TUESDAY, AUGUST 22.

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 15

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22.

In the Lagi=lati c Council on Tuesday iho Maori Land Councils Bill and Statutes Compilation Act Amendment Bill were passed. In the House of Representatives on ■ Tuesday a number of bills were 1 introduced and read a first time, including a Monopolies Prevention Bill and a Land for Sfetllemonts Act , Extension Bill. A motion was passed j regretting the death of Mr James Green, ex-M.H.R., and expressing sympathy and condolence with the family. The debate on the Electoral Bill wa~. then commenced and kept up until after midnight when the 'second reading was carried. NEW BILLS. Mr SEDDON explainer! that the Land for Settlements Act Extension Bill proposed to increase the amount available for land for settlement purposes from £500,000 to £750,000, as it was anticipated that half-a-million would not suffice to meot requirements this yeav. ;. It was announced that ths second roadings of tho Trad© Monopolies Bill and Animals' Protection Bill would be taken pro forma, with the view of sending the ; former measure to the Industries and Corn- ' merce Committee and the latter to a special [ committee. ; NOTICE OF MOTION. Mr Kaihau gave notice to move — " That in the opinion of this House the existing legislation affecting the Native race is demoralising to the Maori people and wholly unsatisfactory and should be amended by providing for facilities being giv-en in regard to the individualisation of title*, the abolit ion of the Maori Land -Councils., by allowing the Native people who have more land themselves than is required for thsir occupation and maintenance to alienate either by ; sale or least for t.he ooupation of settlers, if in the opinion of a properly constituted tribunal fair value is paid therefor. ELECTORAL BILL. Sir J. G. WARD moved the socond reading of the Electoral Bill, which, he said, was largely a consolidating measure. Ho explained the new matter in the bill, which has already been published in detail, making special reference to the fact that it waa proposed to enable a person not on tho roll to vote at the election if -he were properly qualified. The bill provided s>lso for i the appointment of a chief electoral officer ; and a deputy for the colony. It was not, ha said, contemplated to appoint two officers, hut ths provision ' was mad© in view of possibilities. Sir Joseph announced that for 4>he approaching general election the" main roll in every electorater^was complete,' and, so far as the compilation of the rolls was con- | cerned, they were much farther ahead than ( they were prior to- the last general 'election. - I He went on to point out that the bill proi vided that an elector would jiot be removed ! from a roll except by transfer or death, and i the system would no longer be pursued of removing from the roll the names of all persons who had not voted at an , election. With regard to voting at local I option polls he intended to ask the House i to amend the bill to ensure that persons who were out of their own electorates should have voting papers forwarded to them, and seamen would also be provided with voting , papers. With regard to absent voters, he j I proposed to amend the bill by making the ! t'me tip to which the absent electors may apply for a voting permit the date of tho issue of tho writ, instead of nomination day. The proposed amendments in tho law were framed in 'the desire to have the elections carried out as fairly as possible, and to im- j pose a penalty for anything in the p.hape of fraud in connection with the elections. Mr MASSEY hoped that the appointments to the Electoral Department would bf» made without any political interference, and i that the appointees would not be men who had takeu a prominent part in party j politics. Ho strongly objected to clause 123, which proposed to allow properly qualified persons to exercise their votes althoiigh their names were not on the roll. This was a dangerous innovation, and should not be allowed. Carelessness should not be j | encouraged, aucl the pe-rson who would not take the trouble to s&e that his name was on the roll should not ba permitted 4o I vote. The provision made for absent voters was a very useful one, and if properly safeguarded should prove very convenient io a large number of people- in the colony. Tho leader of the Opposition spoke of the nc- | cesraty that existed for a complete reorganisation of the svs+em of Maori representation in the House, pointing particularly to th"ca.ss of the Southern .Maori district. Had it not baen fov Mr Parata's personal popularity the position would have been adiusted long ago. He would like to see Mr Parata | called to the Upper House to replace the late Mr Taiaroa, and that would afford' a suitable opportunity for readjustment of the electorate. I Sir W. E. RUSSELL urged that if absent electors were to te allowed to vote tho same right should be given to women who for any ref»M>n were unable to attend at the uoll. He thought that no nomination J foe should be charged, holding that such a j charge ppnalised the poor man, unduly as against the rich. On the who'e the bill was orecious little improvement on the existing law. Mr BEDFORD continued the debate on the Electoral Bill. He advocated a universal system of electoral rights. With tho exception of one or two clauses, thu bill, ho said, was a. good one, and he would support the second reading. Mr ELL urged that the area of some of the large electorates in the colony, such as Wpstland and Bay of Plenty, should be reducod, which would tend to make- the system of representation more equitable. Mr DUTHIE could not understand why ths Government should bring down this bil] when it excused itself from goinp: on with such important measures as local government reform and cJvil service reform on the score of want of time. This act had only recently been revised, and the Government seemed to bo trifling with the time of the House. In the course of a lengthy debate, several members complained of the way in which the commissioners redistributed the seats every five years, and uraod that communii.vof interests was generally disregarded, and

