HOUSE OF REPRESNTATIVES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1440, 5 October 1899, Page 32

HOUSE OF REPRESNTATIVES

; FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29. , » The Speaker took the chair at 2.30 IMPREST; SUPPLv BILL. 1 An Imprest. rSupply Bill, f0r,.£425,000*. was introduced::by v Governor's- Message. '•i>Mr GEORGE -HUTCHISON .-(.Pa tea)-; : brughti up - ; the - question of r PomaKaka" estate- ..He complained that the Government had failed to provide i two : returns, one, ordered ;'this, session and one last session, showing the expenditure on the estate under different, heads. He went on to contend that the State had made heavy losses m the sett'ee nient of the estate. The ACTING-MINISTER for AGRICULTURE (Mr. Hall-Jones) said the Opposition lhad decried the Pomahaka purchase from the commencement. Two years ago a profit of about. £SO was made from a crop of turnips, r-. The ■ ;; report on the .estate for. this year ,was ' .of a .most) satisfactory nature. . It that good progress: ..had ...been " made/ with -the: settlement of-the es- '" tatej. the- arrears.'on: 31st March only amounting to £126.-" i- « ,■ ;- Mr R'OLLESTON (Riccarton) said the country- would- not "be satisfied unless the question i[ of; Pomahaka. was probed t, to the bottom. " v W "£ "'■■■ Mr GILFEDDER (Wallace) said tnat

the whole matter was being-investigated bj^-the'Waste Lands Committee;-' Trie" proper' -time to 'discuss it "would -be when the committee brought uowd. its report. .... - - - ■■-■■ The PREMIER (Mr Seddon) replying to contentions that the rents should be reduced, urged that cher 3 should be no reductions till a full opportunity h*d been given for testing whether the rents were fair in the first instance. Iney must be very careful ■a> to what they did-in that respect-, 'otherwise there would .be a loss, the taxpayers would complain; and the lands tor settlement policy would be destroyed. What had helped to damn that settlement and make that purchase the loast profitable the Government had made,, was the action of members of the House. . .•.be., agitation set up and t?;e statements , that no one could., pry the rent and live "upon it had reduced the market; , value of.the settlement, . .The result,was that unfortunate y2ttl»r& had had to " fight against* difficulties which had .not ?j beset other settlers- under t.'ie Government. ~;-.,• t- . ..- •-;;■...:.■-*-'■;•: :-W'':'" The Bill-was then .referred, t.o Com-r of Supply,' and passed that stage without debate. At a later stage, Mr GEORGE HUTCHISON- again referred to the matter of Pomahaka,, and urged that they .uust get the evidence of the settlers taken before, a trust- ; worthy tribunal, as ft was impossible to get at the bottom of the. affair by depending on official reports. The PREMIER -aid. the probability was that the Waste Lands Committee would have sufficient evidence given before it as to. cause it to make some recommendation in regard to further investigation into the question of Pomahaka. The Bill was put through all stages. THE ESTIMATES. The House then went into Committee of Supply for the consideration of the Estimates. The House adjourned for dinner at 5.30 p.m. On resuming at 7.30 the first allocation to come up for consideration was one of £1473 for Rotorua Sanatorium. Mr HERRIES (Bay of Plenty) com- , plained of the generally unsatisfactory state of the service at the sanatorium. The attendants were miserably underpaid. Further, the condition of the building at the bath was utterly inadequate. An elective board should administer the affairs of the town and , the baths. ; The MINISTER for PUBLIC WORKS (Mr Hall-Jones) admitted that it was desirable to constitute an elective board • at Rotorua. It was possible that a Bill would be promoted for. that purpose during the nresent session. Mr PIRANI (Palmerston) said the bath-beeper was appointed purely as a reward for political services. Mr HERRIES said this was not the first time that political appointments had been made at Rotorua. It was a common saying in the ciis.r.eb that Rotorua was the dumping ground tor Ministerial favourites. Mr WILSON (Wellington Suburbs) said that was not the case in every instance. He knew of one case where the person appointed was diametrically opposed to the Government in politics. The PREMIER said he had known the bath-keeper and his wife for years, and knew them to be obliging and capable. The appointment was made by the doctor in charge. " The bath-keeper had received more teStihionials from patients during the few months that, hehad been there than any previous attendant■ ; and the doctor was well pleased with the way in which he carried out his duties. The fact that the Premier had given him a testimonialwas sufficient excuse for some membersto attack his appointment oil the floor of the House. If the. man did not give satisfaction, the doctor would not be doing his duty if he did not send him away. Mr DUTHIE (Wellington City): teerd a man away when you had recommended him! (Laughter.) Mr PIRANI moved to reduce the item by £l, as an indication that the House did not approve of political appoint-

