AN IMPREST SUPPLY BILL

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1636, 8 July 1903, Page 68 (Supplement)

AN IMPREST SUPPLY BILL

An Imprest Supply Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on the 30th ult. . - . Mr Massey was about to raise a point of order, when the Speaker ruled that it would be necessary mat standing order No. 414 should be suspended m order that Committee of bupply of Ways and Means should be set up forthwith. The. PREMIER agreed to this course, and proposed accordingly a motion to that effect. Mr DTJTHiJii hoped that the House would not depart from the ordinary practice of disposing of the Addi ess-in-Reply before setting up this committee. Ho complained that constitutional practice was being departed from by the present Government. Formerly when vho Governor travelled through the colony, he was accompanied by a Minister of the Grown, but now this was not done, and his Excellency was allowed to go abroad as if no responsibility attached to his office. (A laugh.) Some members laughed, hut this was no light matter. There ought to be no weakening of the thin thread which united us now with the Mother Country ; and if we were going to treat the Governor in tins fashion, we should have public opinion drifting in the direction of asking, <r Wliat is the good of retaining our tie with the Mother Country ?” Mr Duthie referred to the Premier’s utterances on the subject of preferential trade, and asserted that the latter, in a recent speech, had uttered a threat against the British Empire. He protested that the House ought not to be driven to vote Supply without being able to consider the position of the colony. Ministers now forced the House to one day before tho expiry of the term allowed by law. It was a question whether the House was going to control the expenditure or abandon that duty to the Ministry. Mr Duthie held that seven months now elapsed during which the expenditure was without any control by Parliament, and held that Parliament ought to have been called together at tho end of April. The Ministry assumed tho whole power of control of the expenditure ; and he asked what was the use of Parliament if seven months were to be allowed to lapse without any control of the pfablio purse by members? Sir JOSEPH WARD said that Mr Duthio appeared to have overlooked entirely* many circumstances which he ought to have taken into account in regard to the calling together of Parliament. If Parliament were called together in the month of April, hardly a country member would he able to attend without the greatest inconvenience. The Ministry would ho glad if Parliament could he called together soon after the end of the financial year, hut it must be remembered that it was of the greatest inconvenience to country members to attend Parliament before the end of Jpme. He was sorry to hear the assertion that any want of respect had been shown by the Ministry to the representative of the Crown. The Governor had not expressed any wish to be accompanied throughout'the colony, and no Government would obtrude a Minister upon this Governor or any Governor unless the Governor himself specially desired it. Every member of the House and every member of tho present Government had the highest respect for his Excellency; and that a weakening of the tie binding the colonies to the Old Land might result, as Mr Duthiehad predicted, he should he sorry to believe. He scouted the suggestion made by Mr Duthie that the Premier ihad proposed measures which meant the destruction of the Empire. Was it not a fact that British statesmen had entered into treaties with Germany, Italy, Japan and America ? And yet no aspersion t>r innuendo was made against these men, who were responsible for the interests of the Empire. As to the discussion of grievances before the voting of Supply, Sir Joseph Ward held that the position in tho House of Commons and that in the New Zealand Parliament were not always analogous; for at Home Parliament sat often for eight or nine montlis out of the twelve. He pointed out that an ample opportunity of discussing the position of the colony was afforded row in the all-round"dis-cussion which >sok place on the ordinary Estimate* Sir Joseph Ward, in concluding, quoted from the proceedings of the House ol Commons to show that there Supply had been asked for on June 11th. 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th, and'July Ist and 3rd.

Sir WILLIAM RUSSELL said that the Minister of Railways, in reading the dates in June, had proved the case of the member for Wellington. Parliament at Home was generally called together about February, so that Supply was asked for about three months after Parliament met. The custom in the United Kingdom was that when a Budget was brought down involving expenditure in everj part of the civilised and many parts of the uncivilised world, the whole of the details of tlm figures were laid before Parliament Avithin a fortnight; whilst here the figures were not given until after the lapse of many months. He maintained that the House had lost control of the finances, and that members of the House ought to be ashamed of themselves for having

