PARLIAMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 17 September 1908, Page 1

PARLIAMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

[Usitbd t*___Eß3 Association. j SUMMARY OF BUSINESS. ' HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVES. WELLINGTON, Wednes. The House met at 2.30. Moet of the afternoon was taken up in replies to questions, Mr J. A. Millar, Minister of Labour, moved the committal of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. Bill. Ho said the question which the bill dealt nith embodied the most difficult problem of the present time, and a problem of world-wide application. We nad had some years' experience of arbitration, and though many said it was an absolute failure, the . experience of other countries showed it had been a success. Though some people might create discontent, with a view to upsetting the "present system, the, people of ,N«# Zealand were determined that it should be maintained. tfhe recent dissatisfaction with the Court had been due to the faot that wages had not been increased as muoh as was wanted,, but the Court could not go on increasing wages indefinitely, and the wot'ters •must be told so candidly: The House rose at b3O p.JA The House resumed it 7.30 p.m. " Mr Millar, continuing his speech, said the workers^complained that the increased wages received "were valueless, as •they were absorbed by the ' increased cost of living. Did they, he asked, suppose the employer: would bear all the cost of higher wages? Nowhere in the world would they?'find sucli doctrine as that obtaining in practical life. The cost of higher wages must be passed on, and workers . and consumers must bear their share.- He' denied that the remedy, as was asserted, lay in increasing the tariff, because to increase the tariff was to. handicap onr imports. The limit of anything that- could •be done in the way of increasing wages depended upon the cost of our products, and' the price we could sell them at in other countries. Our tariff was deeigfjed to help local industries" to go on. If -'v&' increased wages we merely ; helped the imported article to come in, which meant a decline of onr industriesY It was, thenfore, necessary to evolve ' some machinery that would bring abont v improvement in tho relations' "frtfag between capital and 'labour. The ex■.istins machinery had proved. clearly ineffective in the past two years. It waa proposed to abolish Conciliation Boards. This was objected to by some, but ho could show good season why tbey should be abolished. The Boards were intended to conciliate, hut instead they bad become the law courts, in which the parties fought one another. He de-' nied that the Willis blot was responsible, but rather the blame lay at the door of oertain leaders bf unions, who had become seized of the idea- that union representatives -should always fisrht. and so he said if we wanted conciliation we must provide machinery to obtain it. There seamed som© who were unable to hold office without' causing trouble — (hear, hear) — and he could tell these men they would be thought more of by their unions if they created less trouble. He 1 had letters from unions to show they did not approve of these agitators. .It. waa. af act that the number of disputes settled by boards was not in proportion • .to the money snent. Nobody objected- to the expense, continued Mr Millar, if industrial peace was obtained — (hear, heaT) — but it had not been obtained, and recent decisions of the Court had failed. He had prepared a return which showed that durine the past 14 years years strikes in this country had involved a loss of £17.767 to the Workers and to the employers £15,687. To these totals must be added £5000 in round figures for penalties. This showed the value of producing real conciliation. He had honed to have the help of the workers in framing the Bill,, but practically no help by suggestions had come from them. He desired to tell the unions frankly that no: Parliament would ever eive unions such powers .as would enable them to prevent any man from earning a livelihood in this country. He reeretted that articles which bad appeared in the public press had not tended in the- direction . of industrial peace. He devoted the rest of his BDeech to an exposition of the Bill. • • Thursday. In the House, after 'the Telegraph Office closed. Dr Chappie, continuing the debate on the Arbitration Act Amendment Bill, regretted that labour leaders had maligned the Minister, whose earn, est exoosition of the question that night snowed fcftatr nt? bad lire- bwt* interests ol labour ai heart. Mr Hogg regretted that magistrates weie superseded by a. single commissioner. • Mr Maader said- that eyeryone would help to. pnt a workable measure on the statutes 'book. Much 'more was to be hoped from voluntary conciliation than from compulsory arbitration. Mr Stall-worthy supported the measure 6s amended by the committee, and the debate was adjourned at 12.44 a.m.