N.Z. PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3097, 23 July 1913, Page 30

N.Z. PARLIAMENT.

TUESDAY, JULY 15. A DURESS IN-R E PLY. The House met at 2.50 p.m., and after polices bad been given and formal business transacted, Mr Hine renewed the debate on the Address-in-Reply. He lontcnded that what New Zealand wanted was the settlement of people on small areas, and the Government was doing that. The weakest spot in the present and past administration of the settlement of lands was the pace at which roads providing access to the back-blocks were made and the condition, of roads, which were a disgrace. Mr Ell said he hoped the House would watch closely any legislation put through affecting the* Bank of New Zealand. He sincerely hoped that the matter would not be discussed on party lines, but that the interests of the people of the dominion would be properly protected. He did not think the mortgage tax should he repealed. If it were it would do no good to the borrowers of the country, but would only assist rich men. He criticised the Public Service Act, and held that Ministers had given away the right to see justice done. They must not interfere, as it would be ascribed to political influence. What?’’ said Mr Massey. “ Political influence if you set a wrong right,” said Mr Eli. He believed the Public Service Commissioners % ould cost the country thousands and thfl&isands of pounds, and do no good at all, Ihc question of political influence in connection with the public service was a silly, empty bogey, which bad never existed. Mr Mander advocated a tax on theatre »nd race tickets. • The ballot system of dealing with Crown lands was unsatisfactory, and blocks ought to be set aside for those who .were unsuccessful at ballots. The Hon. Mr Massey said they had been told that the Speech from the Throne was meagre. He was prepared to vjdrnit that the Speech now being discussed was an innovation. It was modelled on that delivered in the House ®f Commons. It was brief and businesslike.’ The Government had no occasion to go in for window-dressing. The people .knew them and trusted them, and further, he said, the Governor’s Speech was not the place to declare the policy of the ilovernment. The proper place was on the second reading of the policy Bills, and that was the course the Government intended to follow. Speaking of land ho claimed to know as much «f pioneering as anyone, and he was not afraid of the result when his administration came to be examined. He had found that there was a shortage of surveyors, and he had met that shortage. The policy of the Government was to put a pettier on every acre of land fit to carry p, settler. So far as tlie administration »f the Lands for Settlement Act was concerned he could say that, with only two exceptions, every acre they had bought had been disposed of, and he had a telegram in his possession offering to repurchase at a profit of 25 per cent, the pinch-criticised purchase from Mr Beetham at Masterton. One of the mistakes made in the past in connection with land settlement was that they had not made a sufficient distinction between the man who made good use of his land and j>ne who merely held it for speculative purposes, and if ho was at the head of affairs when the next change in the incidence of taxation took place he would aee that mistake was remedied, because the main purpose of the Government was to increase the productivity of the land. It was not true, as Mr Hindmarsh had paid, that only second-class land was being offered. Land of every class was available, and some of the finest land in ft&e dominion was to be put on the market

in the* coiirco of a few days. Replying to Mr Russell, he claimed that the Government had carried out its pledges by giving the freehold, by abolishing patronage in the public service, by giving a pension to the Maori War veterans, by putting the finances of the country on a sound footing, and by promoting settlement. The increase, in the graduated tax revenue was £81,500, and_ he quoted statistics to show, that 553,329 acres had been settled during the past 15 months. He anticipated that in four years the large estates of over 1000 acres would be reduced by at least 50 per cent. The 18 owners referred to by Mr Atmore had parted with 67.000 acres only recently. The Government had promised to reform the Legislative Council, and it was doing it. It had now placed full information before members on the finance of the country through its Finance Committee. It had also placed the arbitration law on a more satisfactory footing. He admitted that the expenditure had increased last year, but be wanted to impress upon the House the fact that the revenue bad increased in a greater proportion. Tire increases in expenditure were unavoidable, being made under statutory authority, and they were due to the growth of departments such as Education and Old-age Pensions. He doffended the policy of granting the freehold of the New Lynn leases as being profitable to the country. He denied that there was anv bargain between the Government and the High Commissioner in connection with his appointment. This and other mares' nests were referred to, and the Opposition was challenged to drop these tactics and wait till it could get a legitimate grievance against the Government. It was one of the meanest slanders ever uttered in our politics that the Government was trying to make money dear in order to play into the hands of the money institutions.* Every man on his side wanted to see cheap money, and every patriotic man should congratulate the Minister of Finance on the success of his loan rather dhan carping at it as the Opposition had done. He denounced the policy of short-dated debentures as costly to the country, and he predicted that the system would never be repeated in New Zealand. He claimed that no aggregation of land was going on under the policy of the Government, and in reply to Mr Wilford he claimed that the legislation passed by the Government provided an effective limitation of area. He defended the action of the Government in sending police to Waihi, and challenged a motion canvassing that action. He concluded by reading a letter endorsing the conduct of tlie Government signed by over 800 residents of Waihi. Mr Lanrcnson contended that Mr Massey had admitted that the lands cut Hi for settlement had fallen from 400,000 acres per annum during the Liberal regime to 156,000 acres under Massey ism, and that was the party which had stood for land settlement, more land settlement, and still more land settlement. Ho held that the present Government was undoubtedly representative of the capitalistic classes. He traversed Mr Massey’s statement, and went on to criticise various phases of tire administration. Mr Buiok commended the Government’s legislation proposals. He pleaded for an agricultural college for the North Island. The Government had done good work in giving the small grazing innholders a better tenure. If settlers were prepared to put their hands in their pockets and build light railways they should be encouraged. It would help the settlors and help the Government. Mr Veiteh moved the adjournment of the debate, and the House adjourned at 11.10 p.m. MR CLARK. Mr E. H. Clark has now recovered from h;s indisDOsition, and made h:s appearance in the House on the 15th. The first question he addressed to the Ministry was as to whether there would bo an item on tins year's estimates for the George street railway wharf at port Chalmers.

