WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20. CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 36

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20. CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES.

In the Legislative Council, Th<* election of a Chairman^ of Committees resulted in the return of the Hon. B, H. J. Reeves. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. The debate on the Addres&-in-Rep 1 v was resumed by the Hon. Mr BEEHAN^ who characterised the Dreadnought offer as a great act of Imperialism. He entirely approved of what the Prime Minister had done at the Defence Conrerence. The promissd Special Settlements Finance Bill would give many people an opportunity to get on to the land that they would not otherwise have had. He congratulated the Attorney-general on his efforts, m connection with prison reform. The Hon. Mr MARSHALL applauded the step taken by the Prime Minister in the direction of obtaining cheap money for local bodies. There was very little to. coiaplain of in the land system, which "was much appreciated. The Hon. Mr LUKE complained of the indecisive character of the Timber Commission's re-pm-t. The timber, millers were deserving ot every consideration. He also complained that undue restrictions had been placed upon employers of labour, who •were harassed in their operations. He iriaintriuoi that if industrial efficiency was to be maintained rome assistance would ha\e to be given by means of the tariff. The debate was adjourned, and the Council rose at 5.30 p.m. In the Hou?e of Representatives, NEW BILLS. The. following bills were read a first time :—lnangahua: — Inangahua County Council Empowering (Mr Colvin), Public Works Amendment (Mr M'Laren), and Waitara Borough Reserves Vesting (Mr Jennings). REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Ministers in replying to questions today said : — The Government was looking into the question of the old-age pensions law generally, with a view of ascertaining -whether any further relief could be given to old-age pensioners without excessive <x»st to the Dominion. In due course a responsible officer would investigate the matter in connection with old soldiers who felt that justice had not been done to them. It was not feasible to convert the Post Cffice -Saving* Bank into a Dominion tank, exercising the sole right of issuing the paper currency required by the savings Bank and the present banking institutions in New Zealand. The question of taking steps to prevent ths flour milling trust and the associated bakers from exploiting the public by fixing arbitrary prices for flour and "bread was receiving consideration., .and proposals would be- submitted to the House which would be in the direction of giviHg municipalities greater power than -they possessed at presvnt. . Suitable lands were being acquired n the neighbourhood of the centres of population for subdivision into workmen* lots. It wU not intended to amend the and Flax Royalties Act this sesSiC It'wa S not considered that the .off ering •of mo -e liberal terms than tho a c now Jhen would have the effect of increa^ the supply of domestic servants to the no .easily for financial Stance to the Railway Sup«£™£™ Tund as the State insured the fund being fi TlSio T^ent my i»* hardJfV COnUiou of free «ihr.y P--to country school teachers taking classes Z toS had been extended until the end ° fltf It h w a rnot proposed to extend the Old■ace Pensions Act in the direction of piovtding for the payment of pensions Id under 65 years of age. P "rhe question of offering a bonus or -prize for the first aeroplane manufactured Sd successfully flown m the J*""™" was receiving attention. Any conditions •decided upon would be gazetted. If time permittee 1 an amendment to -the Workers' Compensation Act would be .brought down this session. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. The debate on *he Address-in-Reply was •continued by Mr CRAIGIE, who confined his remarks to the statement that he considered the Address a waste of time, and thanking the House for the reception accorded him. ' Mr M4NDER referred to the Timber ■Commission, and said that the inquiry into the sawmilling industry was satisfactory He went on to deal at length ■with iha results of the commission's report, which wa-s a compromise between the different views of its member*. lhe industry deserved every tupport from the Government, as la -ge numbers of men depended on it for a livelihood. There was vei<- little evidence to show that there was any combination of millers U> keep up price* The cost of production under present conditions was very great. More attention *h0..1d be directed to ' tfforestation, and forests on broken roun'rv which was unfit for settlement oucht to be con.-erved. Mr WITTY pointed to the loan raised by the Prime Minister when at Home as evidence proving that the financiers had iot lost confidence <n the country. It Sad been said tha'. capital had been ' fihrhtened away from the Dominion, but vnere hfd it gone! He fancied it would be clad to come b.xek again soon. Jhe speech by the Leader of the Opposition dimply a repetition of toi-nier and a of charge* of malad- „,;«; <,",t^ Mr Massey had been gunty of niak:- ' .Mlv personal refeiences. to members o. iiio Hou«. .wliich set a bad example to tho Opposition, and he had

