PARLIAMENT IN SESSION

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11293, 19 August 1922, Page 7

PARLIAMENT IN SESSION

DISCUSSION ON THE WASHINGTON CONFERENCE MOTHERHOOD: UNEMPLOYED WORKERS BILLS BEFORE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL GROUND FEES AT ROTORUA HUTT ROAD BILL PASSED. TRAP PIGEON SHOOTING. The Legislative Council sat at 2.30 p.m. yesterday. DESTRUCTION BY DEER. OP PLANTATIONS AND CHOPS. The Hon. J. P. Campbell asked the following question:—‘"Whether the attention of the Government ha* been drawn to the extensive injury and destruction committed by deer to the crops and Plantations of settlers, and to the exetio plantations of the forest service at Whakurewarewa and elsewhere P" In reply to the question, the Hon. Sir William Fraser said the Government wae aware that in some localities deer were doing serious damage to farm crops, forest plantations and indigenous forests. A forest officer already was making investigations, and on the completion of these plana would be formulated to deal with the trouble. The conservators of the forests at Whakarewarewa and Tapanui, he added, had authority to destroy deer on the plantations under their care. Mr Campbell expressed the opinion that the answer seemed very satisfactory, and -would, he thought, satisfy the settlers and others interested. SURVEYORS’ BILL PASSED. The Surveyors’ Institute and Board of Examiners’ Amendment Bill was put through its remaining stages and passed. THE ROTORUA BILL. HIGH GROUND FEES DEPRECATED. The committal of the Rotorua Borough Bill was moved by the Hon. Sir WiMTam Fraser, who said the object of the bill was to convert Rotorua into a boroughA new clause was to be moved in committee. When Rotorua was made_ a borough it would bo liable for hospital rates, and the new clause would aim at relieving the Crown of. any further liability in this direction. He added that the borough would have no rights respecting the baths or me- springs, nor could it .by any work' it did interfere with them. The borough, however, would receive the fees from them up to £I3OO. A 9 far as the natives were concerned they would have tho 6ame rights and privileges as they had in any other borough in New Zealand. Although the borough had no right to touch anything about drainage, water or electric works (which remained under the Tourist Department), the Governor-General, by Or-der-in-Council, might transfer this right if satisfactory arrangements could be made. In reply to a question by the Hon. W. J. Geddis. Sir William Fraser said that' the pleasure trround in the sanitonum area would not he under the corporation. Mr Geddis thought that a pity, because it was evident from what happened Inst 6eason that the revenue was being affected by the high charges which were made for the use of the grounds. Take the case of lawn tennis, which was played largelv by young girls! The charge, (he understood, worked out at several shillings per half-hour. As a matter of fact the tennis players were charged more .than bowlers, who used a ground that required much more attention. The pleasure grounds were provided for the people who made use of Rotorua, end It seemed anomalous that' the grounds should lie idle because the fees were 60 high that many young people oould rot pav them. He thought the policy should be to popularise Rotorua by reducing the ground fees. If the vesting of the grounds in the borough council would do that he would strongly support such a proposal. GROUNDS HAVE TO BE MAINTAINED. Sir William Fraser said that was ail very well, but the grounds could not be kept in order for nothing, and the corporation might not agree to take them aver to lose money. Mr Geddis: They might make money. Sir William Fraser thought the best Idea was to point out the matter to the Tourist Department. It would he as easy to get a concession from the Government as from the borough council. In committee the clause mentioned by Sir William Fraser was added to the bUI. The Hon. W. W. Snodgrass thought clause 16 of the bill conferred unusual powers on the borough oounoil. Sir William Fraser said the clause was to empower the borough to do what probably no • other .borough required. It made it possible for the council, if it thought it necessary to advertise Rotorua. to spend up to £IOOO on advertising. Th« amendment referred to by Sir William Fraser was agreed to,- and the bill was passed. HUTT ROAD. THE BILL PASSED. In moving the second reading of the Hutt Road Bill the Hon. C. H. Izard said that by the Act of 1917 power vac given to Construct a portion of the Hutt road in concrete. Since then the price of concrete had materially advanced, and it was now considered it would be cheaper to construct the surface of bitumen or some other material, and power to use euch other material was sought There was one other matter. Authority to .borrow was by the Act of 1917 limited to £30.000, and it was now asked that the authority should be extended to 000. , The Hon. J. G. Garland said the 1917 measure.gave power to borrow without consulting the ratepayers, and now it was 1 desired to increase the amount possible to be borrowed from £30,000 to £50,000. He had no doubt the work was essential, but be thought ratepayers should be consulted when big sums of money were to :be raised. The bill was read a second time, and the committee stage was set down foT next sitting day. LIVE PIGEON SHOOTING. BILL TO PROHIBIT TRAP MATCHES. The Hon. G. M. Thomson moved the second reading of the Animals’ Protection and Game Amendment Bill. He said tho bill wae practically a clause which was moved in the bill of last session and carried in the Council. The original bill had contained a clause giving the Government poweT to regulate the shooting of pigeons from traps He had moved that that clause should be deleted in favour of one prohibiting tho shooting or oigenns from trnns. His clause had been carried in the Council, but rejected in the House, and In order not to Imperil the bill the Council had given way. How-,

