THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3775, 20 July 1926, Page 29

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT.

The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday. LEAVE of absence. Sir James Carroll and Sir E. Mitchelson were each granted 14 days’ leave of absence on account of illness. SUMMER-TIME BILL. The Summer-time Bill was received from the House of Representatives and read a first time. ROMAN CATHOLIC EMPOWERING BILL. On the motion of the Hon. J. BARR, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Empowering Bill, authorising the sale of cetain lands at Wellington, Nelson, and Taranaki, was read a second time and referred to a committee of selection. GAMING AMENDMENT BILL. The Gaming Amendment Bill was introduced and read a first time. NATIONALITY OF WOMEN. The Hon. M. COHEN moved—“ That in the opinion of the Council a British-born or New Zealand-born woman should not lose her nationality by the mere act of marriage with an alien, and that it should be open to her to make a declaration of alienage.” On the assurance of Sir R. HEATON RHODES that he would have the matter raised in Cabinet with a view to the Prime Minister bringing it up at the Imperial Conference, as New Zealand could only follow au alteration of the Imperial law, Mr Cohen withdrew his motion. CAPTIVE BIRDS’ SHOOTING. The Captive Birds Shooting Prohibition Bill was read a second time. The Council adjourned at 4 p.m. until Wednesday next. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. RENT RESTRICTION. Replying to Mr P. Fraser, the Hon. G. J. ANDERSON said that when the debate on the Budget was concluded he would introduce a Bill dealing with rent restriction. PURIFYING THE ROLLS. In a furthei* reply to Mr Fraser, the Hon. A. D. M'LEOD said the Electoral Department was taking active steps to purify the electoral rolls, and if any person who voted at the last election had received notice that he had not voted he should complete the notice and return it to the department, as it was a precautionary measure Such persons could rely on their votes having been counted at the election if they had put their ballot papers in the ballot box. The department was looking into the question whether it could devise a system ensuring greater -accuracy in marking the rolls by polling clerks. LOCAL OPTION POLL. A return was tabled by the Hon. A. D. M‘LEOD showing the votes at the last local option poll. DEBATE ON THE BUDGET. The debate on the Budget was opened by the debate on tbe Budget was opened by Mr H. E. HOLLAND (Leader of the Opposition), who advocated the shortening of the matter in the Budget, as in summary form it was much more readily comprehended. The Budget was more remarkable for what it did not contain than for what was in it. Someone had called it a “mark time” Budget, and he thought that was a most appropriate description. We had debts, some of which came to us from the war and some prior to the war, which had to be met, and could be met only by taxation. That taxation should be placed on the shoulders of those best able to bear it, and he did not think this bad been done either by the present Government or its predecessor/*. He then proceeded to discuss the public debt, which on March 31 last was £238,855,478, apart from the war debt. This liability had increased during the last 14 years by £69,409,981, which was the Reform Party’s contribution to the public indebtedness on which interest and sinking fund charges now constituted heavy annual charges. Mr Holland next attacked the free of income tax debentures, which he described as the most pernicious system ever introduced into our finance. This was costing us some £1,723,000 in interest annually, and the House was entitled to the fullest information concerning the position of these debentures. At the present time we were not balancing our budget, and he wanted to know what the Minister proposed to do about it. Mr W. D. LYSNAR: What would yo do about it? Mr Holland said he was not in a position to do anything about it, but ho wanted tq know whether the Government was going in for a wholesale policy -of borrowing. do far as borrowing for public works was concerned, he stressed the necessity for the works that were undertaken being of economic value, and he thought the House should be tola what works now in hand had not been of eoonomie value. Mr Holland next criticised the gift of a battleship to the British Navy, contending that it had been done under bad finance, it would have been better had the Government of that day made a levy on the rich people of the Dominion and paid for the ship in that way, rather than borrowing from Great Britain. Coming to tax reductions, Mr Holland declared that taxable incomes had, since 19‘/L-22, increased by nearly £28,000,000, while taxation had been reduced by £12,500,000, and not a small farmer in the country got the slightest benefit from these remissions. Individual benefits to 4< big men” were not enumerated, but “small men” were assisted to the extent of no more than a few shillings if they got any benefit at aIL Last year £150,000 in taxation was remitted, and of this 28 taxpayers took £67,228 of this benefit, showing clearly that all through these remissions were desi«med t help the wealthy classes. So far as relief to the soldier settlers waa concerned, he did not object. We were only giving them back what we owed them. The trouble was that the rich landowners had got off with what the soldiers ought never to have been called

ou to pay. Iu all probability these writings down of £2,500,000 would net be the last. The Government could not say they would be, and most of this money had gone into the pockets of the rich landowners. The patriotism of some of these people was so great that when they got the chance to unload their land they sold the poorest to the soldiers and keot the best for themselves. He thought tue report of the Rural Credits Commission would be valuable in this connection. He pointed out that the Bank of New Zealand was now promising to do what it a short time ago said it could not do. When the Rural Credits Commission report came down would the Legislature adopt it or would it not? He warned the House against the statement that the Bank of New Zealand’s promised scheme did not interfere with State schemes. Mr Holland said he saw no signs of the Government fostering secondary industries. These industries should be such as were suited to the conditions of the country. If such industries required a protective tariff they should have it, but he maintained that so long as our tariff produced revenue it was not protective. Mr Holland dealt with the timber industry, the preserved fruits industry, and others which, he said, were suffering from outside competition. We were now importing goods to the value of £7,500,000, the bulk of which could be produced in New Zealand with reasonable protection. If motor cars and motor lorries were used by the rich only then they might be a fair subject for heavy taxation, but these vehicles were used by all classes. They were used largely iu j industries, and heavy taxation on them simply raised the cost of commodities, and as a result, the cost of living. We could raise within the Dominion all the wheat we required, yet we were from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 bushels