ments. A long and inconsequential debate followed, the motion to reduce the item being eventually negatived, and the item passed. The next vote was "Department or Labour, £6480." . Mr LEWIS (Christchurch City) complained of ' the ' practice of employing Crown Prosecutors to_prc.secute in cries' of breaches of the Shops and Shop Assistants Act in the large centres. The result was to add considerably to the expense put upon the unfortunate defendants. - The PREMIER said he was entirely opposed to the employment of lawyers, and the practice-would be discountenanced as" far as was compatible with safety- - - ■ Mr MOORE (Kaiapoi) remarked on the fact that this year only £3OO -was nni-- down for the Levin State-Farm, against £BOO put down last year, when £1665 was expended. • • " " The PREMIERsaid-thereason\for the reduction was that'the earning power of the State Farm had considerably increased. , - * ' The PREMIER, replying to questions, said -"the "■ present .position in regard to sitting's 'of' the : ' Arbitration, Court was most unsatisfactory.. He did y not know what remedy" could be devised, unless they appointed another Judge, to coiifine himself. to the work of the Arbitration Court, and to do re]i e ving duty

when not so- engaged; He thougat ' they should -relieve Mr Justice Edwards of some of his- Court* wtirk, and allow him to hold sittings of the Arbitration Court. The House should consider the question of increasing ;tne salary for the additional work entaded, unless they decided to appoint another Judge. The work must be done, and they must make arrangements to have it done properly. As to the increased cost of the Labour Department, • it was caused by increases of salaries which had been called for from all parts of the House'last session. ■'.':;'-' Mr MEREDITH (Ashley) complained that no details had been given of the receipts and expenditure in . connection with the State farm. Mr BROWN (Taranaki) pointed out that last' year there was a loss on the farm, of £615.' He was doubtful whether tbe £3OO/now . on the., estimates would cover" the loss for the current year. ' The;PREMJjER said s*«*' the principal items'xtf/ expenditure, "on the iarin were : separator,'boiler, etc., £55.; timbery' £3O; purchase of agricultural implements, horses, cattle, blacksmithing, etc., £358. - The chief, receipts we f e : —Sales of - milk,. £349 ;- sales of cattle, £345; sales of pork, £140; sales of - It was hoped that before long the farm would pay its way. Mr.MASSEY (Franklin) said he failed to see what use the farm was. It would employ a great deal more labour if it was .cut up into four 200 acre farms or eight 100 acre farms. Either way, it should be handed over to tne Agricultural Department. - ■ The PREMIER: They won't take it. Mr.MASSEY moved to reduce tne item by £l, as an indication that the farm should either be handed over to the Agricultural Department or put to some better use than at present. .Mr O'REGAN (Buller) said it was absurd to have only twenty people on farm of 800 acres. Mr R. THOMPSON (Marsden) said it was useless to expose the hopelessness of the experiment. Mr O'MEARA (Pahiatua) said the farm had done good.work, and the Government should now dispose of it. Mr PIRANI thought the farm should be abolished, as it did not help tiios? people for whose benefit it was started. The reduction of the item by £1 was carried on the voices. Mr SCOBIE MACKENZIE (Dunedi* City) objected to the whole tone and style of the report of the Labour Depart. - ment, which was deceptive and misleading, and the author had undertaken the evidently congenial task of defending the Government in a partisan way. There.was a tone of servility about the whole thing which to him was positively odious. Mr WILSON (Wellington Suburbs) said the reflection cast on Mr Tregear by Mr Scobie Mackenzie would not be approved of by a majority of members of the House. Mr Tregear was a most estimable gentleman, and the attack made upon him was entirelvundeserved. Mr ROLLESTON (Riccarton) expressed strong disapproval of the "Labour Journal," which seemed to have for its object to set class against class. The PREMIER said that Mr Scobie Mackenzie had -no right to make such an attack on a deserving public officer, and one who had done more in the interests of labour than Mr Mackenzie would do if he was to live to the age of Methuselah. The vote passed at 12.40 a.m. The next vote taken was Mines Department, total £16,891. The vote passed without alteration. The Railways Department vote, £967,320, passed without alteration. Public and School Buildings and Domains, total vote,. £42,575; • ..The vote passed, without alteration. The Police." Department, Cheviot Estate Account, and Crown Lands, passed. Progress -was then reported, and the House rose at 1.55 a.m.