ever, he now reintroduced that clause. He did not move hie 'bill on the ground of cruelty. He moved it on the general ground that people had advanced very much in their views on this and other subjects in the last century. Years ago bull-baiting, cock-fighting, etc., were considered legitimate forms of sport, all, no doubt, survivals of the savage instincts in man. Pigeon shooting from traps seemed to be demoralising to the people Vho wont in for it. If the Council passed hie bill they would only he following the good example of England. SEICOND REABING AGREED TO. The Hon. Dr. Collins said he would oppose the bill. There was no more, or very little more, cruelty in pigeon ehoot* , ing, as carried on in New Zealand, than there wa« ijk "wringing a. fowl's neck tor your dinner." The logical sequence Mr Thomson's proposal would be the stopping of all shooting. The Hon. G. J. Garland said he would support the ihiil. ~ _ The Hon. Sir William Eraser said he would not .support the bill. He the arguments that were advanced to show that there vra* cruelty to the birds 'Used at pigeon matches had been exploded, and a feature of the movement he did not like wae that it wae merely the start to prohibit all sport where shooting was concerned. He hoped that if the __ Dili paaeed the (Council it would be defeated in the other chamber. Mr Thomson eaid he did not think the class of men who went in tor trap pigeon shooting was the kind one would like to aee in hie own house. (Dissent.) Usually it wa* the class who tung round the country pub, and for whom the country publican got up the shooting match. The second reading was carried on the voices, and the bill is to be committed! next sitting day. .. . At 8.25 p.m. the Council rose till next Wednesday. . HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MOTHERHOOD ENDOWMENT RAISE FUNDS BY TAXING SUGAR. YESTERDAY’S BUSINESS, Tho House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. yesterday. KEIW BILL. Mr W. A. Voitdh. (Wanagnui) gave notice to introduce the Painters’ Health Protection Bill. FIRST READINGS. Mr F. Mander (Marsden) introduced the Whangarei Borough Leasing Empowering Bill, which was read a first time and referred) to the Local Bills Committee. Mr F. N. Bartram (Grey Lynn) continued the interrupted) debate on Mr Savage’s Motherhood Endowment Bill. He made on earnest plea for adequate State provision being, made for every child) after tho first two, which should be covered by the basio wage; and strongly urged) the Government to adopt the' principle of the bill and legislate in that direction. Dr. Thacker (GhristchuTch. East) congratulated Mr Savage on introducing his bill; but said that there should in addition be a baby bonus in the case of the first two children. Tho bill, he contended, could be financed by a tax on sugar. A tax of id per pound -would raise £750,000, end Id per pound would bring in £1,500,000. If sugar was penalised even up to 3d a pound, it would be a good thing for the teeth and for the genet al health of the community. He held that legislation on tho linns advooated would make earlier marriages possible, and that that, coupled with the prohibition of the importation and sale of "preventives” and the suppression of quacks and abortion-mongers, would go far to pnt a stop to "iiuioit love," and that dread menace "the red scourge.” CLOSER SETTLEMENT WANTED. Mr R. McCollum (Wairau) regretted that so little interest was taken in the measure by the Reform side of the House. There were only three Ministers >n the Treasury benches, and the Reform benches generally were bare. The party (representing property in the House was apparently indifferent to. these matters. He held that the true 1 solution of the difficulty was to open up the land to closer settlement, not assistance from the Consolidated Fund. It was