DWELLING FAMINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17294, 18 October 1919, Page 13

DWELLING FAMINE.

SEQUEL TO HOUSING BILL. QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT. NO HOMES FOR IMMIGRANTS. [by telecr*' — EOTKOAL reporter] WELLINGTON-. Friday. With the Housing Bill through the Hciuye 1.1 Representatives members ha\e begun immediately to urge that everything should be done to assure thai, its I firov.aious are givou elicit to. tHverai question* prompted by this motive were a&ked thj? afternoon, Mr. G. Witty (Kiccarton) asked the I'ritue MuiisUii whether he had seen a ie|Hirl ol the suggestion made by one 11 the members ol the Wellington City Couiiul, that the Government siiould contrive thai the building of houses received •reference over the construction of other j kinds of building*. | Mr. Mitesey sj.k! the suggestion was a ~ kiil one. and bo thougnt something I »ii<>uid he done by giving effect to it. i It would be a difficult matter, however, 1 bore wore many buildings of different i kinds which were needed almost as ; urgently as dwelling bouses. The pos- ] fibdity of adopting the suggestion would I h' considered. I A question dealing with the possibilities j of further immigration drew from Mr. R. >*mpie (Wellington South) the question j ,-ii to whether the Prime Minister thought! >• a fair thing to encourage people to | come lo the Dominion while there wore . i m enough homos for those already here, j .•ml whether he would undertake not to j <nr-ouTc.ee ar.y more to come until sum ; . lent homes were provided for those who i v i»r" n-re. Mr. Mawey said, in answer, that the j 1 Misnug .scheme would be vigorously proi. .-ute. J A further question asked by Mr. Semple ■ -■as whether the Prime Minister world • insider the advisability of calling a con- | terenop of employers and employees in the j building trade, to see whether any system 1 ■ ■mid he adopted to secure a supply of labour for the building of houses. Mr Massey «aid he thought the sue; portion was a good one. and he would i ~ss a, on to the head of the Labour De partroent. Mr J. A. Nash IPrdraerston North) j suggested that local bodies might be cir . ,-.,Un E( vl in order that they would be j made fully aware of the facilities given them by "the Housing Bill to borrow mor.ev Tor housing purposes, and might ike immediate application. Mr. Massey said that if all bodies in Die Dominion were led to apply at once , ' i loans it would not be possible to deal i-ofi th*> rush business. In any ct.se. he thought, most of them would he fully <.gnisant of what had hern effected by h~ Housing Bill. Mr P. Kramer (Wellington Central) loigcrt-ted that » systematic investigation of the amount of building material in the Dominion might he made in order that i< might be applied to the host advantage in the construction of urgently,.pdpd dwelling houses. The Prime Minister said that course ■was going to he adopted.