THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3526, 11 October 1921, Page 21

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT.

THROUGH THE PRELIMINARIES. WAY CLEAR FOR BUSINESS. (Special Cobkespondent. Otago Witness.) WELLINGTON, October 7. The second completed week of the ses-sion has produced very small results. lh e ‘‘-'c hate on the Address-in-Reply, which had already occupied four days, was resumed on Tuesday and was completed in both Houses on Thursday. The Legislative Council treated the debate in its usual dignified way, sitting for an hour or two in the afternoons and listening patiently to some admirable speeches. The House listened to many speeches, good, bad, and indifferent, and found time to extract information on a variety of topics from Ministers by means of questions without notice. But it has not made much progress yvitih the work of the session, unless the emphatic rejection, of want-of-confidence motions that never nad the smallest chance of success can be regarded as a useful achievement. The Leader of the Opposition probably feels that he must have such a motion on the Order Paper at the commencement of each session, lest the Labour party, which watches the official Opposition benches with hungry eyes, should usurp his privilege of chalieng ing the Government. But scarcely a vote in the House was ever in doubt. The Divisions. The division on Mr Wilford’s amendment was reached on \\ ednesday night, anti resulted in i lie anticipated victory for the Government by 58 votes to 20. Eignt members were paired on each side, so that the votes and pairs accounted for 75 members (including the Speaker) in the House of 80 members. The Auckland East seat is vacant, owing to the resignation of the Hon. A. M. Myers. Mr C. E. Statham, who has become a party leader, did not vote, wishing, as he explained afterwards, not to identify himself with any other section of the Opposition, but the rest of his party, in the person of Mr Kellett, cast a vote for the amendment. The Labour members went into the lobby with the Liberals. LaGk cf Reciprocity.

The Liberals, however, did not return the compliment on Thursday night, when the division was taken on .Mr Holland’s want-of-eonfie'enee motion. The voting was in favour of the Government by 40 votes to

9, the Liberal leader, Mr Wilford, and iris lieutenant, Air Sidey, joining Air Statna.ni on this occasion in refraining from voting. Three of the Labour members were away, a fact not disconnected with the Auckland

East by-election, and four Liberals, Messrs Atinore. Horn, Poland and Witty voted with Mr Holland. This division cleared the way for serious work and freed the House to give some attention to the business of the session.

Humour of tho Situation. But the humour of the situation, remained. Air Statbam made his appearance in the House immediately after the Labour motion had been defeated and found an early opportunity to make a statement about himself and his party. The Dominion, he said, had need of a strong and efficient Opposition instead of the diverse groups that now occupied the Opposition benches. It was for that reason that a new political party had been formed. “We ate striving to become in the near future the official Opposition,” said Mr Statham. Mr Massey: “Who are ‘we”? (Laughter). Air Statham,: “The new party.” Mr Massey: “But who are ‘we’?” Mr Statham: “1 cannot give you a list, they are so numerous.” Air Alassey : “I thought it was only Mr Statham and Air Kellett.” (Laughter). In the Making. Mr Statham admitted that the strength ol the new party was not large in the House. But its goal was important. It was out to defeat the revolutionary Labour party and to complete the killing of the dying Liberal party. The Dominion needed new thought and blood and it would get these things at the next general election. Air Statham concluded by advocating the national superannuation scheme that has been embodied in the platform of tne party of which he is the leader. Looking for a Party. Air W. A. Yeitch wa3 formerly associated with All- Statham in the Independent group on the Opposition side of the House, but it appears that he has not joined the new party. Following his late colleague he did his best for 10 minutes -to tear the superannuation scheme to pieces and to convince the House the scheme was utterly unsound. Turning from that subject, lie proceeded to toll the House about his own party position. Welcoming the Returned Leader. When Air Alassey took his seat in the House on Tuesday afternoon he was greeted with a. heariy round of applause by the members, but they did not allow him much time to enjoy this manifestation of their good-will in peace. They began almost at once to ply him with questions without notice. One of the pieces of information they drew from him was that the half million of German money he has brought back with him is not a reparation payment, but a portion of the money that Germany has to pay for the maintenance of New Zealand troops on the Rhine after the armistice. Ah- Massey is going to tell the House all about tho reparation money next week. He has indicated already that if tho obligations imposed upon Germany are discharged, New Zealand will receive a very substantial sum of money during the next, tw-o or three decades. But he evidently is a little suspicious of Germany’s professions of good faith, and fears she maymake further attempts to secure a modification of the arrangements to which she submitted under the pressure of arms. His Story. Members are looking forward with keen interest to hearing the Prime Minister’s formal report upon his work and achievements in London. I hey thought they might get some important information on Wednesday, when Air Mi-ey was entertained by the Ministers at a parliamentary luncheon, but although they had the pleasure of listening to a very interesting speech, tho Minister made it clear that be was reserving tho account of his stewardship for the House. Ho has said nothing at all yet concerning a matter that, interests Inc sheep-farmers very closely, the claim made on their behalf for a share of the surplus wool profits in tho hands of tho Imperial Government. Meat prices, shipping freights, German reparation, and many other