erdeavoured to mislead the electors in regard to the dairy regulations. Many other^ statements of the Opposition were equally insincere and unfounded. Dealing with the land question, Mr Witty said he hoped the endowments would be kept intact The leases of over 2.000.000 acres in the South Island would be falling in this year, on which increased rentals could be obtained. The object of the Opposition's land policy seemed to be to obtain large blocks of land for their friends. Victoria and Great Britain were following New Zealand's example in land ' taxation, which had brought idle lands I into production. The speaker criticised i the statements made by Mr Hardy during i the election campaign, which went to > show that the Opposition would repeat j the' policy of the Government, though it ; condemned it. j Mr JENNINGS spoke on prison reform, , and objected to coddling prisoners. It | was. he said, the duty of the State to see that every child had the benefits of primary education. In the country districts , the settlers were under great disabilities in procuring edxication for their children. Regarding land settlement, he complained that practical men had been denied oppotunities of acquiiing .sections, yet blocks ■ were being opened for retrenched civil servants. Mr BUCHANAN said he hoped the Minister of Education would inquire into the want of educational facilities mentioned "by Mr Jennings. In regard to the frozen meat industry, he said steps ought to be taken to prevent the o\erstockino- of the English maiket. j In the evening Mr BUCHANAN continued his speech. He ur.;sd an active policy in connection with Native lands. The "Government had denied that capital had been leaving the Dominion, but theie was no doubt that some wealthy farmers had 'eft our shores while the Government , had been assisting immigrants without ' capital to come to New Zealand. Referring to the Midland railway, he said , it «j<s idle for the Prime Minister to I say that he had no option but to pioceed I with the line. He could have stopped it year* ago, and so saved thousands of j pounds. Mr BAUME referred to Mr Lamenson's ! statement that the latter would not vote. ' for any subdivision of Native lands till , the estates held by Europeans had been cut up. and faid that if this was so he I and others would consider that faith had been broken with them. He_ .supported ths freehold, but w.t* opposed to large estates. The Piako Block had been ju?t 1 opened on the optional tenure, and there were 457 unsuccessful applicants for 30 sections. In another case where 78 seclions were offered on the Leasehold tenure only three sections were taken up. Every Stale tenant was a dissatisfied freej holder. They forgot the benefits received .■w predicted by Sir George Grey and others These tenants who made a barpain with the State had no right to demand the freehold at the original valuation. Mr Herdman had de-iCiibed the conversion of 999 year.-,' leases into the freehold as a variation of contract ; but there were t\TO parties to the contract, j Tha State held the land as trustee for the people, and if the leasehold tenure was granted the fieehold price should be ba-ed on the present value. It was curious to contrast the personal cheerfulness and prosperity of the Opposition members with thsir pessimistic utterance*, in the House. He considered tint no judge should be paid any extra salary for work done outside the judicial bench. He had the highest respect for Sir R. Stout, but , the court c taken in respect to salary was injudicious, and should not b"e repeated, a.s it would open the way to abuses. Mr BUDDO, in replying to Mr I Buchanan's remarks that the settlers were ' poorly represented on the Government side of the House, sdd that 15 members of the Liberal paitv we t e fanner-*. Ho condemned the wholesale TnWeniefientation of the Dominion's iinancial situation by members of the Opposition. Regarding the Midland railway, 1m» said the settlers of Canterbury and the West Coa.-t I would find the lin? useful' in carrying ' stock and pioduce to the mmkets. One agreeable feature of the debate was the fact that many members of the Opposition • were quite ready to accept the whole ot j the Government's leiri.