MONDAY, OCxOBER 2.

The Speaker took the chair at 2.30 pan. THE KAUxil GUM INDUSTRY. The Kauri Gum Industry Act Amendment Bill was further considered in committee. - The PREMIER (Mr Seddon), in reply to-a question, u said>the^B'ill-. wasrpuly• intended to prevent "/"aliens' working . oh~ proclaimed reserves; other lands would be open to them. The question of the difficulty, of getting naturalisatioi papers cropped up. - Mr DUTHIE (Wellington City) remarked thac.he did not think that any difficulties should be put in the way of decent people of foreign nationality becoming citizens of New Zealand, if they so desired. , The PREMIER said the Government had given facilities for Austrians and other foreigners to become naturalised. The Ajill completed its committee stage at 12.10 a.m. The PREMIER wished the third reading to be taken then, but the requisite permission was refused, .. and the third reading was set down for the following .day.' • ■ _ ~,,..-.. ..7 ~-', .'.-. • .!,'. The House rose at 12.15 a.m. .;, /,/ Tuesday; October 3. .The .Speaker' -took the chair; .at -2.30 p.mv/ '' ■ ' - ■'" .' ,'' \ ' >l ■'' • ""* .-"•y.- --/LEAVE OF'ABSENCE.'" .';.'.' . Fourteen days' further leave of absence was granted to Mr Rawlins f (Tuapeka)Tdn account of illiiessi-:

