POLITICAL NOTES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18532, 14 July 1922, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES.

AGRICULTURAL BANKS. (By Telegraph). [From Our Parliamentary Reporter! WELLINGTON, July 13. A little side discussion on Stati banking, in the House, afforded som9 slight clue to the intentions of th# Government in relation to the pro! posed agricultural banks. Mr Statham said the Prime Min 4 isler would not go in for a Stat# bank, but was proposing agricultural banks, which would benefit one section of the community. Mr Massey: “Any section of th# community can take advantage of I them.” Mr Statham: “Then why not makl . it a State Bank” Hon. Downie Stewart said he waf not discussing the geueial proposition of State banking, but only th< position in which we found ourl selves in New Zealand. We had a large share in an established bank and representation on the Directorate. We could acquire a State banlj in two ways—by buying out the exl isting shareholders on the Bank of New Zealand, in which c ase we wou!4 have to pay interest on money borrowed for the purpose, which would offset profits made, or we could set up a new bank in opposition to th# one in which we already had a share] and depreciate the value of that as: set. Mr Statham: “Yet you propose t# establish agricultural banks.” ! Hon. Stewart said, as he under, stood it, there would simply be th# machinery to enable farmers to combine for the purpose of establish, ing an agricultural bank if thej wished to do so. "I shall be very, surprised if the Prime Miniate# makes it a State guaranteed bank," ONLY TWO PARTIES. REFORM OR LABOUR. y An emphatic statement of the poHl tical position as he saw it was mad# by rhe Prime Minister to-night. H# spoke of the Dunedin by-election and added: “The Party the Reform Party! has to fight is on the LabouiJ benches.” Mr Atmore: "But who did yoil fight at Patea?" Mr Massey: “I know the hen. gentleman went there to get votes, but did not get many.” Other Liberals: “Who did yod fight at Bruce?” Mr Massey said there had beed six by-elections, and the Government had won four. There were now{ two parties—Reform and Labour— 4 and every vote cast for a Liberal at the next election meant a vote foil Labour. (Labour laughter). There were good men opposite. He gave them an invitation, which they would be glad to accept later on, to "comd over and help us.” (Labour cheers)! —To others he would say, “there is your place,” pointing to the Labour benches. ANOTHER STATEMENT BY MR. MASSEY. “It was constantly being said that the present Government had only # minority of the electors behind it," said Mr Massey to-night, “hut how was the calculation made? When! ■an election was fought, he had not time to visit all electorates, and ha went to those where he had a reasonable chance of gartiing support. In some electorates supporters were advised to support Liberal candidates.” Mr Holland: “My electorate way one.” The Prime Minister: “Probably." Then again, in one case, Reform supporters were advised to vote for a Liberal, but at the last moment a man came out and claimed to be a

Reform candidate. He was not a Reform candidate, and he received only several hundred votes. Th# other candidates received about 4000 each, but only hundreds were counted as Reform votes. A Liberal: The Liberals were advised to vote for the Reform candidates. The Prime Minister: 1 know o£ nd case. Mr Wilford: I do.— Manawatu, Palmerston North and Otaki. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. One of the main features of to* day’s sitting of the Legislative Council was the speech of the Hon. Barr on unemployment insurance. He argued that the present system of dealing with unemployment waa quite wrong, for really deserving men did not come forward and accept the charity offered. Britain had experimented successfully and had now on the Statute Book an Employment Insurance Act, which was meeting the position. Unemployed should not be put on reliel works at trade union wages, but should receive from the insurance fund a weekly sum to keep the wolt from the door while they looked around for more work. An Unemployment Insurance Bill should be introduced not ten year’s hence but now, immediately. The Leader of the Council (Sill Wm. Fraser) said the speech required the most careful consideration.' Personally he was in sympathy with most of what had been said, and would refer the point to the Government.