SESSION NOTES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2026, 12 August 1920, Page 23 (Supplement)

SESSION NOTES.

JOTTINGS FROM THE GALLERY. PRIVATE MEMBERS HAVE A DAY OUT. [From Our Own Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, August 11. Private in embers' day in the House of Representatives is rarely heavy. Those who have Bills on the Order Paper are very serious and businesslike, but their colleagues on both sides of the House frequently poke fun. Tho Government tolerates the whole performance as a necessary evil. To-day was perhaps more businesslike than the average Wednesday, since one of the private members' Bills concerned received Government support. For the rest, one passed its second reading without debate, another was read a second time pro forma, a third collapsed in committee, and-a fourth was killed by its own father. This last was the War Pensions Amendment Bill, introduced by Mr A. Harris (Waitemata). It proposed the setting-up of a War Pensions Appeal Board, but as the Government is now going to do this, Mr Harris moved to report progress immediately the House went into committee on the Bill. It was a Bill standing in the name of Mr T. M. Wilford (Hutt), dealing with native lands, that was read a second time pro forma. The rest of the afternoon was taken up by debates on petitions and • a discussion on the questions and replies which had been circulated. State Bank Bill Killed. On the motion of the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey), the Dominion State Bank Bill, introduced by Mr W. A. Veitch (Wauganui), which was ruled out of order as an appropriation, was struck off the Order Paper. Mr Veitch divided the House on the point and received the support of the Liberals, but was still defeated by 35 votes to 23. Postage on Newspapers. Mr J. Edio (Bruce) has given notice to ask' the Minister of Finance (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) whether he will so alter the postage on newspapers as to bring it back to not greater than 3d, and to make up the deficiency thus, caused by increasing the stamp duty on a sliding" scale, namely, from £2 to £25, 2d; £25 to £SO, 2}d; £SO to £IOO, 3d; and so on, charging 3d extra for every -£IOO or fraction of £IOO. The member for Bruce points out that the increase of postage means the penalising of backblocks settlers, by making them pay a, 50 per cent, increase in the cost of a paper, as compared with the city! dweller. Railway Expenditure. Dr H. T. J. Thacker (Christchurch East) is apparently out "gunning" for Auckland, since he is asking the Minister of Railways (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) what amount of the "Hiley layout" moneys have been- spent in the. Auckland Province to date. To Prevent Pigeon Shooting. One of the private members' Bills read a second time in the House of Representatives to-night was the Police Offences Amendment Bill, standing in the name of Mr C. E. Statham (Dunedin Central), which aims at preventing live pigeon-shooting competitions. There was no debate on the second reading, which was passed without opposition. A Good Working Session. Two new Government Bills were read a first time in the House of Representatives to-day, making 29 that have been introduced this Session. Of these, 13 have passed all stages. "It is the best Parliament you have ever had,'' said Mr H. Atmore (Nelson) when the Prime Minister gave these facts to the House. "I believe it is," agreed Mr Massey. "That is my honest opinion. I believe it has done more work in this time than any other Parliament in my experience." "And a no-confidence debate thrown in!" remarked Mr R. McCallum (Wairau).