matters of very great concern to the Dominion engaged Air Massey’s attention in London, and he yyll deal with them all in the statement he proposes to make next week.

The Empire and the Dominion. In his speech at the luncheon just alluded to Air Massey made a special reference to Air Lloyd George. “There may be some differences of opinion regarding the Prime Alinister of the Empire—for that is what he is—but I want to say here,” the Alinister told his entertainers, “that no man could have done more for the representative of New Zealand, and for the true interests of the Empire, than Air Lloyd George has done. We had as chairman of , the Imperial Conference on other occasions men who were thoroughly able and loyal but tbey were not Prime Alinisters. 1 appreciated the difference when we had Air Lloyd George in the chair for the ten weeks of the recent conference.” Members of the New Zealand Parliament are gratified to know that Air Lloyd George has a high opinion of the energy and ability of the Dominion’s Prime Alinister. Mr Alassey does not boast of his personal achievements in the Alother Country, but people who had the opportunity to see what occurred -when the Imperial Conference was sitting state that no overseas Prime Alinister did better work or earned more commendation than did the live man from New Zealand. Labour Leader’s Low Gut. The Labour members are much concerned about coal just now, and their leader, Air Holland, devoted the best part of an hour to the subject after he had moved his want-of-confidence motion on Thursday. The burden of his complaint is that New Zealand mines and miners are idle or partly idle while huge stocks of imported coal are being accumulated at prices far in excess of the cost per ton of New Zealand coal. But the members of the House do not allow Mr Holland to forget, though they cannot make him admit, that the heavy importations of coal are a direct result of the conduct of the coal miners in the days when they seemed to have the whip-hand. It is suggested that Air Holland and the other Labour leaders are more to blame for what occurred than are the coal miners themselves, _ and it is regrettable that the punishment is falling upon the men least able to tear if. In Self-protection. The plain fact is that the Government undertook the importation, cf coal on a large scale because it seemed impossible to, secure adequate supplies locally. The miners were making extreme demands and threatening- to “go slow” or strike. They had already reduced production deliberately at a time when the Dominion was suffering from an acute shortage of coal. The Government felt, it had no alternative but to protect the railways, the freezing works, the factories, and the general consumers from a disastrous state of affairs, by arranging for the importation of coal even if the cost was very heavy. It is possible the Government made some bad contracts. So far the House has been given very little information on this point, but to the House this eeems merely a side issue. Licensing: Reform. The Prime Alinister undertook last year to set up a committee of the House this year for the consideration of the licensing question, with a view to suggesting a. line of , policy in the event of prohibition not being carried at the next licensing- poll. The member for Wairau (Mr APCallum), who has had a Licensing Bill of his own before tho House more than once, mentioned this matter on Thursday, and was assured by Air Massey that the committee would ba appointed. Members of the House and other persons interested would have an opportunity of going before that committee and making suggestions on licensing matters, said the Prime Atinster. The fine noial side of the question required attention. The committee would have an opportunity of dealing with that point, although some other aspects were even more urgent. He could not predict what would happen at the next, licensing poll; but there was no harm in saying that if prohibition wort not carried at the 1922 poll it would be the duty of the Government to make some very important amendments in the licensing law of the Dominion. Final Solution.