-l.it ion. He ' ridiculed Mr Malcolm* statement tint the education syllabus was held in contempt by parents throughout the country. He denied that the Health Department had got out of hand a.s alleged b\ Mr Alien. Mr THOMSON (Dunedm North) deplored the waste of ih-,e in recrimination ! on both sides of the House. The Prime Minister scarcely i-rilised the amount of : feeling created in the country by the j suspension of Parliament during his I absence ! The debate was continued by Mr j FORBES, who charged the> Opposition j with changing its name while it retained j its Tory character. The OpooMtion re1 presented cla*s interests and punciples I while glibly protesti-ig to -land for pio- ! gress and reform. He announced himsplf i a* strongly in favour of the leasehold ! tennre. and said that the Maf.ii- should 1 be given an oppoitunity to settle on their 1 own laid. ! Dr BUCK expressed giatificalion at the Government's announcement to introI du-e legislation affoctin^ Native lands. I iind he hoped that the intents of the 1 Maoris, would not be overlooked. The I Native lace had undergore a course of 1 evolution The Maori had endea\oured to ' a~<imilate civilisation which had taken ! the 4tiglo Snxon 3000 yea is- to evolve, i TT- reviewed tV change-, in the attitude , of the Mcoiis in regard to thnr lands. The cry of puttinc the M.-ons on the ' samo footing as Ejropeans was only a i cpecious, cvv. The Native* -huulrf be al- , lowed a chance to settle on their ovn 1 lands and become pioclucos. winch they , were anxious to do. The same n>_'ht* and priMleces .-hould be accorded the Maons ! n ,. xrev"- r,jven to Europeans. Mr PEDDON d-olt pm'iv ir.aUv with 1 TPinini; matters affect ins; hl« cor-t-twe.icv • Be torn i, leaned that the Govcmmew had

ihown a lack of sympathy with mining enterprises on the West Coast. He entered at length into the negotiations and pioceedings between the Minister of Mines and the companies concerned regarding water power, and a«ked the former to state his intentions in the matter. After midnight the debate- was continued by Mr CLARK, who referred to old-age pensions, and supported their extension to thooe owning pioperty and others who at present "n ere not legally entitled to them. Mr STALLWORTHY referred in terms of praise to the speech of Dr Buck. He said it was neresj-ary to settle the Native lands question, but the Maoris' interest? n.ust be safeguarded from designing land sharks. Mr SMITH, in replying, thanked members for their congratulations to himself and the seconder of the Address-in-Reply. He touched on the question of the freehold, and denied that his support thereof cor lei be- construed a* a bribery to the electors. The Addrep&-in-Reply was ngreed to, and the House i'ose at 0.40 a.m. RAILWAY EXTENSION. Sir W. J. Steward asked a question about the extension of ths Waimatc railway from Waihao Downs to "Waihaorun^a. The Minister of Public Work* replied that it would involve considerable expenditure for the construction of about seven mile;? and a-half of lin-e through fairly easy country, which is at present well roaded. Under the circunistajices the extension of this railway is not considered an urgent matter. THE LAND HUNGER. In reply to Sir William Steward, the Prime Minister to-diay stated thU in view of the increasing demand for pastoral country, and of the fact that when leases of such country terminated there was a widespread demand that the lands should be carefully inspected to ensure that they might be subdivided and reotfered for occupation in as small holdings 'as was advisable, it would be contrary to public opinion and sentiment that the proposal to give existing tenants a right to n-sw leases of their lands in the present large areas should be given effect to. The Government was therefore unable to see its way to introduce special legislation for this object, or to offer facilities to private members to do so. RAILWAY CONCESSIONS TO DELEGATES. Mr Arnold asked the Minister of Railways why it had been decided not to grant delegates attending the Trade.s and Labour Councils' Conference the usual ' railway concessions, and whether he would reconsider the- matter. Mr Millar replied: "All concessions in fares and charges are provided for by gazetted regulations. In re.«pect to passengers travelling by rail, the conee-sion i. 1 - made to delegates attending meetings of religious bodies <md friendly societies only, subject to certain restriction*. It is not the practice of the railways to grant con-ce-.-kms to such bodies as Trades and Labour Councils or to persons attending the various conferences promoted by the various union-, throughout the Dominion. The rates for travelling in New Zealand are so very low a.s to form no bar whatever to delegates or other members of the community undertaking any journeys that the necet^itie^ of their business requires. The extension of the present facilities to everybody promoting a conference would involve a considerable lo^s of revenue, and would moreover lend to very grave abuses. I regret, therefore, that I cannot authorise ', my departure from the tariff regulations." A CENTRAL OTAGO OBSERVATORY. Mr Arnold a*ked tha Government whether it would #ive tho question of erecting an .astronomical oWervatorj in Central Ota go immediate and favourable consideration. The reply was as follows :: — '• This question apparently refers to a m-ilt«r in which the Government ha.