LAND BALLOT SYSTEM. Strong opposition to the present system of balloting for Crown lands was expressed this evening by Mr Ma-nder. One man, he said, might draw a section at' his first ballot, whereas another might try for 20 years without drawing a section. This was enough to drive a man out of the country. Ho considered that special blocks of land shou’d bo set apart by the Government for the benefit of those who were unsuccessful at a ballot. THE DEFENCE COMMITTEE. The Hon damps Allen to-day gave notice | to move —“That a select committee bo appointed, consisting of 10 members, to consider the amendments made in the defence legislation by the Act of 1912 in their relation to military custody, punishment, alternative service, and such other that tors as the Minister of Defence may refer to it, the committee to have power to call for persons and papers, and to report to this House within 21 days, three to be a quorum; i the committee to consist of Messrs Bradney, j Coatee. Davey, Escott, Isitr. Myers, E. NewI man, Statiham, Veiteh, and the mover.” WEDNESDAY, JULY 16. j The House met at 2.30 p.m. NEW BILLS, j The following bills wore read a first .time: —Christchurch Electrical Empoweri ing (Mr Davy), Police Offences Act Amendment (the Hon. Mr Heydman). REPLIES TO QUESTIONS, j In reply to questions, [MINISTERS | stated — The whole matter of agricultural colleges 1 and experimental farms would be referred j to the proposed board of agriculture as 1 soon as the board was established, j The statement by the Minister of | Marine that the day might not be far ' distant when the Government might find 1 it economically sound to hand over the i trust of its charitable institutions to the j Salvation Army did not express the policy | of the Government. | The extermination of opossums in all districts where fruit was grown was desirable and would not be prevented. The Government had under consideration the question of how far the animals could be protected within certain defined areas I remote from orchards. There was no specific prohibition in the Shops and Offices Act of the employment 1 of assistants on Sundays, i Members of Parliament were within their I rights in communicating with local bodies ; on the subject of local requirements, i A report was being obtained as to the l number of State employees who suffered by | the Gore floods, together with the esti- | mated loss. The principal proviso of the Family j Protection Act was that property must be I free of all encumbrances prior to the issue ; by the district land registrar of a family i home certificate. it was proposed to refer the question | of the establishment of agriculture in high schools and colleges to the Education Comi mittce. ( Free railway passes were issued to Terri--1 torial Senior Cadets travelling on military ] duty, including proceeding a distance to I drill. The department also did its best to afford special treatment in instances where 1 attendance at drill necessitated a long j journey by trams; but so far, although i the tramway authorities in the different centres had been repeatedly approached, it [ had not been possible to secure any coni'cessions on the trams. i The Government was considering the j matter of amending the Land and Income j Assessment Act, by providing for exemption from the mortgage tax of all mortI gagees whose total respective incomes from all sources, including that from interest derived from their mortgages, did not exceed £3OO. It was the intention to obtain power by legislation for authorising the holding of public inquiries into accidents similar to that which occurred at New Lynn. It was the intention to ask the House for power to raise a special loan, to be spread over a terra of years, for the Well-

ingtou Railway Station, and other large works in other cities and towns. It was regretted that the Government was unable to depart from its decision respecting the attendance of Government workshops apprentices at technical colleges during the day-time. Apprentices were afforded every opportunity for becoming proficient at their trades in the railway workshops.