short, all because the industry as not properly organised. The Hon. W. NOSWORTHY said that the best reply to Mr Holland’s criticism was that the Government had the endorsement of the people behind it at the general election, and since then there had been another endorsement in the succe96 of the last loan, when £119,000,000 of British capital was offered to find one loan of £6,000,000. No better certificate of confidence could be given than this endorsement of London financiers. Mr Holland had talked about the borrowing policy of the Government, bu£ by how much would the public debt of the country be increased if the policy of the Labour Party were carried out? He trembled to think what the consequences would be. Coming to taxation, Mr Nosworthy maintained that the burden was not inequitably distributed, and he asked Mr Holland how he would make up the deficiency if he exempted small taxpayers. Would he make a capital levy? The exemptions now made by the Government were so great fiat an increase of these on the lines demanded by Mr Holland would mean that scarcely anyone at all would *>ay taxes. The Budget fully explained the modus operandi by which the public debt was to be repaid, and this was a more effective method than had previously obtained, and it had since been adopted by Great Britain which must be credited with some knowledge of finance. Mr Nosworthy then defended the present Customs tariff, contending that there were no duties on foodstuffs except those necessary to protect our own industries. The Labour Party evidently did not know where it stood on the question- of protection or freetraae. On these subjects it hedged but went all out for nationalisation, and goodness only knew where that would lead us to at the rate we were going. In the matter of the importation of motor cars, he sometimes thought it would have been a good thing if a few years ago we had decided to shut them out altogether. The bulk of our public debt was due to the war. Much of it was reproductive, and he wanted to know if too much of that class of monev had been borrowed, and he challenged the Opposition to say what public works should be stopped. It would be folly to stop our hydro-electric develop , ment and other forms of public improvements. These must be completed to get the benefit of them. Our hydro-electric schemes were going to be highly profitable, and it was because the London financiers knew we were investing our money profitably that they were so eager to lend to us. The principle of tbe meat and dairy control was defended by tbe Minister. He denied that the Reform Party stole the idea from the Labour Party. It was. evolved out of the brains of reform. It must be lemeiobered they were a pro gressive party—not the old-fashioned Tory Party. The aftermath of the war had left them with many problems, and the Government had done its best to face and solve the difficulty and he was satisfied it was right in enabling the producers to market their produce in the way most agreeable to themselves. Mr NOSWORTHY stressc dthe importance of consolidating the Empire by interimperial trade. This might mean a tariff barrier against all the other nations and free trade within our Empire. This would not help our secondary industries but that was not so important as increasing production and export Our primary industries required a big population before they could thrive, and it was just a question whether the people would not be bettor off- if we had no duty at all on boots, and those engaged in that industry were otherwise employed. Mr G. W. FORBES said he regretted the Budget was again brought down in printed form. He contended that the Minister should place its main points before the House in the form of a speech. The Budget had, however, been cut down to the bare bones of bookkeeping, and since the Government had such a large majority and could do as it liked it was a matter of gratification that as much information had been given as the Budget contained. The Hon. W. Nosworthy had gloried in the fact that the Government had the endorsement of the people and of the London financiers. So far as the latter was concerned it waa something which no one wished to discredit, but it had its risks, for if money were easy to obtain in London there waa a great, temptation to go back for more. There waa absolutely no information in the Budget about future borrowing, and if the Government had any intentions in that direction the House should be placed in possession of all the facts. The Government had justified borrowing on the ground that members had asked for money for expenditure in their districts. To this he pleaded guilty, because it was his duty to his constituents to do so,

but it was the duty of the Government to say whether or not that money should be spent, and if there was extravagant expenditure the responsibility was with the Government alone, and did not prevent members criticising the methods of the Government and its policy and administration. In the advertisements of the Reform Party they were told the country was on the eve of a forward movement, but where was the evidence of that forward movement in the Budget. There was a proposed tapering off in the public works and losses in connection with soldiers’ settlement. It looked more like a disastrous retreat since it was well-known that the writiugs-off were not the last we would have to face. The only evidence of a forward movement was that the public debt had increased by £11,000,000, aud though considerable space was devoted in the Budget the explanation of how this came about it did not alter the fact. Again, there was a falling off in the business of the Post Office Savings Bank, and the Advances Office was at a standstill, while there was no proposal to reduce taxation. It was commonly thought there would at least be some reduction in company taxation, which everyone admitted was most unfair. That was what the Government’s forward movement amounted to. The outstanding feature of the Budget was the fact that the public debt had increased by £11,000,000, and the question was whether we could go on borrowing at this rate year after year. He thought we could not. In any case, the House should be told what were the intentions of the Government in this connection. Mr Forbes criticised the setting out of railway accounts under which a direct grant for losses in branch lines was now made from the Consolidated Fund, which, he said, would not act as an incentive to the Railway Department to make those lines pay, but would have the contrary effect. The Government had set up a committee of the heads of departments to go into the question of economy iu the publie departments, and it claimed that the Estimates had been prepared in accordance with that committee’s recommendations, but the net result the expenditure was estimated to be £416,000 more than last year. What was required to establish public confidence was the knowledge that there was every care in the public expenditure, and he thought that confidence could not be established unless we had some better form of investigation than a mere committee of departmental heads. He strongly recommended that in the expenditure of public funds there should be a Supervision Parliamentary Committee which could say whether the proposed expenditure was or was not justified. Parliament