PARLIAMENT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4729, 22 August 1893, Page 1

PARLIAMENT.

• HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. Mouday, August 21. EVENING SITTING. The House met at 7.30. CUSTOMS and excise duties. The Hon J. G. Wabd moved the second reading of the Customs and Excise Duties Act Amendment Bill. He explained that the Bill was intended tp make the present Act more workable, and to relieve merchants from the payment of certain dues on drawbacks. Sir R. Stout hoped that the Bill would not be committed that night, as he had an amendment to propose. Considerable discussion ensued, several members urging that the tariff should be amended in various directions. The Hon G. Ward said the Bill was merely meant to deal with drawbacks. It was not in any way intended to interfere with the tariff this year, and that being so he hoped the committal of the Bill would not be opposed. The motion was agreed to, and the Bill committed and passed without amendment. NATIVE BULS. The Bohepotae Investigation of Titles Act Amendment Bill was committed and passed verbal amendments. The^rotjffe Trust and Claims Definition and Registration Bill was committed and passed with new clauses. Both Bills were then put through their final stages. ■■" ;--. POST OFFICE ACT; The Hon J. G. Ward moved the second reading of the Post Office Act Amendment Bill, which contained several alterations inthe existing Post Office Act. Clause 2 provided for the introduction of letter cards, which, unlike post cards, could be folded up. It was intended to charge one penny for them within the Colony, and twopence to Australia. Clause 3 dealt with the matter of offensive publications and indecent litsrature, a large quantit*? of which had been passed. througiT CI 011 Post Offlce. It was intended by the Bill to give greater power in stopping literature of this kind. The Bill also proposed to pay compensation up to £2 for the loss of registered letters, wbicb was quite a new feature. The Bill also Bet forth the exact. form in which postal notes should be issued, and defiriei their currency. He thought the proposals contained in the Bill 'would add very materially to the uaef ulnesa of the department. Sir John Hall thought there should he some definition of what a letter card was, as they had no information en the point. He pointed out tbat it would be very undesirable that a large number of postal notes should be left outstanding! ' He thought the better way would be to allow postal notes to lapse in a year, as Waß the case in the Imperial Post Office. In reply to Captain Bussell, The Hon J. G. Ward r-aid the revenue would not be decreased bythe proposed change, and there shonld be an increase instead. As to tbe definition of "letter card," he might say it was more private than a poat card, and could be sent between two perforated sheets, instead of being written on the back, as was the case with post cards. Ab to the other questions raised by Sir John Hall, be said it was proposed to extend the currency of .£1 and £4i notes, in order to enable people in remote country districts to take advantage of the system. The intention of the Bill was to make the currency of these postal notes unlimited. The second reading was agreed to on the voices. AUDIT. The Hon J. G. Ward moved the second reading of the Banks and Companies Accounts Audit Bill, which he said be proposed to tend to the Pablic Accounts Committee, and the debate could afterwards be taken on it. He said the Bill was not of a drastic character, and was not in any way prompted by recent financial disasters in other Colonies. It was Bimply meant to enable the majority of shareholders in any incorporate company or bank to have an independent audit if they so chose. He-was glad to be able to state that there was no necessity for the Governmeiitto introduce an; thing in the shape of banking legislation, and tho Government did not intend to bring down any Bill in that direction except the one he had just outlined. The Hon B. J. Seddon moved "the adjournment of the debate. Mr Duthie thought that the House (hould not agree to adjourn the debate. He held that there was no necessity for the ■Bill, which referred only to one banking institution in the Colony, the Colonial Bank, whose accounts were audited in a satisfactory manner already. Mr Scobie Mackenzie, Sir John Hall, Messrs Fisb, Hutchison, Russell, M'Lean, M'Kenzie, Fergus and Buchanan spoke briefly on the question of adjournment, which was finally carried. STOCK BILL. ° The Hon J. Mackenzie moved the eecond reading of the Stock Bill, which, he explained, waa before the House lasfc session. Since then it had been before the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in