It was recognised that there were a number of people in various parts of the dominion whose occupations did not permit of their travelling during the periods when holiday excursion tickets were issued over the jailways. It was, however, quite impracticable for the Railway Department to carry one section of the public at holiday excursion fares and charge another section excursion rates when ordinary fares were tkg general rule. It was found to be inadvisable to alter the post office savings banks’ methods in the matter of provision being made whereby depositors might issue cheques. ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. Mr Veitch continued the debate on the Address-in-Reply. He said it had been claimed for the Speech that it was short. Personally, he did not appreciate a short Speech, and he thought the Government should have outlined the main planks of its policy in the Speech from the Throne, and so have prepared members for what was to come in the way of policy Bills. He advocated the construction of branch lines into the back-blocks, and congratulated the Government on the prospect of the veterans’ pensions being increased, but he denied the statement made in the Speech that employment was readily obtainable for casual labourers in country districts. That was contrary to his experience. The Hon. Mr Fraser: Why did you not apply to the Public Works Department ? Mr Veitch replied that he had applied to the Labour Department for assistance for men who had made application to him for work, but no help was forthcoming. He advocated the extension of the legal department of the Public 'I rust Office, contending that the public interest and not the legal profession should be the first consideration. Dealing with the cost of living, he declared that unless the Government was prepared to aggressively attack the Merchants’ Association and so reduce the heavy private taxation that was being levied on the people all the reductions in public taxation would avail nothing. Safeguards must be adopted to secure the remissions of taxation reaching the consumer. Figures were quoted to show the rapid growth of poverty in England, and be claimed that the same conditions were in operation in New Zealand, and the same results would inevitably follow here unless monopoly in all its forms were attacked. What should be done was the setting up of a board of industrial investigation, which would act in conjunction with the Labour Department and which would keep the Government of the day informed as to the trend and operations of commercial and industrial monopoly. The Merchants’ Association had been fixing prices for years. Why, then, could not the Government fix prices in the interests of the people ? It would be a gross neglect of duty if the Government did not tackle this question in a practical way. Hie bursting up of the laud monopoly was all very well, but something must be done to help those who could never go on the laud. Even the farmer was robbed by rings, and the suppression of these monopolies would do the farmer more good than any land legislation that could be passed. Speaking on the subject of the Arbitration Act he declared that the mere change in the personnel of the court would not mend matters. The weakness was that a Judge was in the chair, because the legal training of a Judge did not fit him for dealing with questions of equity. He advocated the elective Executive and proportional representation, and predicted a much larger representation in the near future of Labour in Parliament. He claimed that the charges made, by Mr Robertson into the conduct of the police at Waihi should be inquired into. The Hon. Mr Rhodes denied that there had been any effective criticism of the policy of the Government. The legislation passed by the present administration had been progressive and democratic, and worthy of support. He replied to Mr Robertson’s criticisms of the proceedings at Waihi during the strike, and said the facts did not bear out his statements in any direction. The opinion was generally held that if the Government had not acted as it did the consequences would have been serious Mr Isitt contended that the party system was the worst possible. Ho favoured an elective Executive and a referendum with the power of initiative. He did not identify himself with the Liberal party because thev were not progressive enough for him. He complained of the action of the Government in putting into effect those things which it had condemned when in Opposition. The expenditure by the Government was £SOOO in excess of the revenue, and yet it had cavilled at such things when the \\ aid Government had charge of the Treasury benches. The Prime Minister had told them the previous night that the position of the country was sound. That was about all he said, “and it was chiefly ‘sound’’’ said Mr Isitt sarcastically. He agreed with Mr Russell that the telegram read by Mr Massey on the previous evening in which an offer was made to re-buy the Beetham estate was a fact. He explained that the telegram w.as probably received by the Prime Minister, but he (Mr Massey) knew that the land could not be repurchased. Ho declared that the Government had sanctioned the dissipating of the unearned increment. Ho advised the Liberal party to print and distribute the conditions regulating the conversion of renewable leases to freehold, and if it did not kill the Reform party he did not know what would. The parting with those lands would mean a matter of hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the pockets of the people of the country. He objected to

