PARLIAMENT.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11608, 10 August 1892, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

» HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES

(Per United Pbess Association.) Wellington, August 9. The House met at 2.30. TUBIiIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE. Replying to Mr McGuire, the Hon. Mr Billance said he was willing to refer to tbe Public Accounts Committee the claims of settlers within -the Ifew Plymouth Harbour ratingarear agajnst the colony, and if honourable gentlemen were satisfied with that reply he should move to that effect. , " Mr McGuire moved the adjournment of the House, and said the Premier's roply was a very -unsatisfactory one. • He suggested that a Commissioner be appointed to go into the whole question. The Hon. Mr Ballance said the Government had never admitted it, nor would they admit it now, that bondholders had any claim on the colony. After a long discussion the subject was dropped. THE BRYCE EPISODE, The interrupted debate on the -motion of decision of the vote of censure paßsedtJir Mr Bryce was. resumed by Mr W. P. Keoyos. He'iifbVfed an amendment that in view of the eminent services rendered to the colony, by the undermentioned gentlemen, now .no longer members of the "House, it 'is not expedient to rotain a permanent record of the votes of regret or censure passed at various times with respect to each of them for unparliamentary language. used i ,in..tlie heat of debate or for disobedience to theChair, and that this House,- therefore, directs that the entries in the journalsMessrs H. E. Curtis, Vincent Pyke, J. D. Ormond, W. Gisborne, Sir Julius Yogel, and John Bryce — be expunged. The debate was intei'ruped by 5.30 adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30. The debate with reference to the removal of the" vote of censure on Mr Bryce wrs continued, Mr W. P. Reeves' amendment being eventually agreed tc on the voices, ' '•' --' - THE LAND BILL, The Hon. Mr McKenzie moved the second reading of tho Land Bill. In the course of his remarks he said the area of land obtainable was getting less year by year, and therefore it was necessary they should carefully dea.l with what was left and make the best possible use of it The Government had approached tho subject with a desire to pass the best land laws for the colony as a whole, but' he. thought every person in tha.colony had a perfect right to say under' what laws the lands should be administered, and no particular class should have any right in that respect. It had been asserted that he was determined to do away with the freehold tenure, but all he asfied for in the present Bill was that everyone could choose their own tenure. He had more than once stated publicly that he would be the last man to interfere with a.:Crowri grant when once issued, but he, contended lie hal a right to propose the tefrfls'bn which land should be taken up m the future. The Bill allowed the cash system of purchase, occupation with the right of purchase between 12 and 20 year 3 and perpetaal lease, and he intended moving in Committee that lease should be perpetual instead of 50 years only, allowing the Crown the right to say that they should not dispose of it to any person who already possessed too much land. A great deal had been made of the fact that every farmer in the country wanted to bo his own freeholder, but that was great nonsonse, as half of the tenants in the colony possessed no freeehold' at all. The Bill was very , near what the Bill of last session was,liutone alteration was that they were going to deal with tho Land Boards of tho colony and make them elective. As to the one raan-one-run system, .he had provided that this could be done so long a3 small runs should not exceed 5000 acres and for large runs they should not exceed a carrying capacity of 20,000 sheep. He hoped the House would see that as far as possihle no more land should be secured for speculative purposes, but for the genuine settlement of the colony. Mr Rolleston congratulated the Hon. Mr Mclvenzio in some respects, especially as he had considerably modified some of the provisions_of'f,)ie B,ill. In his opinion the liind question should not bt> made a partr <jue3lion at all. He did nqt regard the present measure as providing a liberal land law. It could not ba to the advantage of settlement that speculators and moni'p >lists were brought into competilion with Ouna fide settlers, and the optional choice of tenure proposed, by tho Minister was, to hi* mindj very mischievous. He had not much faith in the Hon. Mr MoKenzio's professions about the freehold, a-s the Premier had frequently advocated tho nationalisation of the land, and Ministerial utterances had been decidedly opposed ' to granting the freehold to perpetual leaseholds, which was altogfther different from the perpetual lease system which he. (Mr Rolleston} had instituted, IJe wpuld be no party to supporting the Premier in his scheme for nationalising the land.a-nd he contended the House shruld be informed whether or not it was proposed to abolish Iho freehold tenure. In his opinion they could not do away with the freehold, and he hoped the House would not rest satisfied tiJJ a clear declaration had been made on this question. Mr Hutchison ( Waitotaraj) said the Bill wasa woise one than that pf last year, and although the Minister of lands proposed to be sound on freehold, the opinion of the country would be that the Government were vory, unsound on the question. They were told that the cash system wa3 retained in this Bill, but w hat kind of cash system ; namely, that a man must pay the whole .price of the land and get a receipt, but 'he could not get a Crown grant for seven years. He referred to several of the public utterances of the Premier during the recess, to the effect that the next Land Bill would con tain nothing but perpetual lease, and that the Legislative Council .would be awed into passing it; so that the- present Land Bill could be regarded merely as a teninorarisra with what the Government would call tho prejudices of the people. Referring to General Booth's oversea scheme, he said the Houfo had a right to know definitely what promise was- made by the Premier in regard (o the $ranfc of a tract of land. ■'