EXPENDITURE ON SOUTHLAND

Southland Times, Issue 23544, 25 June 1938, Page 8

EXPENDITURE ON SOUTHLAND

Mr Hamilton Regards Amount As Fair

LOCAL BODIES ADVISED NOT TO BE PAROCHIAL

A suggestion that local bodies in Southland should not be parochial in their demands to the Government through their members of Parliament was made by the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) at the Southland Progress League’s annual luncheon to members of Parliament, representatives of local bodies and business men yesterday. Mr Hamilton added that Southland had not much to complain of and was getting its fair share of the public expenditure. There was a big attendance at the luncheon, which was held in the Rosewood tea rooms. The Mayor (Mr John Miller) presided. In proposing the toast of “The New Zealand Parliament,” the Mayor said that they ought to be proud of the fact that Parliament largely followed British democracy and that the laws were mostly based on the laws of England. In the House of Representatives matters vital to the well being of all classes in the Dominion received their final settlement. Some of the laws on the Statute Books were considered good and some bad, but none was as bad as some of the laws of other countries. It was as well to remember that it was the member’s privilege to represent and carry out worthily the people’s will.

The Hon. T. O’Byrne, M.L.C., in reply, congratulated the league on its work during the year. The people of Southland, he said, recognized it as one of the finest organizations in the province. He mentioned that in a few days’ time Parliament would be opened in the Legislative Council by the Governor-General who, as the King’s representative, was not allowed in “the other place,” as they called the House of Representatives. In the early days of the British Parliament the King was allowed to go into the House, but some of the members who expressed opposition to his views incurred the royal displeasure and suffered for it. “The ball will soon be in the scrum,” Mr O’Byrne added, “and when it is you will see our friend the Hon. Adam Hamilton having a kick at it. They say the intelligence of Parliament is the intelligence of the people, and I congratulate the people of New Zealand on the very high standard of their intelligence.” FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT The Hon. T. F. Doyle, M.L.C., said that Parliament was the finest and largest organization in New Zealand, and it was interesting for new members to see how it conducted the business of New Zealand. It had been said in the past that Parliament interfered with private enterprise, but he did not think that was true; it was only where industry fell by the way that the State stepped in. It had been said also that the Parliament of New Zealand was a dictatorship. That was not true and it could never be true while the people of this country had the opportunity to choose the men they sent into Parliament. “We stand four square for a constitutional means of electing a democratic Government such as we have at the present time,” he added. He concluded by saying that he would be only too pleased to co-operate with Southland members of Parliament to advance the interests of Southland.

Mr Hamilton congratulated the Mayor on being re-elected president of the league. Mr Miller, he said, had done good work, and controlling the league Was not an easy job, as there was a variety of interests to serve. He had told the Mayor before the conference two years ago that he did not know what the league was going to ask for on that occasion, but everything it had asked for before it had got

Mr Hamilton said that members of Parliament who did not support a local claim because they did not think it was in the national interests were often in a difficult position. If the same claims were made all over New Zealand Parliament was faced with a big responsibility. He thought Southland was doing fairly well from the central authority and was getting its fair share of the public expenditure. He did not think it had much to complain of on that score, as it had had a wonderful lot in the past few years. He pointed out that it was the people who had to carry the responsibility. It was not Parliament, but the people who governed it, and if Parliament did not do what they wanted it to they had to realize that they had put it there. Good government was all they wanted, but they would never get it unless the people put forward sound progressive claims.

“You may think if you put a party out you have punished it,” Mr Hamilton said, “but it is the people who pay in the end.” He warned the league and the local bodies not to be too parochial, but to keep in mind national interests. There were some parts of

New Zealand that were very parochial and some of their demands on local members were impossible. SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY Mr W. M. C. Denham, M.P., agreed that some of the local bodies were a little too parochial. Southland was a wonderful province, but it had its problems, one of which was the supply of electricity. He was satisfied that the right thing to do was to supply all the local bodies with electricity, and at half the price they were paying today. The present price constituted a great difficulty to Southland, and he thought the policy of local bodies buying electricity and selling it at a big price to relieve the rates was a very shortsighted one. Mr Denham said that there were times when individual interests got to that stage when, if there were not some form of interference by the State, they would act to the detriment of the community at large. “We as a Parliament,” he said, “while preserving the rights of private enterprise hold that when it slips down and people are left in need—as in housing—the State will have to step in and preserve the interests of the people as a whole.” Mr Charles Campbell proposed the toast of “The Press,” which was replied to by the editor of The Southland Times, Mr R. Lund.