NEW BILLS. The Railways Authorisation Bill, the Inspection of Machinery Act Amendment., Bill, and the Shipping and Seamen s Act Amendment Bill (Minister, for Public Works) and the Pharmacy Act, Amendment Bill (the Premier) were read a first time. ARBITRATION"' -COURT" WOEE." The PREMIER (Mr Seddon) replying to Mr Millar (Dunedin' City) said- no one was more anxious than he was retarding, the, t delays in, the ; .work. ;pf tbeArbitration ; Cpurt. ~,The of : the , (Mr ] . Justice- Edwards) a w.onld -be lieresat. the. end, of. and .unless co^ld..proceed :South,«on,, Aorbitratioh-' Court" 'work 7pthef,. arrange- j nients would, have to be ioade.;~ ;. _. 0 <V-LAND FOR: SETTLEMENTS.." r . ' :^}t '-The- ACTING-MINISTER'-of' LANDS i (Mr Hall-Jones) replying- to -Mr Flatmani (Geraldine) said •an offer; had .been, by - the -, ; Land : - Purchase. -JBoitfdi for- the purchase of 8000; rx>f> thai Levels -Estate,-' but^-the - offer xhsdcZtSBBJX-, deolined. - -Negotiations; were. oni':. pro}?3 gre«s for -purchasing-other .land: izr:their vicinity. , -~-- : --' ■■■ :---;_ ; ■ .;•.u .-;a '.,?;■ a I- PARLIAMENTARY -Mr PIRANI (Palmerston North) the . Premier,: whether .- he . .would, place .a sum on . the.- -Supple-, mentary Estimates to . restore the : salaries of the Speaker, . Chairmah " of Committees and. .Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representativ"eS_to. "'the !v amounts, uaid some -years ago? -; ;.He; remarked * that hi' 1886 ' the : salary of ' the Speaker.'was £BOO, of';. Committees £SOO, and Sergeant-at-Arms £250.': - - : -"■•*■■".- 'H The PREMIER said this was- a- ques- ' tion that oiight to be dealt with bythe new Parliament, together with .'the salaries of the'Governor and Ministers.'.: He thought "some in#rease was. .neces- . TORPEDOMEN'S. UNIFORMS. .".. - The PREMIER, replying to Mr" E. . Q. Allen- (Waikouaiti) said the uniform worn by torpedomen was not. suitable-" for the work to be done. ,_.'„: ..;- - - SOLDIERS' GRAVES;,.', ._ i•. ; 1 "Mr■'FISHER (Wellington.-City); s.skedthe Government -whother - -it-- ,: wouldissue instructions that the graves ia theWellington 'cemeteries of soldiers killed during the time of the Maori disturb-; ances shall 'be kept" in a decent ■ state, of repair? The said that .steps were being taken to asce-rtain the condition of the graves. YTTien that was done,;. the Government would consider , the question of keeping them in. order. They, should not allow; these graves ,to] be a standing reproach. . , . ..' - ; -" ."- THE GORGE BRIDGE. -.. t. V: .. . Mr - O'MEARA (Pahiatua), asked "-the-Acting-Minister of Lands what had been done by the Government in -the- way" of setting up a Ccmmission respecting the Gorge bridge^; or whether the Government"'was prepared to accept the £3OOO which, it was understood, had' been offered by the Manchester Road Board, and proceed at onee. with the, re-erection of the Gorge bridge? . Mr HALL-JONES said the other, local bodies had made no offer, and the Man-. Chester Road Board was backing from its first offer, which was £8720. If offers were, made from the .various districts, he believed the work' would bo commenced in three months'. Plans were now being prepared for the bridge. THE KETCH ENVY/ ' Mr FISHER asked the iviinisier of Marine whether any further opportunity would be'given to Captain Champion, master "of the ketch Envy, torefute the statements persistently made' in regard to the unseaworthiness of the Envy during her recent voyage from Wellington to Auckland? Uaptam Cham-' pion, he added, was'anxious--that there: should be some official investigation ~m-; t'o the matter. Mr HALL-JONES said that a departmental inquiry had been held, at which witnesses were examined on. oath, but ha thought it was very desirable to have the matter threshed out. ELECTORS' RIGHTS. Mr PIRANI s.sked the Premier whether he 1 would consider the advisability of amending section 43 of the Electoral Act, 1893, so as to prevent electors temoc-rarily absent from the colony from being struck off the rolls without being given an opportunity to defend their rights ? '. The PREMIER said he would be most happy to make the registration as perfect as possible. The Law Officers of tho Crown, however, advised that a man was not to be considered absent from the colony if he went Home, leaving his family, or part of his family, behind. NEW- ZEALAND IRON ORES. Mr BROWN (Taranaki) asked the Premier if, with, a view of developing the mineral resources of the colony he would place a sum of money on the Supplementary Estimates as bonus for tho manufacture within the colony or 10,000 tons of wrought- iron or steei, to be manufactured out of the ironores of the colony ? The PREMIER said he was not. altogether in love with the bonus- system, especially after his experience with the bonus for the manufacture of felt. NEW ZEALAND'FIREMEN. . The- ..PBEMjQDR,,'- replying to Mr. Fisher, said he did not think the benefit derived from sending .a.- team of firemen from New Zealand" to take part in the International Fire Brigades' Congress, to be held in Pans, would be commensurate with the expense. ,

