SESSION ENDS TO-DAY ?

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10853, 19 March 1921, Page 8

SESSION ENDS TO-DAY ?

COMPROMISE ON SHOPS AND OFFICES ACT

MORTGAGE EXTENSION BILL ALSO PASSES

DETAILS OF FINANCE MEASURE

The House of Representatives met at. 2.30 p.m. yesterday. j FIRE BLIGHT AND NEW BILL. j The Hon. TV. Nosworthy gave notice • , of iris intention to introduce tlie Noxious Weeds Amendment Bill. Mr T. K. Sidey (Dunedin Central) ask- 1 ed tho Minister if he would introduce , legislation this session, dealing with, the , tiivbiigilit menace. I Ala- Noswortkv replied that the bill I of which he had just given notice was intended to deal with certain aspects of the menace. I Tho Taumarunui County Bill (Mr R. j W. Smith. Waimarino), was read a. first time, and on tire motion of Mr Smith tho Standing Orders were suspended to enable the bill to be proceeded with next session at the stage reached without being: further advertised. The Expiring Law® Continuance Bill was introduced by GovernoorGeneral’a Message, and Tead a first tirno. On t.he motion of the Prime Minister, the Speaker was directed to issue a. warrant to the Clerk of Writ® to make out a writ for the election of a member of the House in place of the late Mr TV. D. Powdrell (Patea). MORTGAGES EXTENSION SECOND READING DEBATE. In moving the second .reading of tho Mortgages Extension Bill, introduced in the Upper House, Mr Massey said that if we were to avoid hardship to many most deserving settlers, borh m town and country, the extension of the Act was very necessary. He knew there were hardships on both sides—to lenders as well as to borrowers —but the Government had to consider the balance of advantage to the Dominion as a whole. Mr T. M. Wi'lford (Leader of the Opposition) suggested that the operation ot the Act should be extended to apply to mortgages executed since the passing of the amending Act of 1919, and gave notice of an amendment to that effect. He would not press t'he amendment, he stated, if it was the consensus of opinion that it would tend! to discourage the lending of money on mortgage. Mr E. Newman (ManaVafcu) urged that the onus to apply for tan extension should rest on tho borrower. He would like to see the Act made to apply to all mortgages on land, especially to mortgages executed recently, as many of the borrowers were returned soldiers.

Mr J- P. Luke (Wellington North) supported the bill. He said he would like to see the Act apply to local body debentures raised in New Zealand. The Wellington City Council had recently had to raise a large sum of money to pay off debentures falling due. One institution which held a considerable number of them refused to renew except at a very much higher rate of interest; and he had reason to believe that the money that institution received from the council had been sent overseas. He believed that the present stringency was Largely due to that sort of thing. Mr R. McCallum (Wairau) gave notice of an amendment making the extension under claruso 2 to June 30th, 1922, instead of December 21« t, 1921. Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) expressed his satisfaction, at the Government having brought down the bill. He had read with more satisfaction Mr McCallurn's bill, but they must be thankful for small mercies, and something further might be done next session. He supported. Mr Wilford’s suggestion. EXTENDED FO SIX MONTHS. The Hon. E. P. Lee said, that the bill as it stood extended the operation of the Act, in effect, for a period of six months. He suggested that it would be unwise to extend the Act so as to cover mortgages executed since October, 1919, as that might tend to discourage the lending of money on mortgage. Mr Vernon H. Reed (Bay os Islands) suggested that the mortgages should be divided into classes falling due at different dates, so that all would not come due at once. They should look to the ceasing of the moratorium; the sooner the country got back to normal in these matters the better.

Mr J. A. Young (Waikato) opposed the extension of the Act to post-1919 mortgages. The Act, in many cases, had had the effect of encouraging land speculation, thus unduly inflating land values. Otlier people took advantage of the moratorium to buy motor-cars, and so oi. instead of paying off their mortgages. Mr R. W. Smith (Waimarino) stated that the financial position was far more acute to-day than it was in 1914 and 1919. The Act would have to bo very much wider to like meet the present situation.

Mr Massey said that the debate at once illustrated the difficulty of dealing with tho matter, anil demonstrated the necessity for something being done. If the Government failed to extend the Act, he feared that scores or hundreds of deserving settlers would be sold out of house and home. Members: Thousands. Mr Massey added that there was something to say for the classification suggestion; but he hoped that people would not leave the renewing of their mortgages to the very last day. T'he AttorneyGeneral, he might say, was of opinion that it will be necessary during the ensuing session, in view of the amendments made, to reconsider the purpose and policy of the original Act, and that certain, amendments would be urgently required. The bill was read a second time on the voices.

