TUESDAY, JULY 9. THE REFERENDUM

Otago Witness, Issue 2471, 24 July 1901, Page 28

TUESDAY, JULY 9. THE REFERENDUM

Mr SEDDON moved the second reading of the Refere.T-um Bill, to provide for certain bills and legislative proposals being referred to a poll of the electors of the colony. He said certain questions had often agitaited the public mind, and hitherto there had been no means of referring them to tbe people. A case in point at the present time could be quoted — viz., the agitaiions in connection with the sale of liquor in the KingCountry and Bible-reading in State schools. This bill provided the necessary machinery for taking the opinion of the people of the colony on questions like these. The questions of federation and single tax could also be added to the list; and with regard to the latter, he thought the time was approaching when there would have to be an alteration in the incidence of taxation. At the present time <no much was paid by indirect taxation. -a removal of disabilities on women was ai_u.her question it might be neee&sary to refer to the people. He hoped the House would pass the bill, and take another step forward in progressive legislation.

Captain RUSSELL complained that the Premier had cot made clear to the House tbe extreme width and scope of the bill, and it appeared as if ho had not a tree id«a of the significanc3 of the measure. He (Captain Russell) intended to oppose the bill, because it was too conservative in its tendencies. He asked _ members whether they were prepared, to abrogate the present Constitution altogether, and place themselves unreservedly in the hands of the people, for that was what this proposal amounted to. It was a reversal of our whole principle of gorernmen't. He believed in trusting the people, but he did not believe im asking their decision upon a question with which they were not thoroughly conversant. He resisted the proposal to pass a measure into Jaw over the heads of both branches of the Legislature by a vote of the people, who would not have any idea of its provisions. Mr ELL regarded this bill as one of the most important that conld have been introduced. People were beginning to see that they were not properly represented, that very oftan laws were gassed that theydid not want, and that laws that they demanded were 'kept from them for years together. He spoke* of the success of the referendum in Switzerland, and pointed out that this system existed also in every State but one of the United States of America. H<a scouted the suggestion that there would be no further need for a Parliament if this bill became law. Mr HOGG said he would vote for the bill, though he had voted against it on a previous occasion. He considered the bill was founded on sound democratic principles. Mr CARNCROSS said he had opposed this bill on a previous occasion, and he had heard nothing in the course of this debate to cause him to change his opinions. The bill seemed. to him to imply a direct shelving of their own responsibilities as members of Parliament. Mr G. W. RUSSELL said he would vote for the second reading of the bill as affirming the principle of the referendum, but at the same time he held tßfr opinion that in many respects the bill before the House was highly impracticable. It should be made dear that the machinery of the bill should only be set in operation on questions of great importance-. Mr WILFORD supported the bill, and Mr WILLIS opposed it. The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr Thos. Mackenzie. STATE FIRE INSURANCE. The Government State Fire Insurance Bill is a lengthy measure of 24 pages. Powers are given we Goveraor-in-Cooneil in regard to the- appoininsenl of a manager and gtaff for the proposed department. With the approval of the board, the manager may establish branch offices and appoint agent?. The bo*rd 13 to consist of a manager aud four other persona. Two of these, the Colonial Treasurer and Commissioner of Taxess, shall be members ex officio. Tbe other two shall be competent persons, not in the civil service, appointed by the Governor-in-Couiicil Provision is made for the appointment of attorneys outside of New Zealand for the reinsurajjee of fire liskd. Local authorities and Government departments must furnish information to the manager with a view to minimising as far as possible the risk of insurance. A penalty of £50 is provided for in the case of any person hindering the inspection of a building, refusing to give any information tn his power relating; to sucb building or its contents, or for giving false information. "Premium* »tb pstT»b!e in advance. The Uo/ornor-iii- Council is ainnowered to x^*