should have a greater voice in the expenditure of public funds, and that could be got only through a parliamentary committee such as he suggested. Another argument in favour of this committee was the fact that a large portion of our loans, borrowed at a low rate of interest, would be falling due shortly, and would have to be renewed at a higher rate. That would be a good time for tapering off, and the Government should set up a committee and let it go into the question of cutting down and take the responsibility. The Public Debt Extinction Fund set up by the Liberal Government had been ridiculed by their opposition, but to-day the Liberals had the satisfaction of seeing that a large part of the Government’s Budget was devoted to the measure, which was evidently in great favour with the British investor. In concluding, Mr Forbes drew attention to the state of the meat freezing industry, which, unless it s stabilised, was likely to pass into the hands of the large meat exporting firms. There could not be regulation on one hand and free purchase of works by big companies on the other. If that condition prevailed small companies must go out, and he contended that the Government should make a firm declaration of what its policy was in connection with this important industry. He suggested that a committee should be set up to review the whole position and see what the best solution wag. The Hon. J. A. YOUNG said that so far as the criticism of the Budget had gone it had failed to shake it in the slightest degree. The Budget was a sound busi-ness-like statement of the financial position, and economists in the Dominion had been loud in their praise of the Minister’s proposals in connection with the Kublic debt reduction, which was highly to e commended, since it was our duty to leave the country better than we found it. The Leader of the Opposition had decried the reduction of taxation on higher incomes, but it was economically unsound to have taxation too high, because there was always the temptation for the taxpayer to pass it on, which people, in business had so many opportunities for doing. Further, it was unsafe for the State to be over-dependent on income tax for its revenue, because in the time of a slump there might be a disastrous falling off in our State income. The hon. member justified tlie recent loan which was raised on low terms and was borrowed for reproductive purposes. The Government was aiming at the building up of industries on sound economic lines and encouraging secondary industries suited to the country, which would be supplementary to our primary industries. He defended the increase .in the public debt, as the money was being spent in such a way as to become remunerative. The Dominion’s borrowing was therefore highly enticing to the British lenders. After dealing with the increase in the public debt and the maturing of loans, the Minister concluded by saying that so far as the debate was concerned it had left the Budget undisturbed and the Minister of Finance had every reason to be gratified. Mr J. M'COMBS (Lyttelton) said there was no reason why British investors should not have faith in New Zealand investments because we had the security, but we were not the only people who could get cheap loans, because at the time New Zealand was raising a £6,000,000 loan, Glasgow had got its loan on better terms than we did, getting £IOO while we got only £984. The Blue Star Line got a 5 per cent, loan at par, and private companies were doing es well as our Government had done, so it was not much good boasting about our loan. The reason our loan was over-subscribed was the terms on which it was offered, for what

leuder would not buy £IOO securities for £984? To place such a bail on the market was bad business indeed, because next day the stock so bought was quoted at au advance of 14 premium. The bad business methods of the Government had resulted in a present being made to investors of £IBO,OOO, which should have come to the people of New Zealand. Coming to the administration of the Government, Mr M'Combs said that the first, administrative act of the Government was to appoint two Liberals, who had kept it in office, to the Legislative Council, and the second administrative act was to raise the rate of interest on money lent by the Advances Department. •This, he said, was done at the dictation of the moneyed institutions, which had never failed to assail the Advances Office, which had steadied down their interest charges. He maintained that the department could have gone on 1 nding at the old rate because of the large amount of money coming in which had been raised at very low rates many years ago. The effect of the Government’s action would not be felt immediately, but it would be in full operation in seven years’ time, and it would cost the people of this country £3,000,000 annually in interest charges. Mr M‘Combs criticised the Government’s lack of interest in promoting secondary industries, and he maintained that more of our Public Works expenditure should be got from revenue, not from borrowings. Mr W. J. GIRLING (Wairau) closely analysed the Customs tariff for the purpose of showing that the necessariei of life were not bearing heavv taxation. What was bearing the heaviest duties, said Mr Girling, were alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco, and motor cars. As a., assistance to farmers he advocated imposing a duty of £1 per ton on imported chaff. Mr H. T. ARMSTRONG (Christchurch East) said that £2,500,000 written off soldiers’ settlements did not represent a fraction of what the soldiers had lost through the maladministration r f he Government. What was wanted at the present time was the development of our secondary industries. The only thing that would save our farmers in the event of a fall in prices at the other end of the world were healthy secondary industries combined with an increase in our population. A Member: But you object to immigrants. Mr Armstrong: We don't object to immigrants so long as you give them the same conditions in which to live. This country could carry tens of thousands more people if it were not merely bit? sheep runs, and there could be no true progress while that state of things continued. There were thousands of acres of good land wl.ich could be occupied, and he wanted to ask the Government what it was going to do about providing homes for the people it was bringing out to the Dominion. Mr T. W. RHODES (Thames) said the' Budget might be described as “ finance at a glance.” It had been stripped of much of its customary padding, .and revealed the financial position of the Dominion with clarity seldom equalled. The Opposition had criticised the purchase of land for soldiers’ settlements. As a matter of fact, the Government had done a great deal of work in that connection in the .circumstances, and the people endorsed what it had done. It had also objected to borrowing for activities othe" than those upon which the future of the country depended. If the Budget had one characteristic more than another it was its caution It was almost “Scotch’’ in this respect, but the circumstances ot the Dominion more than warranted the Minister in the timidity of liis outlook. Mr W. D. LYSNAR (Gisborne) took up the debate after the supper adjournment, resuming his criticism of the Meat Board. He contended that Mr