PARLIAMENT

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 15 October 1921, Page 7

PARLIAMENT

MOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

LAND AGENTS BILL

(BY TKtEGBAPIJ — VIIESH ASSOCIATION.} WELLINGTON, Oct. Jl4. The House of Hopresentativos met at

2.30 p.m. Keplying to Mr. T. F. Hocktty (Rotorua), the Hon. G. J. Anderson said the Bulphur deposits at llotorua are being reserved for future use. At present they are rather remote, and the sulphur could not easily be got out. Replying to the Hon. J. A. Hanan Mr. W. F. Massey said the rates or interest which local bodies were permitted to pay on loans varied according to individual circumstances. There could not bo any hard and fast rule about it. The following Bills were introduced and read a firfet time: Dominion State Bank Bill No 2 (Mr. Veitch); Hunter Gift for the Settlement of Discharged Soldiers (Hon. I>. H. Guthrie) JVlr. Massey announced that owing to pressure of Parliamentary business he must limit interviews by deputations to Thursdays. The Hon. W Downie Stewart moved the second reading of the Land Agents Bill, which he suggested should fio to the Statutes Revision Committee r 0 - Igarding ite provisions. f f 6, °l th! Bhould hay« »>^n the Land Agents Protection Bill. In previcms years he had endeavoured to protect the public against unscrupulous land agents, but thie Bill protected the land agents against the public, some of the necessary safeguards in former legislation having been eliminated He ' hoped the Statutes Revision Committee , would reject the measure and inako way for a proper Land Agents Bill. '««S lri. n (Wellington North) said he dul not think land agents "full and byo" were a bad lot. but he thought .they should be compelled to put all moneys received by thorn from sales lv ,a lrUßt a ccmmt. He further! f thought that no authority to sell should I have any effect unless that authority i was reduced to writing. *i.Mr* A# Ha"is, (Waitemata) thought aturd^ b p:: d by iand ugeiits -- *uMIVn- Hami|t°n Wallace) thought the B:II more remarkable for what it omitted than for what it contained. li« / co ,to b^ ? aid &hou*d fee ii4o and £10 for branch licenses. A latid agent's cominifision was much too large and ought to be specified in the Bill. Air. D. o. Sullivan (Avon) said there wore about 12.000 commission agents T rl ltln,X J". New -Zealana. and the eitect ofr: their operations was to force up- the values of property to an unreasonable extent. Iteplym:; to the debate, the Minister pointed out that the Bill only aimed at removing anomalies in the present legislation. It nrovided that land agents must prove that they wore authorised to eel! a property before they could sue for commission on its sale. Referrinu to a suggestion that land agency operations might be conducted by a Government departmeni«jthe Minister said he did not look forward to the time when all nrivate services would bo conducted in such a manner arid when practically everyone became a Government. servant. The House rose at 11.18 p.m. till 2.30 p.m? on Tuesday; Hi" *.ou,