HOUSE AND COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 2851, 20 June 1896, Page 3

HOUSE AND COUNCIL.

Tn tho legislative Council yesterday tho Medical Practitioner.-}’ Registration Act Amendment Bill and tho Adulteration Prevention A«U Amendment Bill were introduced b ; y tho Minister of Education and road a first tune, HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. , KRW JjfLLH. Several now Bills wore read a firat time. A DD/CKHS-I N- KKJ'Ii V. The Minihtkic for .Banos resumed the debate on the Addrcna-in-ltcply, and replied to Mr Allen, charging him with wilfully distorting facta, or olh-j that lie waa ignorant of what lie wan talking about. Answering Mr Duthie, the Minister said the Government had spent over JJ-jO,OOO in opening up the Kant road at .Stratford against .£SOO spent by his predecessor. Mr Dutbio had objected to tho hanking enquiry, and yet in one of his speeches Mr Dutluo had said they wanted tho affairs of tho Bank unravelled. What did ho want ? Mr Dutiiik : A Royal Commission. Tho Mjnxmtisxi for Lands : Name thorn.

Mr Dutiiik : A Judge of tho Supreme Court and two professional accountants of experience.

- The MiNiHTKit, continuing, raid if tho hon gentleman wanted a proper enquiry they would have every chance of potting it. As to tho Midland Railway, the time would come when it would bo proved tho Premier had saved tho Colony thousands of pounds. As to tho land policy of the Government, and the charge that the people had not been put bn the land, he pointed out that tho Bottlers had four years in which to take uj> their residence, and tho Act hod only been m force for four years. Ho also showed that a groat many more people were residing on the land than wore obliged by law to bo there. Against this, he showed that Ids predecessor in lii» last year of olli«o had sold for cash 32,000 acres of land in Canterbury, which was subsequently transferred to monetary institutions within tho year. That waa not legitimate settlement; it was duimnyiarn. As to roads, it was impossible to road tho country with tho means placed at his disposal. Tho Wellington members bad given him no help in providing roads to open up pottlemoot in tho Wellington district, and if they wore going to insist on country being opened up they must vote money for that purpose. Messrs McGuire, Hall and 0. W. Bussell also spoke.

The Minihtkh for Puitwc Woiiks contended that the members of tho Opposition did not really desire an enquiry into tho banking legislation, and lie (the Minister) called upon the Liberal Party to got a proper enquiry, so that they might see who had done wrong,and tjiat,whoever ho might bo, oven if he had sat on tho Treasury Benches, ho should suffer for that wrong-doing. As to tho complaints made against tho Premier for having joined tho Anglo-Continental Company, ho pointed out that several former Premiers had been directors of companies and nothing had boon said against them. Messrs Pirani, Eurnahaw, McLaehlau. Flatman and Tanner also spoke, and tho debate was then adjourned, and tho House rose at 1.15 a.in.