Joues (the member for Ellesmere) should be removed from the position of chairman of that board. At 11.5 the Hon. W. DOWNIE STEWART (Minister in charge of the Budget) began his reply to the debate. He said the Leader of the Opposition had again aired his views on taxation, which he had more than once put before the country with the result that the country had turned them down. His idea that more revenue should be obtained from higher incomes was unsound. During the war these incomes were taxed at extremely high rates, and when it was possible to make reductions it was only right that relief should first be given to that class of taxpayer. On an income of £IO,OCO per year the taxation was the highest in the Empire. That was on the authority of the Taxation Commission, and it was because the people understood the position that they had not endorsed the Leader of the Opposition’s views at the polls. The Min ister defended the renewal of loans as arranged by the Government, and recalled the gratitude with which the battleship “New Zealand” was received by the British people as justification for presenting thst ship. The objection that we had also borrowed money from Great Britain to pay for the ship might apply to any of our public works loans, for much of material used in these works was bought in Great Britain. He justified borrowing for remunerative purposes and defended the Customs tariff which, he said, w r as high enough to give a measure of protection to our industries, but not to cut off all competition. Dumping duties were Imposed, and recently those duties were used against Australian wines, which were being sent here on bounties, which enabled them to compete with New Zealand wines duty free. This secured a reversal of the decision of the Australian Government which had been detrimental to us. He did not believe in too frequent changes of Customs duties. He denied that the present tariff had increased the burdens of people. Figures to prove that had been put before the House and the country time and time again, and it was most unfair that the Opposition should persist in statements to the contrary. The fact was they were constantly confusing Customs duties with Customs revenue. He did not believe in a tariff which shut out all Imports. In the case of the boot trade, the trouble was that the bootmakers were always fighting with the tanners. They should have their own tanneries and their factories, as they did in Australia. They then got their leather at cost price, which enabled them to make a profit on their boots. As matters stood this industry had been protected for 40 years, but it was always in difficulties. In reply to Mr M'Combs, Mr Stewart said that the New Zealand loan was not

raised on similar conditions to the Glasgow which was arranged long before the New Zealand loan waa arranged. New Zealand had to go on a market unsettled by a genera! strike. In these circumstances they had to act on the best advice. They could not afford to take risks. As matters stood, he considered the Dominion had done very well. He denial that the rate of interest was raised bv the Advances Office at the behest of private lending institutions. If the rates had no 4 been raised there would have been a less on the department this year of from £40.000 to £50,000. They were still below the market rate, and he saw no prospect of their policy having the disastrous effects predicted by Mr MCombs. He thanked members for their generous criticism of the Budget. THE ESTIMATES. . The Hovre then went into Committee-of-Sapply to consider the first item on the Estimates—£Bso,s4o for the Legislature Department. The LEADER ot the OPPOSITION asked the Prime Minister how far lie proposed to go. Did he propose to report progress? Mr COATES said he wished to pasa the first item. An HON. IdEMER: Then we cannot go Jiome till morning. Mr COATES: Carry on. Later th-» Prime Minister agreed to reP9rt progress, and the House rose at midnight. LABOUR BUREAU FOR WOMEN. Tim Hon. G. J. ANDERSON, replying to Mr M. J. Savage, said there was no intention on the part of the Government to establish special unemployment bureaux for women in the main cities. The womenv7ho wore unemployed could now register at the labour offices and every effort would be made to secure them employment. Women inspectors were employed at these bureaux and their services were available to assist women out of employment. DAIRY CONTROL BILL. Replying to Mr W. A. Yeitch, the PRIME MINISTER said he hoped to introduce the Dairy Control Bill Amendment this week. IMMIGRATION. The Hon. W. NOSWORTHY (Minister in charge of Immigration) laid on the table the annual report of his department, which raised a debate centring round well worn points Labour members contended that no immigrants should be brought out while there was neither housing nor employment for the new comers. The supporters of the immigration policy contended that there was need of a larger population and that from a humanitarian point of view it was our duty to assist our kinsmen in congested Great Britain to come out to tho freer conditions in New Zealand. The debate continued for the whole of the sitting, the Minister not having an opportunity to reply before the House rose at 5.30 p.m. UNEMPLOYED WORKERS’ BILL. The first order of the day on Thursday was Mr P. FRASER’S Unemployment Workers Bill, but when called on to introduce it he said he must ask that the Bill be postponed until Wednesday next on the ground that the Bill was not yet printed. NATIONALISATION OF MINES. The next order of the day was tlie Nationalisation of Coal Mines Bill, introduced by Mr H. E. HOLLAND (Leader of the Opposition). The SPEAKER at once pointed out that the Bill had in it appropriation clauses, and therefore he must rule the Bill out of order unless the House gave the lion, gentleman leave to move the second reading. The PRIME MINISTER said he had np objection to Mr Holland explaining the principles of the Bill so long as this were not taken as a precedent. Mr W. A. VEITCH asked if that meant that no member would be allowed to speak to the Bill. The Speaker indicated that that would be so, as when the second reading of the Bill w’as moved it w’ould be ruled out. Mr Veitch said he would not object to Mr liollaud explaining his measure, but pointed out that the position was very onesided. The House then agreed that the second reading might be moved, and Mr Holland, after thanking members for their considerate attitude, proceeded to trace the history of coal mining from several centuries back. The social and industrial conditions surrounding the miners were described, and the struggles of legislative reform mentioned until he reached the present day, in connection with w’hich he admitted that the mining legislation iu New Zealand was the best in tho world. Coming to the provisions of the Bill, he explained that the measure proposed to establish a mining council to which would be transferred the mines of economic value purchased at the valuation assessed by a Miners’ Valuations Board. There would also be distinct mining councils on which both owners and miners would be represented. A Fuel Consumers’ Council would also be set up, tlie duty of which would be to see there was no chortage of fuel, and that there was no unnecessary importation of outside coal. x Full political rights would