DEBATE IN HOUSE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19676, 30 June 1927, Page 11

DEBATE IN HOUSE.

FIRST BUSINESS BEGUN. MANY TOPICS DISCUSSED. CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION. ] W ELLINGTON, Wednesday. I lie debate on the Address -in-Reply was commenced in the House this evening, when Mr. ,T. Mason (Napier) moved that a respectful address be presented to His Excellency the Governor-General in replv to his speech. Referring to Empire defence. Mr. Mason dealt with the Singapore base, quoting Earl Jellicoe's statement that Singapore was most important. Air. Alason felt that New Zealand's plain duty was to make the best contribution she could to this base, in view of the importance of naval defence to this country. Referring to the agitation in Samoa lie expressed pleasure that tiie Government had taken steps to deal with the situation. Mr. Alason quoted figures from the Year Book illustrating the increased wealth per capita of the people in New Zealand. The Government's forward policy had enabled large numbers of people to acquire their own homes, and he suggested people with large families should have preference in the allocation of loans for building homes. New Zealand's financial position was sound, as was shown by the -readiness with which the recent loan of £6.ooi\ooo was taken up in London. This money was to be spent on reproductive works. The Political Parties.* While congratulating the Government on what if was doing under the Alain Highways Act, Air. Mason urged that greater assistance should be given to local authorities to improve hack-block roads, which were necessary before settlers could make the most of the land they farmed. The agricultural credits scheme was the most practical system any Government had yet introduced to help fanners with finance. In regard fo unemployment, he said the trouble arose out of the tactics followed by workers in industries, citing the seamen's strike of 1925, as a result of which the primary industries had been greatly interfered with. There had also been much over-importation, while New Zealand was also suffering from the effects of the coal strike in Britain.

Party politics were dealt with by Mr. A. Hamilton (Wallace) in seconding the motion. Matters were somewhat mixed as far as the Liberals were concerned. They could not distinguish between the Liberal Party and a Liberal policy. If they were in search of a Liberal policy they would find it in that of the present Government At present, there were only two real parties in the country, Reform and Labour, and if the Labour Party came into power it would enact extreme legislation. So far as the Reform Party was concerned, the progressive members of it were its dominant influence and Liberal measures were being passed. Problems of the Land. Mr. Hamilton maintained the primary producers were placed in an unfair position compared with other members of the community, and in consequence there was unemployment. There might be thousands of unemployed, but there were thousands of jobs which should be done. How were these two factors to be brought together ? It was not sufficient to relieve unemployment; they must cure it. Farmers' sons were leaving the farms and the farmers were cutting down labour wherever they could do without it, because they could not employ it economically. The cause of the trouble was not that land values were too high in the country, but that they were too high in the cities, and this was causing a great deal of high productive costs today.

Making Farming Attractive. During the war land values were inflated because the prices of produce went up, but when the war ended the prices of primary products fell. So did the values of country lands, but the value of city lands did not fall, and until that deflation took place there would be no improvement in the present unsatisfactory position of'affairs. The wealth of New Zealand still came from her land and the State should be most interested in maintaining successful settlers. But the State, by arbitrary methods, was assisting in destroying her own assets and in ' crests. The policy which should be adopted was to turn people and money back to the land. They must make farming and rural occupations as attractive as possible and so help to restore to farmers their rightful share of the Dominion's income. The handling of farm products was still the largest labour-absorbing factor in the country and until a proper ratio of national income was restored to the farmers unemployment must continue. Mr. Hamilton favoured the abolition ot protective tariffs and the Arbitration Court although it might be a drastic remedy. He also favoured revenue derived from protective tariffs being used to subsidise the export of unprotected products. He supported the setting up of a committee to inquire into the economic relations of the farming community to the unemployment problem, and thus an honest effort would he made to get back to a better state of affairs. On the motion of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr 11. E. Holland, the deflate was adjourned until to-morrow. SMALL NATIONAL VOTE. THREE GO TO DIVISION. [BY TELEGRAPH. SPECIAL REPORTER. ] W ELL INGTON, Wednesdn y. .An interesting feature, of last evening's division on the Labour Party's amendment in the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill was that the only three members of the Nationalist Party who were present. the Hon. D. Bud do (Kaiapoi). Mr. .1. Horn (Wakatipu), and Mr. T. E. Y. Seddori (Westland), voted with the Government. During the debate other members of the party were in the House, but they did not attend for the division. KENT IST A S LA BOUR ER. NEW ARRIVAL IN COUNTRY. [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER. 1 WELLINGTON, Wednesday. A petition was presented to the House of Representatives to-day on behalf of Frederick Peters, of Otahulm, a dentist registered in England and a discharged Imperial soldier. Petitioner alleges he emigrated to New Zealand on representations contained l in a Government handbook that he would be admitted to the dentists' register in the Dominion by reason of his British qualification. On arrival he found he could not be admitted and had to take up labouring work. He asked for assistance to proceed to the dental school in Dunedin to > sit for the examination, or, failing to | pass the examination, he asks for a sum to enable him rjatura to England. 1