Air APOalum’s idea is that the Government should turn a deaf ear to the arguments of both the prohibitionists and the trade,, and set about the reform of the licensing system with the object of securing stability, providing- extended conveniences for the public, and increasing the revenue of the State. Air Alassey himself has said more than once that if the 1922 poll leaves the issue unsettled, the Government must try to discover a final solution of the licensing problem. The Sugar Supply. I he details of the new sugar contract were placed before the House "on Tuesday by the Minister of Industries and Commerce. The Government’s old arrangement with tho Colonial Sugar Company, for the purchase, of the raw sugar in Fiji and the preparation of the refined sugar in Auckland at fixed prices, has been renewed. But the cost of the raw sugar to the Government has been reduced from £35 103 per ton to £22 12s od per ton, and the price of refined sugar to the consumers will fall from 6d per lb to 4-jjd per lb from November 7. The arrangement, appears to be a reasonably good one, and the Minister is entitled to claim that New Zealand people are getting cheaper sugar than are the Australians. But the Alinister did not make it clear why lie entered into any contract at all. The opinion of Parliament at present undoubtedly is that the Government should interfere as little as possible w>ith trade now that war conditions have disappeared, and the Alinister did not attempt to show that the New Zealand consumers would have suffered if the Sugar Company had been left to conduct its own business a.s it did in pre-war days, when New Zealand, people got ample supplies of very cheap sugar. Business Principles. '• be Minister of Public Works (Hon. ,T. G. Coat.es) startled an Otago deputation on Thursday by saying bluntly that he did not subscribe to tho “fair share principle” in the allocation of money for public works. He suggested that members of Parliament were responsible to the whole Dominion, that they should look further than their own districts, and that the sound policy was to spend tho available money on the rapid completion of the most urgent works. He proceeded to say that railway lines had been begun in New Zealand in other years without inquiry as to whether or not they

would be commercially successful. He proposed that the Railways Department and the Agricultural Department should be consulted before the Public Works Department approved of the plans for any new line. He wanted a clear and definite statement of the probable earning power in every case. He wished Cabinet to have all the data that a commercial man would demand before it authorised the expenditure of tens of thousands of pounds on a railway line or a hydro-electric scheme. The New Order.

The principles that Air Coates has laid down sound so simple and sensible that some people outside Parliament may not realise that from the point of view of the average member of Parliament they are quite revolutionary. The rule in the past has .been to have new railways and other public works in hand all over the country and to keep them all going at a snail’s pace by means of annual votes. It is true, as southern people well know, that the North Island has fared much better than the South Island in recent years in this distribution of public money, but that does not mean that there has been concentration of expenditure in the North Island. The

“fair share principle” has operated among the northern districts, and the consequential

waste, and delay have been very great. Ibis is not the first time that Air Coates has talked of drastic reforms in the method of spending money on public works. It will be remembered that last year be presented the House with a list of railways then under construction, in what he regarded as their order of urgency, and he talked very emphatically at the time of the necessity for concentrating effort on the most important lines. But his Public Works Statement did not go nearly as far as the House had been led to expect in the matter of concentration, although it did leave the South Island Alain Trunk line without a vote. The obvious inference was that the Minister had found it difficult to decide which districts should lie offered up on the altar of efficiency. Members are cpiite willing- now to admit that he is talkinggood comrnonsense. But they will wait for this year’s Public Works Statement before they believe that he really is going to be severe with them. The Shearers’ Award.

The shearers’ award has been mentioned in the House of Representatives several times during the week. Union officials outside the House have stated with strange persistence that the award made recently by the Arbitration Court applies solely to the Wellington industrial district. The Alinister of Labour has replied quite definitely that tho court has issued (he award in all the districts except Nelson and Westland, and that it is already fully operative and enforceable. An interesting point made by the Alinister is that farmers who are not members of the Sheep-owners’ Union, and who were not cited when the case was being heard by the court, are not bound by any award at all. The old award has disappeared, and they are not parties to the new award. Members of the House, farmers and city men alike, arc watching the developments in connection with this award very keenly, and they evidently feel that the arbitration system is to some extent on trial. There is quite a body of opinion in the House in favour of the

withdrawal of the “preference to unionists” provision from agreements and awards in cases where the unions refuse to obey the rulings of the Arbitration Court. A good deal may be said on this point before tho end of the session.