be enjoyed "by all employees of the mines, male and female. Those employed in the clerical and other departments of the council would receive equal pay for equal work. He claimed that if the mining industry were properly organised, and them were co-operation betw’een the scientific and practical sides of mining, the.miners would receive greater remuneration for their work and the people would get cheaper coal. , The day w’ould come when hydro-elcctrlc power would supersede coal in our iiidus-: , tries, but in the meantime we should mnko the conditions of mining as good ns wo possibly could. He moved the second reading of the Bill, and the Speaker at once ruled that as the Bill contained appro, priation clauses the second reading could; not be moved, and the Bill was ruled out.' OFFENDERS’ PROBATION BILL. Mr J. A. LEE (Auckland East) moved the second reading of the Offenders’ Probation Amendment Bill, which provides that automatically the names of first offenders brought before the courts shall not be published, nor shall any reference be made to their occupation or address sufficient to disclose their identity. Another section makes an exception in favour of the court being empowered to permit the publication of the name, address, or description, this to be permissiblo if, in the opinion of the court, such publication, owing to the nature of the offence, the disposition of the offender, his acting in combination with others in coinmjttint the offence, or for any other reason it it

desirable in the interests of the public that the offender should be known. The Bill also provides that section 9 of the Offenders’ Probation Act, 1920, shall be repealed. This section gives the court power to prohibit the publication of names of accused persons. He maintained that his proposal was “humanitarian,” that it was approved by the bench and the bar, and that it was an insurance against inconsistencies in the administration of the law under which there might be “one Jaw for the rich and another for the poor.” The MINISTER OF JUSTICE said that any suggestions for improvements in our penal system would always be sympathetically received. He did not think the Bill was much of an improvement because it simply reversed the present law under which names could be suppressed. He was prepared further to consider the matter, and he suggested that the Bill be sent to the Statutes Revision Committee, where the matter could be looked at from every point of view with the probation officers. Mr P. FRASER, while supporting the JJill, thought the law should go further, and that there should be a suppression of the disgusting details of divorce cases in the courts. The Bill was read a second time', and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee. CENSUS AND STATISTICS. The House then went into the Census and Statistics Bill, of which the Hon. It. F. Bollard was in charge. In reply to Mr Fraser, the MINISTER promised that the fullest information would be given regarding the income earnof the people. Mr D. JONES (Ellesmere) said that a great amount of statistics collected was valueless, and was costly to the business men of the Dominion. He urged a drastic retrenchment except in cases where the figures were indispensable. Mr ADAM HAMILTON (Wallace) said r Jiat some of the returns asked for from companies by the Government looked very innocent, but involved a great amount of labour in compilation, and many of them uhould not be asked for. The MINISTER agreed that these complaints would be looked into. The Bill was reported without amendment, read and third time and parsed. THE ESTIMATES. When the House met on Friday the PRIME MINISTER intimated that he desired to go on with further consideration cf the Estimates, and he moved that the House go into Committee of Supply. This was done, and discussion on the first item— Legislative Department. £85,540, was resumed by Sir JOSEPH WARD, who drew attention to the need for more adequate shipping services in the South Island. Not one subsidised passenger steamer arrived m the South Island. The requirements of the South Island were being ignored, ana he had complaints from fruit merchant? and others in Dunedin about the unjust treat ment received by the people in the south. It was not fair for the Government, just because it had a big majority consisting largely of North Island members, to ' nore i be interests of the South Island. In the minds of many people there were only two cities in New Zealand. Mr G. W. FORBES (Hurunui) urged more rconsideration for the needs of education in country districts, and said that country children should have the opportunity of attending central schools. Wherever possible t.'ie consolidated school system should be b-ought into operation. The Hon. . 1). BUDDO (Xaiapoi) complained that so little had been done to ►*'e ma»n highways after two years’ opera lion. The main highways were never in !t mere deplorable condition than thev were m at Present. Mr M. J. SAVAGE (Auckland West) c ’.esiioned the provision on the Estimates in rcsnect. to the travelling expenses of Dr Mf.cEachem. and commented on the attil \!e taken up by the Minister of Health him S-r JOHN LUKE (Wellington North) r red that the sole teacher should be done r vay with, and he supoorted a suggestion 1 S ; r George Hunter for country children as f- r as possible to be enabled to attend T r A M S \ MTKb (Ohinemuri) put in a r a for d’e r-dows and the dependents t d'ccasctl mirers. end urged upon the « nve'nme 't its Icr'M duty in regard to the y • r « *ni of n bnrM allowance and the ac i i<. ,->• pennon*. im to t u e Ron .Mr Ruddo, the r >,> *■' WLUAMS (Minister of pub y. v-Sr .p said we had sti’l a great deal f-, |. r-> r-'-.p/'t to the maintenance o'i ”■ V E. POTTER (Rosie ili) con--s-' 1 ' I i t t’>c police were considerably >" : d r-v-ng regard to the services r '"cd a dav was totally inadequate v r n 'Y,\HP 'r?l»»-i tchurch South) «* -v ’ ined ot i e wireless b-oadcisting ser ’ e i NVv Zealand which, be said, was f‘ -> r net seined country in the world in t t n p • t. e«r-cci«!!y having regard to * ■' 1 -in charges. A greet injustice ’ - ‘ d ' hv charging 30s for re C" : vr' r end n]*o b v f.F* e poorness of • • o<- v jc<\ T.-v-r proposed broadcasting m li ■ - \v* r» to he r: n on r V v ) volts, which ” nnld be II rio-H for the towns, but not f - 1' country districts. At present New v i v phating the service? provided f om *u't'v’in. e*ul he hc’ipved lestenersr. -e c.nlv trkinu out licenses because .of If" epr’ i Mi D JfVES (Ellesmere) said there y o ih* nro' nb'y have been plenty of wheat in > w Zealand this year if the season b"d I -c • i irood one. The result of tbo li .cd l. tr would be a plentiful supply next Kco'-on He hoped the Minister would give c fufiher assurance that the duty would remain Mr M. T. SAVAGE urged on the Minister of Mine* more generous treatment in the mutter of funeral expenses of widows whose husbands had lied of miner’s phthisis. Replying to Mr Ransom, who asked the Minister of [.and* why ho had not taken greater advantage of the Empire settlement scheme, the lion. A. D. M'LEOD said that before they launcheJ cn extensive schemes of settlement they had to bj sure that the settlers could make a competency from the land, and he thought there were somo districts in New Zealand in which they would have to treat land settlement on the same basis as a struggling secondary industry, and subsidise it. Mr. P. FRASER (Wellington Central) submitted that the Library Committee •hould have been consulted about the ap- £ liniment of the new Parliamentary ibrarian, and said the position should

