce—so much so that no working man could pay the cost of houses built under those conditions. As to the difficulty about valuations, ho stated that ho bad instructed tho Valuer-General to employ more valuers for the purposes of this legislation. They did not propose to encourage tho people to purchase houses, because that was not of much benefit to the State. What they wanted was more new houses. He agreed that the repayments should ho made as easy as possible, and ho thought that they should take tho interest and principal weekly or monthly, as suited the convenience of the borrower. Tho financial outlook was encouraging, but ho was going to ask for more borrowing powers for the purposes of this Act. He was hopeful that the provisions of the Bill might be available for tho benefit of the Chatham Island settlers, but there wern some points in that connection that would have to lie inquired into.

The second reading was agreed to on the voices.