PUBLIC PETITIONS A TO L COMMITTEE (REPORTS OF THE) (Mr. A. S. RICHARDS, Chairman)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1944 Session I, I-01

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1944 NEW ZEALAND

PUBLIC PETITIONS A TO L COMMITTEE (REPORTS OF THE) (Mr. A. S. RICHARDS, Chairman)

Laid on the Table of the .House of Representatives

ORDERS OF REFERENCE Extracts from the Journals of the House of Representatives Thursday, the Kith Day op march, 1944 Ordered, " That for the remainder .of the session all Select Committees of the House have leave to sit on days on which the House is not sitting."—(Right Hon. Mr, Fkasek.) Wednesday, the 22nd Day of March, 1944 Ordered, " That a Select Committee be appointed, consisting of ten members, to consider all petitions from A to L which may be referred to it; to classify and prepare abstracts of such petitions in such form and manner as shall appear to it best suited to convey to this House all requisite information respecting their contents, and to report the same from time to time to this House; and to have power to report its opinions and observations thereon to this House: the Committee to consist of the Plon. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Algie, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Cotterill, Mr. Gerard, Mr. Hackett, Mr. Morton, Mr. Richards, Mr. Sheat, and the Mover."—(Hon. Mr. Parry.) Ordered, " That all petitions not finally dealt with during the session of 1943 be again referred to the same Committees as they were referred to during the said session."—(Right Hon. Mr. Fraser.)

INDEX

lf 0 , Petitioner, &c. Page. No. Petitioner, &c. Page. 20 Airey, W. T. G., and others .. 4 45 Eagle H. i 3 70/43 Aldridge, E., and another .. . . 8 18 Efford LA. W .. • • A 4 Andrews, N. E 2 07 Gam We, Eleanor M 4 80 Baker AW .. 2 7 Goulding, A. JVL. .. • • 28 Baxter, A., and others .. ..3 123 Hayes, W. M., and others .. 4 88/43 Binning, R. R 3 38 Heath, Elsie .* 52 Brown, Elizabeth H„ and others .. 3 46 Jones, Cissae .. .. ■ ■ A 111 Buck, A., and others .. •, 4 59 Jones, W., and others .. .. 4 24 Campbell, N. W. .. •• 3 67/43 KirklandH Z 42 Corbett, T 3 22 Langfonl J G .. •■ 2 17 Deeble W H . . 4 00 Mason, R. R., and others .. .. A 23 Dick, D. E. .. • • ■ • 2 127 Wynyard, M. K., and others .. 4

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REPORTS No. 7.—Petition of A. M. Goulding, of Wellington Praying for adequate and equal remuneration of Stipendiary Magistrates. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. 18th August, 1944.

No, 23.—Petition of D. F. Dick, of Sumner Praying for an alteration in war-pension conditions. I have the honour to report that the Committee has no recommendation to make. 18th August, 1944.

No. 67/43. —Petition of H. Kirkland, of Dunedin Praying for compensation for alleged wrongful imprisonment. I have the honour to report that the Committee has no recommendation to make. Ist September, 1944.

No. 4.—Petition of' N. E. Andrews, of Southland Praying for a refund of stamp duty. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. Ist September, 1944.

No. 22. —Petition of J. G. Langford, of Christchurch Praying that he be granted a full war pension. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petitioner has not exhausted his legal remedies; therefore the Committee has no recommendation to make. Ist September, 1944.

No. 80.- Petition of A. W. Baker, of Auckland Puaying that legislation be enacted — (a) To enable your petitioner to bring suit in the Supreme Court against the Auckland Harbour Board for the damage he has suffered. (b) To abolish all time-limits less than six years (the period set out in the Statute of Limitations) for bringing action against local bodies so that others may not bo under the same disability as 1 am now in respect of instituting actions; or (c) Abolish all such time-limits in all accident cases; or (d) Make all such time-limits the same *as in the Crown Suits Act, 1908—i.e., twelve months; and/or (e) In all eases where there is a time-limit, give the Court hearing the action power to disregard such time-limit if the plaintiff is ignorant thereof or the cause of. justice demands. Or that such other relief may be given to your petitioner in the premises as your Honourable House shall deem meet. I have the honour to report that the Public Petitions A to L Committee have carefully considered this petition. As' to paragraph (a) of the prayer of the petition, the Committee has no recommendation to make. As to paragraphs (b), (c), (d) of the prayer of the petition, the Committee recommends that the petition be referred to the Government for most, favourable consideration. As to paragraph (e>) of the prayer of the petition, the Committee has no recommendation to make. 12th September, 1944.

