POINTS OF PARLIAMENT

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 427, 15 July 1913, Page 2

POINTS OF PARLIAMENT

SOME SPICY TOUCHES,

WELLINGTON, July 8. Several petitions were presented and a j number of questions! submitted, the most | interesting being one by Mr Lee affecting the dismissal of a constable and the formation of a police association. It served to draw from a member of the close Cabinet —the Hon. Mr Herdman— a plain statement (reported m another column with some fullness) that the Government will not tolerate a police association under the "red flag." It was generally recognised that the Minister of Justice made out a convincing case, and demonstrated that the^jßeform Government are pitted against a great deal of misrepresentation and nag- , ging charges. | The business done, and the debate may be profitably summarised thus: — Private Bills— The Excise Tariff Bill (Mr M'Callum) and the Distress Limitation Bill (Mr Hindmarsh), read a first time.— Copyright Bill : The Bill was introduced by Governor's Message. Mr Russell asked why it was so introduced. The Hon. Mr Herdman explained that the Bill contained financial clauses. The Bill was read a first time. — Public Debt: The certificate of the Gon- , troller and Auditor-General showed that the amount of the Public Debt of New Zealand; as defined m section 2 of tho Public Debt Extinction Act, 1910, was, on the 31st March last, £67,599,916. The sum required to be invested each year at compound interest £4 per cent, per annum which would m 75 years amount to £68,000,000 is £151,572. KILL SENTIMENT AND LOGROLLING. "Great caution must needs be observed m the future expenditure of loan moneys. Great and urgent developments yet are necessary, but the money must be spent judiciously and well. We must demand 20s worth of work done and materials used for every £1 spent, and publio works must be interest-bearing. No sentiment, no log-rolling must enter into the business." — Mr Sykes, who continued the debate on the Address-in-Reply. , THE MACKENZIE MINISTRY. ; "I give the suggestion that the Mackenzie Ministry obtained their position by trickery an unqualified denial, and I aru surprised that a responsible paper likethe Christchurch * Press ' should have made it."— Mr A. M. Myers. , WOMEN AND STRIKES. • I Dealing with the proposed Conciliation ; and Arbitration Amending Bill, Mr Sykes, j a Reformer, gave it as his opinion that the Canadian system as to holding secret ballots on questions involving a strike or a lock-out should be adopted, and that the women workers should have a vote m such an event as well as the men. If strikes eventuated the women were the greatest sufferers. THAT EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. Mr Myers, ex-Minister of Defence, sup--pcited the Hon. J. Allen m the proposal to prepare voluntarily expeditionary forces for service overseas. He pointed out that-, the present Minister of Defence was simply carrying out an idea originated by the late Mr Seddon m 1892. It ws& the duty of •■ the Minister of Defence lo prepare such a force for emergency at any time. "I knew," he concluded,' "that- the Hon. Mr' Allen has been subjected to a great deal of adverse criticism m connection with the matter, but as I do not, . treat matters relating, to defence from a party point of view, I am ready to staud up iJid say that the Minister is perfectly justified m bringing such a force into existence so long as it is made perfectly clear that it must be voluntary." (Hear, hear.) <• GAMBLING IN LAND. " There should not be on . disappointed or rejected application for land as Jong as there is an acre of undeveloped and .uncultivated land m New Zealand. Success- I ful applicants should not be allowed xo transfer their sections for a lengthy period, say 10 years, and if a transfer is effected after that period, they should not again be allowed to participate m another ballot until all bona fide landless applicants have secured a .vjction. Everything should be done to prevent gambling or specialisation m Crown lands." — Mr Sykes. FLOURISHING FINANCE. The Hon. A. L. Herdman: It has been stated by Mr Myers that when he left office the financial affairs of the country were m a highly satisfactory condition. The hon. gentleman will pardon me for saying that we take the opposite view. The financial condition m which the old Ad ministration, left this Government was chaotic. lam authorised by tho Minister of Finance to state that since the present Government came into offioe an extraordinary; alteration has taken place. He says there has been a remarkable improvement m the finances within the last 12 months. In respect to .all the Public Accounts the liabilities are less than they were when we took office, and the amount of money available for the Public Service generally has increased. The hon. gentlemen opposite will welcome that with a great deal of pleasure. - Opposition Voices : " What about the expenditure?" There was no reply. "PUT HIM IN THE ASYLUM." While the Hon. Mr Herdman was explaining the Government's action m regard to the disturbances afc Waihi, an action which he held to have been justifiable and proper, he was subjected to much interruption from the Labor member for Otaki, Mr Robertsoa, -«ho frequently cried " Face a public inquiry." Mr Speaker quietly informed Mr Robertson that an opportunity to explain would be given him at the conclusion of the Hon. Mr Herdman's speech. Even this did not tie the tongue of the inexperienced representative from Otaki. "The hon. member cannot keep quiet," said the Minister of Justice> woariedly. Then a voice from the Opposition benches ended the interruptions by saying to Mr Herdman : " Put him into the asylum." (Laughter.) LIGHT RAILWAYS. "I am no advocate. of light railways," declared the Hon. W. Beehau during the I debate m the Legislative Council. "To my mind, it would be going back to the bad old days of politicsd railways, and I am dead against that." * . ■ ' \ THE PENALTIES OF POWER. I "The experiences of the Government have been both interesting and amusing," confessed the Hon. A. L. Herdman m i the course of an able speech on the Ad- i dress-in-Reply Debate. The Administra- j tion are passing from the atmospliere of calm they knew while m opposition to an. ! atmosphere impregnated with untruth. When we were m Opposition we were m a pure atmosphere, but immediately we came into offioe attempts have b^en made on every hand, to decry our efforts to do well for the people of the country. The atmosphere has been charged with, misrepresentation." " OOR AXN JCALLER HERRIN'." "I wondeir," said the Hon. W. Beehan, wistfully, m the- Legislative Council, when referring to the forthcoming visit to New Zealand of the Canadian fisheries expert, .'• when this country will be able to stand

