PARLIAMENT

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 10 July 1923, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

THE HOUSE.

PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM WELLINGTON, Monday. The House met at 2.30 p.m. The Postmaster-General laid on the table a return snowing the securities held by the Post Office Savings Bank, and the date of expiration. Replying to Mr Wilford, he said that during the next six years there would be loans amounting to about sixty millions falling due, about half of which was due to Public Departments. With some Departments it was sometimes difficult io get renewals, but there was no difficulty with the Post Office.. All that happened was that the Minister for Finance and the Postmaster-General met, and agreed on what was ji fair rate of interest to be paid for money, and the-loan was accordingly renewed. It was different in the case of London, and even Australia, where the lenders wanted cash, but the Post Office never wanted money back. He was going to ask Parliament to renew the authorities on expenditure, particularly for the Advances Department. These were running out, and he did not wish to be caught with the moratorium. He did not know at the moment how he would get on with the Public Works Fund, because the Public Works expenditure would be larger this year than for some time, principally on account of the floods and the railways. .Mr W. A. A r eitch (Wanganui) urged .that the Premier should endeavour to applv all available Post Office funds to building houses for the people.. The Postmaster-General cleiendea the rate of interest paid by the Post Office. The money was on call, and 4 per cent, was not a bad return under the circumstances. It was higher now than some time ago. Mr Massey, in further explanation, said there were behind the Post OfficeSavings Bank not only the securities mentioned in the return lam on the table but there was the secimt* oi the whole country, which} affcei all, was the iß The t Hon th G S J- Anderson moved to setf up a Special Commitee to which he rfthe millions a money tans gait, ,“o’i”o b S Govhmmkt lmd ttis ‘Tho Minister «**£* "ft eoundetl members onto gon S y J £So;£ d f of the ap. «^ f itS^Bmwasreja Committee.

evening siting. Mr ¥, as fU n ( l°lSes Amendment BiL, of the state Advance being on bis explanation of the meirts . As the lines of P ® s being done showing the he quotbv the Advances D 1;, j as t year the ed statistics showing setadvances ondei th -2 au d the tiers section ds27,^amount . advanced when the This was " o . ot } iv. C e the business wul Bill comes into . annual repaybo vastly S 3 • p ut a million ments amounted to aDoux ; £ 1,0 “fv,l 14 281 rnt ofceoding £IOOO, i,umbel ed A4 >- Ji , ; V r.onnO 1037-, and 2647; not r exceeding |2OOO 1 , not exceeding L3WW f l ,, SUDP Iy ' ik 0 ; -I* ; lfamcnt for further borrowing authority in connection with this Depaitmen •, but he did not anticipate any difficulty in raising the money Mr Wilford said that lie wished be could be as optimistic as the Ptomitfr as to the success of his proposals. He did not think the proposals would anything like meet the demands from ona provincial district, only. It would take twentv-five millions to meet all th* I demands from the farming community i and the position as he saw it was one i of the strongest arguments in favour of agricultural banks. As to the housing problem, he considered one of the rr re ate st” difficulties was the high coft Hi building material. Under existing -trices, good four-roomed houses were ! costing £I2OO, but he quoted the cost ! ITom his own district a good four-roomed house was built for £SOO, and he wanted to know how, if this could he done in one case it could not be done in another. The Premier: We can build a fivfrroomed house for £7OO.

Mr Wilford questioned this, _ and quoted a case in support of his incredulity. He predicted that when the Bill became law, the prices of material uould go up still further, and would only make it more difficult to got houses built.

The discussion was carried on by Messrs Ransom. McKeen, T. W. Rhodes, and Williams, the Hons. G. J. Anderson. A. T. Ngata and Dr Buddo, Sir J. P. Luke and Messrs Langstone and Hawken. The adjournment, of the debate was moved by Mr Perrelle, and the House rose at 11.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.