GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11505, 18 August 1899, Page 6

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

HOUSE OF REPIIKSE.YTAT IVJ3S

THURSDAY. AUGUST 17. The House met at 2.30 p.m.

THE MAHANGA BAY DISASTER,

Mr J. HUTOHESON gave notice to ask what steps the Government have taken to provide for the widows of the men killed by the explosion at Mahanga- Bay.

QUESTIONS.

. Ministers repli»rl t o cuieslioiis to the follow ing effect: —

t,rV Ppsciill" traiTl fl' om I"ve'cargill to the J'lun once a week on the arrival of the express at Invercargill, to connect with the steamer to Melbourne, could not arrive at the Bluff until 5 p.m.. and the Union Company would not delay the Melbourne steamer until that hour.

There is already an act upon the Statute Book giving the Government power to enter into reciprocal arrangements with the proposed Australian Federation.

Before an inland penny post is established, ™^' WI" make a reduction of revenue of £70,000, the matter will have to be considered in relation to (he customs duties, a committee to revise which will he set up.' 'J.he very great importance of the question ot Icdoration precludes giving a promise that nu opportunity will be given to discuss [he matter this session.

"ttitu regard to the phiehig' of temporary clerks upon a more permanent footing, it will be necessary to amend the Civil Service Act .with a view to remedy the anomalies that exist in the employment of.such clerks. The Government will be no party to de nomiiiitlional or religion,, tduc-aliou in schools, and the attention of the Wanganui Education Board will be called to the' Reader recently introduced into the school there containing lengthy .Scriptural lessons. }th not intended to introduce legislation this session lo encourage the production of beet sugar.

_ A hill is in preparation to ensure that all snore steam engines shall be placed in charge of competent certificated engineers, as is the case with marine engineers. Inquiries will be made with respect to es tablishing n sale landing place'between Ohau Bay and ICarori, with a view to a quick ferry service across Cook Strait to Picton.

The question of compensating butchers who have meat condemned after being killed will require consideration. ~

The Factory Act will be amended in the direction of providing that stokers and'firemen employed in freezing works, electric light works, and gas works shall not be required" to work more than six days a ivcok or its equipollent.

" Ministerial travelling allowances " is a misnomer. Ministers have only drawn the statutory amount of 30s per day while absent from Wellington. The House adjourned at 5.30 p.m.

EVENING SITTING. The House reassembled at 7.30. THE FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Mr FISHER, resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. He characterised the debate as the most dreary he had ever listened to, and suggested ironically that an independent accountant should be appointed to examine and report upon the Statement, as the

criticism that had been levelled at it by some members simply made confusion worse confounded. It liad been characterised as a Statement that had been prepared for electioneering and advertising purposes, and that it was_ a bribe; but his opinion was that it was ill© hardest-headed, closest-reasoned Statement that had been put before the House since that by Sir Harry Atkinson in 1888. and contained ample evidence of the soundness of, the contention as to the prosperous state of the colony. He denied that the prosperity was due to the borrowing policy of the Government, and asserted that it was entireli'

clue to the settlement of the country and the development of the industries of. the colony. It was clear that there was a, surplus of £261,667. Opposition members had "stated that it was bad finance to have a surplus, but one of the greatest, economical writers of the day had written that a constantly-recurring surplus was evidence of good financing, and with that opinion he agreed. X-Te defended the Government for taking the Post Office Savings Bank funds on the ground that they wero restricted in the -investment .of these and similar funds by' the legislation passed under the Atkinson Government.'

Mr, MASSEY said no doubt the Statement was difficult to criticise. If ■ tho" proposals wore carried out, as proposed it would, entail further borrowing to the extent of two millions." The colony hud been lately in the contemptible position of living almost entirely upon borrowed money. He blamed the Government for a policy of promising1 anything so long as they could retain their seats on tho Treasury benches. He quite agreed with the proposal to reduce the rate of interest under the Advances to Settlers and Land for Settlements Acts, but if .a reduction was to be made it should apply all round, and not to comparatively well-off ■settlers,-who could afford to pay promptly. With regard to tho suggestion that a Betterment Act should be passed with a view to recouping- some of the expenditure which had raised the value of private- lands, it was too late to apply that principle. A return would be obtained by increasing the amount of the Land Tax accnting under the enhanced value of land owing to public expenditure. Referring to the land question, he declared for the people being allowed the option of freehold tenure if they so desired. The people who went on to the land to make a homo for thosriseli-ei preferred the freehold. Those who wanted to see others ■go on' the land preferred the leasehold system He condemned the labour Ws enacted durin«the past few.years as being (he cause.of the falling off in the export of manufactures. That falling off was a most serious tiling, and warranted the appointment of a Royal Commission with a. view to .finding a remedy. He referred to the importance of federation, suggesting that, a committee should be set up to inquire into and report upon the subject. ' Mr WILSON said much of .the criticism of the Statement was of a superficial character, but the fact that a surplus existed had not been shaken. In reference to the financial 'operations of the Government on the London market, he complimented the Agentgeneral on the services rendered in that direction,, and condemned the unpatriotic action of some members opposed to the Government in trying to injure the colony for party mirposes in depreciating these operations, He- defended the labour laws from the attacks by the previous speaker: Probably 'there had been a temporary drop in some manufactures, but unless manufactures could bo established in which men could earn a living wage (lie country was better without them. ' They were exporting an enormous amount of raw material for manufacture by cheap labour at Home.' but God forbid that such a system should be introduced into this colony. He was a believer in the Government carrying out a progressive policy, and urged that' the amount proposed to be borrowed should be increased so that main lines of railway would be pushed on more vigorously. He condemned the obstinacy of the Premier in persisting iv his refusal _ to grant the Mount Cook site for the Victoria College, and hoped the narrowminded view taken by him on the subject would give way to a higher view. Mr M'TjBAN, while not depreciating the advantages of Victoria College, thought that the establishment of an agricultural college for the North Island was a much more important matter, and said no other city in the colony had reaped the advantage oF'lha expenditure of so much public money as Wellington. The system of pursuing public works had been a failure, due to the extravagant way the construction of some of the railways had been undertaken, as an examine of which he cited the Midland railway characterising it as one of the wildest schemes ever conceived. The Colonial Secretary had referred in laudatory terms to the progress made in the development nn the East Coast but the progress that had been made there was certainly not due, to any assistance'rendered by the Government, but rather (o the enterprise -of the settlers theri.Be.lvc?—settlers who hart been maligned and 'vilified,'whose enterprise had been appropriated by the, Government as an example of its Iwn.-P.'eent. legislation. This question' hnd'buon made a political cry. greatly to the .injury of the country, as a feeling of insecurity'had been engendered amongst landholders, preventing them carrying out improvement*. He condemned the mortgage tax as having to be paid by tho borrower. The Native land question was one of. the most important that could <■';■- j gage the attention of Parliament, and the sooner party differences were sunk on the question, and these lands put on a belter footing, tho better it would be for the Natives and country alike. ■■

Mr KAI'HAU thought ihat the amount proposed to be borrowed was too small, and urged that portion -of Jhc loan should lm devoted to coat-tracling a railway from Piiketapu to Waiuku in his'distfict. He su^estcd that a Maori Council should be appointed to deal with Native lands and other matters affecting their interests.

The debate was adjourned, and the House rose at 12.35.