Loan Floating. The Prime Alinister replied in the House on Thursday to a. suggestion that the Southland Power Board’s £750,0-0-0, recently floated in London, received a better reception from the investing public than the New Zealand Government’s £5.000,000 loan. He admitted that the board’s loan was a “tremendous success,” all the money being subscribed in the first forenoon; but he made the point that from the point of view of tho British public it was simply another Dominion loan. The guarantee of the State had been placed behind it, and the Power Board advertised it as a “New Zealand Government loan.” The Prime Minister mentioned, what was suspected in New Zealand at the time, that some of the people who operate .in the money market made an attempt to “bear” the £5.000.000 loan, with the object of sharing with the underwriters the underwriting fee and discount. Tho attempt was not a success, and the loan went off quickly after the first day. How St is Bone.

Those big financial operations are more or less of a mystery to most members of Parliament, as they are to the average citizen, and Air Massey’s own account of Ids first venture into a new field might tempt an active Opposition, if there was such a thing in the New Zealand Parliament. to jest a little at his expense. lie told his friends at the “welcome” luncheon the other day that the financial people in London had done everything possible to make things easy for him. He really had not had any more difficulty in borrowing five millions in London than he would have had in buying 101 b of sugar in New Zealand. The committee of the Stock Exchange met him at a little luncheon, and discussed the arrangements with him. When the time came to float the loan they told him ; they went ahead, and presently he was told that, the New Zealand loan was perfectly safe. He regretted at the time that be had been so modest in his demands. The comment that suggests itself is that the kindly gentlemen who saw him through and practically made the arrangements for him were the people who were going to lend him the money. Probably they were never in any danger of doing themselves an injustice. Supplementing a Loan. Some other information regarding financial matters has been placed before tho House by the Prime Alinister during the week. The issue of the £5,000,000 loan at 96. with an underwriting fee and other charges, meant that the money actually received by the New Zealand Government was something like £4,614,000. One of the statutes of the Dominion contains a general provision that when a loan is raised under authority granted by Parliament, and the net return is less than the amount of the face value of the debentures issued, the Government may raise a supplementary loan in order to complete the sum. Mr Alassey told the House on Tuesday that he had taken advantage of this provision, and had instructed the Dominion’s financial agents in London to raise a supplementary sum of £386,000, the minimum issue prios to be 99. He was glad to be able to report that the money had been secured at £99

ss, making the transaction one of the most favourable that had taken place in the London money market this year.

The Dominion’s Grodit,

Iha Prime Minister has emphasised the fact that New Zealand’s credit in financial circles abroad is particularly good, one of the , reasons f<jr this pleasant state of affairs being the possession of a stable Government that is not sufficiently socialto arouse the suspicions of the cautious folk who lend money in London. But, reading between the lines of Air Massey’s remarks on the subject, one may gather an impression that the Prime Alinister has been advised not to be m a hurry about going, back for more money. Alembers will have further information on this point when the Financial Statement appears. It is clear that unless important public works are to be suspended the Minister of Finance must de-vise some means of supplementing the Public Works Fund m the near future.