> assumed no responsibility beyond that of foiwaiding certain information to the C'ainegie Institute. Washington. 'Lp-t year it w a,> announced In certain >cientihc jouina's of good staiding that lhe Carnegie In.-titute. Washington, had decided to establish and maintain for the observation of southern st\rs and for other specal physical woi k a first-class astronomical observatory in t'-e Southern Hemisphere — namely" in New Zealand or Sot-tli Ameiioa or South Africa. The Canterbury and Otago Institutes drew im reasons in favour of a site in Central Otago. .aid a.sked that their memorandum, together with the opinions of certain experts in astronomy, magnetism, and peismology should be- fui warded by the Prime Minister to th,e president of the Carnegie Institute, Washington. It is understood that the establishment of one of tl.f great Cainegie observatories in Central Otago would involve no expense to the Dominion, as all the exp•.-noe^ wonW be met by the Carnegie endowment. The Government does not propose to establi.-h Mich an observatory, the initial cos-t and the cost of maintenance being practically piohibitive." COST OF DINING CARS. Mr Millar, in an.swer to a question *odav, stated that the running of dining cars on the express train-! ,'oiith of Dunedin would involve the depaitment in a very large additional e-xper.«e in reject to the staff and provision foi t'>e management of the car-. The cars at pic-ent mn in tha North and South Island- \ve> c lin-remun-erative, the total ic-ceipt-. being bniely Futii'Ment to coier the wages of the -staff and the stoic*. the baie-t nw srin to cover the ce*t of lepnirs to the cars, and ab-olutely nothing towards the expense of hauling them. Under the-e cir- ! cuinstanccs he w-u-. not preprud to tecom- ! inerd the extension of the dining-car s\s- ! torn to oth^r trairs COST OF SEWING MACHINES. Mr Poland vas concerned about the 1 cost of sewing machines, and put a quebI tiou on the Order Papu" about them.

To-day he was informed that it was not considered desirable that the Government should undertake the importation and sale of the-e machines, though it was aware of the great additions to the first cost charged to the public. OTAGO ESTATES. Mr Scott is asking the Government whether, in view of the increasing demand for land in the Roxbuigh and Miller's Flat districts, he will at once take the necessary steps for the re-pur-cha=e of the Teviot and Ormaglade Estates. PRIVATE RAILWAY SIDINGS. Mr Witty asked the Minister of Railways whether he would consider the advisubiiity of granting sidings to farmers and other.- on more reasonable terms than at present, so that those who ai-e willing to erect gialn s-torea may be able to store their produce, and thus materially assist the Ra:lv ay Department in a time of pressuie. Mi Millar, in reply, said the department has for years past had arrangements in operation under which store sites can bti lei-ed alongside railway stations, the lessees of such sites erecting their own fheds thereon, if they considered such a step desirable. Theire is no limitation to tho number of <ite? <o leased, provided that the nace«*ar\ land is available in the locality desired. *At the present time a number of lease* of store sites having frontage to hidings are held in various part- of the Canteroury district. Some years ago the department, with a view to extending the system, advertised vacant sites that were available at no less tha.i 30 different stations in the Canterbury and North Otago distnets, it being desiied to encourage the erectior of private sheds. Not a solitary offer wa« received in response to the advertisements. The conditions under which railway land is leased as stare sites, and on which piivate sidings are established, are liberal in character, ard I cannot recommend any alteration in respect thereto. Private siding rental ha« been reduced by 50 per cent, since the Government resumed control of the railways, past experience having demonstrated that the original basis of a guarantee of co much traffic per annum, and payment of a premium, led to private sidings being constructed in various paits of the railway line where they should not have been laid down. The busine-s was altogether inadequate to justify the provision of a siding, and seldom, "if ever, recouped the amount expended. Under these - circumstances several sidings were taken \ip a few years ago. and it was decided to fix rentals for those wluch the grantees desiied should remain. This es^ntial condition has m practice been found very satisf actoi y . and I am strongly of opinion that a rental of £1 per weeK for private siding access in the country beyond the limits of railway stations ir a most reasonable charge to make, where, the convenience of the private siding is lenuired.