have been kept open until Parliamet met. He demanded that the applications should be laid on the table of the House so that members could judge whether the best qualified applicant had been appointed. Replying to a question, the Hon. 0. J. HAWKEN (Minister of Agriculture) said the Government was Will of the opinion , they should not interfere in the wheatgrowing question. They were convinced that the ordinary rules of supply and demand should apply to this branch of our agricultural industry. He believed that a sufficient area had been sown to grow enough wheat for the Dominion’s needs, and, given a favourable season, he was of the opinion that this would be so. In meantime the Government had no intention whatever of charging its policy on the subject of wheat-growing. Sir JOSEPH WARD, commenting on the remarks of the Minister of Lands, said he was satisfied the question of close settlement of our lands could not be indefinitely put off without piling up trouble, not only for the present Government but for their successors. He was also satisfied that this country could not brjd its own unless it had a great deal more close settlement. One of the Minister’s greatest difficulties was that he was facing the aftermath of the land boom. The great bulk of the land originally purchased under the Lands for Settlement Act was bought up at £6 per acre, and at that price settlers could make i Jiving. Since then a boom in land values had taken place, and many people could neither make a living on their land nor sell it, because its price was too high. The ‘remedy was to be found in a general revision of values. The first item on the Estimates was passed at 11.20 p.m. Treasury (£36,144) and Land and Income Tax Department (£59,612), and Stamp Duties Department (£97,983) were then passed without discussion, and the House rose at 11.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. JOTTINGS. speaking of the great advertisement the country would receive from the Exhibition at _ Dunedin, advocated the publication of a guide book on a large scale, to include the whole of New Zealand. It would he said, be a great factor in advertising our scenery, not only in New Zealand, but all over the world. It would bring tens of thousands of pounds into the country, and he wanted as much of the overseas gold as we could get at the present moment. “Let us get away from such mundane things as Budget debates and other things and look at Nature, Nature unadorned, as it were.” said Sir Joseph Ward in the House on Tuesday, when urging attention to scenic and tourist resources. “How many of uknow ourselves if we see ourselves in print? I will confess that on occasions I have not known myself in such circumstances.” While speaking upon the comparatively little-known beauty spots of New Zealand, Sir Joseph Ward asked in the House today how many members had been to many of the lakes in the south, and after mentioning several names, asked: “And how many have seen the Lord’s River?” Amid laughter, Sir Joseph went on: “I do believe that I am the only one who has seen the Lord’s River.” The general laughter was punctuated by q Government interjection: Is that the Jordan? Mr T. W. Rhodes (Thames): We know where Paradise is. Sir Joseph: I do not believe there is a member in the House except myself who has been to Lord’s River.— (Further laughter.) Sir Joseph Ward was referring to one of the beauty spots in Stewart Island. In his speech on the Budget Mr 11. E. Holland- protested against a statement in the report of the Minister of Internal Affairs to the effect that the tabulated land and income tax statistics are not in future to be presented annually, and that they would not be again given for an interval of two or three years. Parliament would be very unwise if it agreed to any interference with the land and income tax tables. These statistics should be available to members of the House all the time. During his criticism of the Budget Mr IT. E. Holland likened the Government to a company of bankrupt Micawbers who are threatening to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of debt and can only think of opposing a barrage of newly written I.O.U’s. to the avalanche. Mr Holland was very critical about the gift of the battleship New Zealand, “and;” he said, “the battleship is no more.” “But we are,” said the Prime Minister. “You don’t claim this was Reform Party money?” Mr Fraser asked Mr Nosworthy who was discussing the Budget figures. “No.” said Mr Nosworthy, “but we are responsible for it, and are likely to be for many a long day.” The Hon. W. Nosworthy mentioned in the House to-night that the Customs duty last year exceeded £584,000 over the Estimates. The excess revenue was due to high imports. The total revenue increase in Customs must be read with the increase in imports. There had been no increase in the rate, though in some cases there had been decreases, and the increased revenue was simply due to £he increased value of the imports. The new Customs tariff became operative in 1922, increasing the duty on luxuries, but the duty on tobacco was reduced in 1924. As the tariff stood at present there was no duty on food except what was required to protect our own industries. The tariff had been arranged to give preference to British goods in cases where suitable goods were produced within the Empire. Mr W. S. Glenn (Rangitikei) wants to know if there is any foundation for the statements appearing in some newspapers that it is the intention of the Government to legislate for a universal halfholiday, and also to restrict the hours during which shops may be kept open for the transaction of business. Savage (Auckland West) asked the Minister of Labour if ho would re-establish the Women’s Labour Bureaux in the chief centres. The Hon. Mr Anderson replied that women could register at the labour bureaux, and every effort would be made to find them employment. Mr Savage: Have you women inspectors there to receive them? Mr Anderson: We have women inspectors in the large centres, but I do not know that it is necessary fo have women to take the names. I have no objection to putting in a temporary clerk to take the registration. Mr Savage: You certainly should have a lady there. Mr Horn (Wnkatipu) wants information about Nauru and Ocean Island phos-

