PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10836, 20 August 1898, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

[BY TELEGBAPH.-PBESS ASSOCIATION] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.. The Council met FRIDAY. two. The Council met at half-past two.

THE VAILE SYSTEM. A motion by Mr. McCullough to refer hnV e,ltl ?V { ? Ir - Samuel Va! ofAuck- ," n,tn k t0 { the l ? Committee, for e *->™»ega.

THE BANKING BILL. h»u ?»•!? on the second reading of the Banking Bill was continued by Mr Jones who urged that the position of the Bank was such as called for attention. The crux ° the question was the clause referring to Air. Watson, who, on several occasions, had acted as he considered, indiscreetly. He commented on the president's share transactions, m\ nd the. position of the pension tuna. Ihe Bank had been conducted on a scale of Oriental magnificence, and had the Colonial Bank disclosures been made prior to lus appointment, be doubted wheWr I* ™ SOn would have been appointed. Mr. Bhnmski argued that, there was some mystery behind the appointment of Mr. Watson, and the people of New Zealand would some day know the circumstances, the continual tinkering with the Bank was mimical to the affairs of the institution. Air. iwomey thought the report' of the larliarnentary Committees afforded ample giounds for the introduction of the measure, and he opposed the inquiry suggested by Mr. Ormond. Ho justified the action of the Government throughout, and held that the future of the Bank was assured. Mr. Ormond gave notice that after the second reading lie would move that the Bill be referred to a, select committee, to be selected by ballot, and to consist of seven members. The Council adjourned at five p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. FniruY. The House met at half-past two. THE POLICE COMMISSION. As a matter of privilege, Mr. Taylor drew attention to the fact that that portion of the evidence of the Police Commission., which had not been submitted to His Excellency the Governor had been placed before a committee of the House that morning. The Speaker said it was not a breach of privilege, as the report of the Koyal Commission was a matter outside of the House, though it was in the nature of an irregularity to give some members information whioa had not been given to members as a whole. The Minister for Public Works explained that some 30 pages of evidence Lid been placed before the committee to avoid she cost of calling witnesses from the West Coast to give evidence on a matter fully investigated by the Police Commission. If it were a breach of privilege to place 30 pages before the committee, what was it for a member to receive 600 pages '! . Mr. Taylor said he had received copies of the evidence he had called before the Commission in order to save him the trouble of taking notes. Each commissioner and Colonel Hume and Mr. Tunbridge bad copies of the evidence, but subsequently the Premier had got hold of the chairman of the Commission and forced him to break his promise to him (Sir. Taylor). Mr. Seddon said this latter statement was a gross fabrication and a most untruthful assertion. Captain Russell moved that these words be taken down, but The Speaker held the words had not been applied in an extremely offensive way. He asked if it were the desire of the House that the words be taken down, and the volume of noes being greater than ayes, he did not order the words to be taken down. The matter then dropped. SALE OF GOODS. The Sale of Goods Act Amendment Bill was introduced and read a first time. THE DEBATE ON THE BUDGET. The Financial debate was resumed by Mr. E. G. Allen, who said the Leader of the Opposition had been unable to discover in the Financial Statement anything on which to base a damaging want of confidence motion, and with respect to the amendment he had moved, lie would do him the compliment of thinking that he had not been the author of it. He congratulated the Colonial Treasurer on the clear and concise statement of the finances of the colony placed before the House. There had been no juggling with the figures nor mystification as was often the case with respect to budgets. It was difficult for a young country to progress without relying on the foreign moneylender, and he believed there was a feeling in the colony in favour of borrowing large sums of money for the prosecution of public works and railway construction. Mr. Bollard accused the Government of having trampled on the liberties of the people, and said their professed regard for the will of the people was simply moonshine. There had never been a time in the history of the colony when there was so little to show for the expenditure of millions as at present. He asserted that the Government would not remain six months in office were it not for the system of political bribery. The Minister for Railways was, lie said, an honest man, and an honest politician, which was saying a good deal for one sitting on the Ministerial benches, and if the management of railways were left in his hands it would be much better, but it was apparent to every unprejudiced mind that he was dominated by the Premier. He did not believe the Premier had any intention to remit the duties on English manufactured goods, because the labour unions in the colony would jump on him if he did. Mr. Larnach said, as far as he was able to judge, there had been a bona-fide surplus on March 31 last. He did not think there was much m the contention that the surplus had been manufactured by the Treasurer by over-estimating expenditure and underestimating revenue, as doing so would not affect receipts. He approved of this being done to a certain extent, as it showed that be erred on the right and prudent side. It was not quite fair to apply all excess of revenue in the direction of public works, as it meant they would be taxing themselves day by day, and year by year, for the benefit of posterity. The railway returns showed that the management of the lines was excellent, and a very considerable improvement on previous years. _ Taking the increased traffic on railways into consideration, he considered the colony should be making more progress in railway construction, and the Government should ask for sufficient money for this purpose to keep pace with land) settlement and increased population. At present justice was not being done to either. If he read the Financial Statement aright, it proposed to increase direct taxation, but he considered in view of these recurring surpluses, our Estimates should be made more in accord with our requirements, and we should live more within our means. Referring to the accusations of the Opposition against the Government, he said he had never heard them formulate one definite charge of bribery, corruption, or maladniiiiisthiion. The debate was interrupted by the halfpast five adjournment. The House met at half-past seven. Mr. Larnach continued his speech on the Financial Statement, and on concluding his remarks, said if the colony was prosperous, as the Budget showed—and he believed it was —there was no excuse for the colony going en with railway construction in the piecemeal fashion of recent years. Railway construction would not pay if the Government had to pay 6 per cent on borrowed money, but would" decidedly pay when money could be obtained at 3 per cent. Mr. Field did not profess to be a friend of the Manawatu Company, but he considered that the Government should have taken over the line long ago, and should take it over at the earliest opportunity. Referring to the land nolicy of the Government, he objected to the present classification of lands, and contended that the area of freehold land which

