PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13946, 4 July 1907, Page 8

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

NOTES FROM THIS PRESS GAI,LKR?.

(Fkou Ous Own Cosmspobmnt.)

WELLINGTON, Jujy 3. In the House to-day Mr Gray asked the Minister of Education a question regarding some individual who was securing subscriptions ih Christchurch by representing himself to be an agent for the school for deaf mutes at Sumner. He wished to know if any person was authorised by the department to collect money for that institution. Mr Jowlds replied that there was no such authorisation, and that anyone representing himself os so authorised was clearly an impostor. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE. Tho debate on the Address-in-Reply was resumed this evening by Mr Massey, who on rising received a round of applause from both sides of the House. At the outset tho Leader of the Opposition made a point of tho fact that it was usually the two junior members of the House who were selected to move and second the Address-iu-Jteply, but on ibis occasion, unfortunately for the > Government, by the will of tho electors the two most-recently appointed members of the House woro on the Opposition benches, and were not supporter of the Government. He dealt briefly with the mismanagement in connection with flic Exhibition at Ohiistcfmrph, and went on to refer to the land policy of the Government, twitting (-he Minister of' Lands with having made statements of policy diametrically opposite to one another and different also from the policy outlined in his Luid Bill-. Mr had divided his bill into three, and he (Mr Mnssey) hoped that, he was not now going to play a three card trick on the Parliament and the people of the colony. But in env case the Government Had created a feeling of unrest and uneasiness among the people on the land, and no more modification of the bill would satisfy these y.cop'e that they were not trending 1 in-the direction of the Bingle tax. THE SWEET BY-AND-BYE. , " What will the Government get out of tho land in a thousand years?" interjected Mr Bollard whilst Sir Joseph Ward was speaking on the 'and question to-night. "Where will you be in a thousand years?" retorted the Prime Minister. "In the Garden of Eden," was the quidk response of Mr Bollard, amidst laughter. Mr Massey: He will tie on the opposite side from you. The Prime Minister (laughing): Thank heaven for that. MR MASSEY AND. THE FREEHOLD. Mr Massey, in replying to-night to some remarks by Mr Davey regarding his (Mr Masscy's) attitude in respect to giving tho lecae-in-perpetuity tenants tiie option of the freehold, said that in each case he was willing that the capital value of the holding should be' apportioned as between the interest of the State on the one hand and the interest of the settler on the other, and that the option of the freehold should he granted accordingly. The result, he said, would bo exactly what he had always advocated. THE LATE EXHIBITION. In his speech on tho Address-in-Reply to-night Mr Massey urged that the late Exhibition was somewhat premature. Had tlie Government waited till the completion of tho North Island Trunk railway, when possibly there would be. one or two fast turbine steamers running across the straits, there would have been a far larger attendance. He understood that some of the delailsof(he mismanagement, wouldbemade public before long, and would be an object lesson as to what Government management really meant. We were certainly paying for our experience in this connection. ' Mr Massey referred to the remark made by him last session to the effect, that he believed that the Exhibition would cost £75,000 or £80,000. .Shortly after this a Minister, on being interviewed in Auckland. staled that the cost would not be more than £25,000. The Minister of Works, who was also interviewed shortly afterwards, placed the figure at'£4o,ooo, and a little Inter he raised his estimate to £50,000, "Now," said Mr Massey, "I'want to know what the Exhibition really has cost, and I hope the Government, will not- attempt to cover tho matter .up." THE ARBITRATION ACT.

Replying to some remarks by Mr Davey in regard to the Arbitration Act the Leader of the Opposition referred to what he termed th« unfortunate events of the last few months, which hnd shown that-it was impossible to supersede natural and economic Jaws by act of Parliament. It hnd often been stated that New Zealand was a land without strikes, fie believed that in proportion to our population we had had as many strikes during the past year as any other country in the world; They could not make a man work if he was not inclined to work, and they could not make a man employ labour if he did not feel inclined to, and as for sending people who broke the law in this conncction to gaol, it was absolute nonsense to think of it. In reply to this the Prime Minister said that though there had been friction lately ,in conncction with the act, lie believed that nothing had done more to put. money into the pocket's of business people in this colony than tho protection they had had from'strikes as the result of the Arbitration Act. He boheved that it would bo bad for' this colony if fhc act wore repealed. Sir .Toscyh Ward followed Mr Massev dealing with his spoceh in detail and in "a temperate manner, he retorted "that- Mr Massey had-now gone back on his statements in regard to giving the freehold to the lease-in-perpctuity holders. On June 28, 1900, he proposed to give them the freehold at the original value; now he was prepared to give them the freehold on the capital value, after' assessing the interests of the State and tho individual. Mr Eraser (AVakatipu): Give him what belongs to him. The Prime Minister: But Ooea it belong to mm? Mr Frasor: Yes. The Prime Minister: What tho Government will not agree to give him is a present of 50 per cent, of the value simply because lie has a lease of the land for a thousand years.

