PARLIAMENT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 234, 15 September 1922, Page 4

PARLIAMENT.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. (Per Press Association.) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Mercantile Law Amendment Bill and tlie Sea Carriage of Goods Bill were referred to Statutes Revision Committee. . Tlie following local bills were read the second time;—Wairau Harbour Board Empowering, Gisborne Harbour Board Enabling Amendment, Whakatane Harbour Amendment. Wairau River District Loan. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. M. J. Savage gave notice of a question asking the Government who. ther it had been the practice to give Jewish civil servants the benefit of the holidays of their race without deduction from their annual leave, and if',o whether it will see that the practice ia not discontinued. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, as Minister 'of Mines, presented the annual report of the Mines Department, mining representatives taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss questions of local policy and requirements. The Minister, in reply, said there were no mine owners who treated their employees so well as the Government did at the State mine, yet he was sorry to say the men did not always reciprocate. He deprecated the practice of holding stop-work meetings as a protest against trivial differences of opinions. That was not the way to settle these questions and he appealed for closer co-operation between the men and the management. Un the question of better housing for miners, he said that as a result of his personal insnection he hail come to the conclusion that all the blame could not be shouldered on to the companies. In some instances the men did not show much co-operation or gratitude. ALIEN ENEMIES. The Hon. W. D. Stewart moved the second reading of the War Disabilities Removal Bill. He explained that during the war there grew up of necessity a whole forest of regulations relating to alien enemies. The definition of alien enemy had a wide application and many naturalised persons came within it, much to their annoyance. The right of naturalisation would still be reserved by the State and no person naturalised in some other part of the Empire need necessarily he regarded as naturalised in New Zealand. Those precautions would, he thought, amifly protect the State against undesirable or treacherous persons. , Mr. T. K..Sidey said he did not consider the bill a contentious measure. His feeling was that it was long overdue and should have been, brought down much earlier in the session. The time had undoubtedly come when wo should take this step. Mr. C. E. Statham regretted that the bill was limited to naturalised subjects. He thought it should apply to all Christian Syrians In the Dominion, as they unquestionably were loyal to Britain and had no occasion to lovo Turkey, of which country they were technically subjects. He thought vre had gone' too far in withdrawing the rights of citizenship to persons who were naturalised before the war. Tlie Hon. J. A. Hanan thought the experience of where many trusted Germans turned traitor towards the country which befriended them, quite warranted us in placing restrictions on naturalised subjects, especially Germans. The legislation was evidence of a remarkable change in public opinion. A few s'ears ago no one would have dreamed that such a bill would be introduced so soon after the war. His opinion was that no German should be allowed to own an acre of land in New Zealand. and he thought we should exercise caution in passing such legislation as this. Air. J. McCombs urged that the time had arrived when we should remove all war disabilities and restore the vote to conscientious objectors. Mr. G. R. Sykes protested against any concession being granted to conscientious objectors, who felt they were safer in gaol than at the front. The hill was supported by Messrs. G Mitchell, V. H. Potter P- Frasn, L. M. Isitt, and H. E. Holland, the latter of whom made a strong appeal for the removal of alt war restrictions, especially on conscientious objectors. Mr Massey said he believed it was the duty of eyery Christian to defend his country. Christ said. “I come not with peace but with the sword,” which meant that while were not justified in attacking others we were bound to defend our own country, and the man who refusgU to defend his country was not doing his duty. If all our people objected to defend the Empire. New Zealand would be under the heel of despptism to-day. He would sooner see it under the waters of the Pacific than that should happen. As to the objection that British women who married alien enemies became alien subjects. it was the law of Britain prior to die war and of almost every country that the nationality of the husband became the nationality of the wife, and he believed it was so still. He had not heard that it had been altered. At any rate, there was good reason for it during the war. _He had no wish to be vindictive, but as chairman of the Atrocities Committee at the Peace Conference he could not forget the horrors they heard described tnere as the work of the Germans, and he thought the meu guilty of them ought to have been punished. The Kaiser, who was largely responsible for the war. should have been punished. Unfortunately he was not. However, he thought we were safe in going as far as the bill proposed to go, and he urged the House to pass it. After the supper adjournment the Minister replied, and the bill was read the second time. OTHER BUSINESS. The House went into committee on the Insurance Companies Deposit Amendment Bill No. 2, which, being reported without amendment, was read the third time and passed. Tlie Hon. G. J. Anderson moved the second reading of the Weights and Measures Amendment Bill, which, he said, was phrely a machinery measure which provided for a change of control of the deportment from tin- Department of Internal Affairs to the Labour Department. After a brief debate tile second reading was agreed to. The House rose at 10.30 p.m.