up to £250,000 as original capital in Great ' Britain or elsewhere. I'iovision is also made for raising supplementary capital when required. Sinking funds are to be prowded for the redemption of capital. Surplus ' profits are to be used for a reserve fund, ■ and payment of bonuses triennially. Part 2 of the act relates to the statutory insurance of buildings, and the provisions are .iot to apply in any district unless this part of the act* is adopted therein pursuant either to a special order in that behalf, duly made by the local body of the district, or to a poll of the ratepayers in every district wherein this part of the act has been adopted. The manager shall prepare a fire insurance roll, giving full particulars regarding every building in the district. On the , coming in force of the roll in any district and continuously thereafter every building vhown on such roll as not then insured elsewhere than under this part of the act shall, without the issue of any policy, be deemed to be insured in the State Fire Insurance Office in the name of the owner m a «urn equal to the insurable value thereof as shown on the roll, at the rate ond amount of premium appearing on the roll. With respect to every building which upon the coming into force of the fire ' irsuranee roll is shown thereon as already insured elsewhere than under this part qf the act, the pro-visions of the last preceding section .shall apply forthwith upon the date ■ of Jrhe expiry of the then current policy, being in no case later than 12 mouths after the first coining into force of the roll. Premiums in connection with statutory insurance may be collected and sued for by the local body in th« same manner as rate?. Part 3 of the act relates to the equipment i ond maintenance of fire brigades. To the cost of this the fire insurance companies and the State Fire Office will have to contribute. The provisions are pretty much the same as in the rejected bill of 1898. PRESERVING MAORI CURIOS. Mr T. Mackenzie wished to know from the Gcvernment this afternoon whether they ; would, with a view to preserving to the colony valuable works of Native art, introduce legislation prohibiting the exportation of Maori carvings, implements, etc. r except subject to the approval of the Government. The Hon. Mr Carroll entirely agreed with the bon. member putting the question. If legislation were necesiiry, he thought it would bra accepted -by the House. — (Hear,, hear.) Personally, he was of opinion tbat provision should be made for the erection of a buildins? or museum, and the Government should devote attention to the collection of relies connected with the Mtori race, to be treasured up for the benefit of the colony. DIVISION OF MINISTERIAL LABOURS. " Mr Seddon has lately bppn christenpd "The General Manager" of New Zealand, , and, judging from the number of " hearhears '' which followed his question, Mr G. W. Russell was eliciting something which more than one member wished to know when he asked to be informed of *he portfolios and departments administered by each member of the Cabinet. Mr Seddon explained that, in addition to being Premier, | lie was Minister of Labour and Defence, 3dm mistered the Insurance and Factory De- j partments and workman's hours and purchased the land under the Land foj Settlements Act, and occasionally acted as At-torney-general. — (Laughter. I The Minister of Railways (the Hon. Sir J. G. Ward* . was aho Postmaster-gpneral, Colonial \ Secretary, Minister of Industries and Com- [ merce and Public Health. The Minister of | Public Works (the Hon. Mr Hall-Jones) also had charge of the Marine Department. Thp i Hon. Mr M'Gowan was Minister of Justice j and Mines, and had' charge of the Police I Department. The Hon. Mr Carroll was j Native Minister and Commissioner of , Stamps. The Minister of Education (thp Hon. Mr Walker) also had charge of the | Cadet Corps and Industrial Schools and administered the Charitable Aid Department. The Hon. Mr Mills was Commissioner of Customs. There was a large number of portfolios and departments, and they were on the increase. " The work was carefully supervised and fairly evenly divided. CLASSIFYING LUNATICS. Mr Meredith this afternoon asked if it is the intention of the Government to make provision during the present session of Parliament for the grading or classing of the inmates of the lunatic a&ylums of the colony with the view of better curative treatment than at present obtains being adopted and put into operation. He said there were 146 children in the lunatic asylums, for whom separate provision should be made. There were others who were only mad occasionally, and yet, at other times, when they were quite sane, they bad to listen to language that was not conducive to their well-being from other inmates who were not responsible for thp words they used. The present state of affairs was not creditable to the eoloay.— (Hear, hear.V Mr Hall- Jones replied that in recent years a great improvement had been made in the direction indicated, especially at the Seacliff Asylum. LIQUOR IN THE KING COUNTRY. When asking the Premier whether he intended, as promised last session, to appoint a commission to inquire into the desirability or otherwise of placing the people residing in the King Country in a similar position . to the electors living in other parts of thp colony with regard to the poll for local option purposes, Mr Lang said the present \ position was generally admitted to be very unsatisfactory, and it was to be regretted | tbat the commission had not been set up so as to enlighten i!h> minds of the people. Of the petitions that had been received the largest number had come from districts remote from the Waikato. showing that they knew very little about thp question. The Premier, in replying, said it was well known that last recess an abnormal number of Royal Commissions had been set op — ; n fact, they might say that the panel had been exhausted. Mr Pirani : "On yoivr side." The Premier said the real difficulty j arose from tbe fact that there had been a public agitation against any licenses being granted. The petitions were numerous, but in some instances they were signed by very few persons, showing that the desire was to make the movement appear as large as possible. The present situation was that i£ there had been any change it had beenr for the better, and, that being so, the Government had not seen its way to appoint a commission. He might say, however, that the question was still one deserving of careful consideration. Mr Lang said he felt sorry that the Minister had not given a decided answer. Mr Seddon replied that he thought his answer had been explicit enough. BIG GAME. Sir Flatman objects to the Government inlroJuiiuz hm name from Africa H»