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No. 68/1943. —Petition of R. R. Binning, of Wellington Praying for investigation of his claim for a refund of certain moneys allegedly due to him. I have the honour to report that the Committee has carefully considered this petition and has no recommendation to make. 20th September, 1944,

No. 70/1943.—Petition of E. Aldridge and Another, of Auckland Praying that consideration be given to a proposal for the construction of a traffic tunnel under the Waitemata Harbour. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. 20th September,. 1944.

No. 24.—Petition of N. \V. Campbell, of Auckland Praying for a rehearing of his petition for dissolution of his marriage. I have the honour to report that the Committee has carefully considered the petition and has no recommendation to make. 20th September, 1944.

No. 38.—Petition of Elsie Heath, of Te Kuiti Praying for remission of succession duty. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. 20th September, 1944.

No. 42. —Petition of T. Corbett, of Ashburton Praying for refund of stamp duty. I have the honour to report that the Committee lias no recommendation to make. 4th October, 1944.

No. 45. —Petition of Tl. Eagle, of Reniuera Praying for a rehearing of his claim for compensation. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. 11th October, 1944.

No. 46. —Petition of Cissie Jones, of Christchurch Praying for remission of succession duty. 1 have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. 11th October, 1944.

No. 52. —Petition of Elizabeth IT. Brown, and 9 Others, of Invercargill Praying for compensation for loss allegedly sustained arising out of the operation of the Invercargill Licensing Trust Act, 1944. I have the honour to .report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the government for most favourable consideration. 24th November, 1944.

No. IS.—Petition of L. A. W. Efford and 56 Others. No. 28.—-Petition of A. Baxter and 4,880 Others No. 66. —Petition of R. R. Mason and 35 Others Praying for the amendment of the National Service Emergency Regulations 1940 to bring them into line with the British regulations where they affect conscientious objectors. I have the honour to report that as the petitions involve matters of Government policy, the Committee has no recommendation to make. 30th November, 1944.

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No. 20.—Petition of W. T. G. Airey and 6,056 Others Praying for the immediate release of inmates of detention camps and also of persons serving prison sentences as a result of offences against camp regulations, or, alternatively, that they bo discharged on the completion of a maximum term of two years' detention. I have the honour to report that, as the petition involves matters of Government policy, the Committee has no recommendation to make. 30th November, 1944.

No. 17.—Petition of W. H. Deeble, of Wellington Praying for compensation for injuries received in the course of his employment. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should bo referred 1o the Government for most favourable consideration. The Committee is of the opinion that this case was a very sad, unfortunate, and unusual one, and the merits of the petition should be considered accordingly. 7th December, 1044.

No. 59.—Petition of W. Jones and 2,510 Others, of Auckland Praying that the taking of fish for sale by means of a seine drag or other drag net between Bream Tail and Home Point, in the Whangarei Harbour District, be prohibited. I have the honour to report that in the opinion of the Committee the petition should be referred to the Government for most favourable consideration. The Committee is also of the opinion that there is cogent, evidence for the view that the existing methods for the taking of fish from the coastal waters of the Dominion are such as to threaten seriously the possibility of our being able to maintain a supply that will be reasonably sufficient to meet the needs of our people in future years. For this reason, the Committee most strongly and urgently requests the Government to cause an immediate investigation to be made, with a view to determining whether — (a) Some limitation might be imposed upon the export of New Zealand fish in order that an increased quantity might be made available for the people of the Dominion; and whether (b) Some restrictions might be introduced for the purpose of controlling or limiting the quantity of fish that might be taken during what may be called the spawning period; and whether, finally (c) Any further regulations arc necessary with regard to the methods of taking fish and the areas in which they may be taken, so as to prevent the great wastage due to the destruction of small or immature fish and to the damage to their feeding and spawning grounds alleged to be caused by the methods and practices that are being followed at the present time. 7th December, 1944.

No. 67.—Petition of Eleanor M. Gamble, of Wellington Praying that she be granted a war widow's pension. I have the honour to report that the Committee has no recommendation to make. 7th December, 1944.

No. 111. —Petition of A. Buck and 4,134 Others, of Christchurch. No. 123. —Petition of W. M. Hayes and 1,820 Others, of Dunedin. No. 127.—Petition of M. K. Wynyard and 366 Others, of Auckland Praying for a review of the case of A. L. Albertson. I have the honour to report that the Committee has no recommendation to make. The Committee is of the opinion that the anomalies and inconsistencies in the gaming laws and its administration are such as to call for immediate and thorough investigation, and with that object in view the Committee recommend that a Royal Commission be set up to inquire into and report upon the whole matter. 13th December, 1944. A. S. Richards, Chairman.

Approximate Cod of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (288 copies), £G.

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Price 3d.]

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