GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3151, 3 September 1892, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. FRIDAY. The Onuncil met at 2.30 p.m. The motion fur the committal of tlio Workmen'* Lien Bill win airrKtNl to. hot consideritinn of the measure i" romiuitteH was d'<f' rn'.il till Toes lav i'l "r l>»r t!i .t, C'Miocillors might haw tone tn fully tlio amendments made by tilt! Lib.iiir B.lls Committee.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

FKIIJAV. The Hoti<e met at 2 30 p.m. Mr Fisher moved the adjournment of tlio House in order to call attention to the working of the Labour Bureau and cooperative system ol public Works. He made special reference to a letter from Mr Soddon to the Melbourne Trades Hall Council, which contained a laudation of the co-operative system, and which, Mr Fisher argued, would have the effect of leading needy Australians to come in large numbers to New Zealand, with the idea that the Bureau was bound to find them work. Mr Fisher observed that the cooperative works sounded well in theory to working men in their comfortablo billets in town, but when these inen went out on the works they found a very different state of things, and he quoted a number of instances in which men on the work? complained of the hardship and mismanagement. Hon. \V. P. Reeves, in reply, said it would be a moss extraordinary thing if in sending four thousand men out to new works some cases of hardship had not occurred, but the Bureau whenever any case had been brought to its notice, endeavoured to remedy it. He spoke very strongly in defonce of the Bureau, and detailed the whole circumstances connected with certain caaos in which complaints had been made. He asked whether it was a fair argument to assume that becau e there were two or three failures, the whole system should be condemned. As to the chargo that by their action the Government were attracting people from the other colonies, he challenged Mr Fisher to prove that statement, and denied that they were flooding the labour market with unemployed from Australia. If he thought there was any danger of undesirable people flooding the Labour Bureau, it would be his duty to provide further safeguards against this contingency, but he had not the slightest reason for supposing that this was the cise. Mr Fish spoke strongly against the cooperative system, and said that by it the Government were not only destroying the self-reliance of the working-men of the colony, but they were making the colony as a whole pay far more for the work performed. He greatly regretted having done anything to put in power a Government who exercised such a meddlesome interference with everybody as tho present Government had done. Mr Seddon points! out that one of the Middle Party had stated that the Government by their co-operative system were paying starvation wages, whilst the other said that the colony was paying far too high for tho work. Ha deprecated this constant waste of time by members »f the Middie Party, and pointed out that both Messrs Fish and Fisher had been returned at the last election by the working-men, but they were false to their principles, and had become political renegades. He combatted Mr Fish's statement that the Labour Bureau stank in peoples' no-trils, and said the only people who regarded it in that light were those who wished t > reduce tiie wages of the working men. Messrs Hogg and Pinkerton spoke at length in support of the Government policy in regard to labour matters. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30. The La id Bill was further considered in committee. Clause 3. —Interpretation. Mr Rolleston moved that the clause inserted by the Waste Lands Committee giving lease nerpetually be struck out. After a discussion lasting nearly three honrs the House divided on Mr Rollest-jo's motion which was lost by 45 to 14. Mr Tanner moved to strike out of the interpretation clause the words " occupation with right of purchase." The motion was lost by 38 to 12. (Left sitting mid-night).