THE SPEECH.

Northern Advocate, 25 June 1920, Page 5

THE SPEECH.

GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SUM-

MARY

OFFICIAL OPENING

OF TWENTIETH PARLIAMENT.

(Per Special Telegram.)

WELLINGTON. This Day.

. At 2.P.0 this afternoon the GovernorGeneral, His Excellency the Rt. Hon. Artthur William de Bvit-i Savile, Earl of Liverpool, declared Parliament open ir. the customary way, his Speech being f.s follows: —

PRINCE OF WALES' VISIT

Hon. Gentlemen of Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House of Re-

presentatives: —

I am glad that the extension of my term of office as Governor-General has enabled me to meet you at the opening of the first session of the Twentieth Parliament of New Zealand.

The visit of H..R.H. tho Prince of Wales to the Dominion has happily jroved an occasion for a demonstration of loyalty to the Grown and of personal regard for the Soverjign and the Royal Family from the whole people of the Dominion. My Minister? desire to record that while arrangements were necessarily made for gatherings of school children at ever}' point of his Royal Highness' stay, no such arrangements were made for the assembly of tho people generally. The great and orderly r.ssemblics of the people at every place were entirely spontaneous, and their welcome everywhere to the Heir to the Throne was marked by an enthusiasm far beyond anything we are accustomed to witness in New Zealand. The Maori gathering at Rotorua afforded an equal opportunity for our fellow subjects of the native race to again demonstrate their loyalty to the Sovereign in a manner consonant with their customsand usages, and to repeat to the Prince the Loyal welcome to which they had given expression on the occasion of the visit of the present King nineteen years ago.

Much of the undoubted success of the visit is due to His Royal Highness himself. From the moment of his fbst landing at Auckland his response to the great popular welcome won for him a personal regard and affection which will continue during the lives of all those who were privileged to meet him. Our soldiers, whom he claimed as his comi'ades of tbe war, the crowds of children whom he delighted by his unaffected kindness and consideration to them, si ml the whole people whose loyal greetings' he never failed to recognise will long bear iv mind the visit which he himself has done so much tomake memorable.

The common allegiance of all paifts of tho Empire to the Crown is the strong bond of the union of its peoples, and it is fortunate that his Majesty and his heir have won a personal regard and respect through and by means of which our loyalty is strengthened- and the union of the Empire cemented and as-

suned

WAR AFTERMATH.

Mr Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:

The conditions created by the war continue to give- great anxiety to my Government and demand your careful consideration. Many of those conditions it is beyond our power to remedy. We cannot, to any appreciable oxtcat, control the landed prices of imported articles or the rates of foreign exchange, nor can we materially reduce our public debt or the burden of the greatly increased interest and sinking fund which drains our revenue and compels the levy of taxation at rates above anything in our experience before the war. Nor can we obtain from the English money market the loan moneys to meet the demands for works of all kinds, many of which are absolutely necessary.

The Government is faced with demands for expenditure far beyond anything which the tbvenues of the Consolidated Fund can meet, and our only resource is to borrow within our own borders. Each section of tho public regards as most urgent the class of work in which it is especially interested. SOLDIERS' REPATRIATION. The requirements >f our returned soldiers must be met lo the utmost limit of possible finance, but the acquisition of land for their settlement alone necessitates provision of moneys many times in excess of the normal borrowing in years when the London market was open. The singular succe&s of the Repatriation Boards in establishing our soldiers in business occupations and the honourable performance by the men of thojr engagements for the refund of loans in regular instalments, encourages my Ministers to nnticipate larger provision for the purposes of that class of repatriation advances. EXTRA EXPENDITURE. The demands for schools, housing, the extension.of telegraphs aud post offices, and the installation of works to provide electrical power are only some examples of the pressure of public opinion for an increase of expenditure of capital moneys. The revenues can barely provide tho great increases in salaries, wages, and charges which cannot be avoided. Tt may justly be contended that increases in fhe salaries, wages, and charges of services such as the Railways and the Post and Telegraph Department may be provided by increases in the charges upon those who use these services, but it must be remembered that all such increases involve corresponding increments throughout the whole Public Services, which can only be met out of general taxation.

I VITAL DISABILITIES. It is necessary to bear in mind that in the pcrsent year other conditions over which the Dominion has no control may gravely affect the receipts of the people from our industries anil indirectly aifect our revenue. The deficiency of ships, combined with the congestion in British ports, has caused much delay and inconvenience which cannot be obvi-ited by any direct eit'ort of our own, though no opportunity has boon lost of imp"essing the position upon Imperial Ministers, and at the same time the excess of supply of our moat in Great Britain above the demand has been the cause of the gravest

anxiety to my Ministers,

On the other hand, the supply of wheat for the world 'r- use is computed to be considerably short of the requirements, and my Government has found it necessary to make provision for increased production of wheat in New Zealand by guaranties of prices to the farmer, and at the same time to prevent a substantial rise in the cost of bread by a large subvention to the millers. FINANCIAL PROPOSALS. Yon will have before you in the financial proposals of the Budget au indication of tho measures which my Ministers propose, to enable the Dominion to meet the difficulties here briefly outlined. In many respects rhey are such as to demand fhe co-operarion of all parties in Parliament ,and my Ministers hope to have the benfiet of the advice of your House in the effort 'o meet th,? emergency and overcome the difficulties. TRADE CONTROL. Hon. Gentlemen of tho Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The legislation of the two preeeeding sessions of Parliament relating to the control of trade and the prevention of undue profits has proved in some respects to be defective, and proposals will be laid before you amendments of the law in this respect.