on ito own, and be put beyond the reach of insult. All that is required is for the Government to purchase a few trawlers for the different centres, catch, the fish available around the coasts, erect markets, and sell it to the people at a cheap rate." "A HARD-CRUSTED TORY." I Mr Atmore, an Independent Oppositionist, put some spice into the debate. The Hon. Mr Herdman's initial difficulty, he said, is that he was born without the bowels of compassion. A man devoid of sympathy, and. with all the intolerance of a hard -crusted Tory of two centuries ago, he has strayed into a twentieth-century environment,, and is m sympathy with it. He will find that it has no sympathy with him." The Hon. Mr Herdman laughed at this criticism. j Mr Atmore : " The hon. gentleman I laughs, but there is no mirth m. his laughter." Mr Robertson: "It is only a cackle." "THE RAINBOW MINISTER." Nelson also tilted at the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, Minister of Marine, whom he designated as vhe rainbow Minister, because his politics had as many colors as Jpseph of Canaan had m his coat. Mr Fisher, he said, had an excellent personality, and lie preached purity. He had been .returned by a handsome majority, but the people of Wellington Central had not written off a large amount of depreciation. "If the rainbow Minister's head swelled any more," remarked Ma* Atmore,' "it would only increase the vacuum." AN APPOINTMENT CHALLENGED. Mr Atmore caused a mild sensation by vigorously attacking an appointment of a Karamea man to the Weetport Harbor Board which had been made by the j\linister of Marine. The member for Nelson pointed out that although the Hon. Mr Fisher was a No-license and a bare majority man, he had appointed .to that board an individual who had been convicted twice for obscene language, also for permitting drunkenness on premises, for playing an unlawful game, and for assault. The Ministerial reply to this indictment was, m effect, that a searching inquiry , had apparently been made by the chali .enger into the character of the appointee ; that, as he had been elected as the Karamea representative of the Westport County Council, he was selected to represent the same district on the Harbor Board ; and if it were proved that his record was such as stated "by Mr Atmore, the Hon. Mr ! Fisher thought the man should be called ! upon to resign immediately. I POLITICAL CORRUPTION. ' Mr Payne talked to a thinned House, and aroused no enthusiasm. He roundly charged the Government with political dishonesty, and asserted that they had gained their power not by the will of the people, but by political corruption. Was it not a fact that they had attempted to persuade five members of the Liberal party to go over to Reform by offering two portfolios to them? The Hon. J. Allen: I deny that. Mr Payne : I could put a man on a public inquiry if you dared to hold one •. who was one of the five. Hon. Mr Fraser : He is no good, then ; he would not be worth taking. Mr Payne went on to say that the Goyernment, while m Opposition,, politically corrupted members of the Liberal party, one Minister, after 21 years, going against his old party. He advocated that the Government should control and take over the sale of cinematographic films, which he characterised as a great educational me- ■ dium. As to the "calls" to the Legislative, Council, he referred to ths Hon. J. Duthie as "that good old hard-crusted Tory," while he designated the Hon. W. Earnshaw, the "Labor" representative, as the worst Tory m the Upper House. The House adjourned at 10.55 o'clock.