the appointment of Mr Royd Garlick at a salary of £6OO without applications having been called for the position. He contended that the Reform party was backed by the large land-owners, and also that the Reform party and the National Association were one and the same thing. Mr Lee condemned short-dated loans, and criticised Sir J. G. Ward’s action in not providing for the finances of the country prior to his leaving office. He contended that in no way was the aggregation of land, if any had occurred, to do laid at the door of the present Administration. He could not see why the Liberal party' with the majorities behind it had not broken up the large estates. Mr Ell: It did so. One of your side admitted it Mr Lee : Then why- all tiros cry' about largo landholder’s? Mr Sidey followed, taking up the line of argument that the Government was now defending conditions which it had previously condemned, more particularly in regard to finance. The surplus on March 31 was no different from the surpluses of years back, which were always described as bogus. The compact following of the Government party was described as loyalty, but formerly it was called senility. When the Liberals voted solidly with their party no reform of the Lower House was proposed, and the Reform Bill dealing with the Legislative Council was not intended to pass. Mr* Young moved the adjournment of the debate, and the House rose at 11.35 p.m. _ LAND PURCHASE BOARD. In a question to the Government Mr W. Nosworthy suggested that the Land Purchase Bound should be abolished and its powers vested in the Provincial Land Boards of the dominion, but the reply of the Prime Minister is that this proposal would not be an improvement on the present position. THE STRONG PARTY MAN. At the outset of his political career Mr L. M. Isitt was inchned to lay considerable stress upon his independent position. His actions, however, did not altogether agree with the confessions made of independence, and the other day, when discussing defence, Mr Isitt made a confession which wipes away all his claim to independence. “ 1 am determined,” ho said, “not to approach tins question from a party standpoint, although 1 am a strong party man.” Naturally this perhaps inadvertent confession did not escape members on the Government benches, and an incident in this afternoon’s speech by Mr J. B. Hi no was a slight twitting of Mr Isitt for his confession. “At first,” said Mr Hine, “you claimed to be independent, but now you are a strong party man. You told us so yourself.” “Yes,” said Mr Wilson (Taumarunui), “you told us you were a strong party man”- —(Laughter.) THE BASIS OF TAXATION. “ 1 think the taxation of this country is on a wrong basis altogether,” said Mr Hine this afternoon, “and a groat effort should be made to obtain all tlio revenue required from ’ income and accumulated revenue. That is the ideal you should strive for, and if you aim at it, no matter what half-way house you may have to accept in the interregnum, you will lie on the right track.” Mr Hine further stated that he was a “ Freetrader within the Empire,” and believed that if the abolition of the flour duty wore proposed with the abolition of the tax on boots, then all the farmers in the House would vote for it. The basis of taxation which ho pi oposed would have the effect of relieving the man with the small wage. At present he was taxed almost out of existence, and the speaker hoped the Government would take the necessary steps to reduce taxation. They were looking forward with great eagerness to the proposals of the Minister of Customs in respect of the reciprocal agreement with Australia. Whatever these wore, lie was strongly against any further imposition upon the consumer. SUBURBAN RATES. Mr Witty to-day asked the Minister of Railways whether he would give the same facilities to people travelling on branch lines, with regard to suburban fares, as were given to passengers on the main lines. The Minister of Railways replied:—"l regret that in view of the loss of revenue that would bo involved I cannot extend the suburban area in the manner suggested.” * NO CURVED CHANNELS. The suggestion of Mr Malcolm that curved channels should be adopted at crossings to prevent motor accidents was thus replied to to-day by the Minister of Railways;—“The curved channels referred to would practically form' a hurdle, and the department would be liable for damage incurred by vehicles passing over them. I might mention for the information of the honourable member that a similar plan was recently adopted in a borough adjacent to Wellington, and lias been found to be quite illegal.” ADVICE TO LABOUR. “ I believe that a legally-trained mind is the worst of all minds that could bo given the task of adjudicating on disputes between men and their employees,” said Mr Veitch in liis speech this afternoon. He said that ho had a high opinion of Mr Justice Sim as a judge, but ho maintained that the legal mind was not adapted to dealing with questions of equity. A firstclass economist rather than a Supremo Court judge was needed as chairman of the Arbitration Court. Mr Veitch warned the workers not to be in too great a hurry to dissociate themselves from the Arbitration Act. They should, lie said, devote their activities to securing greater representation in Parliament. “Instead of their being two jobs for one man,” ho said, “the time may come soon when there will be two men for one job, and then wages may tend to go down.” This was the position lie said that Labour should bo prepared to face. JOTTINGS. Mr Okey is drawing the attention of tho Postmaster-general to the lack of facilities for the exchange of small sums of money between New Zealand and Australia, and has given notice to ask whether New Zealand postal notes could be made payable in Australia and vice versa. Tho Prime Minister is considering the proposal that County Councils should be allowed to establish special accident insurance funds.