Other questions having been, answered, the Honse adjourned for dinner at 5.30 pr'.m'. THE ESTIMATES. On resuming at 7.30 p.m., the Hoiise went into Committee of Supply on, the Estimates. The firsfe allocation to come on for discussion was that of £62.524 for the Agricultural Department. • Mr O'BJSGAN (Buller) pointed out that, a great deal of destruction was going on among native ground birds in consequence of stoats and weasels having made their appearance in the Sounds dicfericfc of the South Island. He thought it extraordmary that this pest should be allowed to prey on colonial ra.una, \>hiie at. the same time money was being expended to provide sanctix? aries for the birds. Mr HALL-JONES explained that no stoats or weasels had been liberated during the last eight years. Mr TAYLOR (Onristchurch City) asked what it was proposed to do in regard to the poultry expert. The expense in connection with this gentleman's labours and experiments was considerable, and it could not be said that the experimental farms were conducted in a satisfactory manner. There was reason to -ojeve that each chicken reared at these places had cost ten pounds each. Mr FISHER said that if the poultry, branch of the department was not a success, that fact cou:d not be attributed to the expert, who before being appointed had been a most successful breeder. Mr DUTHIE (Wellington City) could not understand why the appointment of • a so-called expert to ''encourage poultry breeding" had been made. Societies all over the country had been doing their utmost, for years to improve the character of the various breeds. Mr LEWIS (Christchurch City) looked upon the whole affair as a most ridiculous ' farce. It was an expensive one, too, for it cost the colony £750 a • year. Last season eggs were sold at an average of a shilling each which had really cost the colony half-a-crown. He moved that the amount of the expert's salary be- struck out. Mr PIRANI moved to strike out the amount. £350, allowed to the Produce Commissioner in jcnaland, Mr Cameron. He looked upon this expenditure as one of the most wasteful iu any public department. Tha officer's duties were ''to furnish reports every month to the Government, but these reports were practically useless. For instance, they were not* even thought good enough to supply to the House. The PREMIER agreed that it would be we'l to Live a man in England with great knowledge of how to dispose of colonial shipments. However, Mr Cameron was a valuable officer, and gave serviceable information in. his rex oorts as to prices and requirements. * Mr BUCHANAN (Wairarapa) thought it was ridiculous to suppose that the services of a competent representative to look after the colony's produce could be secured for such a paltry stun as was paid to Mr Cameron. Mr HOGG (Masterton) argued that it was necessary in the interests of the dairy farmers that such an officer as Mr Cameron should be retained m London to supply news and advice concern- , jng -rie English market. The PREMIER explained that Mr Cameron's duties were fo keep the Government posted up respecting the price of all kinds of produce. The whole or his time was given to the service of the department. . Mr MEREDITH (Ashley) reminded the House that other countries expended large sums in remunerating produce commissioners—such as Denmark, United States, France and Canada. Mr ROLLESTON (Riccarton) suggested that it would be desirable if the House were placed in possession of more information concerning the work performed by Mr Cameron. If he did not receive other emoluments then he was very inadequately paid. The PREMIER, after several members had spoken on the subject, intimated that he would have Mr Cameron's work reviewed, and if it was worth more money steps would be taken to have the salary increased. Mr Pirani's motion to reduce the vote for the Produce Commissioner was negatived on the voices. Mr BOLLARD (Eden) wanted to know why the assistant entomologist (£150) was receiving less tha' the fruit experts (&&uu). From what he could learn the, latter were of. little use whatever, but in the North the assistant entomologist pave the orchardists great assistance Again, there was a great deal of ignor- » ance among fruitgrowers as to the manner in which the codlin moth pest should be dealt with. What the Government should do was to acquire an orchard in an isolated place and demonstrate the best means "to cope with the pest, at the same time making the undertaking pay. Mr HALL-JONES assured cae House that it was the intention of the Government to acquire a suitable orchard and experiment on the codlin moth. As for the entomologist's salary inquiry would be made into the matter, and, if necessary, an increase would be provided for later on. The committee then reverted to consideration of Mr Lewis's amendment to strike out the poultry expert's salary*'; The question was debated until 11.35 p.m., when the proposal to strike out the item was negatived by 31 votes to 18 - Mr HERRIES (Bay of. Plenty) moved to reduce the item " Analyst, £300," by £l. - • 'Mr HALL-JONES said that if farmers

sent soil to the analyst lie would analyse it free or cost. The analyst had only been appointed about six months, and he (Mr Hall-Jones) had no doubt his services would be availed of very largely. It was also intended tiiat the department should test seeds. The item passed without alteration. Eventually the class passed without alteration. The next class taken was Lands and Survey, total vote, £131,582. Mr HERRIES moved to reduce the item, " Surveyor-General, £750," by £l, as an indication of the disgraceful way in which his district had been treated in regard to the allocation of votes. After discussion the motion was withdrawn, and the item passed. The vote passed, and the Valuation Department vote was also passed. When we went to press Defence Department was being discussed.