PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11801, 2 November 1901, Page 6

PARLIAMENT.

[BT TELEGRAPH.PRESS ASSOCIATION.] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Friday. The Council met at half-past two p.m. OLD AGE PENSIONS. The Old Age Pensions Bill was recommitted. At clause 4 the Hon. G. Jones moved to add words to the effect that if a magistrate folds that an applicant for a pension has anynear relatives in the colony who are able to wholly or partly maintain the applicant, the magistrate may refuse the application or grant a reduced pension, " near relative" to include wife, husband, father, mother, child, brother, and sister of the applicant. After considerable discussion the amendment was rejected by 17 to 14. The Bill was then reported, read a third time, and passed. FACTORIES BILL. The Minister for Education moved the ieommittal of the Factories Bill, remarking thfit the principal recommendations of the Labour Bills Committee were to reduce the age of boys from 18 to 16 years, and to strike out the exemption of certain industries from the working hours. The Hon. G. McLean said our industries were failing us, and the present Bill was to la certain extent of a harassing nature. The Hon. J. Rigg contended that the factories showed under the factories legislation general prosperity, in which the worker bad not had a fair share. Woollen mills could get over their difficulties under the reduced hours by putting in more machinery. The Hon. J. T. Peacock said the work of .men and the work of women in woollen mills were dependent on each other, and it seemed as if men's hours must be reduced also. Many women were on piece work, and would suffer. The Hon. A. Lee-Smith advised imitation : cz the technical excellence and improved methods of the American manufacturer. The Hon. W. Jennings supported making the working conditions of women and young people as good as possible, but referred to the decline of industries. The debate was interrupted by the five ©'clock p.m. adjournment. On the Council resuming at halt-past seven, p m. the debate on the motion for the committal of the Factories Bill was continued. The Hon. W. Jennings considered the working conditions of industries should be settled by the Arbitration Court, and not by statute. ~ t , The Hon. G. Jones would exempt freezing works and woollen factories. _ The Hon. J. Twomey thought that the industries needed a prohibitive tariff. The Hon. T. Kelly said the farmers would ' have to pay for it. ' The Hon. J. E. Jenkinson supported reasonable exemptions from the Bill. The Minister for Education said the adapting of the woollen mills to the provision of the Bill was only a matter of arrangement If there were not enough women workers at--4- hours weekly to keep the men going more could be employed. The exemption of businesses that engaged in perishable products was a matter for consideration. The Council then went into committee on the Bill, and the Labour Bills Committee * amendments to the interpretation clause ,n respect of the definition of _ boy and woman" was passed oil the voices. On sub-clause 1 of clause 29. (fixing the minimum annual increase m wage o. boy and girl apprentices at 2h weekly), tl e Hon. W. Bolt moved, in accordance with tj committee's recommendation, to substitute A°desuitorv debate ensued till a quarterpast twelve, 'when the closure was applied, on the motion of the Hon. A. Lee-Smith, ■which forced a division on a previous motion to report progress, and ask leave to sit B.2am. This was carried on the voices. THE DUKE OF CORNWALL. The Council passed an address congratulating the King on the safe return to England of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The Council adjourned at twenty-five minutes past twelve a.m. till eleven a.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Friday. MAORI LANDS. After the telegraph office closed a further debate took place -on the motion fox th committal of the Moon Lands Administration Act Amendment Bill. oinv^irrli Mr. Carroll, in rep-lying, said although there was wonderful unanimity among members in condemning last year s Act it was strange that they could not agree as to any policy that could take its place. The individualization of all native land would be i- a slow process, and would cost a million ot money to start with. He saw- no reason why the waste lands of the natives could not be administered tinder the Act of last session, with benefit to the natives themselves, and to the country at large. The desire was to put these waste native lands into use a. trace, and to individualise them would mean retarding settlement for some time. At five minutes past three the motion ior committal was carried by 25 to 7. Tn committee considerable discussion took ■place, and eventually after clause 3 was passed, Mr. Carroll agreed to report proershe House rose at a quarter-past four A.m. The House met at half-past two p.m. LEAVE OF ABSENCE. Mr. Bollard was granted leave of ..b3ence j ■ for the remainder of the session, on account j of urgent private business. • - MINISTERS' SALARIES AND 1 EXPENSES Mr. Seddon laid on the table a return, showing the amounts drawn by Ministers for salaries, travelling allowances, and expenses during the financial year, 1900-1901. He ■ aid the amounts were as follows—Mr. beddon, £2259; Sir Joseph Ward, £1677; Mr. Walker, £1361; Mr. Jones, £1455 ; Mr. McGowan, £1326; the late Sir John Mckenzie, £441; Mr. Duncan, £850; Mr. Carroll, £1216; Mr. Mills, £579; Mr. Cadman, £67; M.. Thompson, £18. He explained that these amounts included sums disbursed by Ministers in expenses, but; which they themselves had not received. In his own case the expenditure amounted to £345, s. that the total amount he bad / drawn in salary and allowances was £1913. ,In Sii Joseph Ward's case the sum disbursed for expenses was £276, making the net amount drawn by him £1400. Similar reductions had tc be made from the totals placed opposite the name, of other Ministers. He thought members would receive this return with pleasure, f>s being a refutation of the statement that he and Sir Joseph Ward had each drawn four or five thousand pounds. Mr. Piraiu contended that the return did not disclose the whole personal cost to the country of Ministers. Mr. Seddon said it war. a complete return.

