THE SESSION.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 12100, 8 July 1920, Page 5

THE SESSION.

(By Telegraph-—“ Times” Special.) SPECIAL RAILWAY PROBLEMS, WELLINGTON, Last night.

. Questions which were referred hack by the Locomotive Association for interpretation by the Conciliation Council, have beefi satisfactorily settled. As the First Division questions have been decided acceptable to its officers, it only remains for the result of the Amalagamted Society’s ballot to be announced. It is predicted by those closely concerned, that 8000 men who voted are generally in favour of the terms. Thus the Government is relieved of further possrbilites of trouble in the railway service. COAL MINES DISPUTE. There still remains some points for dispute in connection with the coal mines agreement. Matters affecting four mines have been referred to a joint tribunal, over which the Premie;, will preside, on Saturday. It is understood that there are good prospects of an amicable agreement. SPECIAL BUTTER PRICES. “What steps will the Government take to prevent local increases in the price of butter in view of the high prices in .England,” asked Dr Newman of the Government to-day. The .Premier maintained in reply, that there was sufficient butter in store to sup-ply-the New Zealand requirement until September -1. —Dr Newman: But the trouble is that the price will ..go higher!—Mr Massey replied: The whole solution is that higher prices will bring more money into the country. Every man who wants work can get high wages. We have to be careful not to do any injustice to the producer, for* if he suffers, the whole country suffers. BROKEN HULL MINERS. A suggestion was made by Mr Holland that 2000 miners who were on strike at Broken Hill, should be transported to New Zealand to work in the coal and gold mines.-: The member for Buller undertook that the men would be promptly available so lopg as housing was provided as well as work. It was inconceivably better to bring these nlen from Australia instead of 10,000 miles from England. —The Premier replied that he would be pleased to bring the proposal before Cabinet. No doubt many details would have to be settled before the scheme could be carried out, but there was no question that miners were badly wanted. The country was suffering from a coal famine. Some of these men were quartz miners, and it was singular that under the mining law they were not entitled to enter a coal mine, though a coal miner could work in a quartz mine. He hoped to do something to remedy this anomaly. —Mr Holland assured the Premier that the miners he t spoke of could do either gold or coal mining 1 .

A RECENT RESIGNATION.

Criticism of the Price Investigation Committee by Mr C. Ellis, who resigned from the Christchurch committee, was brought under the Premier’s attention in the House by Sir H. Rhodes, who asked if Mr Ellis was justified in strongly condemning these bod ies.—Mr Massey replied that neither he nor any other Minister haa received communication from Mr Ellis, but if that gentleman had reason to believe that the tribunals were set up to hoodwink the public or for any other improper purpose, it was his duty to prove it by making his reasons public. —Mr Sullivan, member for Avon, subsequently remarked that if the Government had been serious over the establishment or these tribunals, it would have given them half a dozen assistants to make investigations, instead of allowing each committee one solitary officer. Large firms were extremely clever in concealing their profits, and it took accountants a long time to extract information from thenbooks. „ NO SHAM EIGHT FOR HIM! “Its a principle in war that you never make attacks unless you are going to get somewhere,” said Colonel Mitchell (Wellington South) during the No-Confidence debate.* “I don’t believe this motion will get us anywhere. It is the old party fight and I don’t propose to take part. I don t care who * occupies the Treasury benches, so long as we get things done. I have no interest in the noconfidence motion, and don’t propose to vote for it. The Government is not going fast enough, but don’t retard them. Give them a try at the fence before you say they won’t jump.” PARTY BOSS SYSTEM. Mr Veitch (Independent Labour) suggested to-night that the electors are tired of what he termed the party boss system in Parliament. He knew Independents were disliked, but the plople at last election desired to know something more than Avhat boss a candidate would follow. They had made up .th,eir minds to do away with the party boss system which had been the curse of New Zealand politics. He tvould stand against the party boss system, accepting the leadership of no man and serving only the electors of Wanganui. His view of the No-Confi-dence motion was that it was a party boss fight in which he was not concerned. OVERCROWDED TRAIN. By a means, of a question to the Minister of Railways for which he required an immediate answer, Mr Smith (New Plymouth) urged that a prompt improvement be made in the Wellington-New Plymouth mail train. It was, he said, frequently overcrowded, with the result that many women and children were obliged to get seats in smoking cars or sit on, their luggage in lavatories and* corridors. Th speed he contended, could easily be Improved and the journey shortened by an hour to an hour and a-half. Mr Massey advised the questioner to place the query on the: Order Paper so that the matter could be looked into carefully. DEBATE PETERING OUT. The No-Confidence debate seems close to the end. There seemed some difficulty about the supply of speakers to-night, but the discussion was sustained till 11.80,' when Mr Parr moved the adjournment.