PARLIAMENTARY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13635, 1 July 1908, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY.

Per Press Association. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. WELLINGTON, Juno 30. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. IMPREST SUPPLY. - The Council passed a motion suspending tne&tandhig Ordem ko far as to alloxan Imprest Supply Bill to be passed through sill its stages at one sitting. Tha Council adjourned at 2.40 to await reocipt of the Bill from the House. The Bill arrived at 3.14 p.m. and was passed through all its stages without discussion. The Council adjourned at 3.25 p.m.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30 p.m. LEAVE OP ABSENCE.

Leave of absence for one week on account of ill-health wau granted to Mr Lawry (Parnell). NEW BILLS.

The following Bills were introduced and read a first time:—Tapanui County Bill, Westport Harbour Board Loan Bill, Public Works Act Amendment Bill, Duty on Flour Abolition Bill, Oamaru Town Ball and Gasworks Sites and Recreation Reserves Bill, Quackery Prevention Bid, NewPlymouth Harbour Board Empowering Bill, Musicians Bill, Municipal Corporations Act 1900 Amendment Bill. Oamaru Harbour Board Loan Bill, Licensing Polls Absolute Majority Bill, Christchurch City Sanitation Empowering Bill, Marriages Validation Act Amendment Bill, Aucfion■eeiß Amendment Bill. IMPREST SUPPLY BILL.

An Imprest Supply Bill for £J26,O r >o, was introduced by Governor's inesiwe, and passed all its stages. "'.-.: The following are the schedules of the Bill—first schedule: Consolidated Fund, £450,000; Public Works Fund, £BOO,OOO-, Loans to Local Bodies Account, £5000; Land for Settlement Account, £1000; State Forests Account. £2500; State Coal Mines Account, £30,000; Scenery Preservation Account, £1000; Hutt Railway and Road Improvement Account, £6000; Railways Improvements Authorisation Act Account, £12,000; Maori Land Settlement Act Account, £500; Waikaka Branch. Railway Account, £4000; total, £712,000. Second schedule: Government Insurance Account, £7000;: Government Accident Insurance Account, £looo;;State Fir e Insurance Account, £1500; Public Trust Office Account, £3500; Government ■Advances to . Settlers •, Office Account, £200; total £14,000.

The House at 3.20 p.m. adjourned until 7.30 p.m.

The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. ADDRESS IN-REPLY.

Dr Chappie, in moving the Addrces-iri-Reply, said:that he had listened 'with pleasure to the hopefulness which vaded the GovernorV speech. ' He ie -ferred to the march of Liberalism since it was introduced in 1890, and wtjat it iady set ifeelf?to icbrreet. Land taonopolyH -meant land idleness and land idleness wasY a. curse to any country. The Ballance policy : «rf. land taxation had been the cause' of bringing land into the market, aiid•: removing much of the cause <if the evil , resulting from land idleneas.' The £SOO taxation exemption to farmers, leases iii perpetuity. Act, bush and, swamp legislation, free carriage, of manures, etc.; 6n Tailways, and concessionto school chil- v djen by train; had all b^n^concessions' tofarmersv Then in a later ■ tific methods of treating eoil as th*.restilt of. experimental farms were notlimly,: of. benefit to farmers; but 'to the wholes of the country, arid the i.iberal ; : menthad never lost sight of that fact He admitted that there. had been some criticKm; that the experimental faiius were not paying, but he declared that if they attempted to make these self - supportmg they would lose their value After dealing with what was being done for the dairying industry, Dr Chappie con- A tended that Mew. Zealand had products equal to any; «i her country in tli'e %brld. xte asked; did the farming community irecognise that the > were .their best friends? Hebaid: "Ko/' ' and explained that the reason was that the small farmers had been told that they, would under Liberalism be subjectto similar pressure to the land nionopolis s, and in many instances the charmer •; •had been listened to.. He wished to tell the email farmer that the policy of the • Governments,was in their favour, and would be greater s6 in the/ future; He referred to the Arbitration Act as a humane measure, designed to abolish sweat- : nigjind make for the peaceful settlement' of disputes. The discontent which arcse as to the working of the Act should' not »e to condemn the Act, as it was impossible to at hist make the measure perfect, Jmfc the Government had promised 1 amendments which would improve the Act and be. the. means 6f bestowing greater advantages to ■ the woi-kera As to Socialism there was a Socialism which was commended by the community-- hatwas the Socialism which gave them,tlieiirailways; pubUc trust, state fire insurance .and other institutione, all of which nad been of immense benflt to tie countTT-

_Mr Greenslade defended the peregrinations of Ministers and claimed that the recent. y,sit of the Prime Minister to the had given ample evidence of.the iiecasity of reading- tlie bock bbOO.Wp would be little enough to spend annually for road-making. ; Though hot seeing eye toy eye with the ment: on their land policy —he favoured the optional system— -he gave the present Government credit for having done more to open up lands than any previous administration. He; also gave: credit to theGoverment Jor the forward movement made in opening-up native lands. Tie Government, too, had done their bisfc to assist mining; in fact had assisted? every industry in the Dominion. In congratulating the Government on their education policy he thought sufficient .attention had not been paid to teachers' salaries and* he trusted tha the Minister would* look into the matter.