"Yes!" returned the Prime Minister. "Such as it was! But that was hardly worth while taking notice of." (Laughter.) Reform of Telephone System. '.-'I quite admit," said the Hon. J. G. Coates (Postmaster-General) in the House of Representatives to-day, '' that, so far as the present system of telephone charges is concerned, it is not a fair one at all." The operation of the present system, the Minister added, meant that the man who made most use of the telephone system got off very lightly. There was nothing that the Government was more anxious to bring about than a change in the system of charging for the use of the Dominion's telephone system. That change would be made as soon as they could bring in the measure svstem, which would consist of a Hat charge to begin with, and an additional charge of Id or id for every time the telephone was used. A meter would register that number. The adoption of the measure system would proportionately very much benefit those who were living right away from the centres. The Minister added that his departmental officers considered that any revision of the system of charging before the measure system could be introduced would be inadvisable, since it must be very intricate, and would only be a stop-gap since the Government intended to bring in the measure system at the earliest possible opportunity. Protection of Pood Parcels. Arrangements are to bo made for a shelf to be provided at all wayside railway shelter sheds where there is no officer in charge, so that foodstuffs may be placed beyond the reach of dogs. The Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey (Minister of Railways) has given that promise to Mr J. Horn (Wakatipu), who brought the matter up in the House of Representatives. The lion, member pointed out that food is at present left on the ground by officers of passing trains, and packages containing food, especially meat, are often torn by dogs. Motor Spirits from Potatoes. Following on his efforts io secure an investigation of the possibilities of manufacturing motor spirits from potatoes, Mr D. .Tones (Kaiapoi) lias received from the lion. W. Nosworthy (Minister of Agriculture) a copy of a report recently furnished by the. Director-General of Agriculture (Or (!. J. Reakos). Tho departmental head quotes Dr J. S. Maelaurin (Dominion Analyst) as having said in 1918 that one gallon of petrol is equal to, approximately, one gallon of absolute alcohol, when each is used in an engine designed for that class of fuel. One ton of potatoes should produce approximately 27 gallons of alcohol, at a then cost of about (id per gallon for manufacture. Working on this basis, Dr Ronkes proceeds: "A tou of potatoes should therefore produce, at a cost of 20/3 for manufacture (allowing 50 per cent, increase in cost over 1918), alcohol worth the price of 27 gallons of petrol, or say, £4 19/-, taking the retail price of petrol at 3/8 per gallon. That is to say, alcohol from a ton of potatoes should give a net return of £3 18/9, less the cost of the potatoes delivered at the factory, and less tht coat of Belling.

This return would not, in my opinion, enable the grower to obtain a sufficient price for tho potatoes on his farm to warrant his producing them for the purpose of being used as raw material for the manufacture of alcohol. The matter is however, of great importance, and I therefore propose to go into it more fully, in the light of conditions now existing." In this same connection, the Minister of Customs (Hon. Sir William Hemes) has informed Mr Jones that his department will not place any obstacle in the way of the manufacture of commercial alcohol from potatoes. Technical School Salaries. To-day, Mr T. M. Wilford (Hutt) asked if the Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) would consider the advisability of altering the basis of payment of technical school teachers, who are now not paid directly by the department but by their controlling boards, out of capitation. Mr Wilford pointed out that capitation fluctuated with the attendance. This last year there had been a falling off in tho attendance at some of of the larger schools, and the boards might, not be able to pay their teachers a bonus. Mr Parr replied that it was proposed to take some action in the direction indicated. Valuation of Workers* Dwellings. Some days ago, Mr G. Witty (Riccarton) asked the Minister of Lands (Hon. D. H. Guthrie) whether it is a fact that returned soldiers who wish to purchase a property have to pay £2 to the Valuation Department, whilst workers under the State advances scheme have to pay only 7/6, which covers inspection of buildings erected. If such is the case, Mr Witty asked, why the anomaly should exist. Replying to-day, Mr Guthrie said:— "The fees chargeable for valuations under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Regulations vary, as they are fixed on a sliding scale. The fee for advances exceeding £SOO is fixed at £2 2/-. Although the fee payable to the State Advances Office for the valuation of workers' dwellings is 7/6, additional fees of 7/6 are charged on each occasion that an inspection of such dwellings under construction is required for the purpose of making progress payments. The State Advances Office charges exactly the same fees as are prescribed under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement' Regulations for valuations of dwellings other than workers' dwellings, the limit for which is a loan of £750, as against £IOOO under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Regulations. When an application for a loan under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act is unsuccessful, provision is made whereby the .valuation fee with respect, to subsequent applications, may be reduced or dispensed with.

No Butter for Grocers. According to what Mr E. Masters (Stratford) told the House today, the dairy factories of Taranaki are refusing to supply grocers with butter at any price. The Hon. E. P. Lee (Minister of Industries and Commerce) promised to have the Board of Trade make inquiries. New Brighton Salt Project. Replying to-day to a question asked recently by Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) the Hon. E. P. Leo (Minister of Industries and Commerce) stated that the investigation by his department regarding the desirability of encouraging the production of marine solar salt at New Brighton would be undertaken as soon as possible. Ownership of "Samoa Times." Labour members of the House have alleged that the Government has purchased a controlling interest in the "Samoa Times." Replying to-day to Mr J. McCombs . (Lyttelton), the Hon. E. P. Lee (Minister 6f External Affairs) said that that was not so, as the Government had no interest whatever in tlie newspaper. It appears that the authority upon whom the Labour members were deBending was Mr H. J. Moors, of Apia, who has had a brochure on Samoau affairs published in Dunedin. In it he says that the local paper is partly owned by the Administration, and its utterances are thoroughly censored. Record Customs Receipts. The Customs revenue collected in New Zealand for the last financial year was £4,830,324. According to" a return tabled to-day, the nearest approach to last year's figures was in 1916-17, when tho Customs revenue amounted to £3,849,675. For the year ended March 31, 1900, the Customs revenue was £2,107,567, but that figure ,has been exceeded in every year since the three million mark was first reached in 1908, when the return was £3,103,565. Since 1910, no year has returned less than £3,000,000. The Hotop Case.

