PARLIAMENTARY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXII, Issue 13574, 21 October 1904, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Thursday, October 20. AFTERNOON~SITTING. The- House met at 2.30 p.m. THE NEWTOWN LICENSES. The Petitions' Committee referred to the Government for favourable consideration petitions from Newtown licensees praying for compensation on account of their licenses having been withheld by the Licensing Committed. SECONDARY EDUCATION. The Education Committee, reporting en secondary education, recommended that any pupil attending a. school in charge of a sole teacher, who attains a. certificate) of proficiency, though over .the age of fourteen years, might be specially recommended for a free place subject to the. approval of 'the governing bodyj and that as the regulation with regard to free admissions has not been generally observed, no alteration in the age limit should be mads until a fair trial has been given to the present system. "Mr T. Mackenzie- urged that the age limit operated very unfavourably in remote districts where the facilities for receiving education were not so great as in the towns. The: fixing of an age limit also tended to a system of cram, and acted prejudicially to the health of the children. He moved that the report should be referred back to the committee in order that it might deal with the question of the age limit. After a. long discussion Mr Mackenzie's motion was lost by 27 to 18, and the report wa-s referred to the Government for favourable consideration. EDUCATION ACT COMPILATION. When the Education Act Compilation; Bill came up for its third reading Mr Graham pointed out that the compilation was not quite accurate. In clause 56 the pre- . sent Bill provided that the Boards' accounts shall be audited by "an auditor appointed by the Governor," whereas the Public Revenues' Act provided that they shall be audited by the Audit Office. The Minister of Public Works moved to recommit the Bill to enable 1 the Audit Office to be inserted in the clausa. This was agreed to. The Bill was recommitted and the proposed amendment made, together with the addition of a new clause proposed by the Premier providing that all the provisions in the Bill shall be subject to any provision' contained in the Acts from which it was compiled. The Bill was their read a third time and passed. SHOPS AND OFFICES. The adjourned debate on the Shops and Offices Bill was resumed by Mr Graham, who pointed out that the employees of wholesale warehouses were already object-, ing to be included in the Bill on the ground that they are at present under better conditions than they would ba'if they were included in the provisions of the" Bill. He hoped that the clause would be amended before the measure became law, Mr Dvrthie said: that neither the House nor the country had expressed any desire for the amendments proposed to.the existing law. He would be very glad to see j a Saturday half-holiday, but it was impos- I siblo to conserve the interests of everybody, and after all it was the duty ot shopkeepers to consider the interests of the general public. Mr Houston declared that this stirring up of strife by the Labour Department was causing a good deal of unrest in the colony. Ee objected to the Bill being made to apply to country districts. Mr -Mander urged that each community should have the rigrtfc to choose that day for the half-holiday which suited it best. Mr Smith said that he had voted against the Satin-day half-holiday referendum in accordance with the desires of his constituents. _ , The debate was interrupted by the 5.50; p.m. adjournment. EVENING SITTING. j The Houss resumed at 7.30 p.m. Continuing the debate on the third rending of the Shops and Offices Bill, Mr j Lawrv spoke strongly in support of a universal Saturday half-holiday, but urged that the propsr thing for the House to do was to pass a law to that effect, and not shelve its responsibility by referring the question to a referendumMr Symes, referring, to the Saturday' half-holiday proposals, said that the legislation was" not brought down in the interests of the labouring classes, bub in the interests of agitators, of inspectors, and of the Labour Department, for the purpose of creating billets, and in order to keep the country in a state of unrest. He did not believe" that any more labour legislation was wanted, and if they gave it a rest for a few years, it would be a good thing for the colony. Mr A. L. D. Fraser warned the workers in'the four centres that if they listened to the clarion-throated agitators that were occasionally heard in politics and at street comers, 'they were simply tolling the bell that vould bo their death knell, for the country and the respectable section of the towns "would rise up, and the result must inevitably be that the clock of the Labour Party's prosperity would be put back, if not for all time, for many years. Mr Millar joined issue with Mr Symes, when he said that it was time to give labour legislation a rest. It was. high time that country legislation bad a rest. They had had quite enough of it for some years. The colony had been pledged for some seven millions of money, nob for the interests of the towns! but for the country, and had a single Labour member, La asked, ever opposed it? they to eit idly by.