Financial Obligations. Mr Massey mentioned in answer to a question that arrangements, were being made for tho funding of the New Zealand Government’s debt to the Imperial Government. This debt, which amounted at one time to something like £20,000.000. is a legacy of tho war. The British .treasury provided money for the maintenance of the New Zealand troops in the field and for the purchase or munitions a-nd equipment, and when the end of the war came this debt was left floating. The •rate of interest that is being paid by New Zealand does not appear to have been but Mr Massey indicated that it was fairly low when he said that the funding of the debt would involve an increase in tho charges. lie explained that he would have been prepared to allow tho present arrangements to stand, but than the Imperial authorities took another view. They were anxious that the debt should be placed on a footing, and he did not think that New Zealand could make any objection. This means in effect that the Dominion has to raise a big loan in London in order to repay the Imperial Government., and the fact that this lorn, which will not bring any money into the Dominion, is- looming ahead may explain why the Prime Alinister is not encouraging tho idea that this country can look to London for more money in the immediate future. However, the financial situation in Britain appears to be improving, and it is impossible to say what may happen a few months hence. Farmers’ Hard Lot. Some of the problems that confront the sheep farmers were discussed briefly in the House by tho member for Wairarapa. Mr AlT.eod said that official statistics were to some extent misleading. The sheep farmers undoubtedly were experiencing hard times, and there was nothing io bo gained by ignoring the plain facts of the situation. Unless the Government could find a way out of tile terrible difficulty creaiod by the enormous rises in the cost of transport the Dominion would see wholesale bankruptcies among the primary producers. lie had no hesitation in making this statement, because that truth ought to be faced.

Facts and Figures. Mr AlT.eod proceeded to quote figures to show that the situation from the point of view of the farmers was, more serious than the official figures indicated. Tho estimates of value had been made on a wrong basis. The export value of wether mutton, for example, was represented in the returns as s®d per lb, but the farmers

were selling- 60!b wethers, carrying 9ib, 101 b, and 111 b wool, for from 15s to 16s, and were glad to get even this price. Air AlT.eod added that the sheep farming industry was in a perilous condition at the present time. The sole thing- that could save the industry from very serious trouble was a reduction in the enormously increased charges that had been imposed upon the meat between the freezing works and the London market. New Zealand meat was not bringing unduly low prices on t.he London market, but the various charges had been increased to such an extent that, the industry could not carry them. Waiting for Mr Massey.

Alembers are waiting to hear what Air Alassey has to say on this vital question of shipping- freights. It will be remembered that the Prime Alinister conferred with the shipping people in London some months ago, and was told then that no change in the rates could be made before the end of the year. The position from the point of view of the New Zealand producer has not improved very much since that time, and Ministers realise fully that unless freights can be reduced the meat trade is going to suffer a very serious set back. Questions and suggestions on the point are being reserved by members until Mr Alassey has made his report to the House.

The House Wakes Up. The House having completed the Address-in-Reply debate and disposal of the want-of-confidence motions was able on I riday to turn its attention to the Order Taper. Questions without notice and discussions arising from the presentation oif some papers occupied the first hour or so. But when members reached the first Bill of the session "The Animals Protection and Game Kill,” they set to work with amazing energy. They took this Bill, and three other Bills, the ' Maintenance Orders Bill, the BankingAmendment Bill, and the Anzao Day Amendment Bill through the second reading stage, and were ready then before the sunper adjournment to proceed with the Local Bodies’ Loans Amendment Bill. But apparently the Government was not ready. The Prime Minister after a moment’s consultation with the Alinister lor Internal Affairs told the members that they had done very well for the night and that he thought they had earned their week-end rest.. "’ If they worked as expeditiously in the future they "would have no difficulty in getting through all the business of the session by Christmas. “Which Christmas?” inquired a pessimistic member, who doubtless had a mental vision of the mountain of Legislative work that lay ahead of the IT ouse The- Prime Alinister smiled and the It ouse adjourned.

Anzao Day. The Anzao Day Bill which provides that the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli shall be observed in all respects as if it wore a Sunday, was in charge of Mr Downie Stewart. The Alinister explained that he had introduced the Bill in its present form in order that it, might go before the Defence Committee of the House for consideration.

Tine Anzao Day Bill of 1920 in its original form had contained a provision that the anniversary should be observed as a Sunday. But the Government had not been sure that there was a demand for such a provision, and it had felt that if too much were attempted the consequence might be a reaction that would defeat the intention the returned soldiers had in mind. The Bill consequently was intended to provide that Anzao Day should be observed as a publio holiday, and “tn this form it was passed by the House. Second Thoughts.