gave the Hou-e a short lee tare on natural liibtory, t>ravely informing lion, members that rh<? ihov was a.i animal that occasionally mounted precipices 600 ft high. Having dune thi-, it v orld throw a somersault and light on its hoi n^ in order to save its hoofs. Sir .Joseph Ward said it was not the intention of the Government Lo place a sum of money on the Estimates for the purpose of importing big game, and they would see that undesirable animals were not allowed to be imported. COMPANIES BILL. Sir Jo s eph Ward has introduced the Comp.iniei Bill. In this there are ceitain restrictions a» to the allotment of shares. There nro also certain qualifications to be complied with before a shareholder can become a director. There are certa'n important restrictions in regard to commencing business. A company shall not commence any business-, or exercise any borrowing powers unless, (a) share? held subject to the payment of the whole amount thereof in cash have been allotted to an amount not less in the whole than the minimum subscription, and (b) «?\ery duecior of the company has paid to the company on each of the n'lares taken or contracted to be taken by him, and for which he is 1-able to pay in cash a proportion equal tp the proportion payable on application and allotment on the shares < ffered for public subscription ; and (c) there has been filed with the registrar a statutory declaration that the aforesaid conditions have been complied with. The registrar, on the filing of this btatutory declaration, shall certify that the company is entitled to commence buK-nese. Any contract made by a c mpany before the date at which it is entitled to commence business ahsll be provisional only, and shall not be binding on tne company until thai date and on that date it shall become binding. Nothing in this section shall prevent the simultaneous offer for subscription of any shareT and debentures, or the receipt of any application. If a company commences business or exercises borrowing cowers in breach of this section, every person who is responsible for the hi each of this section shall without prejudice to any other liability be liable to a penalty not exceeding £50 for every day during which rhf breach continues. This section shall not ai ply to a company registered before the cemmencement of this act nor to a comp.my where there is no invitation to the pi-.blic to subscribe for its scares. Particulars of the shares allotted have to ba filed, as have also signed copies of prospectuses There are a number of requirements to be complied with in regard <o prospectuses, meetings, auditors, registration of mortgages, etc., and liquidation. TREATMENT OF PHTHISIS. Mr Ell is again moving in the direction of getting the Government to establish a r.inatorium for the treatment of consumptive patients. He says all the best authorities are agreed that phthisis is not hereditary, but is always contracted. He quoted statistics to show that last year 597 people died of phth'sia in New Zea'and. Of these 229 were between the ageb of Id and 25. Of the New Zealand born consumptives, 123 who died were between the ages of 15 aud 25, 106 between the ages of 25 and 35, and 28 between the ages of 35 and 45. The total deaths in New Zealand born were 256. Sir Joseph Ward said the question of th« establishment of a sanatorium \rm being considered by the Health Department. In regard to the statistics he quoted the ether day about consumptive*. Mr Ell states that although the returns show that there has been a decrease in the number of deaths from consumption from 593 in 159^ to 577 in 1900, the deaths from this disease amongst the native-born have increased, the figures being: All ages— lB99. 287: 1900. 297: 15 to 35, 223 and 229; 15 to 45, 250 and 257. Compared with the total of all deaths from this disease, the percentage is over 51 per cent, of native-born. VALUATION DEPARTMENT. The salaries of ihe Valuation Department amounted to £10,475. the clerical assistance to £3340, and travelling expenses to £3769. The total expenditure was £26.042. Tne depal tment seems to be growing very rapidly, while at the «ame time it is giving i cry little JOTTINGS. "They blame the Premier for going round, but it he had not gone the show would have been like a menagerie ' without the elef>} ant," " opined Mr J. M'Lachlan (A^hburton), apropos of the royal vieit. Mr J. Allen wants to know what steps have been taken to comply with the prayer of petitioners who desired that the Roxburgh estate, near Milton, should b» pttrchaeed for close settlement. Mr MNab wants the Government to have the portion of the Glenham estate 1 , adjacent to the factory, and on wh'ch there are suitable farm steadings, thrown opan for afrttlel.ient at once, so as to take advantage of the approaching milking season. Mr Bennett wants the Government to acquire some of the large estate" in the Tualieka district, with the view of having them thrown open for clo»e settlement. Mr Cameross, in asking the Minister of Railways when he expects a commencement to be made with the work of duplicating the Dunedin-Mougiel railway, said progress was being hampered in Mosgiel because of the want of more speedy transit. Sir J. Ward said the matter was in hand, and would reCtive attention shortly. Notification has been given of the intention to grant a pension to Mr J. P. Maitland, of the Lands and Survey Department, Dunedin. The pension is at the rate of £411 a year, to date from the 15th January, 1901. Mr E. G. Allen wants an amendment of the Mining Act so that in the event of a gold dredging company going into liquidation the directors of such company shall be personally responsible for the payment of any workman's wages that may be due up to the tune of liquidation. Mr Monk, who is * great patriot, and i«, by the way, an authority on flags, wants the Government, for the encouragement of % national fesling on the part of the youth of New Zealand, to direct that the New Zealand Ensign shall, not less than once a quarter, be paraded up and down the aisle of every public school in the colony. th« boys a>nd girls to stand in respectful salute while it is pafsing them, the head teacher to improve each occasion by giving his scholars an address, not exceeding five minutos, instructive of ths hitory and the reepe't due to the flag.