the Colony, aud many suggestions were made by those societies. He thought that the Bill as now brought down, which was principally a consolidating measure, would be found to be in tbe interests of the Colony. One of the provisions of the Bill was to abolish Cattle Beards in the Colony, and it was thought that any eradication of disease would be better done by the Stock Department tban by Cattle Boards. Another provision in the Bill was payment of compensation to people whose cattle had been destroyed by disease. A further new provision in the Bill was for foot-rot and the compulsory clipping of long-woolled sheep. Another new provision was with regard to the driving of stock and the branding of sheep. It happened very often thafc sheep were found without any brand at all, and ' this provision was necesßary. Another new provision in the Bill was the proposed earmark, which might probably provoke some opposition, bufc he thought that something of the kind waa necessary to prevent sheep-stealing. He wished the Bill to go to the Stock Committee, which was well qualified to deal with the measure. He had no hesitation in saying that he would accept any reasonable amendments made by the Stock Committee, but he thought it necessary that all Acts relating to this subject should be contained in one consolidating measure. As he intended moving that the Bill should go to the Stock Committee, he boped tbat tbere would be no unnecessary delay in agreeing to the second reading. Mr Buchanan thought the Minister would be unable to pass any Bill of thia kind in the House this sesaion. If Mr M'Kenzie told the House that the question of foot-rot was a serious one, he should agree with him 5 but he should not have included that question in this Bill. If the Bill passed in its present form, the greater part of the North Island would have to be declared infected. The clause relating to the driving of stock was very objectionable, and he also took objection to the branding of long-woolled sbeep after shearing' as altogether impracticable. Mr Scobie Mackenzie said this was done regularly in the south. Mr Buchanan criticised the various provisions of the Bill at some length, and said lie hoped that when tbe Bill went to fche Stock Committee, Mr M'Kenzie would consent to tbe clause relating to foot-rofc being struck out. He took strong erjeptioc to the proposed ear-mark, and condemned the heavy penalties proposed in this clause. ;

Mr Weight looked on the Bill aB one of a f atenwork character, and he could only conclude tbat Mr M'Kenzie had never read the Bill. It waa very necessary that the Stock Committee should consider tbe Bill, and it would take all their time to make it workable. He should call the Bill a measure to worry sbesp-farmerß and legalise sheep stealing. He also strongly objected to the heavy penalties provided in the Bill, and eaid it it were not materially altered by the Stock Committee there was not the slightest chance ot its going through the House. Captain Etjssbll thought the Bill was ' fearfully and wonderfully made, and bristled with penalties from the firat to the last clause. Mr M'Kenzie evidently thought he could extirpate foot-rot by an Act of Parliament ; but do what it could, and pass as much legislation as passible, the Government could not do so, and footrot would be as bad twenty years hence as at the present time. The Bill proposed to confer enormous powers on the Governor in Council. They were told that it was a consolidating Bill, bat bethought it consolidated the whole of tbe power into the handa of the Minister. The Bill proposed to have. quarantine stations wherever the Minieter chose, but he thought one quarantine station for the Colony would be much more likely to prevent tbe importation of disease. He objected t3 the driving clauses in the Bill, and pointed ont that it was a giv afc hardship, to compel people to drive stock only in the daytime, it being often found very convenient to drive sheep on a moonlight night. He was glad to hear that the Bill was going to the Stock Committee, and he hoped that it would receive careful consideration. Mr E. M. Smith said the Taranaki Agricultural Society, which he had consulted on the matter, suggested that the Bill should be withdrawn. The penalties were far too severe. He waa glad, towever, that the Bill was going to the Stock Committee, and if he found that its amendments were acceptable he had mentioned that li 9 should Bupport the Bill. Mr Richardson said that the extraordinary feature of the BUU was that everything wa3 overridden by regulations, The Bill could be very much simplified if it were altered as follows : — Clause I— There shall be one law for stock, and that the will of the