HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 15 November 1913, Page 4

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND. Mr Alton moved the third reading of the Bank of New Zealand Bill. Mr Buddo complained that the House- < had not assisted them to control th» enormous power of tha Bank. He chide'd . the Government with merely adopting the policy of the directors. Dr. Newman put in a plea for the clerks. He asked the Prime Minister to, enquire into the conditions under-. i which they worked. , Mr H. 6. Ell, denounced the regulation in force in the Bank prohibitinganyone in the service of the Bank from marrying unless he is in receipt of £200 per annum. , Sir J. Ward said that the Househad confirmed, in almost every parti.cular, what the Government desired to do in connection with the Bank. He would leave the mode of proposals to the shareholders to buy them out. Had negotiations been possible he> w.ould have been prepared to give thY shareholders £2,000,000 to acquire their interests. Mr W. A. Veitch declared that, the service conditions at present in forcein the Bank were not such as should' exist under the circumstances of the Bank and the country. The Hon. J. Allen,- in reply, said : that he was not prepared to make any proposal to buy out the shareholders) in the Bank, because the business of the Bank and the business of the lending departments of the State were \ritally different: There was also a danger of political influence creeping-' into the management of the Bank if it was owned by -the State, and that' could only results in disaster. So> far. as the staff •'"was concerned, hewould discuss the position, with the Board and see what could be done. The third reading of the Bill was. then carried. ■ • # ■ POST AND TELEGRAPH ,BILL. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes moved th» third reading of the Post and Telegraph Amendment Bill. Sir Joseph- Ward said that they were now reaping the fruits of the removal of officers of this important department from Ministerial and Parliamentary control, and there was grave discontent in the service at the fact that they now had no means of voicing their grievances.