PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14809, 12 October 1911, Page 8

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

QUESTIONS ANSWERED.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —FRF.S3 ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Wednesday. ; Thf. House of Representatives sat at 2.30 p.m. - • The . Christ oh urch . District Drainage Amendment Bill (Hon. D. Buddo), Rating Amendment Bill (Hon. 1). Buddo), Elingamite Rehearing Bill (Hon. J. A. Millar), and the Dnnedin Technical School Site Bill (Hon. T. Mackenzie) were read a first time..» /' -The following replies to questions were received from Ministers:— The further amending of regulations under the Civil Service Officers Guarantee Act is now under consideration, and the Minister in charge sees no reason why the scale of contribution towards defalcations should stop at any salary. The Government is very desirous of encouraging horse breeding on proper lines. The whole matter is now being considered by the Government. In regard to'the question as to whether the Government will amend the Public Service Act so as to increase the annuity of widows under the Teachers' Superannuation Scheme from £13 to £26 per annum, the matter will receive consideration when the actual investigation now being made is completed. Much depends upon the general position of the fund as to whether any concessions can be made. The Minister's attention has been drawn to newspaper articles on the subject of gambling in chocolates by children, and he considers it desirable that children should, if possible, be prevented from indulging iii a practice of the kind referred to. ■'.<i The decision in the case of Sherwood v. the New Zealand Shipping Company, in which the Court held that the widow of a man killed while in the employ of the company was not a dependent under the Act, being separated from her husband, although she had a claim against her husband under a maintenance order, had been noted, and the Minister "was consulting the Crown law officers on the subject with a view, if possible, to giving any persons likely to be similarly affected the protection of the Act. • -

Expediting Business. | On resuming in the evening the Prime Minister moved that on and after Mon- | day, October 16, for the remainder of | the session the House should meet on I Mondays for Government business. | Mr. Massey (Leader of the Opposition) asked that sittings on Mondays shook! ciot commence until October 23, as many mcmbe;s had engagements for the weekend. Sir Joseph Ward stated that an opportunity would be provided later to deal with the local Bills which were not disposed of to-morrow. He- added that it would be necessary to take next. Monday for Government business, and | promised to give a statement of the business proposed cn Friday. The Public j Works Statement would* be delivered on Monday afternoon, and if members would co-operate there was no earthly reason j why the session should not " conclude to- | morrow week or Friday week. Mr. Massey suggested that the first Monday sitting ; should commence at 7.30 ! p.m., and the Prime Minister agreed to j this. A motion amended - to- that effect was carried on the voices. •- " c< ■> Pacific Cable Service.

Tho, Prime Minister moved thatr*"the House should approve of the proposal of the Pacific "Cable Board to lay a cable between New' Zealand arid Australia direct. He explained ! that. the scheme j provided for a cable direct between. Auck- ! land and Sydney, the headquarters being | moved -in eaai case to the city telegraph stations, with the result that re-transmis-j sions at each end would be avoided. The undertaking was estimated to cost i £175,000. There had been a considerable' Joss of business as a direct result of delays on long length, of line, and a direct cable must be provided if the present business was to be increased or even maintained. The estimated saving by a direct service was. £8000 per annum " Mr. Massev said ths proposal was virtually approved of last year. He considered that the closing of the Doubtless Bay station involved a considerable loss to the country, though it would probably bo r a better arrangement to have Auckland as the headquarters in New Zealand. The business of the Pacific cable showed a failing off of from 95,648 messages in 1909 >to 87,326 in 1510, while more than a corresponding increase was shown in the business of the Eastern Extension Company, which had increased from 19,812 messages in 1909 to 33,273 in 1910. He inquired whether any reduction of cable charges was proposed. Mr. Luke (Wellington Suburbs) urged a reduction in charges for press cables, in order that the news service might be furnished with greater detail. . Mr. Alien (Bruce) said that New Zealand had contributed ' £6000 this year to the Pacific Cable Board, and there was some ground for anxiety regarding the increase, in the Eastern Company's business at the expense of . the Pacific'cable. •Sir Joseph Ward replied that all Government messages from New Zealand to England were sent via the Pacific. The variation in business was doe to the fact that during the last two years the Eastern Company had gained a large amount of commercial business which had been acquired, as the result of the efforts of a special canvasser. Similar enterprise shown by the Pacific Board brought larger business. In 1902-3 the deficiency to which New Zealand had been required to contribute was £10,057, while in 190010 "i* was only £6620. : He was confident that the new cable would bring a large amount of new traffic to the Board's lines. He advocated the provision of a nationalised cable across the Atlantic between England, and Canada. He had submitted this proposal at the last Imperial Conference. He was persuaded that it would be incomparably better to have an independent press service from England to New Zealand, and hoped that the existing agreement for the supply of cable news from Australia would not be renewed. He considered that the news service from New Zealand to the United Kingdom was quite inadequate, and the arrangement that an independent service afforded meant more effective advertising of the Dominion in this respect. ■' The motion was carried on the voices.