could be acquired, should be restricted in the same way as the area of leasehold is limited. The price of Crown lands should'.be on the basis of their producing capacity and without regard to their actual position. He was satisfied that a reliable valuation of the colony's lands had'been urgently needed, but he was not sure that the object had been attained by the recent Government valuation, and, speaking of his own district, he thought there should have been, more objections to the valuations. No one had ever heard of professional money-lenders voluntarily reducing the rate of interest, and the Advances to Settlers Act would have the effect' of preventing rates being raised. Mr. Gilfedder said that from one end of the colony to the other it was recognised that the effort* of the present administration were in the direction of ameliorating the condition of the people. If the policy of the Opposition consisted of retrenchment alone, it was well the people of the colony should know it, as it was the same policy which had brought about the defeat of the Aakinson administration. Though the public debt had increased under the present administration the money had been largely invested in reproductive channels, which created a valuable asset against increased indebtedness. Referring to the comparison between the land transactions of past Governments and the present Government, he pointed out that the Government had not the same area and quality of land to deal with as their predecessors. He warmly advocated the institution of periodical revaluation in connection with Crown leases. All'. Fraser pointed out that whilst Ministerialists, instead of discussing finance, spoke on every other conceivable subject, the Opposition were not so trustful, and were more suspicious. He proceeded to dissect the surplus, and showed that after deducting certain sums, which he contended ought not to have been included, there remained a net surplus of £426,000. Respecting the sale of Busily Park, he said that to a bushel of truth there had been waggon loads of lies, and the falsehoods had been much more palatable and acceptable, and were believed. The time had not arrived to cease borrowing, but the present system of borrowing in driblets led to waste. Throughout his district there was intense indignation with respect to the excessive and extortionate Government valuations. In view of the fact that valuations had been increased by £16,000,000, it was absurd to say, as was stated in the Budget, that there would be no increase from land and income tax. Mr, O'Regan said the people of the colony were called on to pay too much through the Customs. The time had arrived when some attempt should be made to relieve the people of the burdens they have to bear. Mr. Holland said the Financial Statement had given general satisfaction from one end of the colony to the other. On the motion of Mr. McLean the debate was adjourned. The House rose at twenty-fivo minutes to one.