FATE OF PETITIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18461, 26 July 1923, Page 8

FATE OF PETITIONS.

! FINAL WORD WITH CAB I MET. PROTEST BY: MR. WILFORD. PARLIAMENT DISREGARDED [BY TELEGRAPH.SPECIAL REPORTER.] ' WELLINGTON. Wednesday. "It is simply bringing into disrepute the Constitution and Parliament," said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Wilford, in the House of Representatives this afternoon, in referring, to the fate of petitions in which favourable consideration is recommended. At ths time the House was discussing the case of John Scott Myers, of Marshlands, Christchurch, whoso petition arising out of , a Court action some years ago was; for the fifth time recommended by the Petitions Committee for the favourable consideration of the Government.

Tho Hon. D. Buddo (Kaiqpoi) said one could not help thinking tho petitioner's appeals to Parliament- had been slighted. His first claim as that his. name should be expunged from the records of the Court and he also asked that; he j should be recompensed for expenses ho; had incurred. Mr. Buddo niade a plea to this Government. to do something for the, petitioner. This time probably a short Bill, providing for; taking the namo off the Court records, would meet the' requirements." Mr. 6. Witty (Riccarton), Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Avon), and Mr, 1. W. Rhodes (Thames), endorsed Mr. Buddo's remarks. Mr. Rhodes said there was a precedent for a short Bill dealing with the matter, this being in 1907 in tho case of an individual who at that time loomed large in the public eye. , Mr. Wilford said Parliament solemnly referred petitions to the committee, and even if the committee recommended favourable consideration that wag an end to it. ITie petitions wo>« sent to Cabinet for action and its refusal to give effect to the recommendation amounted to a flouting of the House. What right had any Cabinet to take no notice of petitions which the House sent cri to it? It was simply. a travesty on Government. The Minister for Labour, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, said the case came before the Leader of th? Opposition during his term as Minister for Justice. Was anything done then ? 1 Mr. Wilford: It should have been. The Speaker, the Hon. C. E. Statham: Order. ■' ; , Mr. Anderson : It was the National Government then, and it could do things no ' t her Government could do. .Mr. Wilford: Well, I say it should have been done. The Speaker-. - Order, order. I have been allowing courteous questions the latitude they aro entitled to, but I cannot allow members to enter into argument or heckle speakers. The. Minister for Justice, the Hon. C. J. Parr, said that in his experience, Cabi. net always gave careful consideration to the petitions referred to it. A very large number were dealt with in suc-ii a way as to satisfy, the petitioners. It would be unfortunate if it went out that Parliament sat as a Court of Appeal. After further discussion the motion that the petition be forwarded to the Government for favourable consideration was carried.

WAGES ON ANZAC BAY. AUCKLAND UNIONS' PLEA. MATTER BEING CONSIDERED [BY TELEGRAPH.SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Wednesday. Replying in the House. of Representatives to-day to the question raised by Mr. M. J. Savage (Auckland West) m regard to the payment of " workers on hourly or daily rates on Anzac Day, the Minister for Labour, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, said 'the matter was now under consideration by the Government. - Mr. Savage said he had received dozens of communications from Auckland unions, many of the members of which were returned soldiers, and they were unable to make the necessary sacrifice of a compulsory holiday without payment. i He saw no reason why they should not have a holiday once > a year, . or once a week for that matter, with pay, and certainly he did not nee why they could not have a holiday on Anzac Day with pay. He hoped something ip the nature of an amendment to the law would be introduced to remedy the position. - ■

THE SUPPLY OF. SUGAR. JAM SEASON DELIVERIES. INCREASE LAST.; YEAR. [BY TELEGRAPH.SPECIAL REPORTER.] : WELLINGTON'", , Wednesday. Replying to a question by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Wiiford, who had submitted a complaint by a. retailer alleging that supplies of sugar had been' more or less short for years, < and criticising the proposed import duty, the Minister for Customs, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, made a detailed «statement in the House of Representatives to-day. - " The ; Colonial Sugar ; Refining Company," he said, "has : given an-under-taking to maintain an adequate supply of sugar for the " Dominion's requirements during the period of tho operation of the proposed tariff. As there is provision in the Customs Amendment Act, 1921, for the Government to suspend the tariff should it operate contrary to the public interest there is no necessity for the insertion of a special clause that the duty be retained only so long as the supply is maintained. s . New Zealand consumers Have enjoyed a higher per capita consumption at " a lower average price than any other country in the world during the period of Government: control. ; Any wastage of fruit that may have occurred last season was not due* to lack of sugar as no restriction was placed on deliveries until after the end of the jam season. * ; " A comparison of the actual deliveries effected during last jam season as comS sired with previous years is as follows:— November to March, 1911-12, 24,790 tons ,' 1912-13, 26,140 tons; 1920-21, 26,094 tons 1921-22, 27,014 tons; v 1922-23, 31,153 tons."

POSITION OF CARRIAGES. FIRST AND SECOND CLASS. [BY TELEGRAPH.SPECIAL REPORTER.] i 1 WELLINGTON, Wednesday, . A question of some interest arising but of the Ongarue disaster was asked by Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) of the Minister for Railways, the Hon. J. "G. Coates, in' the House of Representatives. The question related to the position of first ard secondclass carriages, . find the Minister . replied to-day as follows: ■ "It is the , general practice on railways, both in New Zealand arid, elsewhere, to adhere as far ;as practicable to a uniform composition of the principal trains, and it is found that this arrangement affords considerable convenience to the users of the railways, while at the same time considerably facilitating the working of the trains. On the Main Trunk trains the general rule is for the second-class cars to be placed toward; the front of the train, ■ and the first-class cars and sleeper cars constitute the rear portion. It is not at all certain that any departure from this arrangement would, have the effect of more fairly dividing the risk between the two classes than is now the case. "In this connection it will be noted that the postal. car on the train which was involved in the recent accident near Ongarue was practically undamaged, although it was in front of the second-class cars. The department' has no, information as to whether any second-class passengers after the accident at Ongarue paid additional fares to obtain the greater surety which it is (suggested is afforded by occupying first-class carriages/*