PARLIAMENT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 221, 22 October 1914, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

NEARING tHE END. PROGRAMME FOR REMAINDER OF SESSION. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS. [From our own Parliamentary Beporter.J WELLINGTON, October 21. The programme for the remainder of the .session was outlined in the Houses to-day by the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey). Mr Massey said that he • had previously intimated that he -would take, the House into the confidence of the Government with regard to the Bills to be proceeded with Joefore the session ended. Sir Joseph Ward:. Strike out the ones you don't want. Mr Massey: I want them all. I am simply letting some of them stand over till next session. (Opposition laughter.) ] One of the Bills would be the Legislative Council Bill. . „' .•'! Sir Joseph Ward: Are you going: to -' put it through with proportional' repre-j sentation without the. country quota? j Mr Massey: The Bill is going on the J Statute Book—l don't say without j amendment. I shall take any reasonable amendment. Other Bills to be gone on with were: — . Workers' Dwellings Amendment Bill. | Land Laws Amendment. - State Advances Amendment. Wage 3 Protection and Contractors' Liens Amendment/ Taien Land Drainage. New Zealand University. River Boards AmendmentRailways Improvement-Authorisation. Mr Russell: So vou're going on with the Hiley Bill? " - Mr Massey: Certainly. It"is a highly important -arid necessary Bill. He had received numerous, requests, especially from Canterbury, asking .that the Bill be proceeded with, and protesting against the attitude of the Opposition. (Laughter.) He proposed to Tatify the main proposals made by Mr Hiley. Mr Russell: But you said that there was no earthly' hope of raising the money. Mr Massey: The outlook is certainly not exceedingly hopeful. The money may be needed for more urgent purposes even if it can be raised! Other Bills to be proceeded with were: — Native Land Amendment. / Legislature Amendment. Orchard and Garden Diseases Amendment. Medical Practitioners. ' Shipping Documents During War. Land Agents Amendment. The Local Grants and. Subsidies Bill would' be held over till next session. So "would the Master and Apprentice Amendment Bill. The latter was not necessary now, because emigration was practically suspended. The rest of the Bills on the Order Paper to be held ovei would be:— Criinesi-Amendment. >.- -, . c ,„„« ...-. Motor Bill. 1 " ----■. Defamation. \ Magistrate 'aCourts. :■- Religious Instruction in Schools. / Referendum BilL Conk Islands (Shipping). The rest of the Bills on the Order Paper, being private Bills, would necessarily have to be dropped. Mr M'Combs: What about the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment and Industrial Unions and Trade Unions Enabling Bill? -Mr Massey: I qualified promise that these Bills would have a chanee. As they have reached .their, third-.'reading--stage'l shall give an opportunity for their consideration. Sir Joseph Ward: What about the increase in the graduated land tax which you promised yesterday on the Land Bill?..■:■■'.-■ Mr Massey: That will be in the programme for next session. Improvable land must not be held in an unimproved condition. ... Mr Russell: Will that apply to Government lands? Mr Massey: Surely the hon. gentleman does not propose that the Government should tax itself? Other Bills to be considered which were not on the Order Paper would be the Cook Islands Bill and the Loan Bill which would be discussed in connection with the Public Works Statement. There were also two Washing-up Bills which were not of a contentious nature. Opposition members: Aren't they? Mr Massey: No. although I will say one is of a fairly' lengthy* character. There were also several small non-contentious Bills which had not yet been printed, and also, of course, the two Mining Bills, v..-. Sir Joseph Ward: What about a Local Navy Bill? (Laughter.) Mr,Massey: No. But recently we have had proof enough that the naval defence of the Dominion must be con-j siderably increased. , Mr Isitt: Not hy way of a local navy. Mr Massey: We will hear no more of the "tin-pot navy." If ever I can tell my experiences of the last few wCeks, I will be able, to convince everyone of the need for a local navy. Mr Massey -continued that he would ask the House to sit om-Saturday forenoon or evening to take Local Bills. Opposition members: Why not Saturday week? Mr Massey: If the right hon. the Leader of the Opposition wants to go to the races — Sir Joseph Ward: I;want to see a gentleman who is very anxious to stand for one of your seats. Mr Massey: If there is no obstruction we should be able to finish by the following Saturday. AN OPPOSITION PROMISE. Sir Joseph Ward said that so far as his side of the House was concerned, they were ready to expedite business in every possible way. (Government laughter.) If no business of a contentious nature were brought down they would give the Government every assistance. However, one of the most contentious Bills was on the Order Paper that night. There was considerable diversity of opinion on some of its points. They realised that it could not come into operation until after next Parliament. Why then such a hurry? He wanted to know why the Bill should come on this session before it had been before the country? The rest of the business could be got through in two days if the Prime Minister restrained some of the talkative members on his own side. Mr Massey. said that he was sorry that the Leader of the Opposition proposed that they should postpone the Legislative Council Bill, which had at

