PARLIAMENTARY.

Northland Age, Volume 16, Issue 11, 21 November 1918, Page 6

PARLIAMENTARY.

IN Parliament on November 8 and 13, Mr. Vernon Reed, M.P., tabled the following notice of motion and questions:—

“ That there be laid before this House a Return of the Crown lands in the North Auckland Peninsula already made available for soldier settlers, showing in each case—(a) name of block of land, (b) area of same, (c) description of same, (d) county in which situated, and (e) improvements effected preparatory to soldiersettlement in roading, road metalling, bush-felling, grassing, fencing, building, &c.; such return not to include improved lands purchased from private owners." “To ask the Minister of Internal Affairs, Whether naturalization papers have been withdrawn from those persons who held same and have been interned ; and if not, do the names of persons interned still remain on the electoral rolls ?” “To ask the Minister of Customs What were the actual offences, what were the penalties incurred, and what was’ the wording of the charge or charges laid in connection with the following, which appeared in the New Zealand Gazette on th« 20th June, 1918 ? Breaches of the Customs Acts.—Customs Department, Wellington, 19th June, 1918.—1 n accordance with the provisions of section 244 of the Customs Act, 1913, it is hereby notified for public information that W. and R. Fletcher (N.Z.), Limited, Merchants, Auckland, having admitted the commission of offences against the Customs Act, 1913, as extended by section 24 of the Regulation of Trade and Commerce Act, 1914—t0 wit, the illegal exportation of tallow from New Zealand—the Minister of Customs has accepted from the said company, in full satisfaction of the penalties thereby incurred, the sum of one thousand pounds (£1,000) sterling.—W. B. Montgomery, Comptroller of Customs.” “To ask the Prime Minister, Whether, when he informed the Farmer's Union deputation last Saturday that there was not the slightest chance of Parliament agreeing to lessees of national-endowment lands being granted the option of the freehold, he wished it to be understood that soldier settlers would be placed upon backblock bush lands without the right of acquiring the freehold to such lands, because such lands were now endowment lands; and, if so, whether he will take the first opportunity of testing the question by giving Parliament the chance of voting on the straight-out issue as to whether soldier settlers placed on any land should or should not have the right of acquiring the freehold to their holdings regardless of any restrictions formerly attaching to such lands? (Note. —Endowment lands have already been reserved for soldier settlement.]" “To ask the Prime Minister, Whether

any arrangements have been made by the Government with a view to advising and assisting returned soldiers in obtaining employment, especially in the Public Service (a) in towns, (b) in country districts; and, if so, who are the Government officials giving such assistance, and at what places are such officials located ?” “To ask the Prime Minister, Whether, seeing that the members of last year's parliamentary Meat-export Trade Committee endorse his remarks to the Farmers' Union deputation last Saturday, that ‘if we are going to allow meat trusts to get a footing in this country it will be the blackest day New Zealand has seen,’ he will set up the same Meat-export Trade Committee this session and submit to them the proposed Bill dealing with meatexport and overseas trusts, as the members of that Committee understand the position very clearly ?” “To ask the Minister of Lands, Whether representatives ot absent soldiers can select any Crown land on behalf of such soldiers; and, if not, why not ?”