THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19627, 23 October 1933, Page 8

THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS IMPORTANT MEASURES INTRODUCED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 20. The week has been the most profitable this session, many Government and private measures having been before the House. The most Important legislation brought forward has been the Central Reserve Bank Bill which passed its first reading on Thursday evening. Briefly the objects of the Bill are the establishment of a Central Reserve Bank which will handle all the gold reserves at present held by the commercial banks, and control of the note Issue in the Dominion. The Bank will also handle all the Government business and exchange transactions. The Bank intends to take over the gold reserves at £3/17/101 an ounce, an Intention which has met with considerable opposition from the trading banks. Opposition has also been expressed by members of the Labour Party, who are of the opinion that a State Bank would be In the best interests of the Dominion. The capital of the Bank is £500,000 which it is proposed to allot as widely as possible. An interesting clause is the power to issue notes of a smaller denomination than 10/-.

During the week it became known that a number of Government members had formed themselves into a group, which is now known in the House as the “Study Circle.’’ Members of the group are frank about their objective, which is to keep a close watch on all matters which come before the House for the purpose of assisting the Government to frame its statutes in as perfect a form as possible. The group consists of Messrs J. Hargest (Invercargill), K. J. Holyoake (Motueka), W. A. Bodkin (Central Otago), W. J. Broadfoot (Waitomo) and P. Lye (Waikato). The group has already taken an active interest in the Reserve Bank Bill and has had discussions with the Minister of Finance (Rt. Hon J. G. Coates) and leading bankers. These discussions are still going on and the group hopes to have a number of clauses added to the Bill before it becomes law. In this respect it is understood that stronger Government representation on the Directorate of the Bank is desired by the members in question. The formation of this group has caused a lot of interest in political circles and a number of Government members have expressed a desire to associate themselves with the movement. However, the original members of the group are anxious to keep it down to a manageable number and they are not likely to admit members who might not take an active interest in matters likely to come before the House. Mr Ansell admits that there are a number of points in the Reserve Bank Bill that he would like to see altered, and it is understood that he will Join the group. Members of the group emphasise the fact that they have no wish to embarrass the Government, but to assist it as much as possible. • • • • The Companies Bill, which has been in preparation for several years, made its appearance this week. Its object is to bring New Zealand Company Law into line with the law in the other parts of the Empire. The Bill consists of 80 clauses and will give members some work when it is considered in committee. There are some changes in the Bill which are novel to New Zealand, and are likely to have farreaching effects. Generally the Bill is designed to give more protection to shareholders and creditors and to further protect the public against new flotations by the tightening up of the regulations governing prospectuses. A new provision is the restriction of the house to house hawking of shares. A provision of interest to accountants is that restricting the appointment of auditors to qualified accountants only. A person not so qualified, at present.an auditor, is not disqualified from being reappointed. Of the six Government Bills put through the committee and passed at Tuesday’s sitting of the House, the only one of general public interest was the Marriage Amendment Bill, which raises the marriage age in New Zealand of both boys and girls to 16 years. Wednesday’s business was of a more varied nature, the War Pensions Amendment Bill being of interest to a considerable number of returned soldiers. Its sponsor, Mr J. A. Lee (Lab., Grey Lynn), sought to permit all soldiers who have had a period of war service overseas to put in a claim for a war pension on the ground that their active service contributed to their disability. Second readings were also accorded the British Nationality and Status of Aliens (in New Zealand) Amendment Bill, which seeks to establish the right of New Zealanders who marry aliens to retain their own nationality if they so desire. Another measure which provoked an interesting discussion was the Summer Time Amendment Bill, and it is almost certain that the present half-hour will be continued for a month after the usual date. An indication of the decreased opportunities for youths is given in the report of the Labour Department, which was presented in the House on Tuesday. The number of apprentices employed each year for the last six years is given as follows: 1928 10,227 1929 9,942 1930 9.826 1931 8.901 1932 6,910 1933 5,594 During the discussion on the Daylight Saving Amendment Bill, which was introduced by Mr R. McKeen, in the House on Wednesday, some amusing references to the effect of an extension of the half-hour on dairy farmers and their cows were made. During the speech of the Labour member for Waimarino (Mr F. Langstone) an interjector asked, "How will you fix the cow question?’’ “Oh. the cows won't mind, they only work seven or eight hours a day,” remarked Mr Langstone. A further remark of the member for Marsden (Mr A. J. Murdoch) raised considerable amusement. In reply to interjectors. he said: “We have not got the cows here that make the money although we have cows of a sort.’’ Introducing the Reserve Bank Bill in the House of Friday, the Minister of Finance (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coate) was explaining the share allocation, and intimated that shares would be £5 eacn. Mr H T. Armstrong: One will oe enough for me. The Minister: From what I know ■ f the hon. gentleman he will be the first in. (Applause.)