HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 6062, 22 September 1894, Page 3

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The following concludes Thursday's sitting :— Clause 9 -A truant officer may proseoute, was altered so that prosecutions may be oonduoted on behalf of tha sohool oommittee instead of the Board. Clause 11 was amended to provide that penalties recovered under the Aot should go to Sohool Committees instead of Boards. Tbe Bill was reported as amended. In Committee on the Licensing Bill, m clause 1, the short title was agreed to acd progress then reported. The Inspection of Machinery Aot Amend* ment Bill, and the School Attendanoe Bill were put through their fiaal stages. In reply to a question the Premier said the financial policy Bills will be taken m Committee tonight. The House rose at 3 10 a.m. The House met at 2 30 p.m. THB TABIFF AND INDI.STBIBB. The Premier gave notice to move tbat the evidence and documents of the Tariff and | Industries Oommittee be treated as confidential. The Tariff and Industries Oommittee referred the application of Mr B M Smith, M.H.8., to the Government for their moe. favourable consideration. The applicant asked tbat ths Government should grant a subsidy of £1 for £1 up to £860 to the poople of Tsranaki to send one cr mora persons to England with ten tons of samples of iron to endeavour to form a company to work coal aud other mineral products of tho colony. . BANK AMALGAMATION. Ia reply to Mr O'Began Mr Ward said it was impossible just now to place before the House the present valuo and nature of the Colonial Bank and the Bank of New Zealand. The memorandum of amalgamation would not be referred to any Committee until the proposals had been considered by the Governmeat. Captain Bueeell pointed out that a meeting of ! shareholder was called for the 26th instant, and he asked when the proposals of the Government would be brought down. Mr Ward said they would be brought down before that meeting was held. A NBW IAND BILL. The Hon J McKenzie moved the reoond readiog of the Lands Improvement and Native Lands Acquisition Bill, to make better pro* vision for the preparation ot lands ior settlement and of acquisition of native lands. It would, he thought, be generally conceded tbat of aU the measures referred to m the Budget this would be one of the most acceptable. It was urgently neoessary at present m ao* quiring land for settlement to provide for opening up land by roads and bridges. The first portion of tbe Bill provided for £250,000 being spent' on roads and bridges and improvement of land The Honse would have full control of all money to be expended for opening up native lands for settlo ment. , Thoy had already under negotiation 780.000 aores m the King Country, 500,000 acres m tbe Gisborne and Waiapu district, a balanoe of 180,000 aores of the Awarua Biook, and 300,000 aores m the Wanganui distriot. He thought the House would agree that the Government had been doing the best they could m the way of developing the country and opening it up by roads and bridges, and he hoped there would be no objection to the second readiog of this Bill. Mr Mitohelsbn did not oppose the Bill, which he thought was a very desirable one. He entirely agreed vith the proposal to epend £250,000 m acquiring native lands. bjr B Stout said there was no mistake about this being a borrowing Bill for half a million of money. He contended that the Bill was an amendment of the Land Act, and gave power to the Minister for Lands to take np land on any terms he pleased, a most extraordinary, provision. Under ' this Bill there was no limit, and the Government noed not spend a penny m opening up Crown lands for sale, It was true the Bill was only for one year, but it meant that next year similar proposals would have to bs made. . The Premier eaid it seemed that nothiog !the Government oould do would meet Bir __. Stout's approval, lhis Bill did not mean borrowing, and he held that the proposals of the Government were justified to meet the requirements of the colony and keep the „ people m the oolony. People were leaving the oolony, and the Government must take a bold course to stop the exodus to Australia. | He did not think half a dosen members m the House would oppose a bill of tbis kind. I Aa to clause 4, to whioh Sir B Stout so muoh objected, he pointed out that there wae a wholesome check on the Government m tbe JJpjl.e itself, and m the Land Boards. A further safeguard was that every vote 1 must , come before the House, so that the Minister [ for Lands oould npt posajblj pppns this , money at bis discretion. ■ Mr Bell said the Government had done , nothing to keep the people m the colony, -md , the country was m a far worse position now , than it had been m for years past. , Mr.Pirar.i agreed that the Hill wae wise m j prinoiple, but the area proposed to be allowed i under it was too much. The Bill wae calculate d ; to do much good, j; Mr. McKeuzie quite approved of allocating . £250,00$ for the purohase of native lands. , He should assist jn Cpmmittee to make it a , good measure. Mr Mills str.ngly supported the Bill. Tbe . Government generally brought forward some- , thing new, and were not afraid to depart ' from the same old groove that hitherto pre* t vailed m the oolony. Mr Wilson thoroughly agreed with the prinoiple of the Bill, and believed there was a , fetter way of spending money than by the j purohase of natiye land for settlement. t Mr G W Bussell also strongly supported _, the principle of the Bill, but thought clauses. \ 4, Band 1} would lead to a -forse form of c gridironing than ever provailod m Cantor* _ bury, I I Messrs Buohanan, Willis, and Stevens c spoke ia support of the Bill. g Mr Buddo did not approve of suoh a large a sum as half a million being used for the pura poses laid down m the Bill. The debate was interrupted by the 5.80 c p.m. adjournment, b The House resumed at 730p m. t j Messrs B M Bmith, Thompson, Montgom* Q ery, -McGowan, Hogg, aud MaGuire sup. g ported the Bill, and Mr Button opposed it. 0 Captain Bussell said that statistics showed Q that Mr Mackenzie's efforts as regarded „ placing the people on the land were not more r successful than previous ministers, line c ejodus which the Premieer had ref .rred |o

that afternoon, was due to the f aot that from the North Capo to Stewart's Island capital had been alarmed by the polioy of the present Government, That was one ot tbe questions the Premier had promised to deal with the first day he took offioe, but he had not yet grappled with it. The Bill ooptauaed borrowing proposals whioh Captain Bu.jell was utterly opposed to. Messrs Dunoau and Morrison supported the Bill, and Messrs Barnsban and George Hutchison opposed it. MrO'Began said that the: Bill was.undoubtedly part and parcel of the borrowing proposals. He moved as an amendment that the Bill be referred baok to Government for the purpose of introducing the prinoiple cf betterment into it. Mr Oarroll eaid that the construction of roads and bridges was absolutely neoessary. m the interest, of the country, and there should be no distinction between native and Euro* pean lands m this respect. The amendment was lost on the voices. In his reply, Mr MoSeusie m referring to Mr O'Began'e amendment, strongly advised him to go over to the other aide of the House. He evidently bad not read the Bill, as -it already contained the be.termenl prinoiple. As to what had been said during the debate about selling Native lands Mr McKenzie declared tba. under the preient Native Land Act transactions of a most flagrant oharaoter m the purchase of native lands by private individuals had oome under his notice. He then replied to tbe various speeohei against i the Bill. , The seoond reading was agreed to. The House rose at 2 a.m. _-__-_-■__-____--_______________■_■.