PARLIAMENT

Grey River Argus, 26 June 1925, Page 2

PARLIAMENT

GOVERNOR’S SPEECH. Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: — P ls l!l !l spirit of thankfulness, that, in the opening paragraph of my speech, 1 am able to record the coni, plete recovery of the King from the eflects of the serious illness from which His -Majesty suffered during the earlier part ol the present year. LATE PR lAI E AH NISTER. The great pleasure I have in meeting you for the first time in the General Assembly of which, under the constitution, I am part would b e greater for me, as I. know it would be for you, had there been still present with us the listinguished man who was my Prime Minister when I assumed the office as Governor-General. For more than twenty.one years, Air Alassiw had boon the leader in the House of Representatives of one o f the great political parties, and for nearly thirteen consecutive years had bemi Prime Alinister of this Dominion. In time oi war, as in times of peace, he proved. himself to be a true servant of the Empire, and it is not only among tin* people of this Dominion that the loss sustained by his death is realised. Ihe messages of sympathy during his illness and of condolence after his death received by me from 'Pheir Alajest ies the King and Queen, from the leading statesmen oi Great Britain, ironi the Governor-General, Governors and Ministers of the other Dominions and Colonies, and from the Governments of the Allies, of Great Britain’ and of the United States of America have testified Ih<‘ world,wide sense of the value of his public service. 'Phis is not the time or the place to record his life’s work, or Io attempt ade. fpiately expression of tlie public, sorrow. With my Alinisters, I adopt the concluding words of the message from the Prime Alinister of Great Britain: Afassey ; s death will not be a loss Io New* Zealand only; the whole Empire will mourn him, both as a man and a statesman, and many of us will long cherish the memory of a 'most genuine and lovable personality.” Acting on ihe advice of my Ministers, .1. proclaimed a. portion of the Grown reserve at Point ILalsvvrll, in tlu> harbour ol Wellington, to be a burial place for Mr Alassey and his widow. Included in the legislation to be submitted to you will be an Act .s]>eci_ I'cally appropriating to that purpose the land so di'fined. MINISTERIAL (II ANGES. On the 14th Alay last, 1 appointed my Attorney-General, the Hon Sir Francis Bell, to be Prime Minister, and on his advice, I contirmeil the surviving Alinisters in their several Ministerial offices and in their membership of the Executive Uouncil, and also appointed the Hou Win. Nosworthy to be Alinister of Einance ami Minister of Stamp Duties, those offices having become vacant by Air Massey’s death. On May. JOth, Sir Fram-is Bell hmdered to me the resignation of himself and his colleagues, and, on his a<lvicc, I sent for the Hon Joseph Gordon Coates, ALC., ami appointed , him to be Prime Alinister. On Air Coates’s advice I appointed the members of the Government who had resigned to hold again their respective | offices and their membership of the Executive Council, except that in the case, of the ofti.ee of Postmaster-Gen-eral, the Hon Sir James Parr was ap_ pointed in lieu of Air Coates. It had. been my intention, before my first meeting with you, io have visited ! many parts of the Dominion and also | the Cook Islands, and our mandatory I territory of Samoa, but the recent l-severe epidemic ol inlantile pa ia lx sis, which caused so much sorrow and anxiety throughout the country, combined with the circumstances of Mr Alassey’s illness and death, rcndeied such visits inadvisable. 1 hope to be able later to make myself more fully acquainted with every part of New Zealand and its dependencies, ami with every section of its people. It has been my happiness so far to find everywhere loyalty to our Sovereign and Iris Empire, general prosperity and contentment. and an absence of that unemployment which has caused, and is causing, so much anxiety in the Mother Country. I take this opportunity of thanking the people' of New Zealand, and most warmly, for the kindness and consideration extended bv one and all to her Excellency and mvseif our arrival in the Dominion. The kindly jefcrenees to our parents, which have been so treepientiv made. have touched us greatlv. The extreme courtesy and goodwill of the welcome which we have receivea have ad<led much to the pleasure ol our return to the scenes ol our childhood, ami have given ns great en_ conlageim-ni in undertaking the* duties which fall Io us. It is with pleasure that 1 have received evidence of the im-reasiiig well-being ol the* (look Islands dependencies and of th<* pros. peril', nml welfare ol Iti<‘ people oi Western Samoa. A complete reorganisation ami control of the public railways has been brought into operation, ami has ])i'o_ vided improved facilities and service to the people. Important works and improvements have been put. in hand which, when completed, will greatly

