PARLIAMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10876, 20 September 1911, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

(Pee Pbess Association.) Wellington, September 19. The House met at 2.30. Sir Joseph Ward stated that he had been in communication with the-Racing . Commission with, a view to their, sitting agiiin to reconsider the question of country club permits. The_ Commission was agreeable to sit again, and the necessary work connected'therewith 'was now being done. The report would be brought down as soon as available. On ; the motion of Sir Joseph Ward iit was decided that the Government business take precedence ,on Wednesdays. He pointed out that there was a great deal of important work to be done between now and the first ?.rd second weeks of November, when all wanted to be away to their constituents. Mr Myers resumed the debate on the Budget, which, he declared, exhibited a very happy state of affairs. Humanitarian affairs would appeal to the country generally. He spoke at length of the- satisfactory conditions of the finances, upon which he heartily congratulated the Minister of Finance. While taxation had increased from £3 18s 9d in 1909 to £5 8s 7d in 1911 the increase had been placed upon those best able to bear it, being on land tax, income tax, and death duties. Were he not convinced that the Government policy was proper and honest he would immediately walk over to the other side of the House. He urged greater expedition in. the settlement of native lands. Sir W. J. Steward considered the Budget an excellent one, and would commend itself to the community. It was a record of prosperity such as had never been submitted in any other part of the Empire. He disagreed with the proposal to • reduce long distance railway fares by a farthing a mile, it would cost £60,000, and it would -be better to have reduced short distance fares as benefiting more of the people. If the Department wanted to spend £60,000 it could be better done' on the erection of loading sheds in country districts, cheap market tickets for farmers and a reduction of the freight on fruit. He expressed his regret that no refer-;, ence. was made in the Budget to the land question. He advocated a tax sufficient to make it impossible to hold land in large quantities. . Mr Luke regretted the absence of auv reference to education in the Budget. He hoped the Government would do all in its power in connection with higher education. He regretted the Government had not done more in the si<-q uisition of surplus lands. He looked upon the farmers' co-operative bank proposal as good, and if placed in good shape he would support the measure. He advocated the development of the iron ore of the Dominion. The House adjourned. Upon the House resuming in the evening, Mr Bollard continued the Budget deli;! to. He complained of the unsatisfactory condition of the land question in the Dominion, and said be knew of no country in the world where the leasehold system had been successful. It was the duty of the Government to settle the people on the land, and educate them how to work it. He asked what had the Government done for the farmers in this direction ? Scientific knowledge was essential to the satisfactory working of' the land. In Europe and elsewhere there were plenty at agricultural colleges, and if this country was to compete witli _ these places it must be up-to-date in its methods. He advocated the extension of the workers' home system for the benefit of small wage men. Mr Isitt said the Government was in a happy condition so far as the Opposition was concerned. The inent had been accused again and again of rash expenditure, and yet ever> Opposition member wanted money spent on colleges, experimental farms, etc. How could the Government meet these demands and yet escape the reproach of the Opposition. Referring to military training, he said the Government had made t- . wry grave mistakes in omitting uie l„ - science clause and in the r'.rryihg o* the training age to 25. The i c must be, he declared, a conscience cl.uise even at 1 the risK of the clause being abused. In any other work than training the objectors were willing to do road-making, gorse-cutting —anything. In Chr\stchurcli there were 6000 people combined to oppose the system. The age limit should be 21. He deprecated and described as shameful the charges of bribery, coiruption and maladministration against the Government. There ; was nothing in the charges. Sir Josepu Ward, in reply, said every one who had spoken on the Budget had supported all the measures forecasted , there. For the past 20 years the Opposition had endeavored to cast a . Fe-lice-lion on the financial position of New Zealand.They had repeatedly decried loans, and their utterances had found t_i;eir wav into the Investors' Guide in London, stating that there was a possibility of some of the loans not being renewed, or converted. He asked was this done to help the country? The men 1 at the back of this were the large 1 landed proprietors, who would remove the tax from the large estates and put it on someone else. He referred to the inconsistency of the Opposition in crying out that too much money was being spent, and then ali demanding colleges and railways. He. charged Mr Allen with gross misrepresentation in the matter of Treasury bills, remarking that if the amount had been paid off, as Mr Allen suggested, they could not have paid" their way at all. The members of the Opposition benches had been juggling with figures and priggling with the law. The Public Revenues Act insisted on the course he had taken. The • object oi the Opposition in going round tiie country and saying the finance of tli.e country was in a weak position and taxation was being increased was to try 1 to get on the Treasury benches, and their desperate attempts to do this Avere seriously damaging the country and people." Referring to Mr Allen's statement of discrepancies of four millions • in the Budget figures of the public debt, Sir -Joseph Ward said the cable quoted by Mr Allen dealt with borrowed money only, not revenue. Sir Joseph Ward asked for an extension of time to complete his reply, but as he intimated in response to a question by Mr Massey that he intended to proceed with the first item on the Estimates, objection was taken to the request. He averred that there was not a mistake in the Budget. As to the statement regarding telephones and telegraphs, he pointed out that the Telegraph Department had produced a sum over and above expenses for a : . number of years, and further traversed ■" the financial criticisms to show that the Government's actions were justified in connection with the State issue of notes. He prepared in 1894 a measure for the purpose, but it was then con side rediriexpedient to pursue the matter. Now he proposed to have a gold security behind the issue of notes which the banks were to buy. The House then went into Committee on the Estimates. Messrs Lang, Poole, and Glover ad- • vocatecL placing oh the Estimates a sum to compensate Mrs Claude,' whose late husband was connected with a runaway train near Auckland. " Mr Millar reiterated his explanation of 'the position, and held that Claude had been fully compensated for what he "had 'done. On the first item, Mr Massey moved for a reduction" of the vote. Legislative Council, by £5, as an indication that the Council should be elective. Sir Joseph Ward said he did. not say the reform was not -desirable, and advocated the adoption' of the South African system., Mr contended that as the Opposition represented'a minority, the minority should be represented in the Council. There had not been one_ Op-' position member sent to the Council for 20 years. - Mr Millar said he, intended voting, against the amendment. The House was asked to alter the constitution of the Upper House without having anying definite before it. A representative chamber would : be a duplication of the representative machinery'. Mr Buxton moved to report progress, and this was carried on the voices. The House adjourned at 1.35 a.m.