Minister for Lands. Clause 2— All previous Acfcß are hereby repealed. Mr M'Guibe thought that the Bill wbb altogether unnecessary, and he felt inclined to move that it be read that day six - months, but he would leave the Stock Committee, to deal wifchJk * Mr T. Mackenzie took strong exception to the clauee dealing with ear-marks by punching, and also to the nose-branding of sheep. The penalties in the Bill were also too severe, but as the Bill was going to the Stock Committee, he should nob go further into it. M.t Palmer thought the Bill was of far too stringent a character, and was not at all required, either by etock owners or by anybody else. Mr Meredith thought the Bill was an improvement on that of last year, but it would require a good deal more improvement before it was acceptable to those in whose interests it was brought down, j Sir John Hall said it appeared to him questionable to embody the law relating to sbeep and cattle in one Act. The Bill gave too much power to the Minister. He oould not agree with tho3e who held that the provisions of the Bill were excessively stringent, and so great was the danger of having an inefficient law on the subject that he would prefer to leave it as it stood rather than pass a measure which was nob of an efficient character. , Mr Tanmeb thought many, of the provisions of the Bill were of too drastic a character. No doubt the Stock Committee wonld deal fully with it. Mr Buckland held that the driving clauses should only be brought into operation on a petition from the people of any particular district. Those clauses would not in any way prevent sheep stealing. If they were made optional he Bhould withdraw his opposition to that clause. He was not quite clear about ear-marking, and thought that the man who invented the way to put a clip in conld invent something to take the clip out, and this increaeed the danger of sheep stealing. Sir E. Stotjt aaid be bad bad brought before him many cases of sheep stealing, and he thought the whole system of both branding and ear-marking was entirely futile to stop sheep stealing. His opinion was that there should be district registries, which, he thought, would put an end to sbeep stealing. If a proper system of registering were carried out it would be tbe only efficient way of dealing with tbe matter. Mr Bttick would defer his remarks on the Bill till after it came from the Stock Committee. Mr Lace said a great many of the provisions in the Bill were deemed by the people in his distiict to be entirely incompatible with their requirements. Mr Ehodes said if the Minister could deviße any means, either by this Bill or any other one, to prevent sheep stealing he j would^do a good work for the Colony. The Hon J. M'Kenzie said he was surprised that the Bill had not met witb more general acceptance, and he feared there wasvery little chance of its passing. He had felt that it was the duty of the Government, however, to introduce the measure. The debate had convinced him, however, that very few of tbe members in the Hoxue really knew what the law was at present, as many of the penalties complained about were law now. He thought that the only thing to stop sheep stealing in tbe Colony was to prevent the uae of a knife, and that would be done by adopting ear- marks. As to the stringency of the regulations of which they had heard so much, he held that if they had not been stringent, scab would not have been cleared from the Colony. He felt cure that Sir John Hall would agree with bim tbat tbe Bill was necessary, but if the Houbo did not want a consolidating Bill they should Bay so, and the Bill would be dropped. As an objection against driving sheep only in the day-time, he held that it was necessary to prevent sheep stealing, bat no doubt a compromise might be arrived at by which the houra for driving could be altered for the North Island. The motion for tbe second reading was agreed to, and the Bill referred to the Stock Committee. STAMP ACT AMENDMENT. The Hon W. P. Beeves moved the eecond reading of the Stamp Act Amendment Bill, one of the provisions of wbicb was to prevent evasions of the stamp duty. Clause 2 provided that inland bills of exchange included promissory notes, and no duty was to be chargeable on certain leases or licenses of Native lands. Clauses 3 and 4 related to the stamping of insurance policies. Mr Parata objected to the proposal to put stamp duty on Native land, and he hoped that the Bill would be referred to the Native Affairs Committee. Mr Kapa and Mr Taipua Bpoke to a similar effect, both urging that the Bill should be referred to the Native Affairs Committee*. The Bill was read a second time on the voices, The House rose afc 12.45 s.m. .■itrwg_Mß_— ■wn_.iiwni_j.iiq