PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15320, 16 September 1920, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS.

rRFt.ItOT 0 TFMP7ATIO'-

(From Our Vnrliamcntavy Reporter.' j WELLINGTON; lb** ** ay * I What is described as a disquieting feature of the discharged soldier settlement, referred to m tlie Department's annual report, is the tendency, to sell out at a profit. Under the Act and regulations an advance may lie made up to £1000 t . enable a soldier to acquire a residence. In many cases properties have been secur-i ed at bedrock value, owing to tlie cart exercised by the Land Boards. In some cases, however,- soldiers are already selling houses at a profit to civilians 01 men not entitled to benefits under Dis charged Soldiers' Settlement Act, and arranging for the repayment of the Government loans. The latter procedure is of course necessary when the purchaser is' not a discharged, soldier, but it is regrettable that the efforts of the Government to provide soldiers with homes Of their own are not more appreciated, and that purchasers cannot resist an offer which enables Ihcm to sell at a profit. To a limited extent, says the report, fh<ne have been sinn'l-v dealings with farms purchased m tlie *;a.ii_i manner, snd it is unfortunate, to say the least, that wht-n- discharged soldiers are placcti upon holdings which will ali'ord them a comfortable subsistence they should sell out within a year or so; and be once more, looking for land, adding to the trafficking- which has been so noticeable a feature m land transactions during the last, few years- The above cases peter entirely, to the purchse of freehold land by means of Government advances, where the Crown has no,. power to impose restrictions. It is different when the Crown owns the land and allots it to eligible soldiers, who are then bound, by restrictions contained m section 11 of the Dis charged Soldiers' Settlement Act, 1915. which prevents land being transferred, except with the. consent of 'the Land Board and the approval of the Minister. nntil 1 the expiration of ten years after the date, of disposal. to the ' soldier. . MUNICIPAL LAW. The Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill wasv reported from the Select Committee with a large number of amendments. It was explained by Mr. Luke,, chairman of the committee, that a number of other -amendments 'Involving policy questions had been referred direct .to. Cabinet,, and wo\ild come up when the Bill was considered .by the House m committee. The Bill, as amended by the. Select Committee, contains changes, it provides that where «i vacancy m a borough r.onnciV occurs within six months of a biennial election, the council may resolve not to fill it.- Councils arc given power to make a special valuation of new. buildings and , make a special drainage rate not exceeding Cd m the •£, It is important, m view, of new. taxing legislation, to note that a fresh clause defines "trading 'undertaking" to mean any tramway service, ferry service, or other service for the conveyance of passengers or. goods, any. gas ot -electric light undertaking; and any power supply undertaking, and includes such other undertakings as -may from time to time be declared by the Governor-Gencral-in-Coun-cilto.be trading undertakings. Councils may establish accident funds to meet claims arising out of any trading undertaking, also to establish reserve and renewal funds which may be invested m Government securities or places on deposit. A new procedure is to be established m connection with the inclusion m a borough of adjoining lands not already within a borough. The council pro ceeds by petition fo the Government, who may set up a commission of inquiry If its report is favorable the boundaries may be altered as it recommends. Th< Bill prrtposcs io give power to a mayoi instead of a council to authorise enter tainments on a Sunday, Good Friday, oi Christmas Day, but the mayor may dele gate this duty to any member of tht counc 'I. Firewood has been added to tht list of commodities m which « council may trade, these, comprising coal, coke and other products from coal. Sub divisions of land within a .borough, ac cox-Wing to another new clause, are to be _i_bjoct*io the approval of the council The clause states that; where any pcrsoi holding any land m a borough 'propose* to sell or tease part thereof, a plan oi subdivision showing th'p. several allot ments and their dimensions, streets, ant reserves (if 1 any) proposed to .be made and shall be approved by the council be fore any part of the land is disposed of m any stlch case the council may, be fore approving the plan of subdivision require, the owner to make further pro vision for the construction of streets oj the making of reserves, or may requir< other Alterations. Any person aggrievot hy th& decision of the council may ap peal to a board, Which consists of tht Surveyor-General or other qualified sur veyor m the service of the Crown, arte of two other persons. Any infringemeni of this section is punishable <_iy a fin< up to. £100. A section empowering the making of by-laws enables a borough tt prohibit the use of .-second-hand timbei m building. Another provision is tha the license fee for a hawker or pedlai who sells only perishable articles o1 human food shall not exceed ten shilling! a year, and m case qf any other hawkei or pedlar not exceed £1 a year. •FRISCO SERVICE. . . .COOK ISLANDS PREJUDICED. • The member for Gisborne '(Mr. Lysnar; has asked, tlie Prime. Minister, to inforrr the House of the terms and conditions upon which the New Zealand Government Subsidise the steamer service* froni JNew Zea'and to San Francisco via Tahiti arid Cook Islands; also utfll he take steps tt soe that New Zealand firms trading at Rarotonga are provided with a reasonable amount of cargo space m each boat from Tfarotonga to . San Francisco. ,' He states thru one New Zealand firm has been desirous of getting cargo space for abou r.(i ions a month, representing a total ol about eon tons a year, from Rarotonga to San Francisco, but so far they hav<