i&at the result was not in the interest of the colony generally. Objection was also taken to> pushing- through, an Electoral Bill containing -no Dew pressing proposals on the eve of —a— general,, election. The subject of Maori representation was dealt with by a number of speakersMr TAYLOR characterised the system of special Maori representation as an anomaly and.-absuxdity — something that could not be defended, and would not be justified. Not only that: it was farcical. "Mr^A. L. D. FRASER agreed that special Maori representation should be done away with. At present Maori voting was a fraud and a' travesty. Special representation 01 the Maoris was injurious to the Native race Bnd detrimental to the colony in more ways than one. - Mr HONE HEKE described the cry of ihe- "Europeans to silence the JCative voice in ifhe House as ungenerous and unfair. It was done because the European population had" gfown from 50,000 in the sixties to 800,000 at the present day. and the Maori voice was no longer feared. . ; The Hon. J. CARROLL safd he believed 'that the Natives would' be better off if their special representation was done away. with, 'for every member of the Norfch Island would then be a representative-- of the Maori race, and the influence jon^their behalf would be proportionately greater. At present the •Maori was kept behind in the race because his' representation .was confined to *ftiaori "ideas, and ha believed that the sooner the Maori was^ joined with the European in electing the best representative for both the better it would be. The Maori must be represented in proportion to taxation, but h& urged, that the- sooner the Maori got universal representation the more effectively trould the Maoris' rights be preserved. The debate was carried on until midnight, •rh-en Sir J. G. WARD replied. He said he had explained, in moving the second readIng, thai he would be willing to accept any reasonable proposal for the improvement Dt the bill, but that fact seemed to have been, overlooked"- -by many of those members who had taken part in the criticism of the minor details of the till. With regard to the objections raised on the score that such a bill' 'should not be brought down on the eve of a general election, Sir •Joseph urged the necessity of making the electoral law perfect at such a time, and he added that under the system now pro- j posed practically every qualified person j would be put on the roll and given the opportunity of voting. * The second reading was agreed to on ' the voices. THE LATE MR JA-3IES GREEN. On the motion of the Premier, the House passed a resolution this afternoon expressive ' mi- regret at the death of the late Mr James Green (formerly member for Waikouiriti and 3Porfc Ohialmers). and of condolence with the bereaved relatives. Mr Seddon, in moving the resolution, spoke in eulogistic terms of the valuable services rendered to the Ota.go district and the colony generally by the late Mr Green in various capacities. The lisacLer of the Opposition, in seconding the motion, added a, tribute to the estimable qualities and the pioneering work done by the deceased gentleman. Mr T. Mackenzie, as one who had known Mr Green for many Jjears, sjpoke of the lons j^nd fajt'hful services

cf tie deceased, not only as a member oi Parliament, but also as a member of various local bodies. Messrs E. G. Allen, Millar, and J. W. Thomson also spoke in suppcri cf the motion, Mr Allen, in addition tc eulogising 1 tihe public services of the late Mr Green, made special reference to his i fair and honourable conduct as a politie-aJ opponent. DEBENTURE INTEREST. The JPublio Accounts Committee reported to-day .Jn regard to the payment of interest on certain Public Works and Land foi Settlements Act debentures, which fell diie on April 1, 1904. It states that owing to the Easter holidays the banks were closed till April 5. The debenture-holders claimed interest for the five days, and it was paid accordingly by the Treasurer. The Audit Depairfcme.nt questioned the payment, tout the Solicitor-general decided in favour of the making of the payment. The committee advise an amendment of the law to the effect that under such circumstances in future "interest be paid till the day on which the debentures are payable. LAND FOR SETTLEMENTS. Mr Seddon to-day introduced a bill to I provide for increased borrowing in conaiecjtion with the land for settlements policy. ■At present the maxiaram amount that can be raised in any financial year is half a million sterling. It -is now proposed to increase, this to three-quarters of a million. LAND COMMISSION'S REPORT. The Premier was again asked by Mr Massey to-day when he proposed to give the House the promised opportunity of discussing tae report of the Land Commission. The Premier said that be had found on going into the report that it covered a great deal more ground than he had anticipated. He. had, he said, been labouring at it the previous night until an hour after midnight, and again until 2 o'clock that day." He hoped, however, to be able to bring the matter forward for debate this week. Mr Massey: "You won't take it on Friday; so do you mean you will take it to-morrow or next day?" Mr Seddon: "Yes." A caucus of the Government party — the fiist of the session — is to be he!d xo-morrow, wlien it is understood that the course to be adopted in regard Jo th© Land Commission's report will be^discussed. THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Speaking in regard to the Legislative Council this afternoon, the Premier roanarked that since last session there had jheen a marked change- in the opinions of xihe members of the Efcmse. Last year, he said, when Mr Bedford moved a resolution to the effect that no further appointments should be made under present conditions, his proposal was carried by a majority of 16. Thus year when a similar motion was moved by Mr Herdman it was defeated by a majority of two There had thus evidently been, a decided change in the opinion of the Hoarse. Mr Massey : " You voted for one of the motions and against the other." Mr Seddon went on to remark that although Sir William. Steward and Mr Ell had brought i'ae matter forward, the question was one which sLould be dealt with by the Government. Mr EU : ' ' Why don't you do it?" Mr Seddon: "How is it possible' jvhen we have jjot co man^ other

