ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 16 July 1925, Page 5

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY

DEBATE CONCLUDED

(From Onr Parliamentary Correspondent) WELLINGTON, This Day. When the Address-in-Rep!y debate was resumed last night Air Savage moved ' the following amendment,:—That this House expresses the opinion (1) that all awards of the Arbitration Court should provide _for a wage at least equivalent in purchasing power to the 19H standard, and (2) that wages and salaries in the public service beginning immediately with salaries of £3OO and under, should be restored to at least the pre-war standard, measured in purchasing power. Air Savage said he did not think that could be said to be ari extravagant demand for the amendment and simply asked for the establishment of a wage somewhere approaching a decent standard.

In seconding the amendment Mr McCombs said the cost of living was now 63 per cent, above the 1914 level, and if bonuses were necessary in 1920, they werr equally necessary now. In conclusion Air McCombs said that next to the war the present Prime Minister was the greatest disaster till at this dominion had ever had to put up with. (Laughter.) 1 no Hon. C. J. Parr said the Government did not intend to debate the amendment which already had been before the House ten times during the present Parliament. The second part of the amendment relating to public servants was h?y ry with age. To give effect to it would mean that £1.000.000 would have to' bo found. Sir Jas. Parr contended (hat the Court- had a better opportunity than Parliament to fix the. wages of workers. The amendment meant serious interference with the trades of the country. The Leader of the Opposition (Air Wilford) said lie could not listen to the sophistry of the Alinister in silence. The amendment did not propose to amend the Act nor did it necessarily alter any award. If carried, it would not cost the country one penny. It was simply an expression of whether or not members supported two principles, the amendment could have no legislative effect, and it did not affect any awards. “But it must be a direction surely,” remarked the Prime Minister. Air Wilford : “If it is carried it is a pretty serious direction.'' (Laughter.) Air' Holland said that twice within recent years, the Government had given specific directions to the Arbitration Court. If it was right to give directions to the Court in war time, then surely it was light to do so in time of peace. He did not care whether the matter had been before the House ten or a hundred times, so long as there was an injustice to he remedied. .Members had a perfect right to protest on every occasion, which the forms of the House permitted. The amendment was defeated by 38 votes to 33. PRIAIE MINISTER SPEAKS

The debate still drifted on, and in the early hours of the morning, Mr Coates rose to make his first long speech in the House since becoming Prime Alinister, Ha challenged Air Corrigan to come out in the open and say what ho meant by speaking of the members of the Government holding land near where a new railway station is going. Air Corrigan: I .will get you the information.

Air Coats: You ought to give the information when you make the change. It is well known no Governnjfent can stand for that. As a matter of fact the Jicm. gentleman is guessing. Reform members: He is good at that Air Coates said he could say that no member of the Government owned land near finis station. In no single instance had he allowed politics to influence him in the allocation of public money, and this declaration he made in reply to a suggestion thrown out by Mr Corrigan He asked if Air Corrigan, who bad just advocated the Ward system of election for the dairy board, had not come to him and'said “For Heaven’s sake don’t let us have legislation on the Ward system this session.” Air Corrigan was silent. Air . Coates: I will not press for an answer. I will just leave it at that. Turning to all the groups of figures quoted by Labour members, Mr Coates said that these figures were quite unsatisfactory to work from. Eggs, sugar and various things would put up the percentage several per cent. Labour siad that if Labour got into power borrowing from outside New Zealand would be stopped. A Reform member: Yes, no one would trust them. Mr Coates asked what Labour would da. Would it stop lending to settlers and workers and ior hydro electricity, etc. The cost of bringing the railway workshops up to date would cost about £1,800,000. Was that to stop? Then there was irrigation and other work. ALr Holland : How many millions did you raise in New Zealand in war time?

Mr Coates did not reply. He went on to say that any officer who started talking about the. late railway strike, would be severely dealt with. The strike was over and the parties had shaken hands, so why bring it up. He denied that the Government had fostered sectarianism and he expressed the hope that it would always stand for tolerance and recognition of the other man’s views. Ho said it was not right to say that the Government had thrown the old age pensioners on the scrap heat. On the other hand, it had made increases in the amounts of the pensions. ,So far as the railway tariff was concerned, the matter was one between the Board and the users. He did not think the Government had been greatly damaged by the “vicious attacks” from the Labour benches. Mr McLennan, the mover of the Address, replied. The motion was agreed to, the. long debate thus ending.