THURSDAY. JULY 18. The House met at 2.50 p.m. NEW BILLS. The Springs County Council Reclamation and Empowering Bill (the Hon. Mr Rhodes) and the Shops and Offices Bill (the Hon. Mr Massey) were read a first time. THE DEFENCE ACT. The Hon. Mr ALLEN moved that a Select Committee be appointed, consisting of 10 members, to consider the amendments made in the defence legislation by the Act of 1912, in their relation to military custody, punishment, alternative service, and such other matters as the Minister of Defence may refer to it. ihe committee to have power to call for persons and papers, and to report to this House within 21 days. Three to be a quorum. The committee to consist of Messrs Byadney, Coates, Davey, Escott, Isitt, Myers, E. Newman, Statham, Veitch, and the mover; power being given to confer with any similar committte set np by the Legislative Council. The motion was agreed to. ADDREGS-IN-REPLY. Mr Young continued the debate on the Address-iu-Reply. Dealing with financial matters, he held that country bodies should have a fair proportion of loan money. If that were not done, and agricultural activities were not assisted and fostered, the cities would be in a parlous condition. The laying down of elaborate roads and footpaths did not increase butter-fat production, nor did it put another blade of grass in the country. That was an aspect of the question which should engage the minds of members and of the authorities. The future of this country depended on small holdings and scientific cultivation. Good roads which would stand traffic were essential to the development of the land. If those could not be managed, then a- system of light line railways should be introduced. He thought the Taupo-Totara Company’s line, should be acquired by the Government. He suggested that the Government should take over 17,000 acres of an education receive in the South Auckland district, giving the equivalent in land or money, the Government to cut up the estate into small holdings. That was the only way in which the land referred to could be satisfactorily settled. A system similar to the Danish system was necessary to control the sale of New Zealand butter in London. The Danes took care to manage this important branch of the butter business themselves; but the New Zealand article went into the hands of speculate -s, who fixed the prices themselves. A colonial committee such as was suggested by Fir George Reid was in the opinion < f those familiar with the trade an absolute necessity. Mr Brown followed with a word of sympathy for the mover and seconder of the motion, because the Speech from the Throne was a barren document, and it was always a difficulty to. make something out of nothing. He quoted from the previous speeches by the Prime Minister to show that he had condemned the proposals now made in the Speech. Humanitarian legislation was scoffed at when produced by the Ward Government, but now it was acclaimed by the supporters of the party in power. ~ Ho condemned the appointment of Mr Northcroft as Commissioner at the Cook Islands as spoils to the victors, and said there was also talk that members of the House were waiting to be appointed to the Supreme Court bench as a reward for services. He wanted to know what was to he done about Native land. Did Dr Pomare favour the nolicy of taking the land from the people whom lie was sitting in the Cabinet to protect? Mr Scott said he was a strong advocate of the cutting np of lands near the centres of population. I he Government could very easily make greater efforts to settle Crown lands more closely. A big consideration in cutting up land for settlement was the means of transport of goods and produce. They must provide good roads for the back-block settlers. The best facilities possible should be afforded to young men and women to go out to the‘back-blocks and make homes for themselves. Iu that connection he stressed the advisability of the Government purchasing adjacent property before commencing new railways He contended that the west coast of the South Island had a big future before it as a dairying and farming district. In bis opinion it would rival Taranaki. Many of the river Hats there would support "large dairying communities. Mining was not flourishing on the Coast, but the people had an asset far more valuable than all the gold won. He advocated the institution of new light lines of railway in order to relieve the cost of maintaining country roads, and said power should be given to settlers to construct such lines if they were so disposed.- He was in sympathy with the svstem of telephonic communication for country settlements irrespective of whether it- paid or not. Mr Hanan criticised the action of the Government in putting into effect what it had condemned while in Opposition. The raising ot the late £3,000.000 loan by Mr Allen "was a complete vindication of the Liberal party’s policy. When in Opposition the Government had always said that the surpluses announced by the Treasurer were non-existent, y;t it allowed those surpluses to go into the prospectus of the recent loan, and so, according to Ids criticisms, delude English investors. Iu 1898 Mr Massey had said that the surplus was derived by manipulation of the figures for revenue and ex// -nditure. He xvas in this position : either his stat iments then wore dishonest, or he should say mis representations, or else he had obtained the three-million loan under false pretences. He could not understand Mr Hine saving that things were put into, the prospectus of the loan which were calculated to deceive, and the Prime Minister oven had stated that what Mr Ilino said was quite true. He referred to the civil service commissioners, and said he had been informed that a commissioner had had the

audacity and impertinence to throw a file of papers in the face of one of the heads of departments. In reply to the Prime Minister, he named Mr Triggs as the commissioner and Mr Campbell as the departmental head, Mr Massey informing him that the information was incorrect. Mr Hanan said he was glad to hear it, for if anything was going to kill the civil service it would be arrogant conduct by the commissioners. He believed the commissioners were doing work which would have to be undone. The success of the Liberal party’s land settlement scheme was to be seen to-day by thousands of men and women who were satisfactorily settled on the land.