phates. He is asking if any arrangement has been made to send them direct to the South Island and thus avoid the cost of transhipment from the North Island. He also wants to know the actual quantity of phosphates landed since the acquisition of New Zealand’s rights of the deposits, various particulars as to costs and prices, and whether there is any regulation of the prices charged by agents. The House of Representatives is experiencing its share of -sickness. On Thursday leave on account of illness was granted Messrs Burnett, Uru, Henare, and Kyle. Mr Frank Thomson, C.M.G., the permanent head of the Prime Minister’s Department, is confined to his home with an attack of influenzza. “It is £e»erally conceded by the miners in New Zealand that whatever faults our mining legislation has it is probably the best mining legislation in the world,” remarked Mr H. E. Holland (Leader of the Opposition) in the House on Thursday. According to Mr 11. E. Holland, “nationalisation is not socialism, but is on the road to socialism.” That the publication of particulars of criminal cases is not a deterrent of crime, and probably has the effect of increasing crime is an opinion which is growing rapidly. Mr J. A. Lee (Auckland East) drew attention on Thursday to the sample of America, where the papers feature crime and where crime was prevalent. It appealed to an unsavoury type of mind to read these cases and gloat over the misfortune of others. To publish such stuff was to play into the hands of the depraved section of the community, who took a ■•special delight in reading these unsavoury cases. Details of the different classes of assisted immigrants who arrived in the Dominion during the year ended March 31 last are given in the annual report of the De partment of Immigration presented to Parliament on Thursday The total number of arrivals from Great Britain and Ireland was 10,565, and 7605 of them were assisted by the Imperial or New Zealand Government, or both. The nominated and other assisted immigrants comprised 2663 men, 2370 women, and 2652 children. Those nominated numbered 6824, and £6l applied for assisted passages on their own account. The destinations of 2615 were in the Auckland provincial district; Canterbury claimed 876, Otago 717, and the other districts fewer than 300 a-piece. Domestics numbered 504. and 104 of the number were nominated, the remainder coming out independently. There were 485 male and 25 female farm workers, 73 being nominated. More than half (269) of the arrivals in this class went to Taranaki. 131 to Auckland, 53 to Canterbury, and 26 to Otago. Out of 177 publio school boys, 73 were for Auckland, 50 for Taranaki, and 15 for Hawke’s Bay. Mr Savage (Auckland West) has given notice to ask the Minister of Health whether he will introduce legislation to enable the sisters at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Auckland to sit for examination as nurses without having received training at a public hospital? The sisters, he states, although possessing the highest qualifications, are compelled to enter a publio hospital for training before sitting for examination for certificates as trained nurses. During his speech in the Budget Debate Mr J. M‘Combs (Labour) stated that one of the biggest financial institutions with offices in Christchurch contributed very heavily to the political fighting fund of the Reform Party, “and,” he added, “they did not have to wait long to receive their reward.” (Mr M'Combs had just previously said the financiers welcomed the raising of the rate of State Advances interest.) The Hon. Mr Nosworthy: That is a nasty insinuation. Speaking in the House on Wednesday, Mr Armstrong (Christchurch East) said satirically that the Reform Government was Speaking in the House yesterday Mr Armstrong (Christchurch East) said satirically that the Reform Government was composed of “men who had a business training that was so essential to the sue cessful running of a country like New Zealand. (Reform: “Hear, hear!”) He, however, ventured to say «that there was not a Labour Government in Australia that had not handled its finance 100 per cent, better than bad New Zealand. (Cries of No, and laughter from the Government Benches.) There was not one that had made a better deal with their loans. — (Laughter.) Mr 11. T. Armstrong, the Labour member for Christchurch East, made a vehement denunciation of the Government policy in the Budget when speaking in the debate. H was twitted from the Government benches with being one who favoured a capital levy , on the people. “Well,” said Mr Armstrong, “if we do place a capital levy on the people, we shall place it on those who are the best able to pay it. We shall not exploit the poverty of the poor as this Government is doing and has been doing for some time past. Referring to Customs taxation he said it simply meant taxation of the poor. Voices: No! No! Mr Armstrong: Call it what you like. That is what it is. It is taxation of the people. Tho Customs’ payers are people for the most part not animals.—(Laughter.) As he promised, Mr Lysnar in the Budget debate renewed his attack on the chairman of the Meat Control Board in regard to the sale of the Poverty Bay meat works to Vesteys. Strange as it might seem, he said, the information given by Mr Jones gave strong ground for everything he (Mr Lysnar) had said that the chairman of the Meat Control Board should • be removed from his office. It was intolerable that such a person should fill the position of chairman of the board, because he abused his office by giving out data, the facts of which had no justification and had been disproved before the court. Mr Jones’s statements were rubbish and worthless. He would ask the Government not to Stand by and allow its officials to take up that position. It was a worthless whitewashing of the board. Mr Lysnar reiterated many of his former statements. He spoke as usual on his great subject, which is, to him, apparently as King Charles’s head was to Mr Dick. In his final remarks he caused a good deal of humorous interjection and much merriment. The late Minister of Agriculture, remained a silent listener. Finally Mr I.ysnar pinned bis faith on Mr Coates to do the right thing. Mr Jones was not in the House during Mr Lysnar’s speech. Mr M. J. Savage (Auckland West) mentioned in the House on Friday, when the Estimates were being discussed, an item of £lB5 on the Health Estimates for the visit to the Dominion of Dr MacEachern, and asked who wus responsible for bringing him to New Zealand. He took it

for granted that it was not the Government. “I am assured,” he said, “that he was brought here by the British Medical Association, and the chief object of his visit seems to have been to get away from the present hospital system in this country, a thing which I trust the Government will not attempt. I have read the report, and it did not seem to square well with the hospital system here, which is recognised as one of the best in the world. We have found, however, a sum on the Estimates making provision for the visit of Dr MacEachern to report upon it. I think that in the absence of any responsibility of the Government to bring him to the country the Government should have nothing to do with financing his trip, especially when he has done a questionable service to the people in respect to the public health.” During the discussion on the Estimates on Friday Sir George Hunter brought up the question of what the school teachers in the backblocks had to put up with. It was difficult, he said, to get teachers to go to such schools because they were underpaid and sometimes overworked. He urged upon the Minister of Education that better consideration should be given to these people who undertook the responsibility of educating the children of the settlers. The settlers were entitled to receive every consideration from the Government in respect to the ability of the teachers appointed. He had some of these teachers in his own district, and they had great difficulty in getting accommodation. There was trouble in getting qualified teachers to educate the children in the isolated parts of the Dominion. On