Mr MasVey claimed that there was a;lot of discontent throughout, the "country de-. spite the virtues of the Liberal: Government as set /forth by., the mover and seconder of the address. He coinbatted the advantages which were claimed for the land legislation,, and what was, he asked, the use of the Advances to. Settlers Act; while they had a Colonial Treasurer, going to all the financial institutions of the colony, for money. ' . ;■ -The Prime Minister: ■"Name some." .

Mr Massey:" Auckland •Mayings Bank, A.M.P. Society." In fact, continued Mr Massey, there was no financial institution but which had, received attention. As to the value- of the experimental farms, he believed in the.theory, bub they-were of little;, use ito the. practical, fanner, -unless ha could follow up results and get at tho actual cost' of such results and then he would know where" he was. Dealing with Socialism Mr Massey declared thao; land naUonalising was Socialism and: those who supported it were Socialists; Beferrlng to -thei Speech he thought the -Government should not havethrown the responsibility of a new Parliament House on Parliament, but that *he house should have been erected! on the old site and work begun Boon after jthe, fire in .December. He failed, to seev-any reference in- tbe : Speech\to local Government bo long promised; /./The Opposition had been challenged to mention one liberal Act .that -they wpuld repeal, and hiei said-he' would ; go far to repeal the Arbitration Actj if it was not amended. .A Bill to; amend it had. been brought down last session,; bub- because; it \wiis opposed in certain the. Gpyeicn-; 4hcnt; had - not the^i«»uragef' to ;; it thro'tigh. -VHe said,'fbfi v blot'on;'lirid. &?£' tlenieht -was that areas; >vere; t^o. largei The small. man - was.- the' man who should be assisted. ['-■-' might doiwi to England, wd ho believed that; members

would vote for an unpioved Vancouver oeivjce thus voiding ec-nding I lie nui's via Aushaha. He saw no mention m the Spe»ch to'dbendstbe-Uki Ag«-P«nyon Act He thought more piovision should bo made to encomage ithtift. The Gaming Act | bhould be amended to remove the blot which compels lacing clubs uniug the totalizator to licwib© bookmaker. He would also like to eee an amendment of the Legiblatrve Council t>o as to make it more lepresentative of the people. The Premier, dealing with the speech of Mr Massey, *aid that the latter in referring to tne £SOO exemption to faimers hud not mentioned exempting ; nnprovements that weie made? in the land tax. He- denied the allegations that ho as Colonial lreJEurtr had gone to hnancial institutions boiiowing money.. ■ This wat> a statement made in 'and out of reason' by the "detraiiloio of the co louy. "He denied tbatr lie wa*> a/tingle taxer. "1 said so from every platform." Theie may be wine member of-the Government who held single tax views, but these had never been advanced. As the Minister dealing with the "housing' of Parliament he stated they' could not -have gone on with the ie-ertction of the new Parliament Jiou&e without falling Parliament together. It was the only legal course open .to the Government and he though they had done their best under the circumstances. When the Address-in-Keply was out of the way he proposed to explain to the House the Government" propoxate on the matter. The only other building in Wellington, whicii ■was available was the Town Hall and the rent for th*t would, have exceeded the whole cost of altering Government House and pioviding for the Governor's residence at Palmerston Korth. The Premier ndi cukd the statement by Mr Massey that' the reinstatement of Parliament < house would be £260,000. In no instance had the Government under consideration had larger sum than £lsojooo. He claimed the undoubted light to visit' varidus parts of the country in-the interests of the/ community and 'would continue to'do'so if necessury without consulting the .Leader of the Opposition or anyone- else.- As to the Chinese he a&ked members to see the effect of the Bill to which assent had recently been given. Jf the effect was not as desired then they could consider the question of inciease of the poll tax. As to local government he thought it should be on a wider basis, especially i so 'as to finance. He was "prepared to leave the important . question of post audit, for the further consideration of members and the community if the Houee thought it necessary. When JJie Government amendments to the Arbitration Act were brought down they would see what he conscientiously thought would be a solution of the defects in the present measure. As to mails he believed that without the co operation of' the United Kingdom they could not get a Vancouver service. New Zealand could not initiate it. The debate was adjourned until 2.30 p.m. to-morrow. The House adjourned at 11.30 p.m.