IN THE HOUSE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20456, 8 November 1934, Page 4

IN THE HOUSE.

Notes and Comment From Parliament. DUTY ON MAGAZINES. <“ Star ” Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, November 7. The Government does not propose to take any action towards imposing a duty on imported back date magazines. This information was given to the ‘House to-day when Mr Coates was replying to an urgent question asked by Mr Carr (Timaru). War Pensions. Amendments are to be made to the War Pensions Act to enable widows of returned Soldiers, who married more than two years after the discharge of their husbands from the forces, to receive some relief. Children are also to be included in the wider scope of the Act. The question was raised in the House to-day by Mr Dickie (Pateal, who said he was speaking on behalf of all the returned soldier members of the House. There were 160 cases in the Dominion in urgent need of assistance, and the annual cost involved was not large. The Hon J. G. Cobbe said it was intended to deal with the matter as soon as practicable, and it was intended to include widows and children of returned soldiers who had married over two years from the date of their discharge. Nipped in the Bud.

An endeavour on the part of Mr Jull j (Waipawa) to use a report from Christchurch, that a City Council motor-car had been used to take a Labour councillor for a long trip, as an illustration of methods which might be employed by the Parliamentary Labour Party if it came into power, was nipped in the bud in the House to-day by Mr Speaker. Mr Jull referred to a speech of Mr Semple, who had asked, “What would Government members be saying if a Labour Government was in power and a report such as that of the Native Commission was presented?” He had found something, he said, in a newspaper report of a discussion by the Christchurch City Council on the use of a motor-car by a Labour member of that council. Mr Speaker pointed out that the vise of motor-cars by the Christchurch City Council did not come within the scope of the debate on the Native Commission’s report. If a discussion on motorcars were allowed it would be competent to discuss anything under the sun. Mr Lee (Grey Lynn) raised a point of order, asking if Mr Jull was asserting that members of the Opposition would misappropriate motor-cars for their families in the way set out in the Commission’s report. Mr Jull: I had no such idea (laughter). I hope my friends* on the other side of the House won’t get excited.l know it is a very unfortunate co-in-cidence that this telegram should have come at this time. Mr Speaker refused to permit Mr Jull to make further comment, and he contented himself with a defence of the policy of Sir Apirana Ngata.