Mr Hine, in the course of a personal explanation, said the statement attributed to him in connection with the composition of the loan prospectuses had no reference to Mr Allen or any other treasurer, but referred to a little coterie of gold mining company promoters. Mr Anderson said the graduated tax had been so severe that it had already had the effect of breaking up some large estates. Light lines were urgently required in certain parts of the dominion, and the settlers should have the right to build them if they desired to do so. He strongly urged that the interests of the public in the Bank of New Zealand should be protected, and that the bank, should never be allowed to go hack to what it w'as before the country came to its rescue. He wanted a further turn in the screw of the graduated lax as soon as it was possible. Purchase was not a satisfactory method of acquiring land for settlement. Taxation was a better method, but if buying was to be the policy, then only estates near the railways should be bought. All land opened up should be properly roaded before the settlers were put on it, so as to enable them to get an immediate profit from their properties. On the House resuming after the supper adjournment Mr Wilkinson replied. He charged the Opposition with finding fault with the Speech, but said it had not advanced an alternative policy. The policy of the Reform party would iu the future be increasingly liberal, and in a few years the moderate Liberals would be attracted to its ranks. He traced the dissipation of the big Liberal majority since 1908, and predicted that Sir Joseph Ward would not be able to retrieve the fortunes of the party. The Mackenzie Government got into office by trickery, and never had a mandate from the people. He hoped that when the Massey party was destined to go out of office there would be no such “ dodgery ” ns characterised the denarture of the Ward Administration. He charged Mr Isitt with being associated with a party that upheld the trade for over 20 years and with sitting on the same side with two brewers, whose business he had repeatedly condemned as being outside the -limits of decent trade, 'the Liberals had fostered monopolies, including the monopoly of railway construction. All the big monopolies now in operation in tbs dominion had grown up under the regime of the Liberal party. The motion that an Address-in-Reply be presented to the Governor was agreed to on the voices. 1 Tire House rose at 11.15 p.m. THK VACCINATED PARLIAMENT. On Saturday morning a verv considerable percentage of members of Parliament in moods or fervour and enthusiasm submitted themselves to ined.cal control and vaccination for example’s “sweet sake. Since tlieii the vaccine has been quietly performing its subtle work, unril now its results are becoming fully apparent. Perhaps 50 members wore inoculated, and now there are just as many men tenderly guarding susceptible arms, and displaying moods of varying vigour. Some of the patients arc distinctly doleful, and are unable to restrain exhibitions of the great sorrow which thev felt for themselves. So noticeab.e has this feeling become that when a member displays particular sprigli tlincss Jio I s classed immediately as an “exempt. tins afternoon, for instance. Mr Isitt made a vigorous interruption while Mr R. fecott was speaking, and the retort of the later (which evoked some sympathetic smiles), was; “You haven't been vaccinated yet. Again tins evening, when Mr Hanan was indulging in bitter criticism, he was subjected to interjections from Mr Nos worthy. “It's all right, ’’ was bis reply, “you’ve been vaccinated, and 1 know how ff u feel. HIGH PRAISL The lion. A. L. Ilerchnan laid on the table of the House this afternoon a report I, v {he Publi; Sore ice Commissioners on the port stated that au inspection of tne work of the Public Trust Office had been completed by the Public Service Commissioherb. The manner in which the work was organised and carried out iu that department \ya.such that it was scarce y possib.e to praise ton highly the officers concerned. ! he commissioners were much impressed with the ke-f niicss, enthusiasm, and personal mtci est being shown by practically every officer in everv branch of the work. A PLEA FOR OTAGO. In his remarks to-day. Mr Scott championed the cause of Central Otago, and urged the Government, because of promises made in the past and because of the fruit-growing possibilities of the various districts, to place items on the Ivstimafces this year for the extension of the Otago Central railway to llawea Flat and of the Lawrenee-Roxburgh railway to Miller’s Flat. For many years, he said, it had been the custom in the House to regard the Otago Centra! line as a white elephant, but because of the tour of the North Island members a few months ago there would in future be a different talc to tell The reason why that lino did not pay better than it did was because of the extravagant expenditure incurred iu its construction. I he i people a: Hawea Flat had been expecting i the line for 30 or 40 years, and ho d d 1 hope that this year a further section would I be provided for from Clyde. In regard to 1 the Lawrenee-Roxburgh railway, he urged that it should be completed to Miller’s Flat in accordance with the promise made by Mr Srddon many years ago. Fruit-growing there was going ahead, and during tne present winter no fewer than 120.000 trees had been planted. There would be no difficulty in securing a market for the produce if only transport facilities wore given. 4 THE SUTTON CAMP, 1 The Sutton camp, which has become