The debate was continued by Mr Lewis, who made a. strong appeal for the retention ol tho word "colony" in our official language. He referred to the splendid work done by the early colonists, such as Godley and others, and expressed an earnest hope that the words "colony" and "colonist" would be cherished so long as the English language existed. Mr Hornsby, who followed, devoted himself chiefly to the grievances of railway servants. The Minister of Lands, who replied to the various criticisms of (us departments, made a short but vigorous speech. Mr Ell then took up tho running. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS. The reccnt appointments lo tho Lonislntivo Council were referred to by Mr Massey in 'his speeoh to-nij-ht. While he admitted that some of the appointments were good onos, thero wore others which were not good ones. "Some, of Jceik 1 -' s&i4. " have mywz

done any publio service, and are unknown to the public, and t.hc public have no confidence in tlieni. I have no doubt that the appointments were made on account of political influence; but the good of the colony has not teen taken into noeount in connection with the appointments." Ho went on to say that he had hoped that tho new Government would democratise tho Council, but he did not believe that it had done as well. The late Prime Minister, he bolioved, had some idea of reforming the Council, but tho present spurious democrats | —ho. could not speak of them as anything else—evidently intended to leave things as they were. He could only characterise as monstrous such a system of appointing men as the law gave, and l ho hoped that tho time would soon com© when the people of the colony would insist upon the Legislative Counoil being made eloetive. Tho Primo Minister, in replying, said that if they were going to have an eleotive Counoil it would be a duplication of '.the present system, and they might as well- abolish the Council altogether.—(Mr Massey: "No.") Sir Joseph Ward, continuing, said that in making the recent appointments it had been tho earnest desire of the Government to appoint men representative of the different industries in the colony, and he believed that all the new mombcre were men of undoubted integrity and character. Mr Alison: "That is not the only recommendation required." A number of tho newly-appointed Councillors occupied seats in the gallery during the discussion of their merits and demerits. NATIVE LAND MATTERS. "It seems that tho commission has been set up, not to expedite matters, but to delay matters," declared Mr Massey to-night, in referring to the slow progress made in regard to Native land matters. " I believe it is only a part of the "Taihoa" policy, of which the colony has had so much experience during the post 10 or 12 years." Referring to tho recent acquisition by the Government of 15,000 acres of Native land in the Auckland disrtict, ho said that it was a matter for congratulation to know that this land was not to bo allowed to go back to its 'primitive state of fern and titrec. "But." he added, "if one quarter of what ono hears about this land transaction is true the whole matter should be inquired into by an impartial and compe. tent tribunal." The Prime Minister denied that tho commission was set up for the purpose of delaying matters, and expressed himself as confident that an "enormous area of Native land would be settled as tho result of legislation which would be submitted this session. JOTTINGS.

Under Dr Findlay's reorganisation of the bill-drafting- office, all new Government bills involving a now principle will havo a precis of the main provisions of the measure attached to them. The new arrangement will be much appreciated, not only by members of Parliament, but also by the press and the general public interested in proposed legislation. An echo of the past was introduced into the House to-day by Mr Wood, who asked what steps the Government intended to take towards carrying out the recommendation of the Public Petitions Committee of 1906, relative to the .betsowal of the New Zealand Cross upon H. C. Wrigg.

Mr Fiatman wants an experimental State farm established in South Canterbury, and Mr R. M'Kenzie wants one in the Nelson district.

Mr Buddo wants the Minister of Railways to give effect to the repeated representations of workers and others that a regulation should be issued providing that grain carried on the New Zealand railways should not exceed 2001b weight per sack. Mr Wood is inquiring whether the Government- will tako into consideration the valuable services rendered to tho colony by tho late Mr John O'Meara. by placing a gratuity on the Estimates for Jiis wife and family.

Mr Wilford thinks members of the first and sccond divisions in the Railway Departmerit, should be treated alike as regards S'pk P&y, and that a member of the second division is juat as much entitled to his wages during illness as a member of the first division.