three or four occasions the former Administrator of Savaii, Western Samoa, Mr W. Sanderson Cooper, has petitioned Parliament for reinstatement in the service of the Department of External Affairs on the ground that there was no good cause for his virtual dismissal. Each time the Public Petitions (A to L) Committee has recommended the request to the Government for favourable consideration, but nothing has been done. Several members of the House of Representatives took the opportunity to-day of publicly pleading the petitioner’s case. A committee of the House had come to the unanimous opinion that Mr Sanderson Cooper had not been well treated. The Minister of External Affairs (the Hon. W. Nosworthy) admitted that he was not .very familiar with the case, as he had not long taken over the portfolio. However, he would promise that he would make full inquiries and try to arrive at a conclusion before the Estimates of the department were presented to the House. I he Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland) said that members of the parliamentary party which had visited the Cook Islands and Samoa some years ago had been particularly impressed with Mr Cooper and his work as Resident Commissioner at Aitutaki. At Savaii he had successfully dealt with native unrest, which, but for his action, might have caused serious trouble. He did not ask for compensation, but only for reinstatement. It was to be hoped that the Government would give effect to his request, as it was difficult to undersand why he had been so treated. had been so treated. Mr E. A. Ransom (Pahiatua) remarked that the committee had examined many witnesses, including the former Administrator of Western Samoa, Colonel R. W. Tate and the worst that could be said after all the departmental evidence had been heard was that Mr Coper had been a little over-zealous. In the House of Representatives on Friday Sir George Hunter asked the Government to arrange for more treatment for returned soldiers who are T.B. patients. He said that though with some the disease was not directly attributable to war service, it was indirectly attributable, and in many cases the benefit of any doubt should be extended to them. “I make a very sincere appeal to the Minister in charge of the Pensions Department for more generous and sympathetic consideration for them,” he added. Some anomalies in the free place system were pointed out in the House of Representatives bv the member for Manukau (Mr W. J. Jordan). During the latter part of last year, he said, many children who had won free places could not be admitted to secondary schools in Auckland, or to the technical college, because these institutions were overcrowded. They were told that if any vacancies occurred later on they would be admitted. It appeared, however, that children who were admitted, say, two months after the beginning of the school year, were absolutely debarred by the regulations from obtaining senior free places—no matter how well qualified they might otherwise be. The regulations required a child to spend two complete years at a secondary or technical school, and as these children, through no fault of their own, were unable to put in the full time they were debarred from receiving further free tuition. Another anomaly was the fact that a child who changed from one school to another in the first two years, perhaps because its parents removed t) Another town, was also ineligible for a senior free place, because it had not spent the whole time at one school. Again a child which could not obtain admission one year was told that it might enter the next year, but the delay often meant that tho child on completing two years’ study was over 10 years of age, and though blameless so far as the delay was concerned it was debarred from obtaining a senior free place. He was sure that such an anomalous state of affairs was not in accordance with the views of the present Minister of Education, and he hoped that the matter would receive attention. In the House on Friday Mr Geo. Forbes, In the House to-night Mr George Forbes, Leader of the National Party, pleaded for seme system of superannuation for exr'embers of Parliament. He said he did not liko to see votes for ex-members or ex-members’ widows appearing year after year on the Estimates. Somo provision should be made for the did servants of the publio who had spent years of their life in Parliament, as in their old age often they or their widows found difficulty in existing at all. Mr Forbes referred to the heavy cost of the elections and other expenses which members of the House of Representatives had to bear. He suggested an increase in the salaries of members.— (“Hear, hear.”) The expenses were in creasing to such an extent that many of them could not continue in Parliament and pay their way. Tie cost of advertising at elections was heavy, and took a good deal of a member’s pay. Protests against the demands of the Government Statistician upon those engaged

in industries for more and more statistics are growing, and several references to the subject have been made in the House of Representatives this session. Mr H. Holland iChristchurch North) emphasised the point on Friday. lie said the demands were quite unreasonable and in some instances would require the services of a clerk to devote time lo them. The demand was made for statistics regarding the wages paid to every employee, the hours worked in overtime, how much was paid for it how many days short time were worked and the reason for it, how much iron, brass, and timber were used, and what kind of timber it was, where it was got from, and how much was paid for it.—(Laughter.) In his own industry the Statistician wanted to knovy about sheet steel. Sometimes he cut 6in off and the Statistics Department wanted to know how much he used. He did not think the Statistician got that information. It impossible to give it. In the general discussion on the Estimates in the House of Representatives on Friday the Hon. D. Buddo (Kaiapoi) stated that the roads in the South Island were worse than ever he had seen them, notwithstanding the Highways Board. Mr J. Mason (Napier) expressed surprise at the statement, and stated that the very reverse was the case in the North Island. He expressed the opinion that the amount being expended on the main highways was fully justified. Anyone who travelled from Wellington, via the Wairarapa or the Manawatu, to Napier would see an immense improvement in the roads. There were now miles and miles of bitumen and tarsealed roads. The grades had been improved and new bridges had been provided. It was the same through to Wairoa. An immense improvement had been made under the highways scheme. This was going to be of great benefit to many, including the farming community. Mr J.. Mason (Napier), in the House on Friday made a plea for the introduction of salmon into the Hawke’s Bay rivers, especially the Nuhaka, which, he said, would be well adapted for salmon. Experts were amazed by the progress made by salmon in the South Island Rivers in a comparatively short time. He w r as convinced that in a few years there would be a. very important salmon fishery in this country. He noted that only £ISOO was on the Estimates in connection with the stocking of rivers for this year, and he expressed the opinion that the amount should be increased.