famous for a certain incident, was mentioned by Mr Scott this evening in the course of his speech on the Address-in-Roply debate. Incidentally, Mr Scott’s remarks had a bearing upon that incident, as they dealt with the cause which precipitated the trouble out of which arose the “ historic incident ” after that encampment. Mr Scott said: “ I was besieged with complaints about the food. I did my best to fight it out, and there is no doubt that there were certain grounds for complaints made in that respect. I do not think there is any reason why those boys when in camp should not have their food well cooked. They all said there was plenty of it. but the cooking was what they complained about.” THE NEW LYNN LEASES. Following on his policy of freely giving the fullest .information in tho event of allegations made in opposition quarters, the Prime Minister to-day laid departmental files on the table of the House giving the facts in connection with the New hynn leasehold lands. It was alleged by the Auckland Opposition paper that under the freehold measure of last year the settlers upon these Government properties were able to acquire land worth £30,000 for a paltry £3OOO. The file presented to Parliament to-day deals with the sections taken up on the freehold basis, and shows that for 24 sections the original value was £2585, The valuation of the Valuer-general £6165, whilst the purchase price paid by tho settlers was £3420. It wifi thus be seen that the alleged £50,000 shrinks to £6165 (on 24 sections only), while tho figure of £SOOO swells to £3420. NATIVE LAND PURCHASES. The Minister of Native Affairs (tho Hon. VV. H. Herrics) stated this evening in reply to a question, that the Government was adopting the policy of purchasing all the Native lands along the proposed route of the railway between Napier and Gisborne, which the owners arc willing to sell. One block, be said, was purchased a few weeks ago, and negotiations in respect to many others wore now in progress. JOTTINGS. Owing to the groat waste of time caused by it, Mr G. M. Thomson to-day gave notice to ask tho Government whether it would consider the advisability of abolishing the Addresa-in-Reply debate in the future. A question addressed to the Government by Mr C. E. Statham lias for its object an amendment to the Crimes Act, making it a criminal offence to leave loaded firearms within the reach of children and irresponsible persons. On the basis of references in the defence report of the expeditionary force, the Hon. D. Buddp to-day asked the Minister of Defence what authority existed for the formulation of such proposals. This was a very important matter, ho said. “ Since the' question is so important,” said the Minister, “the lion, gentleman had better put it on the order paper.” FRIDAY, JULY 18. The House met at 2.30 p.m. With tho end of the Address-in-Reply debate on Thursday night the members of the House of Representatives were in working humour on Friday, and settled down to the first day of genuine constructive legislation. The Order Paper contained over a dozen Bills for the second reading, nearly all being Government measures. Fairly early in the afternoon a start was mad© upon tho first—The Shops and - Offices Bill, which was introduced by the Prime Minister. Ho moved the second reading pro forma, and the'motion was carried, tho Bill being referred to the Labour Bills’ Committee.. The Hon. A, L. Herdmnn promised to refer the Architects Bill to a special committee, to be set up on Tuesday, as there was considerable condemnation of some of its provisions. Excellent progress was made with a number of other second readings, and altogether eight measures wore successfully put through this stage, with tho result that on resuming at 10 o’clock, after the supper adjournment, the Prime Minister congratulated members on the good work done, and moved tho adjournment. The event of the House rising at 10 o'clock on a Friday night is quite i noteworthy, and supports the general policy | of the Government avoiding, if possible, I late nights. In the course of the preliminI ary Imsine.s of tho day the Minister of | Public Works made an interesting statei nieni about the small contract system, and 1 a slight storm was occasioned by Mr R. I Scott proposing that his place on tho W est--1 pert Harbour Hoard Inquiry Committee ! should be taken by Mr M‘Kon/.;e. COPYRIGHT BILL. The lion. Mr HERDMAN moved the seco i id reading of the Copyright Bill. Ho traced the history of copyright from ancient times. In 1701 the first definite step was taken to place the matter on a more perfect basis. In 1842 it was recognised that the law was in an unsatisfactory state, and a conference was held in 1878 to investigate the whole matter. The main feature of the Bill before the House was to bring the law here into line with that of European countries —viz., for the life of the author and 50 years after. Unpublished works were protected so long as the author desired, and as soon as they were published the main provisions would apply. The law in New Zealand at present was 28 years or the life of the author, whichever was longer. The copyright of an architectural design was given to the owner of the buildings and not to the architect. lire Pill was being introduced in accordance with tho resolutions passed at the International Conference of 1910, at which Sir William Hall-Jones represented New Zealand. Mr HAN AN welcomed the Bill as showing a tendency by nations to harmonise their laws. The Bill was read a second time. LAND AND INCOME ASSESSMENT. The Hon. M.r ALLEN moved the second reading of the Land and Income Assessment Act Amendment Bill, which provided for a further sum of £25 being deducted by way of special exemption from the yearly income of every taxpayer in 1 respect of each of his children (not ex-

ceeding four) under the ago of 16 years, and were dependent upon him. Provision was also made for ascertaining from the banks the amounts of depositors’ accounts, and also from local bodies the amounts of deposits in trust. The scheme would cost the country from £15,000 to £20,000 annually, but that amount would be more than made up by the increase in the graduated tax.

