PARLIAMENTARY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 11052, 2 September 1896, Page 6

PARLIAMENTARY.

TPer Press Association.! LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Tuesday, Sept. 1. AFTERNOON SITTING.. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 ii.m. BILLS. The Joint Statutes Revision Committee recommended that the Property Law Consolidation Act Amendment Bill should not be allowed to proceed, but that the Property Law Amendment Bill should be allowed to proceed, with amendments. The report of the Committee on the Wesleyan Methodist Church Property '.trust Act, 1887, Further Amendment Bill was agreed to ■without debate. THIRD READINGS. The Married Persons Summary Separation Bill, Dunedin- Garrison Hall Trustees Empowering Act : Amendment : Bill, and. Infant Life Protection Bill wore read .t third time and'passed. - ' " ASIATIC; IM-MIORATION. , The Asiatic Restriction Bill (N0,..2) was: further considered in committee. ’ In Clause Jfi the Hon If. Williams. moved to,', allow- Chinese. qnimsters or teachers of the Christian religion, duly accredited to the satisfaction of the Colonial Secretary, to become naturalised. The clause was amended as suggested. The Hon C. C. Bowen moved to add a provision to the same clause that the statute should not apply to any Chinese who, prior to Sept. 1, 1896, had applied to the Colonial Secretary to be naturalised. This was agreed to. In the exempting clause iho Hon H. Williams yioved to exempt from the whole operation of (lie Bill duly accredited ministers and teachers of the Christian religion. This v. T as agreed to. The Hon S. E. Shrimski moved to strike out the sub-section providing that letters of naturalisation issued under the Aliens Act Amendment Aot, 1892, should bear a photograph of the applicant for naturalisation or an impress of his thumb, or should be otherwise marked to insure his identification. On a division the sub-section was struck out by 16 to 14. Two new clauses providing machinery in cases where shipowners have made default were added on the motion of the Minister of Education. The Hon S. E. Shrimski moved that the ruling of the Speaker should be taken as to whether the danse fixing the poll tax at 9100 was a money danse. The motion was agreed to, and progress reported accordingly. The Speaker thereupon ruled that the clause was a money clause, which 1 the Council had no power to alter. PHOTOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT. The Hon G. Jones moved the second reading of the Photographic Copyright Bill. After discussion the second reading was agreed to on the voicesi CANTERBURY COLLEGE. The Canterbury College Bill was read a second time. At o p.m. the Council adjourned. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tuesday, Sept. 1. AFTERNOON SITTING. The House met at 2.30 p.m. THE BANKING INQUIRY. Mr Graham moved, without notice, that a further extension of time of twenty-one days should be given to the Banking Committee to bring up its report. Mr G. Hutchison moved an addition—- “ And that the Committee have leave to sit while the House is sitting.” He said that unless this were agreed to, it would be impossible for the Committee to report this session.

Mr G. J. Smith opposed both motion and amendment. He said that the Committee had already had two extensions of time, and had not yet finished with two witnesses. He thought it : time that the Committee was disc jiyr - it was evident that nothing . ’■ f rnm it. Mr Earnshaw sr. f %0' ,; .2 ! A. the amendment.

The Hon E„ J. Sbddon supported Mr Graham’s motion, and said that it was carried by the Committee that morning unanimously. He held that there was no necessity for the Committee to sit whilst the House was sitting, as already the most important evidence had been taken, and the remainder should not occupy very much time. His opinion was that, under ordinary circumstances, there was no reason why the Committee should not bring up its report in three weeks. It was very undesirable for Ministers and leading members of the House to be absent from the House whilst it was sitting, especially as there was no necessity for it.

Mr T. Mackenzie said it was well known that Mr Seddon was blocking the business of the Committee. He should vote against the motion, because he thought the whole inquiry was a farce, but lie should also oppose the amendment.

Mr G. W. Russell said that if the Banking Committee were discharged now the House would he stultifying itself, but everyone must be struck with the time wasted by that Committee, and the latitude that was allowed members of it. He held that the same rule should be extended to the Committee as to the House itself.

Mr Bell urged that if the Committee were discharged now the House would support the Government in preventing an inquiry into what led to the purchase of the Colonial Bank and subsequent events, which was what the House wanted to know.

Mr Montgomery held that it was very desirable that the Committee should report before the end of the session, and he should supjiort the motion.

The Hon J. M’Kenzie denied that the proceedings of this Committee were a farce, and the colony would not say it was a farce. People wanted to know why four millions of money were written off the bank books. (Mr Growther: “We bad nothing to do with it,”) Well, the people of the colony had something to do with it. He held that the inquiry bad now reached such a stage that the House should adjourn for two or three days, in order to allow the Committee to investigate matters thoroughly. They had got now a large amount of important evidence, and the House would find it a valuable document. It would be absurd, therefore, to stop the inquiry now, and the Government courted the fullest inquiry. What the colony wanted to know was how the Bank of New Zealand got into trouble, why the colony had to give a guarantee to the bank, and whether the purchase of the Colonial Bank was or was not a good thing for the colony. Mr Graham said that in moving the motion he was doing his duty in conveying the unanimous wish of the Committee to the House. He asserted that when the report came down the House would admit that most valuable information had been elicited by the Committee which had not been published by the newspapers, and he denied that the inquiry was a farce. Mr Buddo supported the motion.