1 things to attend to? We really want to be skiing all the year round. " SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL. In regard to the Shops a.nd Offices Bill, it is lctoked upon as likely by soaie members that the Premier will merely have a clause inserted fixing the hours of work for shoy assistants, and refuse to accept the amendments proposed by the Labour Bills Committee. That course would probably foe accepted by the majority of memb&rs of t.be House, but would not in all probability be agreed to by the Legislative Council, which was responsible for th>& early closing provisions now in •exUienre. Mr Arnold, chairman of the Labour Bills Committee, has given notice to move a new clause practically i.e-enacting section 5 of the principal act, biafc allowing chemists, hairdressers, and tobacconists to keep open till 8 p.m. on Tour days of the week, and exempting altogether bakers, confectioners, dairy '©hops, fishmongers, florists, and fruifcex-ers. This also is not likely to bs s>cneially accepted, and it is difficult to cay what the fate of the bill wjll be. PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE AMENDMENT. A bill has been introduced defining when the consent of the Supreme Court to the appointment of tbe Public Trustee is not necessary. Trustees, whet her appointed before or after the. coming into operation of the ' principal act. and whether appointed under a deed, deed-poll, or will, may. unless expressely, prohibited, and notwithstanding the terms of the trust as to the number of irusrees, ■appoint the Public Trustee (if h-e consent thereto) sole trustee in their plaoe without obtaining tifoe consent of theSupreme Court or a judge thereof. Executors whose duties continue in the nature of a trusteeship sifter their administration is closed shall, for the purposes of the last preceding paragraph, be deemed to be trustees. The bill akio provides that goods, etc., in an estate 10 miles from the place of business of a licensed auctioneer may be sold by an unlicensed person appointed by the Public Trustee. THE "VOUCHER" INCIDENT. The inquiry into the matter of Mr Fisher's charge against the Government; is fctill proceeding. It is now stated that, owing to the additional witnesses lo be examined and the time taken up in Uio search for the alleged voxicher. the report of the Auditor-general may not be forthcoming till next week. QUESTIONS. Mr Arnold is to ask the Minister of Justice whether it is a fact that a =hort time ago, at the close of divine service in the Dunedin Gaol, a prisoner walked out of the chapel down the stairs, through the gaoler's quarters, and escaped without being &een ; that two officers were in charge — one of the chapel, the other of the gate ; that no inquiry has been held, and no action '.aueii by the in&pector up to date. If so, will he take steps to see that the same rules are made to apply to all -officers aad waiders in the prison service? Mr E. G. Allen is to ask the Minister of Lands if he will take steps to protect, by fencing and guarding against fire or otherwise, portions of the cut-out kauri forest, an order that the young kauri trees now springing up might grow into useful limbc trees, as referred to bj the Chief Eoxcalec

on pag-e 74- of the Land Report, 1905. under the heading of "Regeneration of Kauri Forest." Mr Arnold is to ask the Minister of Justice — (1) If it is not possible to piace pr^on warders under the same regulations as me police when in course of transfer : (2) under what act or regulation is a, warder restricted to six tons measurement of household furniture : and (3) why has he to wait three or fou> - months before his removal expenses granted? Mr Arnold is to ask the Minister of Justice whether it is a fact that warders in the Dunedin Prison have to do s>x raontbs night duty each year, while in other (irj!--cla-ss prisons the warders are only roquirf.rl to do about two months' night duty in the same pursuit, and if so, what is the explanation? Mr Hordrna-n is to ask the Minister of Lands if it is the case that the Otago Land Board proposes to lease section 47, block VII, and section 5, block XI, Rock and Piliar, without competition, and if so, then why does it prooose to depart from the usual course of allowing settlers to compete for the land? Mr Hercknan is to ask the Ministe" .of Railways whether, having regard to the increase in the cost of living that has taken place during recent years, he will consider the advisability of increasing the rate of the | pay of surfacemen on the Otago Central railway lino. [ Mr Hardy is to ask the Government whether it will take the necessary eteps. [ when the Electoral Bill is b&fore Parliament, to give tbe co-operative labourers the privileges of electoral right as is granted under the present act to seamen and others. Mr Bedford is to ask the Minister of Justice — (1) When the Government is goin» to redeem, its promise to remove Meikle's name from the prison records of the colony, and (2) if it is the intention of the Government to grant him any further compensation for his unjust imprisonment.