HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Grey River Argus, 3 July 1914, Page 5

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTA- " TION BILL INTRODUCTION BY -MEMBER FOR WANGANUI. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 2. When the House met at 2.30 p.m. Mr W, A. Veitch (Wanganui) intro duced the Proportional Representation and Effective Voting Bill. .He explained that the Government was committed to the principal of proportion al representation dn the Legislative Council, and if good enough for that body why' did they not .apply it to the popular chamber unless they we're afraid of it. Mr. McCombs (Member for Lyttel ton) on rising to make his maiden speech, received a cordial reception. He wanted to see all restrictions removed from the just representation of Labour. ■He wanted to see the House elected on a basis that would secure not a majority representation, but a majority rule. He quoted the figures of last election to show that the' Massey Party had 367,000 votes polled against them and only 130,000 in their favour.' _ They were therefore in a minority in the country. The House should be a true reflection of the mind of the neople, a minature of the pedple,lmd for that reason the House should pass the Bilj introduced by 'Mr. Veitch. The Bill was read a first t ; <me. The Napier Harbour Board Ernpoweri^er and Loan Bill (Mr. T-T. N. Campbell) was read .a first time. PUBLIC DEBT EXTINCTION. The Minister of Finance laid on the table at return showing the operations of the Public Debt Extinction Act of 1910. *Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) congratulated the House and country on the satisfactory working of the Act ThePrime, Minister and Minister of Finance had ridiculed the Act when it was 'passed, and described it as a farce. ■■' Mr. Massey contended that the Act was not the magnificent thing the Member for Avon made out. He pro ceeded to describe the seizure of sink- | ing funds under the Act, and the best that' could be said for the Act was that i "«t was doing no harm. Sir Joseph Ward defended the Act, and said that he did, not believe that when people understood the many bene fits of this legislation they would -ever permit its repeal. The financial position of the country had never deserved the scathing criticism levelled against it by the party in mwer. The real difficulty of die prefent Government in the matter of finance was the falling off in. deposits in the Post Office Savings B4nk. The Hon. J. Allen had ;£ 1.400,000 less to work on than he (Sir Toseph Ward) had, and no financier could do a.s well with that amount less to work on as w.cll as one who had it v to operate with. Instead of honestly' acknow lep-ding .the real source of the difftcultv he sought to cast all the blame on him. Hon. J. Allen said. that he took the full responsibility, for the issue of the prospectus issued in London. He did I not agree now that the surpluses enumerated in that prospectus were true surpluses in as much , as the cash sales for land weTe incluided in them, and that was not sound finance. He quoted Hansard to show that Sir Joseph Ward was not always in favour of the sinking funds. He aflo argued that if it was as Sir Joseph Ward stated he had less to work on that was a complete explanation why he was not able to lend settlers all the money they wanted, and on. ton of that, he had to .discharge committments left by his predecessors. For Children's Hacking Cough a» night, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, is 6d. a$ 6d. . -