| Though there is substantial evidence I that further abnormal increases of prices [ have been prevented by the existing i legislation, and that under its influence trade is gradually becoming established jon a moro reasonabl > basis, there are strong indications that if the existing 1 prosperity is to be continued extravagance must be avoided and industry and economy .must be encouraged by every possible moans. THE UPPER HOUSE. The date for the coming into operation of the Legislative Council Act, 1914, has been fixed by proclamation since the last session of Parliament. The Act will come 'into force on the 31st January, 1921, and you will, in accordance with the promise of my Ministers, have an opportunity oi reconsidering its provisions during your present session, when some amendments will be submitted in the form of a bill by my Government. CONSOLIDATION OF STATUTES. : Since the consolidation of our Statute Law in the year U'ioß, many amendments of the various statutes have been passed. My Ministers think it desirable that compilations of the mono important Acts, especially Ihose relating |to local government; should be effected to enable those interested to have in their hands the whole law on the subject in one Act, hi lieu of the present necessity for correction of the original law by the various a:lending provisions. During the recess ; ampliations of the Municipal Corporations nnd the Counties Act have been prepared, and an opportunity of amendment, of the existing law on both subjects and of extend- | ing the powers of municipal corporations and of county councils is also thereby provided.

NATIVE TRUSTS,

Tho Public Trustee at present has

change of numerous trusts of native lands and moneys in addition to his duties as trustee of ,niblic and private European trust estates. My Ministers consider it desirable that a complete separation of the Native from the European trusts should be effected, and that the Native trusts held by the, Public Trustee and also the trust moneys held by Maori Land Boards should be vested in a special Native Trustee, with a separate board, a bill will be submitted to you with this object, and with the further object of enabling Native trust moneys to be utilised for the benefit of the natives in a manner which is not at present possible under the statutory powers of the publi<:. Trustee. WESTERN SAMOA MANDATE. Under the powers conferred by the mandate of the Trev.ty of Peace with Germany and by your legislation of last session, the Government of Western Samoa has been initiated in succession to. the military rule which has controlled those islands since the occupation by New Zealand troops in the early months of the war. The Orders in Council which have boon issued providing n basis of law for the islands and for their government under New Zealand will be placed before you. VARIOUS BILLS. Bills amending the laws relating to land, education, local government, pensions, taxation, ,undesirable immigration, the public service, and other matters have been prepared or are in course of preparation and will be submitted to you during your present session. INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS. My Ministers invite your serious consideration of methods to obviate the recurrence of industrial unrest. , It ;s becoming apparent that the present provisions of the law for the settlement of industrial disputes are not altogether satisfactory to the unions of workers, who refuse in many instances to adopt tbe settlement propo;??d.

It is the desire of the public and of the Government, M'hi"h holds the public authority, that public employees, whether paid by salary or by wage, should be satisfied as far as it is possible with the conditions ol* their service, and

im most cases of private employment the employers aie equally desirous of the establishment of methods which will enable friendly discussion of the relations of employer and employee, and a better understanding by each party to the dispute of the '.ifficulties of the other. MOKE EMOLUMENT. Mr Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatibes: In accordance with tho resolution passed by your in the last session of the preceding Parliament, proposals will be laid no-fore you for an increase in the payment to members. A bill consolidating the Civil List | will be submitted, tins provision for the payment of minister-.: and members being transferred from the Legislature Act, to be met without further appropriation. It is proposed that the salaries on the Civil List shall not be reducible by taxation or be alienable in any manner. By this means definite sums will be ascertainable as the remuneration of judges, ministers, anl members of Parliament. The effect of the graduation of incomes for taxation purposes adopted since the war has been, in the ease of the judges, to reduce the salaries which are by the Supreme Court Act declared 1c be irreducible during their tenure of efnee. FAREWELL WORDS. Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives r . This will be the last occasion on which I shall have the honour of opening a session of the New Zealand Parliament, and I cannot permit the occasion to pass without expressing my most grateful personal thanks to those who, during the years that I have represented His Majesty in this Dominion, have constituted or who now form part of the two Houses of the Legislature. I have held the office for a longer consecutive period than any of my pre- i decessors, and during that time the Empire has been confronted with the worst war that has even been waged. By the mercy of Providence ihe crisis has been successfully met, and we live once again under the bhvsing.* of peace. | The nation has maintained a united ! front throughout the years of war, and 1 am convinced that in the times which are before us our peoples will surmount their troubles in a like spirit. I assure you that I am leaving the Dominion with the deepest regret. After so long a sojourn among the inhabitants of these islands my close association with them has made me feel one. of them, and when I leave I shall never forget them and the many kindnesses which I and mine have always received at their hands. My earnest prayer is that New Zealand will always emerge triumphant from any difficulties which may beset her, and that her people wilt flourish, remaining ever mindi'ui of the traditions which arc the heritage and birthright of all who live under the British Flag.