PARLIAMENT AT WORK.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1924, Page 5

PARLIAMENT AT WORK.

MOTOR VEHICLES BILL. COMMITTEE TO HEAR EVIDENCE. WORK OF THE PRISONS, By Telegraph.-—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. to-day. Replying to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. T. M. Wilford), the Hon. C. J. Parr said the same amount cf Government subsidy would be paid to the teachers’ superannuation fun.l this year as was paid last year, viz., £68,000. The Government actually was being asked to report on a scheme by which teachers at the Blind Institute could come into the scheme. The Minister for Internal Affairs gave notice to move that the following committee be set up to consider evidence to be submitted by local bodies and other interested parties on the Motor Vehicles Bill: Messrs. J. Bitc’xener, K. Williams, R. A. Wright, G. Witty, 0. Hawken, A. J. Murdoch, P. A. de la Perrelle, M. J. Savage, J. W. Munro, the Hon. J. G. Coates and the mover. The committee is being appointed in accordance with a previous undertaking given by the Minister. It is understood sittings will begin next week.

Replying to the debate on the report of the Labour Department, the Hon. G. J. Anderson said it was most difficult at the present moment to find employment for clerks. Engineers were also very difficult to place, and about 50 per cent, of the applicants for employment were general labourers. Personally, he did not now believe in changing the constitution of the Arbitration Court. He was now satisfied that permanent assessors were the most satisfactory as assuring consistency in the court’s decisions. By far the most desirable form of negotiation in industrial disputes was before a conciliation commissioner, and in this connection he was pleased to say that last year the commissioners were able to settle or partly settle 92 per cent, of the cases which came before them, only 8 per cent, being referred wholly to the Arbitration Court.

Discussing the prisons report, the Hon. C. J. Parr said that as a result of twelve months’ administration of this department he was satisfied that the Prisons Department was doing most excellent work, and after Mr. Matthews (the officer in charge) was not able to make many suggestions as a result ot his recent visit of inspection to Australian prisons. A very serviceable system of classification was in force, and the results of the reformatory prison at Invercargill were most encouraging. For a period of eight years to 1923 739 youths had been committed to this prison, and of these only 47, or 6.8 per cent, had been re-committed. The debate on the sugar duty occupied the evening sitting, and the House rose at 10.47 p.m. till 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.