PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10568, 24 September 1910, Page 1

PARLIAMENT.

(Peh Press Association.) Wellington, September "23. iiKGISLATJ.VK COX ? N€IL. Tiir Council mot at' 2.30: —Condolence. —- On the motion of the AttorneyGeneral. ;i resolution of condolence with Sir Ai. O'Rorke on the recent loss of his witc w:;s passed. —Amendments. — Tho amendments proposed by the Governor in the .Public .Debt .(Extinction iiill ;ind tin l Koroign Insurance Companies Deposits Amendment Hill, agreed to by the House, were, adopted. The Council adjourned, pending the receipt of an Imprest Supply Bill from the House. Wellington, September 24. —lmprest Supply Bill. — The Council met at 10 a.m. and passed the Imprest Supply Hill through all its stages. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30. —Air Hine's Charges.— The Premier gave notice to refer to the Land Committee for investigation and report the allegations made -toy the member for Stratford on the 10th August that certain/members of Parliament acted as agents and received commissions on the sale of estates to the Land Purchase Board. The Committee is to have the power to call for persons and papers and examine such witnesses as it deemed necessary. —Mail Services. —

Mr Massey referred to the new 'Frisco mail service and the arrangement made with the Union Company while the Oceanic Company were taking steps to reinstate the old service. He contended that it would be better to pay £2OO a voyage for the reinstatement of the oh! 'Frisco service than £I6OO for the proposed new .service. The contract for ;!>i-; car/lit not to have been signed before rhe matter had been laid before Parliament. He hoped details of the arrangement between the Government and the Union Company would be laid before the House at an early date.

Mr Taylor (Christehurchj attacked the Union Company, which had become so powerful as to constitute a monopoly. He hoped the Government would nor lijse sight of the promise made a year age, to establish a State service between the two islands, so as to link up the main trunk lines of the Dominion. Referring to the 'Frisco mail jervice. he saw no good reason for abandoning the new arrangements. Fie favored the Vancouver service as against the 'Frisco on the ground that tiie former would help our own trade, ijeferring to the employment of lascars on boats trading to the Dominion, he held that steps should be taken to enforce the shipping companies to grant their .seamen decent conditions of labor. !f something was not done in this matter the seamen would be taking the matter into their own hands with disastrous results to the Dominion, following Canada's example. Mr Vvilford said a (aw prohibiting lascar labor on ships trading to the Dominion would have to be ratified by the Imperial Parliament. The way to obtain the object was to sirrisidise steamers as Australia was doing. He suggested that Sir Joseph 'Yard move a resolution on the matter in order to test the feeling of the House. He was against .subsidising the American service owing to the United States' legislation placing restrictions on the Dominion trade.

Mr Herdman believed the present Suez Canal service met the requirements: of' the great ( r Dart of 111 o l)n----lii in ion. Ho contended . that Wellington tuiizlit 1:1 be the centre. ' ■ tlje distribution of mails.

Mr Poole favored liolpitifc the Dominion company in connection with the in nil service rather than the American concern. ;:nd entered a plea in favor of Auckland as the direct port of call. Mr Myers desired provision to lie made for steamers to meet the mail boats when they arrived at Sydney. Mr }!nclcenzie said the new .service would assist in the building up of trade with the islands and the East Coast of America, and from a trade point of view the Government had taken the right course to secure that service. —The Imperial Conference. —

Mr Herries asked what steps the Premier had taken in regard to the forthcoming Imperial Conference. He under-s-tocd that Sir Joseph Ward had not ye't received an invitation. He would like to know if the order paper of the conference was submitted beforehand to the cabinets of the various dominions. TTp to the present the despatches between the Governor and the Home authorities in connection with the last conference had not been laid on the table. *

Sir Joseph Ward hoped the House would be given an opportunity this session of debating Imperial questions. Dealing with the 'Frisco mail service, he said he had letters from the Oceanic Steamship Company, which, however, were private. The subsidy demanded was £35,000 yearly, and the contract had to be sufficiently long before the Company would enter on the service. The Auckland Chamber, of Commerce had taken up the pTisrEion of dictating to the Government in connection witli the service, but if it thought the Government would allow this it made a huge mistake. Everybody knew .the Government had been attempting to secure an All-red route, and he had laid papers 011 the table of the House dealing with the suggested routes. Tenders had been called for by the Canadian Government, but they would not lie in till November. At this juncture the Government was asked to enter into ■a provisional agreement with the Oceanic Company. The' course suggested was exceedingly stupid. He emphatically declared that the Government would not do what the Auckland Chamber of Commerce suggested, although the utmost had been done by that body, by means of the press and < ommunications with members of the House, to influence the Government in the desired direction. In regard to the .suggestion that steamers should he provided to meet, the P. and 0. boats at Sydney, the cost- would be too great 10 warrant the Government embarking on such a scheme. The proposed new | service was entered into for one year, advisedly, in view of the prospect, of the Vancouver service being established. Turning to the question of lasear seamen. Sir Joseph Ward said he recognised the importance of protecting white labor frQm competition of this kind, hut he did not believe it possible to get the Home authorities to approve of legislation restricting British subjects from going to any part of the Empire. He suggested that the matter be brought before the Imperial Conference with a view to making it compulsory for' British-owned sliips to carry white crews. He advocated the Dominion having a Vancouver service of its own by means of the Union "Com- 1 pany's steamers. The Dominion would ' then be able to control-the service abso-

lutely, a position it had never been in before: Refrigerating space could be provided 011 these steamers, thus assisting the trade in frozen meat, lu regard to the Imperial Conference mentioned by Mr Merries, he (the Premier) had his own views, but these might- be opposed to those <>l other delegate!; to the conference. Parliament could not deckle the great variety of questions to be xliscnssed at the Imperial Conference in a day. Fniil the Dominion received an invitation it would be presumptuous for the House to discuss the question. —New Business. — Just before the House rose Sir .Joseph Ward gave notice to move on Tuesday to have the Standing Orders amended so as to admit of new business being taken after 12.30 a.m. The House rose a-t 5.30. The House resumed at 7.30. Mr Rerries urged Sir .Joseph Ward to give the House a lead in the matter of the Dominion's attitude towards Imperial problems. —lmprest Supply.— On the motion that the Imprest Supply Bill be read a second time, Mr Massey, answering Sir Joseph Ward's charge of wasting time, said it was the constitutional practice to ventilate grievances before granting supply. He had d one all lie could to expedite the business. The business had to be discussed fully, and he would be 110 party to having it rushed through the House. The proposed new* service would not be a mail service. The. steamers to be used were obsolete, and would take 22 days to crawl across the Pacific. If satisfactory arrangements could not- be made for a Vancouver service, then the best service should be secured, but the proposed arrangement with the Union Company was not satisfactory. The debate was carried 011 by Messrs Taylor, Allen, and Laurenson. Sir Joseph Ward, referring to the attitude of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on the mail services, said lie was glad to see that the Mayor of Auckland hold the same view as lie (Sir Joseph. Ward) did. It was impossible to get an up-to-date mail service for £'12,000 a year. That had not been suggested. The Opposition had apparently decided to prevent new business being taken after 12.30. The Bill was read a second time and committed. Much discussion ensued on persona! explanations. At 1.35 Sir Joseph Ward rose to reply. Dealing with the Opposition tactics he said there could be no appreciation of his efforts to prevent the Mouse sitting long hours. The Bill was read a third time. Tjie House rose at 2.5 a.m.