APPROACHING END OF THE (SESSION.

Captain Russsll asked the Premier to state what business he proposed go in;, on ■with before the session closed. Mr. Seddon said he would make an announcement on the subject on Monday ' night. RAILWAY CLASSIFICATION BILL. Sir Joseph Ward moved the. second reading of the Government Railway Department Classification Bill. He gave figures showing tlio immense .increase in the Department since it was taken over from the Railway Commissioners, and urged that the Government was justified in making the increases in salaries, and wages proposed in this Bill. In round figures the wages oi the employees of the Department were by tins Bill being permanently increased to the extent of £30,000 a year. The basis of the increase ■was oi the fairest possible kind, and he believed it would be ot great benefit to the service. It was generally accepted by both divisions as satisfactory. He had, he went on to say, been unable to agree to the request that the decision of the Appeal Board should be final', urging that the responsibility must finally remain with the Ministerial head of th; Department, and it •would be impossible to hand over that lesponsibility to any board. Turning tc the question of casual hands, he proposed, under regulations, to give casual hands of four years' standing, the right to go to the Appeal Board. He proposed also that a member of the second division could be transferred to the first division after he had been .' in the service tor six years, so that anyone who began in any capacity might obtain the highest- position in the service. The IK* mew scale was a great improvement on that : - .

