AFTERNOON SITTING.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 142, 14 June 1909, Page 5

AFTERNOON SITTING.

The House resumed at 2.80 p.m

Mr RUSSELL (Avon) continued the debate dn the Address-in-Reply. He opposed the amendment, but acknowledged the support the Government had received from the Opposition and the press in connection with the "Dreadnought" offer. It was impossible for New Zealand to defend herself: she must rely on the British Navy. He was not in favour of giving the Prime Minister carte blanche at the Conference. Compulsory training was neither desirable nor necessary in the Dominion. The first essential in connection Avith defence was to have one impregnable port; in the second place we should have naval volunteers and rifle clubs, the latter to be provided with free rifles and ammunition. There should also be two ammunition factories in the Dominion. Mr THOMSON (Dunedin North) was disappointed at the amount of irrelevant matter introduced into the debate. He saw no reason for losing the time _of Parliament during the Prime Minister's absence. He suggested as a suitable title for Sir Joseph Ward "Lord Bluff, of Awarua." (Laughter.) Mr Guthrie supported the amendment; Messrs Clark, Anderson and Pearce opposed the amendment. Mr McLAREN (Wellington East) said that the burden of Empire rested on the shoulders of the toiling masses. __ The problem would never be solved till social conditions were reformed and justice done to the poorest classes. (Hear, hear.) Touching the question of unemployment, he did not blame the Government for the present distress. He had read reports from various districts in the Dominion giving information as to unemployed. He criticised the Government method of assisting immigration. Mr MALCOLM (Clutha) went.over the points in Mr McLaren's speech. He declared that the latter was ignorant of the land question. The members of the Opposition were not in favour of land monopoly: The demand for the leasehold by city Members was actuated by mean greed. Mr Malcolm condemned the extravagance of the Government in connection with the opening of the Public Trust Office at a time when public servants were being dismissed by the score. • During Mr Malcolm's speech, Mr MASSEY said: Sir Harry Atkinson had nothing to do with the position leading up to the retrenchments of 1878. . The Hon. T. MACKENZIE interjected: Absolutely false. Mr MASSEY demanded the withdrawal of the words, which was made. The House adjourned at 5.30 p.m.