There was an echo of tho now notorious Hotop case in the House this afternoon. The Public Petition M to Z Committee reported on the petition of H. 11. Thompson, of Wellington, praying for compensation for_ alleged wrongful imprisonment by the military authorities. This petitioner was Corporal Thompson, who was convicted by court-martial of knowingly making a false statement, that statement being that Captain Hotop, N.Z.M.C, was under the influence of liquor when he examined Thompson. The ex-corporal asks that all record of his crime bo oxpunged from the military records, and that he receive some monetary compensation. The committee recommended the petition to the Government for favourable consideration. In the ensuing debate, many hon. members backed up that recommendation. The Hon. Sir Heaton Rhodes (Minister of Defence) said that, owing to absence from the Dominion, he was not conversant with the facts of the case, but he would have inquiries made, and take into account the committee's representations. Rate of Interest. "Will tho Government tliis Session introduce legislation to enable local authorities and educational institutions to borrow money at a higher rate than 5 A per .cent.? "'asked Mr T. K. Sidey (bunedin South). The Minister of Finance (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) replied I hat legislation would not be required for the purpose indicated. The rate of interest, except an overdraft, was now under the control of tin? Government. The Government had done everything possible—and would do everything possible—to keep the rate of interest down to a reasonable rate. If the Government were to give way in connection with the many requests being made for permission to borrow at a higher rato of interest, they would have interest up to 8 per cent, in a very short time, and that would not be good for anyone—he doubted if even for those who received it. The financial condition of the coun-

try was perfectly sound —as compared with that of other countries, probably the soundest of all—and it was his duty, as Minister of Finance, to keep it in that satisfactory position so far as was possible. Soldiers at Cashmere. In the House of Eepresentati ves, Mr .1. MeCombs (Lyttelton) drew the attention of the- Minister of Defence to the request of patients in the Cashmere Military Sanatorium for a telephone which would be available to them at any hour of the day or night. The Hon. Sir Heaton Khodes said that he had given his officers to understand that he would like to see the telephone installed if the health of the patients could be safeguarded. In a report on the matter, Dr G. ,1. Blackmore had pointed out that, with a certain class of patient using the telephone and hearing exciting news suddenly, there was danger of a haemorrhage. Also, there was the risk of infection. It had been suggested that that could be overcome by placing a piece of gauze over the mouthpiece, but the gauze would have to be renwed after every use of the telephone. Hon. members would realise that the gauze would hardly be changed every time, unless someone was standing over the telephone to see that that were done. The Minister added that he had asked the A.D.M.S. to consult with Dr Blackmore when he next visited Christchurch, to see if it would not be possible adequately to safeguard the health of the men, while still allowing them a telephone. His first thought must be for the health of the men.

Mr McCombs: They use one telephone now, but it is not conveniently situated. Sir Heaton Rhodes: No! The hoi), member is wrong! Mr McCombs: I have seen them using it! Sir Heaton Rhodes: When I have rung them up I have always been told that I could not speak to any patient personally, and a nurse has spoken for him. America Again! In America, some of the savings banks will guard War Bonds free of charge. All that the holder has to do is to open an account by depositing one dollar. His bearer bonds, which he enn then hand to the bank for safe custody, are available to him whenever he desires them. Those facts were represented to the Government by Mr T. M. Wilford (Hutt). The hon. member asked if something of a similar nature could rot be done in this country, for all who wore not clients of the general banks had to make private provision for holding their War Bonds. The Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey (Minister of Finance) said that he would have the matter looked into to see if the present position could not be improved on. Mr Jones Scores. "What is a small income?" interjected Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central), when Mr D. Joues (Kaiapoi) was speaking. "A small income," came tho reply, •'is probably what you would be able to earn." (Laughter.)