allowed that to come to pass. The House ought to he called together before the end of June, hut if that were impossible, arrangements ought to be made by which the date of closing tho financial year ought to bo altered. Mr MASSEY urged tiie House to pause before it suspended tho standing order, which was a copy of that in force in the House of Commons. He held that tho first Imprest Supply Bill ought to he the occasion for Ministers to explain their actions during tho recess; and ho thought that the House might profitably spend two days in discussing this Bill, instead of being asked to pass it at that sitting. Ho urged that in view of the increase in the number of members of the House, tho number of members required to he present for the suspending of the standing orders ought to bo increased. Mr BUCHANAN wanted to know what tho special reason was this year for tho delay in calling Parliament together? He added his protest against the unconstitutional practice which, ho claimed, was being adopted by the Ministry. Mr T. MACKENZIE did not agree with the Minister of Railways that country members objected to an earlier date for the meeting of Parliament. He believed that Parliament ought to be called together in May, and prorogued earlier in tho spring. Mr E. M. SMITH characterised the attack of the Opposition as a sham. Mr JAMES ALLEN considered that members, in allowing the Bil,l to pass without discussing it, wore parting with their privilege of discussing* grievances before voting Supply. Mr Allen complained that the Premier had ignored the standing order relative to Committee of Supply, and that tho first act the Speaker had had to perform was to point out the procedure according to the standing order. He asserted that the House was departing from its standing orders, and that it would not bo the fault of the Opposition if this Bill were delayed for a week, and the payment of the salaries of the OiviJ servants thus delayed. The PREMIER did not wish to charge the Opposition with a want of sincerity, hut he charged them with a want of respect to the new members, who were listening to them • for the first time. He claimed that the Supply referred to in Parliamentary practice on this question was the Supply included in the ordinary estimates. Imprest Supply Bills were not debated in the House of Commons, nor had they been debated in the New Zealand Parliament until recently. Regarding his utterances on the question of preferential trade, Mr Seddon corrected the statement of Mr Duthie, and quoted from a version of his speech reported on the spot, and appearing in a West Coast paper. Wliat he had said in the speech in question was: —“If, on the other hand, our overtures. and offers are scouted, and our advice scoffed at, the position will be forced upon us —■ I hop© it will not bo that the colonies will be found reciprocating with alien countries. T should be sorry to he a party to reciprocating with alien countries if I knew it to be an injury to our Mother Country and our own kindred.” Was it, then, in the power of Mr Buthies, in view of this utterance, to tell him that he was unpatriotic? That lion, member, having risen in the House, and elsewhere and endeavoured to put him in a false position, had met with his answer. The Premier went on to speak of the treaty entered into by the Premier of Newfoundland between that country and the United States, and asked whether that treaty had brought upon the Newfoundland Government any accusation of disloyalty or want of patriotism? As to the reason why Parliament had not been called together earlier, tho Premier pointed out that the accounts of the colony had been certified to and passed by the Audit Department on the 14th May only. He supposed that Mr Dutliie would blame tho Audit Department. Mr DUTHIE—It is undermanned. The PREMIER —Then the lion member ought to have told the House that the Audit Department was undermanned. Mr Seddon went on to say that tho hon member for Wellington, the moment the ground was cut from under his feet, stooped and ran. (Laughter.) In regard to Mr Duthie’s complaint fihat the Governor was not attended by a Minister when he traveled through tho colony, he asked Mr Duthie whether he would force himself upon his Excellency when his Excellency expressly desired that he should not ho attended. His Excellency, Mr Seddon repeated, in reply tc an interjection- by Mr Duthie, had expressed that desire. The Governor, at any public function, was not unattended by a Minister, but when his Excellency required to enjoy freedom as a private individual it would he reprehensible in the highest degree for a Minister to force himself upon him. If members wanted the House to meet at an earlier date, they would have to change the date of the end of the financial year, and to do that was the duty of the House. Mr Seddon repeated that the moneys voted in this Imprest Supply were appropriations of last year, and he challenged the Opposition to

show that the payments now in this Bill had been objected to by members then in the House. The majority of members of the House, he contended, controlled tho public purse. Every shilling of expenditure by the Government had been accounted for* and the Opposition Press had commended the Government for the course it had taken. The accounts of expenditure had been laid on the table of the House that day—an unprecedented record.

The Imprest Supply Bill, of a total sum of £465.000, was then passed through committee. In answer to questions from various members, the Premier explained that'the transfer - from the Consolidated Fund to the Public Works Fund was the usual transfer, and in this case consisted of one-third of last year’s surplus. Replying to objections as to unexpended votes appearing on the Estimates, the Premier said he thought it woujd he found at the end of the year that the expenditure had been up to the average. This colony could not go on spending borrowed money on

public works at the rate of two millions a year. The Imprest Supply Bill was passed through all its stages. Tho Imprest Supply Bill, received from the House of Representatives, was passed through all its stages in Legislative Council without discussion on the 30th ult.