Dr Newman hoped that in the interests of the bank and the country they would have a report from the Committee this session. The Minister of Lands had referred to the adjournment of the House, and he (Dr •Newman) hoped that the House would adjourn for a week in order that the Committee might sit continuously and bring up its report, and so put an end to the matter. Mr R. Thompson said that the bank inquiry was looked on by the outside public as a screaming farce, and every letter he got from his constituents referred te it as a farce. He hoped, however, that an extension of time would be granted, so that the Committee would bring down its report. Mr Hogg said that , the object of the inquiry was a most important one, and he denied that it was a farce. He supported the motion as a reasonable one. Mr Collins supported the motion, but suggested that the Premier and Mr Hutchison should withdraw from the Com-

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mittee, as those two honourable gentlemen monopolised all the time at the bank inquiry.

After further discussion, Mr G. Hutchison’s amendment was lost by 36 to 23, and Mr Graham’s motion was carried by 56 to 5. questions. Replying to Mr Buddo, The Hon J. M’Kenzie said that the Government was in communication with the Agent-General respecting the proposal before the English Parliament to make compulsory tile marking of all imported meat as “colonial” or. with some other general brand. Replying to Mr W. Hutchison, if, considering the large ,-stake which the colony holds in the Bank of New Zealand, the Government cannot intervene to put a stop to the public scandal of suing for calls from shareholders who have,not the means .of .paying these calls, • • , v , . The Hon. E. J. Seddon said /that ho one regretted 'more than he did ,that any person in-poor circumstances should, bo compelled to pay (calls, of this kind. .If anything,: were ; done' to Beirut them]. ,fhey .would. haye; a good • many persons; plQadi'p'g] poqi"..cireuinslances, and as . the colony was interested it was , a matter for the colonists. The Government could not, of course, interfere in matters of detail in the management of the Bank of New Zealand. Replying to Mr Tanner, The Hon A. J. Cadman said that a Bill for the classification of railway employes was drafted, and he hoped to bring it down shortly. The House rose at 5.30 p.m. EVENING SITTING. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. COMMITTEE OP SUPPLY. The House went into Committee of Supply for further consideration of the estimates. Education Department—94oß,7ss. A lengthy discussion arose over the manner in which truant officers • performed their duties. The Hon W. Hall-Jones said that he had no objection to the police acting as truant officers, but they could not be under the control of boards of education. Several members urged that the police should ’be instructed to act as truant officers, especially in country districts. The Hon T, Thompson read regulation E on the subject, and said that the police were instructed to assist where possible as truant inspectors and to enforce the compulsory clauses of the Act. After two hours’ general discussion on the truant question and on educational reserves, Ac., the Hon W, Hall-Jones asked the Committee to pass the educational vote and proceed to other classes in the Estimates. Several members advocated during the debate that the educational reserves should be nationalised and placed under the control of the Minister of Lands, and others strongly opposed it. The vote for public schools finally passed without alteration. Native school's, 916,120. Passed. Industrial schools, 99947, Passed. . School for deaf mutes, 93002. Passed. Technical instruction, 92000. Passed. Lunatic asylums, 930,736. Considerable discussion ensued on a vote for 9200 to replace cattle found to be suffering from tuberculosis on the State farm, and a vote of 98500 for necessaries. Mr Buchanan contended that the latter vote was excessive, especially as no details were given to the committee. The Hon W. Hall-Jones justified the votes as being only reasonable. Mr M’Lachlan moved that 9200 should be struck off the salary of the Inspector of Hospitals and Charitable Aid. He thought 91200 too high a salary for this officer. The Hon W. Hall-Jones said'that Dr M’Gregor had had a life appointment at the .Otago University, and his present eceeptedby him on condition that he received this salary. Dr M’Gregor was a very efficient officer, and he hoped that the vote would not be reduced by the committee. Lost by 35 to 12. Mr Pirani at 12.50 a.m. moved that progress should be reported. Lost by 30 to 16. Mr G. W. Eussell moved to reduce the salary of the resident medical superintendent at Christchurch, 9600, by 9100. He said that the worst institution in the colony, so far as sweating was concerned, was the Sunnyside Asylum at Christchurch. He instanced several alleged cases of overwork inflicted on patients at the asylum and asked the House whether it was a proper thing for a lunatic to be in charge of the boilers used for pumping water for the asylum. [Left sitting.]