PARLIAMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20592, 15 December 1928, Page 14

PARLIAMENT.

; FINANCE BILL PASSED, 1 THE SESSION TERMINATES. ' i ■' ’ i ; (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, December 14. 7 ■ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ■After the Telegraph Office closed at 2 n.m. the debate in the House of Representatives _ -.on the Prime Minister’s Finance Bill was continued. Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) thanked the Government for its prompt action in continuing the rent restriction legislation till August next. The Bill before the House, he. said,. could only • be regarded as provisional, to meet an extraordinary situation, , and could not bo regarded as the full policy of the Government. When that policy did come before the House the Labour Party would scan it more critically. s At,2.30 a.m. the Prime Minister rose to reply. He said the criticism of some members on the Reform side was most unfair, in view of the position in which he foundJiimself. He could not disclose that position, but some day ho would put it on record and'let the country sec how! the late Minister of Finance had left him a most 'difficult legacy to settle. Mr W. Downie Stewart: That is a most unfair .way of putting it. Sir Joseph said the lion, gentleman had not settled it, and he was proceeding to refer to some difficulty in mysterious terms when Mr Coates remarked across-‘the floor of the House: “What on earth is the hon, gentlemanA'ef erring to? He ought at'least to be frank and candid.” V ' Sir Joseph Ward retorted that the late Minister of Finance ought to be .frank ami candid. Proceeding, he rei plied to Mr Coates’s criticism, of the Kouth Isl and Main Trunk • Rai Iway By saying that Mr Coates had appointed a commission to report on ■ the New Zealand railways, and this was the only railway that the Fay-Raven Commission recommended should . bo gone, on .with, and it was also the . policy of the Reform Party in Marlborough. His statement regarding the obtaining of money for settlers and; workers, and for finishing the Idng-distancc railways was perfectly straightforward. His statement was - made as the result of a conference with prominent people in_ London, and he believed then, and believed now, that he could get the moneyj but it was absurd of members on the other side of the House tq demand of a Government three

days 'old that it should produce I £70,000,000. So far as the unemployed were concerned, he was prepared (.0 listen to representations, and he would

promise Auckland the same considernx tion as the other centres; but he'asked for time to'look round and see what the position wnsi He was not opposed to providing money for' the repayment of ■mortgages. He had, provided for it in • -the Act, and .on further consideration he was prepared to give, effect to it. He regretted that he was not able to do all he would, Jifye to have done, through no fault of his own, but he would provide the money to carry on, for the next 'six, months and to give' effect to the policy of liis party. , The Hill was read a second time, and the House went into committee on the measure.' _Mr Coates said-the Fay-Raven Commission* did not recommend the South Island Trunk Railway, and he advised Sir Joseph Ward to sec the reports on llijs line,-which were not by any means encouiagiiig Commercially,, ’ _ Xfr Fraser psked that a full explanation,should be given to the House of the “ mysterious ” obstacle which Sir Joseph Ward had found preventing him from carrying out his policy. . Sir Joseph Ward, said it in no 1 way ~ reflected on the, integrity of his predecessors, but its disclosure would do the country harm at the present moment. Such positions arose at times under all administrations. Mr W. Downie Stewart said he could have settled the matter in his own way, but as it arose in the middle of the election he thought it wiser not to do so until the result of ;the election was kno>vn; otherwise he might have been accused Inf hampering his successor. ■The Bill was then committed, read a third time, and passed without (amendment. , '

At .".SI a.m.'the House rose till 11.30 a.m.;, to enable the Legislative ■ Council to consider the measure,.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,

The Legislative Council met at 11 a.m., when the Finance Bill was received from the House.

Speaking on the second reading, the Leader of the Council (Mr T. K. Sidey) referred particularly to the rent restriction clause,, pointing out that-it applied only ,to premises concerning- -which orders' were made by magistrates, and enabled tenants to apply for relief until August 1 next as the extended date. This would enable the new Administration to deal with the question during the ordinary session of Parliament next year. .

Sir Robert Stout objected to the rights of landlords being restricted for a furthcr period, and asked if it was right to throw upon poor men who owned premises the responsibility of providing accommodation for others. It was unfair to lay down that accommodation should be provided by certain individuals at a certain rental, while there was no such provision in regard to others.

Mr W. Earnsliaw opposed the extension, which, he said, would only be a stopgap until a further extension; which he anticipated next year. He also condemned the proposed increase in the unemployment relief rate on- the ground that it raised the vagabondage of labour to award rates, and would tend to intensify unemployment rather than relieve it. The moment they departed from . the principle of paying a man what lie was worth they were treading on dangerous ground. It was merely an extension of the dole system, paying a man for what lie did not give in return. Sir Francis Bell justified the rent restriction proposal as the only means available to the Government of dealing with the question in the short space of time available before an opportunity of fully considering the matter in the proper working session. Mr J; Barr deprecated the reference to. ** the vagabondage of labour,” and said it might be taken to apply to persons who arrived footsore and footbarc after “padding the hoof” from one centre to another in search of work, not necessarily at relief rates. Mr T. 8. Weston commended to the Government the- recommendations of the Industrial Conference in relation to unemployment. Sir Sidey said that he would bring the matter before the notice of the Government.

The Bill was passed, and the Council adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

When the House of Bcpresentativcs met again at 11.30 a.m. the Prime Min■ister moved that a Select Committee be to go into the question of the Standing Orders, the committee to sit during the recess. He desired to obtain tit',! experience of the members nominated r ,>;i the proposal to institute daylight sittings of the House, which, lie thought, ■would he a good thing. He also desired members generally to think about the suggestion.

•The motion was agreed to on the voices.

■ Replying to Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) and the Loader of the Opposition (Mr J. G. Coates) Sir Joseph Ward said the House _ could rely on the Government going into the question of unemployment at the earliest possible moment after the rising of the House when all the arrangements contingent on the Government’s policy would be made. As the Legislative Council had not yet passed the Finance Bill the House rose till the ringing of the bell. Thu House resumed at 12.50 p.m. The Speaker reported that he had received from the Secretary of State for the Dominions an acknowledgement of the resolution of sympathy passed by the House in connection with the King’s illness. The reply expressed “ the deen appreciation of the King and Queen for the kind message of sympathy.” On the motion of the Prime Minister it was resolved to record the reply on the journals of the House. The Speaker reported that the Legislative Council had passed the Finance Bill, which had received the assent of his Excllency the Governor-General.

The usual valedictory speeches were then made by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Loader of the Labour Party, and Mr .Speaker, and at I o’clock the House adjourned after a mock division, and the first session of the twenty-third Parliament came to an cud.