* I only succeeded m getting away about | .0 (ons. He wa? informed tho* Fronch ! !"ov*. iTiiur-iit aro ai.;.) "iil.v- !.l..iii.--r the samo j "viii"* of H.Wiinri^ bui hay.- provided mj. connection with tbr subsidy tim lODOr ton.-' measurement murt be reserved fort' Tahiti, and the ship must stay there SM hours. It i*. feared that this "acts detrimentally fo Cook Island exporters. It is ; ■ nito clear that Cook Islanders are laboring "under a disadvantage. MARRIAGE BILL. The, Marriage Amendment Bill has been referred with its amendments id th* House of Representatives fur approval, but the .question is not ,'Jjkely io he decided for several weeks. The ma; ter wa.i referred to Ivy Mr. Wilford, leadi.r.of the • Opposition, who 'suggested (speaking, he, explained, for his patty, who had con- ; sidered the inattei; that a soh el. com-; mittee of the House be set up to receive ' evidence for aud apains: ilv* new clause. ' Suc_ pfocedure would .enable mcniber.-; to more fairly exercise their judgment. Whether they would approve ov disagree with tlie amendments, they ought to be m a position to understand the argu-. ments for and against. Mr. Massey replied that the Bill was m the hands of Mr. .Speaker. He had already considered the idea of referring the amendment to a committee to take evidence, but the difficulty was that committee work .va;; * heavier than he had ever seen it I-iore. .However, within a fortnight some eoinmi'U^es would- have . finished their duties, find would he propared to undertake other duties. There was a possibility of amendments being referred to the Statutes Revision Committee, but he had not yet looked into the position. He would not be able to L-et the nui arid clause before the House for a fortnight or three weeks, and by ■hat time he would make up his mind whether it was desirable to , refer the - matter to a select committee. ' Mr. Wilford /suggtsted that . as the Statutes Revision Committee was comprised principally of lawyers, who discussed the construction of the Bills ratMer than anything else, it would be an unsuitable committee to consider the matter. WOOL CLIP MARKETING. The Premier was asked by Mr. Forbes what is being done tb enable next season's wool, clip to be handled to the best, advantage. Everyone, he said. Knew of the chaotic condition of the market, and wool-growers were anxious: to know if .everything which was. possible. by way of Government, assistance or organi-ation- - would be d6ne to prevent any slump. Mr. Massey replied- that the sheepfarmers had set up a representative committee to act for them m regard to the disposal of the clip. He was preparing an official statement which- '-would show the position up to date. He would submit this to the House oh Thursday. . STUBBORN LEASEHOLDERS. A. third attempt to get laid on. the table a report approving of the granting' of the freehold of certain Te Aroha areas held tinder mining lease ended abortively yesterday afternoon. A motion was proposed at the conclusion of a discussion on the Rotoma-Taupo railway, and there was then only some twenty minutes left for discussion* Messrs. Savage and Isitt maintained a voire of protest during that period* without throwing any new light cm the debate, and when the House adjourned the report still occupied its' position amongst interrupted debates on the order paper.— Parliamentary Correspondent. WELLINGTON, lasr night. In answer to a question by Mr. Hudson the Hon.-^W. Nosworthy said he had not heard of any proposal to establish a shipping line between New Zealand ami New Orleans and Jamaica, but he would make inquiry into it. The Te Aroha Crown Leases Bill appeared again m the n.-use v-sterrtav afternoon, ahd' was talked out for the third time by leaseholders. This mn obviously is not goinjr to have an easy passage to the Statute r.nou _ Prrss . Xs **