Parliament

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10, 3 December 1918, Page 3

Parliament

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Per Press Association, s Wellington, December 2 The House met at 2.30.

REPLIES TO QUESTIONS

In reply to Mr Witty, Hon. G. W. Russell said the hospital and charitatble aid. boards were fusing asked to collect information regarding cases of distress arising out of the influenza epidemic, and the Government’s policy in connection therewith would be made known in a few days.

Replying to Mr Lee, Mr Massey said the Government was making inquiry into the cost of motor lorries from the Home authorities, with ft view to securing a number to supply the requirements of local bodies. Local bodies were also being asked to say what their requirements were.

Replying to Dr Newman, Mr Massey said New Zealand’s interests in connection with Narew Island would not be* neglected when the Minister of Finance and himself were at the peace conference. It was-not (true that a London trading company had purchased all the Germans’ rights in connection with that island. These rights could, not he sold either by Germany or Britain. The fate of the island would now ho settled at the peace conference.

Replying to Mr Poole, Hon. G. W. Russell said the Makura was being detained under clause 118 of the Public Health Act, as there were several cases of influenza on hoard. \ Replying to Mr Witty, Mr Russell said the question of compensating shopkeepers, etc., whose businesses had been closed owing to the influenza epidemic would be laid helore Cabinet at an early date.

Replying to Dr Newman, Sir James Allen said the widow of any soldier who had been to the front, and who died as the result of influenza, could claim a pension if it could be shown that death was.in any way aggravated by. service at the front, such as. a soldier returning in broken health.

ANTI-SLUMS AGITATION. The Sanitary Dwellings Bill was introduced by Dr Thacker, who signed to prevent the growth of slums in the cities of the Dominion.

Mr 'Russell said the proposals in Dr Thacker’s Bill would be carefully considered when an amendment to the Public Health Act was being framed.

Mr Poole said a sensible, up-to-date housing scheme would he a great blessing to our cities, and the expenditure of a million pounds in each centre would be a good investment, as the conservation of life was more important than the conservation of wealth. Mr Ell declared that local bodies had ample powers to keep their towns in ii sanitary condition if they only took the trouble to make by-laws for ithat purpose.

Mr Fraser- said our Ministers were going to Britain, and were evidently prepared to take on greater responsibilities, such as the care of Samoa, but he thought their first duty was to look after their own people at home. He was, at all events, certain that if the Samoans came to Wellington Central and saw the condition of affairs they would he by no means enthusiastic about coming under the control of New Zealand. Mr Parr said that none/of out cities, nor, indeed, many of' our larger boroughs, were anything to boast about, simply because Parliament had permitted the landowner and syndicate to plan our towns. The importance of making the worker comfortable in his home life lay very close to the root of the whole social problem. How was it possible to expect a contented democracy when a man had come homo from work and had to go into a miserable shanty with no pleasan,t surroundings ? Hon. J. A. Hamm, said our policy should be one which would take*, the people out of the towns and give them a healthy country life. Mr Payne said that what was wanted was quick transit into garden suburbs.

Mr Ma'ssoy said one would suppose (from the. remarks of some of* the

speakers that nothing had been done to prevent overcrowding in the past, hut the Municipal Corporations and j Public Works Act gave local bodies j all the powers required. It was true , that in some cities slums existed, but j power was in the Act to prevent them. Municipalities and county councils had power to raise money for the erection of workers’ homes, and! ■so could prevent over-crowding. The. war had, unfortunately, interfered with these operations, but this policy must be put into force again. I Cheap money must be found for work-, ers’ homes, and more must be made of our tram services and suburban < trains. So far as ho was concerned j he was prepared to do everything in his ;power to promote healthy living conditions.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC BILL.

The House resumed at 7.30

Sir Joseph Ward said that,, in, the light of the Dominion’s prospective financial operations, it was necessary to give local bodies power to take up this work, because for a long time to

come all the money available for development purposes of a national character would be required by the State for public works altogether apart from providing hydro eleetihpower. He doubted, if the Govern-

ment could go on the Loudon money market for several years, but there was room for local bodies to borrow in England, where, there were many financial houses which were prepared to find the comparatively small sums required. He understood the minimum loan which could be floated on the London market was a hundred thousand, and if local authorities wanted to borrow it would bo the duty of the Government to help them to obtain the money at a reasonable rate for authorised work.

Dr. Thacker - emphasised the value of electrical power for medical and industrial purposes.

Mr R. Newman welcomed this "effort to be placed in the hands of local authorities and to do what Hie Government obviously’ could not do at the present time owing to the great financial obligations before it.

Mr Anderson said it was very satisfactory to find the Bill gave a wide scope to local enterprise in order to provide cheap, power for industrial and social purposes. Mr Luke commended the Bill, hutasked the Government to give the House an. assurance that the operations of local bodies would be supervised by some thoroughly competent engineer, who would, see that the work undertaken by local bodies was thoroughly sound and carried out in keeping with the best engineering traditions.

The Hon. |A. .T. Ngnta said he did not like the Bill, which reminded him of a Maori proverb, “There is not enough food for the kiwi, 'how much the less for the wekaP” The Government had selected the rich districts for spheres of national, work, and left the, poorer districts to the local bodies. It was clear the Government only intended to carry out two schemes for the Noith Island—Mangahau, ' and ArapuuL, while Waikaremoana was side-tracked. Mr Ell hoped the financial outlook would not tempt the Government to shelve the larger schemes, and that care would be taken that the smaller schemes would be co-ordinated with the larger ones. V . Mr Brown wanted to see national schemes. Mr McCombs strongly objected to the basis on which the boards were constituted, and proposed to endeavor to amend this in committee. Mr Oraigie considered the Bill showed lack of courage arid lack Of vision. Sir Joseph Ward, in reply, said numbers who wanted national schemes in all directions did not realise that the net indebtedness of the Dominion had now risen to £145,863,450, on which the annual charges were now £6 888 632 in addition to which we shall have’to face this year an additional £19,000,000 for war purposes alone, to say nothing of five millions on the repatriation of soldiers and seven millions on the development of three national schemes of hydro-elec-tric power. In three .or four years our total indebtedness would amount to two hundred millions. These en ormous obligations made it prudent to let local bodies do work which it was obviously impossible for the State to undertake at the present juncture. The second reading was carried on the voices. Mr McCombs and Mr Fraser moved in committee amendments for broadening the franchise on which the hoards were elected, but they were lost cm the voices. The Minister proposed an amendment that the rate of interest on. any loan should not ho more-than 5i per cent unless the Minister approved of a higher rate. This was agreed to and the Bill was read a third time and passed. CRIMES ACT. The second reading was agreed vo, and the House rose till noon tomorrow.