formerly existing. Many of the benefits conferred on employees had been well earned by them, and the Government had great pleasure in granting those benefits. hey had a splendid railway service, manned by men who did every credit to the colony, and what was now proposed would give them for many years to come a fair rate of pay. Mr. Wilford congratulated the Minister on the introduction of the Bill, which he considered an advance in the right direction, and which would benefit many classes in the service, but he urged that still further improvement could be made in the interests of the workers as distinguished from the officers in the first division. More consideration, he thought, should be extended to the permanent casuals, some of whom had been for 20 years in the same grade. He criticised some, of the details of the schedule of the Bill, and particularly urged that there was no justification for making the classification of machinists so low. Mr. Pirani also congratulated Sir Joseph Ward on the improvement on the present classification, and he hoped in future the position of some branches would be still further improved. Sir Joseph Ward having briefly replied, j the second reading was agreed to on the j voices, and the Bill was immediately com- ; mitted. \ Sir Joseph Ward said in reply to repre- i sen tat ions by Mr. Wilford and Mr. Millar, I that he would have framed a regulation by | which an entry' in a man's conduct-book 1 should be shown to him as soon as it was j made. j At clause 13 Mr. Guinness moved an amendment to enable members of the first division to elect persons outside the service to seats on the Appeal Board. This was lost by 40 to 13. Progress was then reported. DUKE OF CORNWALL. Mr. Seddon moved a resolution conveying an address to the King congratulating him on the safe return to England of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwa.ll. Several members objected to what was described as the fulsome terms of the address, and Mr. Pirani moved that part c£ the resolution bo struck out. This was lorvt after considerable discussion by 27 to 18, and tits resolution as brought down by the Premier was agreed to on the voices. The House rose at five minutes past six p.m. j The House resumed at half-past seven | p.m. CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION BILL. The first business was the consideration of the amendments by the Council in the Conciliation and Arbitration Act Amendment Bill. Mr. Seddon referred to the action of the Council in sustaining the provision that either party could go direct to the Arbitration Court, thus practically doing away with the Conciliation Boards. He taid he greatly regretted such action. The Government had decided, as the best of several ; courses which they could take, to allow j the measure to go as returned to the House ' and give it a trial until next session, and if j it was then found not to be working satis-1 factorily they could amend the Bill. He J moved, under protest, that the amendments i made by the Council be approved of. The ' amendments were a serious departure from the policy of the Government, but he hoped those interested in labour disputes would : not ignore the Conciliation Boards, but would endeavour to preserve that important 1 feature of settling industrial disputes. ' Mr. G. J. Smith entered a protest against ' the speech of the Premier, which was calculated to stir up strife and which, lie said, ; was simply an appeal to the labour organi- , sations in view of the approaching elections. He believed the amendments would conduce | to the better working of tl.'te Act and to the pacification of industrial disputes. : Mr. Willis thought the time had come when the Act should be altered in the direction contained in the Bill, and denied tl e statement of the Premier that ei/ipoyers had endeavoured to destroy conciliation and arbitration. He was a warm supporter of : that system, but not on the present one- ' sided basis. | Mr. Pirani said he was glad the Premier , had accepted the decision of the Council. • If any part- of the colony was to blame for , the alteration in the policy of conciliation it was Wellington, which had cost more ! than all the other Boards in the colony, i He believed the employers were just as anxious as the employees to settle disputes if they could get a proper tribunal, wh'ch ; could not be found in tlite Boards. Hence the employers preferred to go straight to the Court-. | ;.Mr. G. W. Russell condemned the action j of the Wellington Board, which was the > cause of dissatisfaction with the Act, and ! roused employers to lift their cases over the head of the Board to the Court. It was the speeches the Premier had made in which he stated that the Boards were riding the thing to death, that demanded an alteration in the Act.

Mr. Miliar thought the Bill sacrificed a great principle, because of the wrong-doing of one Board. The result •would be to rouse opposition to thfe employers, and while he had always opposed the formation of a district la-bom party in the House, the combination of such a party was now probable. He hoped when the Bill again came before the House the conciliation principle would be reinstated. Mr. Hutcbeson thought the waste of time involved in bringing a case before the Board and the irritation . caused thereby was greatly responsible for the dissatisfaction with the Board. He believed the amendments would not inflict hardship on either party. On the contrary they merely affirmed what had been agitated for for some time—direct appeal to the Court and the appointment of a special board in technical cases.

Mr. Fisher criticised adversely Mr. Seddon's speech, and condemned the Premier's frequent change of attitude on the Bill. The slipperinefs of the eel. the diving of the shag, was nothing to it. He declared the present difficulty would not have arisen but for the diverse statements made by Mr. Seddon as' to the Bill. He thought the difficulty with regard to the Conciliation Boards would have been overcome by placing a man with, say, the qualifications of a magistrate at tffe head, instead of an amateur. Sit Joseph Ward deprecated the attempt that had been made to mislead the public in regard to the action of the Premier on this Bill. He went on to express himself against the amendment that bad been made in clause 21, but hoped it would prove to be of a beneficial character, and that nothing would arise to promote bad blood between employer and employed. Employers would be acting wisely, and in the best interests of the country if they took their disputes ' in the first; instance to the Conciliation j Boards, and did not allow any feeling to im- | pel them to go direct to the Arbitration Court.

This concluded the debate, and the Ppsir.ier's motion to agree with the Council's amendments in the Bill was agreed to on the voices.

MAORI LANDS ADMINISTRATION

BILL. The Maori Lands Administration Act Amendment Bill was furthei considered in committee.

In the course of a lengthy discussion which took place on the motion to report progress Mr. Kaibau said that the Premier and the Native Minister had given him a straightforward promise that the Act of last session would not be brought into operation in the Western Maori District until the boundaries were fixed. He. therefore, withdrew his opposition to the Bill. Mr. A. L. D. Eraser made a strong appeal that the Act should not be brought into operation until the majority of the native owners in the district agreed to it. A motion to report progress was lost by 38 to 15. Clause 4 was under discussion when the telegraph office closed at two a.m.