Parliamentary Notes.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6144, 17 August 1891, Page 4

Parliamentary Notes.

"' Mr T. Mackenzie characterises building societies as blackmailing societies. The only persons who receive any benefits from them are the investors, whilst tho unfortunate borrowers are bled with high rates of interest;. — Mr Macclonald said that these companies did a great deal of good.— Hon. members : How ?— Mr. Macdouald :~By letting out money cheaply. (Roars of Oh !) Mr Mackenzie said he knew building societies which charged 10 and 11 percent on loant with good security.— Mr Tanner said these societies were generally manned by boards of men who could enter into competition with Shylock himself. — A motion to bring the mortgages of building sooieties under income tax was lost. Some rather novel provisions are embodied in the Workman's Lion Bill. It is not the same as tho Bill of lasb session, but is based upon one which was introduced into the Queensland Parliament by Sir Samuel Griffiths. Its proposes to give all contractors, sub-contractors, and workmen liens upon lands and chattels upon ■which they are engaged, to the value of any work done by them. The lien of a workman is not to exceed 30 days wages and the total liability of the property owner in respect of all liens of the various classes is not, except in cases of fraud, to exceed the contract price agreed upon between himself and the original contractor. A sub-contractor is to be entitled to a charge upon money payable to the superior contractor, and a workman to a charge on money due to any contractor or sub-con-tractor by whom he may be employed. Mortgages are to have priority over liens, if duly registered previous to tho date of contract under which the lion arises, unless the mortgagee is a party to the compact, in which case tho lien will come iirst. Liens and charges for wages will take precedence over those of sub-contractors, and the liens and charges of contractors will come next in order, but as between themselvss all three classes are to rank equally. One of the quite new features is that besides applying to building works, tho Bill is to affect mines, quarries, and excavations, and the erection of machinery. The Bill has gone to the Labor Bills Committee. Another most important change is the proposal that persons employed in agricultural or pastoral pursuits shall bo entitled to a lieu to the extent of six months wages upon the land upon which the work was done, and all the land held or engaged with it, or any live stock dopastured upon such land. TAX BILL IN COMMITTEE. With reference to tho mode of taxing companies who are located in tho colony, but derive part of thoir business from outside the colony (as for instance the Union S.S. Company) the Premier said next session he would place on the table regulations which would provide for this. Messrs Rolleston and Scobie Mackenzie protested against the mode of taxation being fixed by regulations of tho Govornor in Council. Ife should be a part of the Act. Local bodies are to be entitled to all tho information embodied in tho valuations under the Land Tax system, just as they have been in regard to the Property Tax. Parb of Schedule F is hard to understand. It reads : '* But in estimating the balanco of income liable to tax in the case of any business or employment, no sum shall be deducted therefrom for— (d.) Nor for any bad debts, except bad debts proved to he such to the satisfaction of the Commissioners." It was moved that sub-sec-tion d. be struck out— Mr Buckland : Are they debts a man owes or owing to him 1 (Laughter.) — Mr Hutchison : Good debts are not income a fortiori, bad debts are not income.— The motion was negatived. TAXING ABSBNTEE3. My opinion of tho absentee is that he is an animated drain, a vampire, draining the colony of its wealth, said Masterton'a representative. Captain Russell said that he considered it highly advisable that absentees should be induced to come to the colony, bub the whole policy now seemed to bo to drive capital from the colony and to call persons who owned land hard names. The very person upon whom odium had been cast by Mr Hogg for his holding land and living out of the colony (Mr Balfour) was the very person who taught the settlers that the Forty Mile Bush could bo profitably occupied. If they persisted in thoir tax they would neither have tho men nor their money. Mr Rolleston said the whole thing was to_- gratify the popular cry and would not work out. A person could come out and reside for a month and then go Homo and thus evade the tax. They could not tax a man that was Jiving away. Members seemed to think the absentees wore not taxed ; why tho rates in the schedule showed that they were taxed rather handsomely. He protested against using taxation for other purposes than revenue. Ho knew of people living away from the colony because of ill-health, and yet they spent much money in the colony. Ho knew of one man spending a deal of money on a property intending to send out: his son in a year or so as soon as ho ■was 21. Did they want to drive away that settler ? Mr Buckland said the worst absentee farmers were those who lived in Wellington and other cities and not on the land. They should place the tax on the waste unimproved land, and not on the people who had to live away from tho colony, perhaps on account of their health. Mr Macdonald, in stentorian tones, spoke about taxing the absentees till they go (with an accent on tho f/o). Immediately someone chipped in with a loud "going," and the House laughed afc the expense of the Wellington auctioneer. Mr W. Kelly proposed to strike out the word " colony " and mnko absentees people who reside outside- tho district, for in the Tauranga district tho absentees were men who lived in Canterbury and elsewhere. — Mr Buckland said they should nob single out a few men living outside tho colony and exempt companies and people ■who did not live on the land. Tho tax was almost equal to taxing bondholders. They were taxing people for their money in this colony.

Tho Salvation Army are appealing for L3OO to defray tho cost cf the new Roscuo Home purchased in Christchuvch. Believing that prevention is bettor than cure, the Army is now taking steps to look after the children, and General Booth has appointed Ensign and Mrs Honro to the direction of that work in Now Zealand. The Salvationists arc all on the gui vive for General Booth's advent. The Sydney branch of the Army have secured the Centennial Hall for his public reception and meetings. The students of "Cambridge University (Englaud) recently debated tho methods of the Salvation Army. The discussion was, on the whole, serious and sensible The vote showed well for the Army, which it supported hy a majority of 84 to 50.