SHOP HOURS BILL

EARLY OR LATE CLOSING. THAT “BOGUS” POSITION. In moving the second reading of the Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, the Hon. G. J- Anderson said that his sympathy at the present lime was altogether with" the small men. The small shopkeeper had a pretty hard row to hoe all over New Zealand, and he should be considered just as much as tho big man. He admitted that he had received a number of telegrams objecting to the bill, but they were mainly from shop assistants’ associations and 6liop-owners’ federations. The bill repealed section 11 of the 1920 Act, which prescribed six o’clock, except on Fridays, as tho closing hour of all shops. Sir J. P. Luke (Wellington North) said that he would oppose the bill. He objected to a bill being rushed through to repeal a very important section of a. measure passed so recently as tho previous session.

Mr E. Kellett (Dunedin North) and Mr L. M. Isi It (Christchurch North) also opposed tho bill. Mr V. JI. Potter (Boskill) strongly supported it. Hr Tsitt said {hat if tho clause was repealed iho middle-sized shopkeepers, who fell most severely the competit ion. of (he small shopkeepers, would also keep open : and that would compel the big men in their turn to keep open. He mover! that Ihe eonsidorntion of the bill be held over till next session, when further evidence could be heard, by the conaHjjtte®. We

, must have early closing or late closing; wo could not 'have both. To repeal the clause would open up the whole question again, and undo a reform that had brought leisure to a large and deserving C Mr Luke suggested that the best thing to do would be to have a consolidating statute next session. Mr J. McCombs (Lyttleton) opposed the 1 bill, staling that only 200 shopkeepers in I Auckland, and less than that number in each of the other big centres, had asked for the bill, unless they were to accept I bogus petitions presented by the hon. I member for Boskill, said to contain tho ! signatures of 4900 shopkeepers, but .rejected by the Clerk to the House because numbers of the signatures were obvioqsly in tho same hand and were therefore forgeices. Mr Potter denird that they wore forgeries, as the names had been written in with the consent of the people concerned. , , , , , . Mr McCombs said that he had had inquiries made and found that in a number of cases that was not so. A COMPROMISE!. After the dinner-hour adjournment Mr Anderson suggested a compromise, m the shape of a clause giving the small shopkeeper who considered that he was tlie subject of undue hardship the opportunity of going to the Arbitration Court and seeking exemption from the 6 o clock closing clause. He understood .that the opponents of the bill were prepared to agree to that. That proviso would hold gdod until January Ist, 1922, and in the meantime he hoped to have a consolidation of tho Shops and Offices Act and the Labour laws generally introduced early next session, when the whole matter could be threshed out before the labour Bills Committee and in the House, and the small shopkeepers could give evidence on their own behalf. Mr Isitt withdrew his motion. Mr A. Harris CWaitemata) strongly opposed the compromise. , Mr Massev said that xt was clear that the bill in its original form could not pass this session; and he urged that the ueft best thing was a compromise. The bill was read a second time on the voices. IN COMMITTEE. MORTGAGE EXTENSION BILL. In committee on the Mortgage Extension Bill Mr McCallum strongly pleaded that the right of the mortgagee to apply for an extension should be continued till June 30th, 1922, instead of December 31st, 1921. He moved his amendment to that effect. Mr Massey asked the House to pass the measure in its present form, and if amendment was found to be necessary it could be introduced by GovernorGeneral’s message. The Attorney-Gene-ral during the recess intended to overhaul the whole measure and introduce an amending bill early next session. The amendment was defeated on the voices, and the bill was passed through committee without further discussion. The bill was read a third time and passed. SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL. In committee on the Shops and Offices Bill, Mr McCombs and Mr J. S. Dickson (Parnell) suggested that all tho small shopkeepers should not be allowed to open, and those of them who were not exempted bv the Arbitration Court would then have to close again, but that they should all be required to close at 6 p.m. as at present, unless and until exempted by the court. Mr H. E. Holland (Buller) doubted the possibility of the' appeals being heard bv the Arbitration Court before January next. after some further discussion an amendment embodying the compromise was moved bv the Minister and carried on the voices. The bill was read a third time and passed. FINANCE BIEL. The Finance Bill, as reported else where, was introduced by Governor-Gene-ral’s message, and read a first time. EXPIRING LAWS BILL. Mr Massey moved the second reading of the Expiring Lews Continuance Bill. Mr WilfOrd suggested that the second reading should be taken that night, but that members should be given an opportunity to study the hilt before the further stages were taken. The Prime Minister agreed to this course. The bill was read a second time, and at 11.45 the House adjourned till 11 o’clock this morning. THE SESSION. >s , MAY END TO-DAY. Tho Prime Minister intimated that there was every probability of the session ending to-day.