STATE ADVANCES

Northern Advocate, 23 July 1923, Page 5

STATE ADVANCES

' ?r /S?<#MERALttPROtyTION. *

*. ' s't-. '>' i" UMVV. GOVERNMENT'S NEW MEASURE.

AN INTERESTING DIVERSION. »! * : • . ■; ...

(Special to //.Northern Advocate.*■'). Though- the,. State., Bill hud been discussed .at v ljßngth on, the . ,aeeond reading it had no sooner in. thari members, but v., jaouf Liberal , Opposition. feegan to go over jnuchof the. grouiid. There i-s> of course, general unanimity in regard to the Government's proposals,; though both, the • .Liberals And the Labourites have been asking for more. Apparently if New Zealand goes on in the way it is o>ing the settler will evenfcuAlly bo' getting loans at 'full Valuations at one per cent, and the. worker . • will be getting an advance of 105 per cent, to build a palace. The division that took place on Mr R, Maxtor's amendment,, with a, view to .reducing by one per ' cent, money to repay existing mortages under tlie 1922 Act, *Was of more than ordinary interest. Had Mr. J'. A. Nash (PulmerSton) not 'brdkea hi 3 pair with Mr,j E. A. Ranson of Pahiatua (unintentionally) the Government's majority would have been only three. Mr J. MeC. Dickson (Chalmers) was ithe only eve who left, his pa.rty on this division. Notwithstanding a strong protest by Mr Massey that the amendment would strike at the root of the proposal—a ! protest that was emphasised after some ; Remarks by Mr* Dickson- —the latter persisted in following the Liberals and the Labour Party into the lobby -against his own chief. Another point of interest was the fact that Mr J. A. Lee,, the Labour Member for Auckland East, did . not vote. It is understood that lie was so convinced that the Bill is one of-, the most liberal' ever,-introduced that he preferred not to vote for an amendment that might jeopardise its Success, an action strangely in contrast with that adopted by. the Member for Chalmers. The BilT will now go to the Upper House and should soon became law.