and soe their constituents taxed,year after year for 18,000 Crown tenants, while threeparts of the population had no legislation passed in their interests. They had petitions from 30,000 people asking for fchia legislation, and they were told that it was wrong by the representatives of 18,000 Grown tenants. If "that sorb of thing wont on, there would soon bo a town v. country party in the House, and if that did hap. pen, there would not be much legislation passed, either, for town or country. The Premier; in replying, said it wee inconsistent oil the part of members to oppose the referendum on the'Saturday halfholiday, when they were in favour of th-s referendum in regard to licenses. Justifying the.new proposals in the Bill, he expressed the opinion that with the shorter Hours the employers would get even better work from their employees. The Bill had been generally approved, and was in ac--cordancs with public opinion. He added that within three months of Saturday being made the statutory half-holiday (if that, should occur), the people would conform to it, and he believed they would be better satisfied than under the existing conditions. He believed the time was coining when they would have a universal Saturday ' half-holiday. The, Bill then passed its final stages bvi 61 votes to 3. NATIVE LAND DUTY. The Premier moved the second reading oj the Native Land Duty Abolition Bill. Ha said that it was a matter of abstract justice that this Bill should ba passed, seeing that Native lands were- now to be mode subject to full rates. The necessity for the duty had passed. The amount'involved was from £6OOO to £BOOO a year. * Agreed to on the voices LOANS BILL. The Premier moved the second reading of the New Zealand Loans Bill, which, he explained, would do away with the necessity of having in every 'loan Bill "a large'amount of machinery clauses. That machinery was provided in tuie Bill, and it would apply to all future loan Bills. Mr James Allen said diat he regretted that the Bill had not been brought down when the House had full time'to consider it. The chief objection to the Bill was tha clause that provided that the full amount of a loan could be raised, apart altogether from expenses. That was an entirely wrong principle, and would not operate to the good credit of the colony. It was giving a power to increase the debt beyond ' the amount mentioned in the authorisation, and our credit, did not stand so higli ati Home that we could afford to play with it in this way. He also objected to Clauso.16. which extended the power of the Treasurer to raise money in anticipation of debentures becoming due. Sir Joseph Ward said .that as to tha clause providing for the raising of the exact amount of a loan, irrespective of expenses, after the loan had been raised to . the amount authorised, the cost of raising would be ascertained, and the loan agents would raise scrip to the amount of those, charges. The proposal was made in good faith, so that the Government should ba sure of getting the face value of the loan authorised. He pointed oat that the more the Colonial Treasurer was tied up, tha more the money lenders could force high rates of interest or discount from him, and powers similar to those proposed in this Bill were held by the Colonial Treasurers in several other countries having large financial operations. The rata of interest would require to be put in each loan Bill, and would have no place in this Bill. IJ« was, he urged, not desirable that they should draw the strings too tightly round the Colonial Treasurer, and strangle his efforts to do the best he could for the colony. .' After a lengthy debate the second readjng was agreed to on the voices. SECOND READINGS. Sir Joseph' Ward moved the second read' Jng of the Weights and Measures Act _ Amendment Bill. Agreed to on the voices. The Premier moved the second reading of the Carrington Compensation Award Satisfaction Bill. . > Agreed to on "the voices. The University Degrees Bill was rea4 a second time on the voices. Sir Joseph Ward moved the second reading of the Public Health, Act Amendment Bill, which is designed to remedy t technical defect in the existing law. Agreed to on the voices. Sir Joseph Ward moved the second readi ing of the Counties Act Amendtaent Bill. whioh is designed! to remove doubt as tti the powers of new counties to borrow' on overdraft during the first year of their txistence. , Agreed to "on the voices. IN COMMITTEE. The Native Land Duty Abolition Bill passed through committee without amendment. The New Zealand Loons Bill was committed. At clause 4, enabling the loan to b? raised in whole or in a part from a Government department, Mr James Allen moved an amendment to provide that tha clause should not override the provisions in any Act limiting the amount which a Government department may invest m Government securities. Lost by 29 to 15. (Left sitting at 2 a.m.)