/- Public Service Classification. Referring to Public Service Classification, Sir Joseph. Ward said that the scheme had no force of law. It had been laid on the table merely for the information of members and others concerned. The classification had to be submitted to the Governor, and, if approved by him, published in the Gazette as a provisional classification. Any servant who was not satisfied might appeal to the Board for the reconsideration of his classification, and all appeals must be dealt with before the scheme was brought into operation by resolution of the House. It was impossible for the scheme to come into operation this year. Auckland University College. The -Auckland University College Amendment Bill {Hon. T. Mackenzie) was taken in committee. Mr. Allen (Bruce) suggested that a clause be inserted to provide that no fees should be paid to professors engaged subsequent to the passing of the Act. The principle was wrong even in the case of honorary lecturers. Mr. Taylor (Thames) said that the terms of existing engagements must be fulfilled, but the discretionary power conferred by the Bill was a sufficient safeguard to enable the Council to do away with the system of paying fees to professors. Hon. T. Mackenzie said that it was unlikely that- the University Council would exceed*reasonable limits. Mr. Allen said that the Court of Convocation which proposed to elect four members; included all the graduates of the University, no matter in what part of the world they were resident. The Bill might

be improved by providing thai only members of the Court of Convocation resident in New Zealand should be eligible to vote. Hon. T. Mackenzie said that if necessary an amendment might 'be made in another place. The Minister proposed to add another member to be elected by members of school committees in the Auckland University district. • , The clause was added 011 the voices, and the Bill was reported with amendments. - ' ( • The University of Otago Council Bill (Hon. T. Mackenzie) was taken in committee. It was decided to reduce the number of members appointed by the Governor from four to two. Provision was inserted for the addition of two members to the proposed council, one elected by the school committees and one by the Otago Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. The Bill, was reported with amendments. Tramways Amendment. The Tramways Amendment Bill was next taken in committee.

A new clause was inserted, providing that when a local authority has delegated authority conferred upon it by an authorising order the Minister may,* on the issue of a renewal of a license, charge a fee not exceeding £2 in respect of every carriage licensed, the fee, so charged to be paid by the Minister for Finance to the local authority to whom the authorising order was issued. Provision was also made in a further new clause for the registration and storage of lost articles and the imposition of a reasonable charge to owners in respect of such registration and storage.

Mr. Davey (Christchurch East) moved a new provision to the effect that each car shall have a corridor up the middle, and that all cars which now have no such corridor shall be converted into cvridor cars at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum. This was agreed to, with a proviso exempting cable cars.

y Mr. Witty (Riecarton) moved a new clause to give a local authority power to levy a special rate- to meet any deficiency on the working of an extension that proves unremumHative, the rate to be confined to the district concerned. After discussion the clause was withdrawn, the understanding being that the clause would be printed and brought up again before the measure reaches its final stages. The Bill was reported with amendments. The Methodist Church Bill was put through committee without amendment. The House rose at 12.45 a.m. POLITICAL NOTES.

