ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17066, 26 July 1917, Page 6

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

DEBATE IN LOWER HOUSE. (Peb United Pbesb Assooiation.) WELL.LNGTON, July 25. In the Houso of Itoprescntativos this evening the debate on the Address-in-lveiUy was resumed by Mr ><osworthy, who uetended tho stay ol the Ministers in Britain, where thoy did invaluable work, especiaJiy in the direction ot securing sh.pping to taKe away the dominion's produce. if the facilities tailed as tho outcome of the. war the tanners should always romember tiiat the country had had three prosperous years, mainly as a rosult of tho exertions of the men who for the time being were at the heart ot tho dominion's anairs. At the tiino tho National Governm/mt was formed he was opposed to coalition, but ho accepted tho position wit'i the best graco possibio and had einco given tho Government his most loyal support. However, he looked forward to the timo when they could resume party government, under which ho was satisfied tho country would experience more efheient government. While supporting the National Cabinet while its existence was necessary, ho would not surrender his ngnt to criticise its conduct. In exerc.se of this right ho denounced the butter-tat levy as a most iniquitous impost, and to remedy the injustice tuo only ian- rLCompense that could bo made was to refund the factories tho money taken fiaui them not by Act of Parliament, but by Order-in-Uoun-cil—a form of Government against wh.ch in days gone by ho had protested as vigorously as any member of the Reform Party, and he protested now. Regarding the wheat purchase, he declared tnat valuable time was wasted by the Government. it the Government had dealt promptly wit.i the farmers and had given them the price they asked—6s 3d' on trucks at country stations—the farmers would have got enough sown to supply the needs ol the counuy. 'I he question was not tackled m a practical way, too much time having been lost in haggling over details, and New Zealand load lost a chance of beiug in a better position than any other country in ttie world. ±le character, sod the Board of Trade as a board of humbugs, appointed merely to silence political ciamour about tho cost of living, and it had not helped to solve tho problem. The wheat position was still unsatisfactory. The larmers had been told that they wore going to get a certain price, but a rumour was abroad that other arrangements would prevail. He appealed to the Government to make up its mind what it was go.ng to do and let tho farmers k-now what they plight expect. He advocated a substantial increase in (he graduated income tax, the imposition of an amusements tax, and a heavy tax on beer, but he resented the system which taxed a man on his debts. The early closing of hotel bars was favoured as well as some immediate effective steps to neutralise the operations of the American Meat Trust, which was only one of many intricate and delicate problems that we would have to face after the war.

Mr Jennings ventured the opinion that if tho House had appointed a War Committee at the outset of the war to assist the Minister of Defence military matters would have been conducted in a manner more satisfactory to all concerned. While complimenting the Minister on the efficiency w.th which he had conducted the affairs of his department, the speaker demanded that officers making i-rimmal blunders towards our men should be summarily dismissed. He quoted an instance where a man who was ill in a hospital in France was actually sentenced as a deserter, but so far as he knew the officers who had so traduced one of our brave soldiers had not been punished. Better hospital provision should be made for backblocks settlers' wives, and a strenuoas effort should be made to relieve the cost of living. So far as the dairy farmerb wore concerned, he thought their troubles arose mainly through the excessive price of land. The butter-fat levy was a grievance not so much because of the amount as on account of the fact that they were treated exceptionally. He regretted this differentiation, as if all other sections of the community had been treated in the same way the farmer would never have objected to pay whatever was asked of him. Mr Parata said he thought the National Government was not doing as well as it ought, and he hoped that after hearing the speeches in this debate it would not hesitate to make more generous provision for soldiers' pensions. He had heard many complaints from returned men. There seemed to be a " taihoa" policy in existence. It should not be their place to run about looking for pensions. It was our duty to look them. Soldiers should not be settled on mountain tops, but we should give them of our best. The Maoris had. put aside 40.000 acres of second-class land for the benefit of their countrymen fighting beside their pakeha brethren, and he would like to see some rich Europeans do the same for their boys in return for the great sacrifices made at Gallipoli and elsewhere. Mr Parata paid a spirited tribute to the magnificent work done bj the navv in the war in protect'ng the sea routes, conveying troops, carrying munitions, and maintaining communications with all parts of the Empire. Ah this proved the wisdom of New Zealand in presenting the Mother Country with a battleship, which had played *ich a glorious part in the Heligoland fight and the Jutland battle. The speaker censured- the Governmnnt for not tackling the cost of living. The action of Mr Mac Donald in reducing tho cost of living was the only effort made to cojpe with _ the problem. After dealing with the taxation of the wool kings who were making a big war profit he strenuously denounced six o'clock closing as a. gross injustice to a trade recognised by law. The adjournment of the debate was moved by Mr Walker, and the House rose at 10.45 p.m.