computed that one man, given a fair opportunity on the land, could produce a living for himself and nine others. There, then, was the chance of the Loads Department to build up a strong, hardy, self-reliant people, by placing men on tho land even rent free. He feared,, however, that the Government was too muoh under the control of the large land monopolists of the country to do anything on such lines. ("Oh t" "Hear, hear," and laughter.) The Hon. W. Nosworthy sold that the previous speaker was always attacking the Government in that way. He might as fairly say that the hon. gentlemen hod never dene anything in the House except for the brewers and rag merchants. ("Order, order," and laughter.) The Hon. J. A. Henan (Invercargill expressed hearty approval of the object of the bill, and suggested that with Mr Mitchell's. Child Sustenance Bill it should he referred to a special committee of the House. Mr P. Fraaer (Wellington Central) cordially supported the bill. Retorting on interjections hv tho hon. member for Gisborne (Mr W. D. Lysnar), he suggested that the Government should keep him quiet by promieing to give him "an opportunity to discuss eheep and wool, or something bovine that was on a level with his intelligence." (Laughter.) Pr o . vision, ho urged, should be made, not, only for the endowment of motherhood on tho lines of the bill, but also for the expectant mothere. Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) also supported the 'ball, which was read a first time. ROTORUA BOROUGH BILL COUNCIL AMENDMENTS ACCEPTED. The Legislative Council amendments to the Rotorua Borough Bill were agreed to. UNEMPLOYED WORKERS BILL OPPOSED BY LABOUR COMMITTEE. Sir J. P. Luke (chairman of the Labour Bills Committee) reported that the committee recommended that the Unemployed Workers Bill, introduced by Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) and read a first time, be not proceeded with. At the same time, Sir John Luke suggested that the unemployment problem might well be considered by - a special committee. In New Zealand he believed that the problem was largely due to the large amount of seasonal employment in the Primary industries and on the wharves; and he urged that some solution would be brought about by means of village settlements, within a few miles of the main centres in the case of the waterside workers, and in other suitable dia-

triots for the employees in the freezing works, and so on. One of the committee s reasons for objecting to the bill was that it involved an appropriation. He did not agree with the mover of the bill that it was the dutv of the Government to find work for all who wanted it, and maintenance in default of employment. But he held that it was the duty of the Government to remove as far as possible the causes of unemployment and economic losses; and he believed that if that was done the object of the mover of the bill would be attained, though in a different way. Mr Fraser said that he did not propose to quarrel with tho decision of tho oommittee that 4 one clause of his bill was an appropriation, clause. As showing the need for some such measure as that he had brought down, he stated that a watersider had shown him that the whole of his earnings for tho month had ’been 21s. If these men registered as unemployed, as they really were, the unemployed of Wellington, instead of being from 400 to 600, would be SOO to 1000. He thought that tho oommittee might well havo brought down, not only the chairman's recommendation, but a unanimous recommencation for the Government to bring down, legislation, of a -practicable nature ©o that timely provision might be mad© for the unemployment next winter. Mr Speaker said that the bill would have the privilege of going to a second reading; but, being an appropriation bill, could not proceed: pbv further.