. A SLIGHT BREEZE. [BT TELEGRAM!.— CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Wednesday. A slight breeze arose in the House this afternoon when Sir Joseph Ward accused Mr. Massey (Leader of the Opposition) of making " statements'*. at Levin. The leader of the Opposition had said that the public debt had increased from £67 per head in 1906 to £81 in 1911. , Questions and replies being the business Before the House at the moment, Mr. Henries y(Tauranga) inquired what the Prime Minister's remarks had to do with questions. -' ' Sir Joseph Ward : Of course it has a great deal to do with the expenditure of public money. He followed this up by accusing Mr. Massey of making a great number of extraordinary and unreliable statements at. Levin.

Mr. Massey indignantly protested, and challenged the Prime Minister to prove that he had made any statements that were either incorrect or unreliable. •y-Sir Joseph Ward : Well, you said that you* supported old-age pensions. Mr. Massey said he would produce the division list to show that he had supported the first Old. Age Pension Act. At this stage the Speaker interposed and terminated the disturbance. . , < ' . 'S - ERRORS IN THE BUDGET. ~ _ A suggestion was made by Sir Joseph Ward this afternoon that Mr. Allen {Bruce) wished to represent the whole of the Budget as incorrect. Mr. Allen : No, I said a good dear of it. " . ' ■". ~ ■ The Prime Minister said the member for > Bruce had never been able to show that any Statement presented bv him was wrtong, * although he bad no doubt that Mr. Allen and the member for Wakatipu sat up with an actuary and cloths around their heads searching* for errors in each Statement as it appeared. ■ The latest Financial Statement had been produced in its entirety after his arrival in New Zealand.

REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Ministerial replies. to members' questions, were given in a supplementary Order Paper this afternoon. A report is being obtained by the Post-master-General regarding the "request of Mr. Hemes (Tauranga) that telephone facilities should be provided for the settlers at Knimai, on the TaurangaCambridge road. The medical expenses of Gunner Bartlett. who sustained a serious accident while on duty on Coronation Day in Auckland, are being paid by the Government. The Prime Minister also informed Mr. Bollard (Eden) that Bartlett Will , also receive "injured" pay up to six months. The question of'compensation for any permanent disablement will at the end of that period be considered by the board set up under the defence regulations. The Minister for Railways informed Mr. Herries (Tauranga) that no funds are available for the erection of a goods shed at Kiwitahi. Replying to a request by Mr. Taylor (Thames) that Coromandel granite should be used in the erection of the new Parliament House, the Minister for Public Works stated that-the Government, on the advice of the responsible officers, will give careful consideration to the request for the material to be used in the construction of the new building before a final decision is arrived at. The Hon. T. Mackenzie has promised Mr. Stallworthy (Kaipara) that he will consult, the Scenery Preservation Board regarding Mr. Stallworthy's proposal that the Houto Mountain, one of the most beautiful and prominent of Auckland landmarks, should be preserved for scenic purposes. ■

NATIVE. LAND POLICY. Mr. Herries (Tauranga) lias given notice to ask the Prime Minister (1) Whether the following portion of the Hon. Sir J. Findjay' Parncll speech, as reported in the New Zealand Times of October 10, is an exposition of the new native policy of the Government or of Sir John Findlay:— "He believed the day was not far distant when with the heightened standard of education among the race special" representation of the Maoris in Parliament would be unnecessary. The Maori, as that day neared, must be placed in the same position- as the European in regard to the duties of citizenship and the use of the land he owned. " That' day was coming fast." (2) If this policy, which has been always advocated by the Opposition and opposed hitherto by, the .Government, 1 is to be adopted by the Government, will they bring down legislation this session to give effect to it? * ,

' PETITIONS. ~ ■ The Public Petitions Committees have reported that they have no recommendations to make on the request of G. F. G. Williams, of Mama, Auckland, for inquiry in connection with the refusal to, grant him a loan under the State-guaranteed Advances Act ; on the petition of John Fogarty, of Auckland, for compensation on account of military services, rendered by his lato father; and on the petition of 200 persons that they should be allowed to net fish in Rotorua'and surrounding districts and to fish without license during the 1911-12 season., ~ ; On the recommendation of the " Native Affairs Committee the petition of 156 residents of Taumarunui that the borough should be excluded from the jurisdiction of the Wanganui Maori District Council lias been referred to the Government for favourable consideration.