increase the efficiency of the department and service to the public-. ( The Board created under recent i legislation to inquire into ami make I recommendations upon the finance of] discharged soldiers settled on (Im land has nearly completed its. work. and there is reason to believe that the action taken under your authority in pursuance of those recommemlations has enabled many deserving soldiers settlers to realise that they have opportunity in the present and hope for ■iv I'ulure in their enterprise. The conditions develojied in certain areas of ('town lands in tlm North Island by the deterioration of pastures which are gradually becoming replaced by native flora of various kinds, have been investigated by a special committee, which has submitted a valuable report. It is proposed to establish methods of dealing with such lands, and to assist the settlers occupying them to carry out necessary improvements. You will b<. asked to make Ihe necessary financial provision for the purpose. My Alinisters realised that the development of our primary industries demands an extension of the instructional services of the Department of Agriculture. It i< proposed to increase Hie trained staff of ’ the Department in order that information ;il| d advice may be provided directly to prodm-ers through Ihe medium of Grained instructors stationed at various suitable centres throughout the Dominions. '1 In l existing services of the Department have already been the means of rendering material aid to producers, and provide a basis upon which a wider and more comprehensive service can Im established. PROPOSED LEGISLATION. The measures prepared for your consideration during your present session include provision for the amendment of Acts relating to chattels transfer, local bodies loans, stone quarries, property law', land transfers, official appointments and documents, public works, nurses, superannuation, desti. ’ tute persons, forests, workers’ compensation for accidents, and the kauri gum industry. 1 Several important consolidation mca_ ( surcs have been prepared, and will be ' submitted to you. Among them you will find bills consolidating and amending the Coal Mines Act, Lands for Settlement Acts, public rc_ 1 venues acts, Hauraki Plains Act, and 1 Fire Brigades Act. If time allows, * you will also be asked to consider and pass an Act consolidating the Indus. trial Conciliation and Arbitration 1 Acts. 1 ( CHILD WELFARE. A Child Welfare Bill, providing for ' the establishment of Children’s Courts, , for the care of indigent and dclin. j quent children, and limiting the cm_ I ployment of children in various forms I of employment, and for the better administration of child welfare institutions has been prepared, and my Alinisters hope that you may find it possible to pass this into law during the resent session.

Mr S) ><‘.i l<er and (lenl lonieii of the Mouse* of Representatives:— You will be grat ifiiM to find that Die lina m-i.-i 1 operaiions of the Dominion in tin* yr:ii ended 31st Marell last. resulted o' a surplus in the consolidated fund of Cl ,243,51 id. The estimates of public expenditure for the present year have been prepared for your consideration. with due regard to eronomy. The demand for money from th ( > Office oi I Advances 1o Settlers and Advances to ! Workers has been most urgent, and it has been found diflicult to meet the requirements in full. I'nder your an. fhoritv, a loan of seven millions has been recently raised in London on terms which compart* favourably with similar loans raised about the same time by other Dominions and public bodies. Such part of tin* process of that loan as are not urgently require I for the coat inuam-e of public works, including hydro_cleetric extension, will be available for advances to settlers and workers. In addition, the repayments of principal to the , State Advances Department will provide approximately £300,000 in each wear for investment in further advances. My Ministers are aware of tin- difficulty that settlers and workers me experiencing in obtaining money for development and housing purposes. Very careful attention has been given to wavs and means to assist, and pro. posals will be submitted in due course for your consideration. You will be asked specially to consider a bill dealing with the sinking fund of tin* rublie Debt. It is not proposed to limit the provision made under the existing Act for the ultimate extinction of the debt, but experience has shown that the investment of sinking funds in permanent securities is not advantageous as compared with investment in the purchase of such of our own securities as are at a discount on the i London market, and the main object oi | the bill is to invest the annual pay. | rnents .from the Consolidated Fund in ■ ■the form of liquid securities, so far as immediate opportunity does not occur for the purchase, of our own public debt debentures. At the same time, provision is made for a eontin_ | nance of payment to the sinking fund ' of interest on the part of the debt so • extinguished. During and after the war, many holders of land found difficulty in paying their land tax, which by the Statute, is made a first charge upon the land itself. Time for payment was conceded in many cases, and thansfers of property have taken place, the purchasers being ignorant of the existing encumbrance of tax, and this in a considerable number of eases is thought to be unfair. The matter was dealt with in part by the legislation of your last session, but you will be invited to consider further provisions for the relief of the charge of arrears of land tax in cases involving hard, ship to purchasers.