, Ihe operation of; the existing act, continued the Minister, had not been satisfactory and there had been a general demand for amendment. The observance of the clay had not been universal. The hotels had been closed, but the picture theatres had remained open. Some businesses had not been compelled to close. The law draughtsmen bad experienced great difficulty in preparing a Bill that would meet the wishes of the returned soldiers without includnig in it some complex penalty clauses. Ine Minister had received a communication jrom the newspaper proprietors suggesting that tlio Bill in its present form might prevent the publication of newspapers on Anzao Day. He had been informed by his departmental officer further that it would net have that effect since the Police Offences Act exempted newspapers from Ihe prohibition against Sunday work. But theie niigl) t oe ft quosiion <is to whether or not news-papers could bo bold on Anzao Day if til© day were declared a Sunday, and that point would require to be examined. The Bill was read a second time and referred l to the Defence Committee. Public Works Statement. the late commencement of the session may delay the appearance of the Publio Works Statement. This is a matter of importance to local bodies, as it may reduce the time at their disposal for tho expenditure of money voted to them in the Public Works Lstimate. Mr J. R, Hamilton asked yesterday if 1 lie Alinister would bring- down tho Statement as early as possible in order that tho local bodies might take advantage of the summer months tor the expenditure of their votes. The Alinister replied that the Statemen was being prepared now. He would not say exactly when it would reach the House, but all possible expedition would be used. All- Alasters: It makes a lot of difference to local bodies. Air Coates: Yea, and it makes a lot of difference to members of Parliament, because as soon as it is down they clear off, and that’s the last we sea of them. The Homely Rasher, The fact that, bacon is costing as much as Is 8d per lb while the farmers are getting from 7d to 9d per lb for pork was mentioned by All- 11. Poland. Jho member for Obinrinuri thought that the apparent disparity should engage the attention of the Board of Trade. It appeared to him that tho price of bacon was much too high. The Hon. W. P. Lee promised that the Board of Trade would make inquiries. Air G. Witty then mentioned tile price of tho ether breakfast, staple. He said that the price of oats had fallen until the farmers were getting scarcely anything, but the price of oatmeal had not changed and undoubtedly was far too high. The Alinister again promised that the Board of Trade would bestir itself. Public Health, When the report of the Hospital Commission reached the House a general discussion arose with regard to public health matters. Members wanted to know what the Alinister intended to do about hospital subsidies, and they had suggestions to make concerning the provision of consumptive sanatoria arid the investigation of cancel*. Dr Thacker declared there were tubercular people who were a danger to public health. The sanatoria and the dispensaries had done a lot of good work, but there was not adequate provision in New Zealand for the sufferers from the disease. The doctor suggested that more attention should ho paid to the segregation of tubercular cases. Doing His Best. The Alinister for Health recognised that it was harmful and undesirable that: persons suffering from tuberculous disease should be allowed to roam about the country, use public conveyances, and stay at hotels and boarding-houses. The general community was running great risks. But it was difficult to suggest a remedy that could be applied effectively. To taka charge of every man and woman suffering from consumption would involve legislation, and lie did not know that any country had gone as far as that. He was prepared to admit that the interests of the Dominion might require some legislation that would enable the Health Department and the hospital authorities io control in some efficient manner those people who were a danger to their neighbours. As for cancer, lie did not think that Now Zealand could do much in the way of research. The best medical skill and scientific knowledge were being brought to bear upon the problem in the older countries, and the New Zealand Health Department was keeping in touch with the results. Tha Week’s Work. The week’s work on the whole has been fairly satisfactory. The disposal of tho Address-in-Reply and of two want-of-confi-dence motions in the first fortnight of the session is indeed something of an achievement, and all the parties may share in the credit for this display of expedition. The way is now clear for the serious work that lies ahead, and though it, is too much to hope that the full programme will be got through bcfnrg Christmas, there is no saying what the Prime Minister may acomplish if he chooses to adopt driving tactics, and gives the members of his own party to understand he does not wish to see them back after the holidays. So far even the Labour members have shown no disposition to delay the proceedings, and the Liberal members are too conscious of the limitations imposed upon them by their own dissensions to dream of adopting obstructive tactics. The conditions are eminently favourable for Air Alassey to put up any record in law-making to which he may aspire.