last been passed by the Council after thre#ye'aT&* 'The Bill an so far a« soa*e minor proposals were concerned was an experiment. He .could see no ..earthly reason -why it should not be fully considered by members during the recess, and then, if necessary, it could be amended next session. He was vary strongly of the opinion that the principle of the Bill should be agreed to this session, and the Bill put on the Statute Book. Sir Joseph Ward said that it was commonly rumoured that the Prime Minister proposed to make a number of new appointments to the Council between this' and the elections. Mr Massey: Oh, no! Sir Joseph Ward: Well, it is coram only reported. 1 think I am entitled to ask the question. Hon. F. M. B. Fisher: Yon can as3v it, but you mightn't get an answer. Sir Joseph Ward: Well, is it proposed to make appointments before the election? Mr Massey: I am net responsible for rumours in circulation regarding' proposed Legislative Council .appointments.' No proposal to .appoint new members to the Council has been -considered by the .present Government—l will go as far as that. Sir .Joseph Ward: The practice of your predecessors has not been to make appointments to the Council immediately before an election. I "want, the Prime Minister to remember that. (Lend laughter.) QUESTION BAY. A POSTPONEMENT. Although Wednesday afternoon is usually set aside for the discussion of Ministers' replies to questions, the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) today asked the House to postpone consideration of the questions for a day or two. The answers were not to the questions of last week, but of the week before. He promised the House an opportunity of discussing them a few days later, andthought that that would be better than wasting two hours to-day* Sir Joseph Ward (Leader of the Opposition) remarked that the first. Bill on the Order Paper was the Legislative Council Bill. He could promise that if the Bill came on there would be some considerable discussion on the short title. He had several important' amendments to move, and as the notice .given of the intention to bring on the Bill had been very short, he had had no time to consult with members of his party regarding them. He had thought that perhaps the Bill had been killed for the session. (Laughter.) He suggested that consideration of the Bill should be held over till the evening. * , The Prime Minister said that he had no objection to postponing the Bill till 7,30 p.m., although he saw no great reason for it. The Bill had been before Parliament not only since the beginning of the session, but for three years. Many members had spoken on the second reading, and he thought they ought to understand the measure. , Mr Isitt: It takes a good deal of understanding. ' Mr Massey: I don't see that. It's a very simple Bill. (Laughter and jeers.) I've never- seen a better drafted Bill before the House. (Laughter.) WORKERS' DWELLINGS. ' THE MEASURE PASSED. Tile Workers' Dwellings Amendment Bill was considered in Committee. Mr Witty asked the, Prime Minister to consider the advisability of the State itself building the. houses. Some of the work done by contractors was not as good as it might be. Mr Massey said he doubted whether the State could do the work as cheaply as the local contractors, but he was quite willing to try the experiment when the opportunity offered. Mr Veitch said "that'it -was an undoubted fact that very poor timber had been put into some of the houses recently. He suggested that some of the "totara now sold from the Railway Department's sawmills should : be supplied to the contractors at cost price. The Bill was reported without amendment, read a third time, and passed. LAND LAWS AMENDMENT. A NEW CLAUSE. In committee on the Land Laws Amendment Bill, Mr Witty moved to delete clause 9a, which enables lessees of ordinary lease-in-perpetuity land to obtain the freehold notwithstanding the limitation of area provisions. The clause was retained by 36 votes to 21. . Clause 12, "Lessee ?6f small grazing area may acquire the fee simple," was also challenged, but was retained by a majority of 19 votes. Mr Massey moved the addition of the following new clause: ; — (1) The Minister may, on the recommendation, of the Land Board, and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, postpone the payment of rent in respect of any small grazing run of settlement land for such period, not exceeding four months at any one time, as he thinks fit. (2) If the rent so postponed, together with interest thereon at the rate of 5 per centum per annum, is paid within one month after the expiry of the extended period, the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the Receiver of Land Revenue may grant to the lessee the same rebate as if the rent had been paid within one month after the day appointed in the lease for the payment thereof. (3) This section shall be deemed to have been in force as from the commence- j ment of the first day of September, 1914, J and shall continue in operation until the 31st day of August, 1915. The clause was agreed to. LOAN BILL INTRODUCED. THREE MILLIONS WANTED. The Aid to Public Works and Land Settlement' Bill was introduced by Governor's Message. Sir Joseph Ward: How much is the Loan Bill for? The Hon. James Allen: Three millions. Sir Joseph Ward: That makes £9,200,000 you have borrowed. Mr McCallum: You 're getting on. The Bill was read a first time, and the House rose at 1.25 a.m.