Mr HAN AN said lie did not see that the Bill would effect the desired object. It did not touch the man who had a large family and whose income did not bying him under the provisions of the income tax. They should reduce railway fares for children if they desired to assist the poorer classes. They should endeavour to assist in relieving the burden of the poorer classes. He was convinced that the measure would not meet with the approval of the working classes. Mr FORBES contended that the man with a family who reaped no benefit through the Bill—the man whose income did not exceed £3OO yearly —paid more through the customs in the way of taxation than those whom the Bill aimed to benefit. Nothing was being done to help tiie poor man with a large family. Mr ELL said they were starting at the wrong end. He desired to know what the. Government intended to do in connection with the reduction of taxes which the working people paid on their foodstuffs. Until lie had a definite announcement as to the Government’s intention in that matter he would oppose the Bill. Mr BUICK said he would like the amount allowed per child to be £SO instead of £25, and the total number of children raised to eight; but they had to remember that this was only a start. Mr HARRIS said he did not agree with the Minister that the Bill would have the effect upon the birth-rate which the Minister claimed for it. Mr HINE agreed that he could not see much in the Bill. They were starting at the wrong end. He wanted the burden on the working people relieved. He hoped the Minister would comply with Mr Ell’s request and inform the House what the Government intended doing for the masses. Mr ALLEN, in reply, said he could rot understand what the Opposition members were cavilling at. He had already toid them that the Bill would cost nearly £20,000 a year. The argument appeared to be that there was no reduction in the Customs tax, but it must be remembered that this Bill was not a Customs Bill. Did the Opposition wish it to go to the country that they had opposed a poor man with four children getting a reduction in his income tax? It was quite possible that the Government would later on bring in amendments to the Customs tariff. The second reading was challenged by Mr Hine, who called for a division, which resulted in. 47 votes for, and 7 against, the second reading, which was carried. SATURDAY, JULY 19. It is anticipated tlia-t the Financial Statement will be brought down in nine or ten days’ time. It is understood that the document is all printed and ready for presentation to the House at any time, but that the Government will ask the House to deal with Bi'Li during the coming week. Several of the measures which were given a second reading by the House without being challenged mav require a little time in their committee stages, and they may occupy the attention of the House for the greater part of the week. There is the second reading of the Police Force Bill to bo dealt with yet. Probably a lot of matter more or less extraneous to the subject matter of the Bill will be introduced if the Bill is debated at all at its second reading. '1 he passage of these Bills through the second reading stages will also allow certain of the committees to do some work, and generally the House will be kept fully occupied. CRITICISM OF BILLS. In discussing the chances of some of the Pills now before the House, a prominent member of the Opposition patty informed your representative that he thought his party would do its best to have some important amendments made in committee. Ho thought some changes would bo asked for in the. Police Force Pill, and that there would certainly be a fairly fu 1 discussion of the measure, if not on the second reading, when the Pill was in committee. Ho anticipated a'so that the Police Offences Amendment Bill, the measure which has been obviously framed to invest the authorities with power to deal with such a state of affairs as recently existed at Waihi during the strike there, would meet with some opposition. Personally, ho said ho would oppose the clause iu the Magistrate’s Court Amendment Pill by which it was proposed to raise and to standardise magistrate's salaries. He was in favour of an extension of the jurisdiction of magistrates, and of an endeavour lieing made to secure the services of better men on the bench, and ho recognised tliat in order to do this, better salaries than have been ruling must be offered. On the other hand, he held very strongly to the opinion that there were men on the bench now who were not fit to be there; who were, in fact, receiving more than their duo at the present rates of pay. Ho would certainly oppose the clause by which it was propose to pay all magistrates, including the unsuitable men, higher salaries.