IN PARLIAMENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 21 October 1937, Page 2

IN PARLIAMENT

JOTTINGS FROM THE HOUSE. TRADING BANKS’ FATE. A reply that tlio matter had not been considered by the Government was given by the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, in the House of Representatives yesterday to Mr H..S. S. Kyle, who asked when the decision of the Government regarding the taking over of the trading banks would be made public, and whether the Prime Minister would give the trading banks sufficient time to enable them to make representations to the Government as regards the winding-up of their New Zealand business. WAIRARAPA RAILWAY. Reports on tho suggested deviation of the Wairarapa railway lino are at present under consideration by the Government, according to a statement made by the Minister of Public Works (Hon. R. Semple). The question was raised by Messrs J. Poke its on and B. Roberts, who pointed out the handicap imposed upon the Wairarapa district by the inadequacy of the present transport facilities over the Rimutaka Hill. BUTTER BOX IMPORTS. The Minister of Agriculture (Hon. W. Lee Martin) replied to a question by Mr A. S. Richards asking whether it was necessary to allow the importation of 600,000 butter boxes into New Zealand, by stating that it was imperative that these boxes should be imported to meet the needs of the dairy industry. The Government, however, had arranged with saw-millers and box manufacturers to use every possible means to provide for the dairy industry’s future requirements. CONTROL OF ALSATIANS. Similar to the measure which has been passed on tlu-ee successive occasions by the Legislative Council, tho Alsatian Dog Bill introduced by Hon. C. J. Carrington (Auckland), making it an offence to keep an Alsatian dog unless registered under the Act at a fee of £2, giving any local authority power to prohibit such dogs in its district and providing that Alsatian dogs kept in a public place shall be muzzled, was read the second time, by the Council yesterday. Mr Carrington said the measure differed in one respect from those previously passed. The fee payable under the Act for the registration of the dog had been reduced from £5 to £2. The reason for that was that it was felt in another place that the original fee was too restrictive. HOUSING BALLOTS. The Minister of Housing (Hon. W. Nash), replying to a question by Mr R. A. Wright as to whether a ballot was held to determine who should occupy the State houses, stated that such a ballot was held in connection with the houses at Miramar, Lower Hutt and Johnsonville and applications that came after the closing date of the ballot were not received. WORKSHOP CONDITIONS. In answer to a question by Mr H. G. Dickie, the Minister of Railways (Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said he had no knowledge of any unrest in the railway workshops nor of any promise to increase the hourly rates of wages of employees there by 2)d an hour. SURVEYORS’ DUTIES. Replying to a question by Mr J. A. Roy as to whether he would take steps to have his surveyors instructed that, before going on private property to survey, they should notify the owners of the property, the Minister of Public. Works (Hon. R. Semple) said that surveyors already had that standing instruction and attention was again being drawn to it. MILLIONS FOR ROADS. “I have had my departmental engineers in co-operation with county engineers engaged in preparing a fiveyear plan for hackhlock roads. I have got all the details before me, and there is roughly about 6500 miles of roading to he carried out in backcountry areas,” stated the Minister of Public Works (Hon. R. Semple). “In some eases, formation work is needed and in others metalling is required. On the present estimates it will cost about £5,000,000 to have that roading programme carried out. We spent just on £1,000,000 last year, and we are spending another £1,000,000 this year. In 1935 the expenditure was about £400,000, hut there was not the same amount of money available then, and the best was done under the circumstances.” PAST EXPENDITURE. Up to 1925 £50,000,000 had been spent on the roading system alone, said Mr Semple. Since 1925 £8,000,000 has been spent on country and hackhlock roads. On the main highways £6,000,000 has been spent _ in that time and on maintenance of highwavs £9,300,000. In tho aggregate £73,000,000 of the public money lias been spent on tho roading system in New Zealand. On railways the total amount of money spent is nearly £63,000,000. TO TAKE THE BLAME? Mr J. Hargest asked what was to he the function of the General Officer Commanding and the staff officers who were continually being sent Home for training. If they were competent it did not seem necessary to have an Army Board also. Tho Minister: We are following the system of Great Britain and other countries of the Empire. Mr Hargest: A lot of money will he spent with no purpose at all. Although the members may be paid officers, there has never yet been a board that did not cost the Government something. Mr S. G. Smith asked whether the Army Board would have power to initiate a real defence scheme, or whether it was merely to take the blame for something the Government did not do.