ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17593, 5 October 1920, Page 6

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

■:-.- ■-■- ■■W/ •'>. - ■ ■■] ANOTHER LONG LIST, I •-* ;■■''.; ; ym .. ::-,:, - j WIDE /RANGE OF TOPICS. LSTfiNTIONS OF GOVERNMENT. far associalhokJ WELLINGTON, Monday.'. ; The following answers were given to questions by Ministers to-night s-=-That the suggestion that the govern- . ment shptu%> take temporary possession of and carry on certain busineas during the course of industrial disputes is not considered practicable. " 4 Legislation :. is. however, under consideration for the purpose of 'securing greater? stability to various industries in Use Dominion. That there have been as many industrial difficulties in the State coalmines as' in other 'mines throughout toe.Dominidn, and the Government does not consider the nationalisation of the. coalmines would be any improvement on the existing scheme, and in, same respicta very much the reverse, That the position* of local - bodies under -the Land and Income Assessment Amendment a ßill is paving consideration, and .amendment's will be made in the Bill which it is hoped will be satisfactory to local bodies. , Thai, if tellable miners are available to i work the coal measures in the Te Koiti.] district on the co-operative principle, and j will advise the Government of toe par- j ticular area or areas they desire to work, i the matter wilt* be investigated with a view to facilitating such coal measures being worked. That negotiations are in progress with a sawmitting company on the west coast of the South Island to supply the Housing I Department .with the output of their milC ' The department does not consider it neces- : sary to erect a Government sawmill \ Thai any application by a discharged soldier for an advance to acquire land ~in the Chatham Islands will receive consideration by the Commissioner of Crown Lauds and the Land Board for the Wellington district. Up to the present only one application has been received, and this is being dealt with. Suitable arrange' inents for valuing the lands can be made. That the policy of the Government is to settle discharged soldiers on the land and tc provide homes for them. As all the available funds at the disposal of the Government are required for that purpose it is not at present intended to assist the female relatives of deceased soldiers in the seme manner- Although a modified exception has»peen made in the case of soldiers' widows, it is not proposed to extend the concession further.

The Canteen Funds. That the total amount to the credit of the New Zealand expeditionary force canteen funds is approximately £7Q,QCO, The whole of this sum baa been paid into the Consolidated Regimental Canteen Fund account, and a portion of it has\ been invested by the Treasury on behalf of the fund. It is proposed to introduce legislation during* the present session authorising the Government to set, up a special committee to administer the fund on behalf of ex-members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. That the contract for the conveyance of mails between New Zealand and San Francisco expires about Jane next. The contractors are required to give New Zealand shippers the first refusal of all space, for freights in the vessels used under the contract. There is no provision in the contract for reserving space for exporters shipping good's from Rarotonga to San Francisco. '

Embargo on Gold Export, That no country in the -British Empire, so far as the Government is aware, has passed legislation to compensate gold producers for any loss sustained in consequence of an embargo prohibitinjf the export of gold. Moreover;' under section 6 of the Banking Amendment Act. 1915, which prohibited exportation of gold, provision was made for such prohibition to be lifted, with the consent in writing of the Minister for Finance. If any compensation is to be given to gold producers then it would inevitably follow that other producers would demand to be treated similarly in respect of any losses they may sj'«fain in consequence of embargo* prohibiting from time-to time the exportation from Hew Zealand of their commodities, such a» leather, for instance. That it is very doubtful w'th Hip demands being "made on* the Consolidated Fund at the present tim". -whether anything can be done in the di-ertjon of granting p«n»>'o?is to invalids difrin" tb*s session. Tf nothing can be rfrmnwd Una session the whole qiipstion will be wsidered when legislation for next year's ses*?on is being prepared. That Chinese are not allowed t,> lard without the payment of the poll tax. «t. cent for a limited period under special permits as merchants or tourists.