THE SESSION.

Northern Advocate, 28 August 1919, Page 2

THE SESSION.

OPENED TO-DAY

GOVERNOR GENERAL'S SPEECH.

NEW NATIONAL ERA

DOMINION'S HIGH STATUS,

(By Telegraph—Special to "Ad-

vocate.")

WELLINGTON, This Day.

Parliamentarians assembled in the House of Representatives at 2.30 p.m. to-day to hear the Governor-Gener-al's speech, of which the following is the full text:—

l Honourable Gentlemen of the Lβ- , gislative Council and Gentlemen of < the House of Representatives.—! lost addressed you at the opening of your fifth session of the present Parlia- \ ment on the 24th October, 1918. Though the victory of the Allies appeared to be assured, only one of our enemies, Bulgaria, had then laid dowri its arms and submitted to accept any terms which the Allies might dictate. From that date onward until the 12th November, 1918, when the news was received of the signing of the armistice with Germany, our enemies in swift succession sued for peace. The invitation of the Imperial Government to this Dominion to send its representatives to the Peace Conference, constituted to determine the terms of peace to be imposed, met with a ready response from both Houses of this Parliament, and my Prime Minister and Minister of Finance left immediately after the closa of your last session to attend that conference and to take a not unimportant part in the deliberations of that great assemblage of statesmen. You will be able to gather from papers wheh will be laid before you that New Zealand, with the otliei great self-governing dominions ol the British Empire, has been accorded a status by the Allied nations which marks the beginning of a new era in our national history. Your present Parliament, the members of the House of Representatives for which were elected in the ycai 1914, a few months after the beginning of the great war, would have, in the ordinary course, expired at the end of the year 1917. Its existence has been prolonged by statute until the end of this year and therefore, with the exception of the occupation of German Samoa and of the despatch of the first Expeditionary Force to Egypt and Gallipoli, all the great events of the war specially affecting New Zealand have taken place during the existence of the present Parliament, which has been called upon to deal with the affairs of the Dominion under unexampled difficulties. By the extension, at the wish *i the .Sovereign, of my own term of i office, I have had the honour of being his Majesty's representative during the whole period of the war, and looking back with you over those years of trial I feel that I may join you in the proud memory that this Dominion has never faltered in its determination to give and continue its support to the utmost of its power to the cause of the Empire, that no promise made by New Zealand to the Imperial Government remains unfulfilled by this Parliament and the Government of this Dominion,'""and 'that our soldiers have by their did courage, discipline, and conduct won a name for themselves and a place for. New Zealand in the annals of the greatest of wars. I am sure you will join with me in the deepest sympathy with those whose sons and relatives have fallen, and with the many who have returned maimed and wounded to their homes. THE PRIME DUTY. My Ministers recognise that the first duty of the Government and Parliament in the new era of peace is , to the men who have fought for us and to the relatives of the men who have fallen in our service. TREATY RATIFICATION. You will be invited at as early a date as possible, by resolution of both Houses, to ratify the treaty with Germany and to accept the mandate of the League of Nations for the government and administration by New Zealand of that part of the Samoan Group which was formerly under German rule. My Ministers are confident that you will not fail to undertake the responsibilities which those provisions of the Treaty of Peace impose upon a mandatory government, and they hope to be able to submit during your present session, in statutory form, the methods proposed for the establishment of a new scheme of Government for those islands under the control of New Zealand. URGENT MATTERS. During the past three years your legislation has been confined to urgent matters arising from the war and to minor amendments of existing general and local statutes. My Ministers recognise that as there remain only four months of the life of the present Parliament, and as your session must therefore be of short duration, the legislation to be submitted for your consideration should bo limited to matters of urgency which cannot be postponed for the consideration of the new Parliament. Although the work of repatriation and training of returned soldiers has proceeded smoothly and Satisfactorily, the measures which you have passed in previous sessions providing for repatriation and for assistance to so? • diers in various occupations, and especially for the acquisition of land for their settlement, have in some aspects proved to fee insufficient, and

amendments of the existing laws on oh«'se subjects have been prepared and will be submitted to you. The Mortgages Extension Act and its amendments expire on the 31st of the prevail,, month and require immediate attention, and you will be asked to pass with as little delay as possible an Expiring Laws Continuance Act, which v/ill extend the operation of th<-- acts for a further period. You will later be requested to consider an Amending and Consolidating Act continuing for a certain period the existing limitations upon the powers of mortgagees and defining a time when these limitations may be safely removed. Bills amending the Government Railways Act ,the Labour Laws, the Workers' Dwellngs Act, the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, the Land Laws, the Mining Act, the Coal Mines Act, the Chattels Transfer Act, tho Post and Telegraph Act, and others have been prepared for your consideration.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEMES. You will doubtless be pleased to learn that the Lake Coleridge -hydroelectric scheme continues to be a success. Steps are being taken to complete those works to enable the extension of the benefits throughout Canteibury. Initiatory steps are being taken in regard to the Managhao and Arapuni schemes.

The purchase of the Horahora plant and transmission lines from the Waihi Gold Mining Company has been satisfactorily completed. The acquisition of the Horahora installation will enable the farmers of the Waikato and surrounding districts and the boroughs and factories to be supplied with electric power as soon as reticulation lines can be erected. AFTERMATH AGITATION.

New Zealand has not entirely escaped the unrest which is prevalent in many other countries of the world, and which is the aftermath of the great war, but I am confident that the good sense and industry of the citizens of the dominion wll more than counteract any attempts to spread the per-, nicious doctrines which have proved, so mischievous in certain European, countries. ] COAL SHORTAGE. • The failure of the supply of coal, has caused my Government much anxiety during the recess, and Ay Ministers trust that you will find time sufficient to enable you to consider fully the position. The shortage has been due to two causes: Firstly the.reduction of the output from New Zealand mines, secondly the difficulty of supplementing that supply by cargoes from Australia. There is now good ground that one of the rea-. sons which has prevented import from Australia may be shortly removed, but the deficiency of shipping exists, and to a certain extent must for the present continue. My Ministers view with anxiety the conditions which leave this dominion dependent* upon sources of supply of coal from other countries.

■' At the present moment the freezing chambers are full of meat, the property of tWe Imperial Government, on account of which millions of money have been paid by that Government, and every obligation of honour and duty requires that while such meat remains in store coal shall be supplied for the efficient anS continuous working of. the freezing machinery. It has been found absolutely necessary to cut down the railway service to an extent which has caused great inconvenience to the public and loss to the industrtes of the dominion. The loss of revenue consequent upon that reduction has been most serious, but that loss constituted by no means the principal ground of the present anxiety of the Government. My Ministers hope that some satisfactory basis of arrangement may be arrived at under which, by increasing the production of existing mines and opening new mines, the Dominion may become self-reliant in th c provision of coal for its industries and its homes. REPATRIATION FUNDS. The sums granted by Parliament for repatriation and lands settlement of our soldiers have been found to be wholly insufficient to meet the requirement's. 'My Ministers have, in anticipation*of your support, expended moneys and entered into obligations largely in excess of the amounts authorised. (My Ministers do not doubt that you will confirm that action and will grant the very large further supply wflrieh is necessary. FINANCE. The estimates for the remaining part of the year, ending on the 31st March next, have been larg-ely prepared under the supervision of the Ministers lately controlling the several departments, and will be submitted to you "by my present Ministers, subject to such revision as is possible within the very close limit of time available to tlliem for the purpose. I com/mend the (matters to which I have referred to your earnest consideration, and I trust that Divine Providence may guide you in your deliberations.