NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 638, 15 October 1909, Page 5

NEWS AND NOTES.

vT-WO DIFFERENT. STORIES. During the course of his speech last night Sir Joseph Ward said he was amazed-at the. extraordinary efforts that were made to magnify everything Mr. Massey did. Prior to the general election* he travelled on the same train wfth Mr. Massey from Temuka to Christchurch. When Ashburton wne reached, Mr. Massey was met by a number-of his friends, who were having some difficulty over the selection bf.tEe Opposition candidate for the electorate. He (Sir Joßejsh) did not go out'on the platform, as he considered it wonld be priggish under the,circumstances to do so. what was 'the result.. Why, the Press Association sent a. message all over, the Dominion-to the effect that/whilst Mr*. • Massey was received ;by the people, , he (Sir Joseph) remained in his carriage. .* Hβ. (Sir * Joseph).. had done what he considered * was ■ a gentlemanly thine, : and ns a resnlt of Ms action',. Mr. Massey became for the time being, a hero, simptj: because half a dozen men, includinc Mr. Nosworthy, ,'who' wanted ■to .become members of Parliament had gone to.tho station to see him. "I ain' afraid,", he continued, "that if Mr. Massey sneezes it vnll.' bo. turned, into- a thunderclap, jnd-, if he. court* it- will be> deicribtdas a perfect eariiaiieJca. , . ■-.-■■.. -■.-■••

Touching'upon the same matter, Mr. Massey said that, as a matter: of fact, ISO people assembled on the station (k> meet him. He had, he said, promised (hati if they returned an Opposition member he would go back nnd deliver a speech. They did'return an Oppositionist, and ho intended to: keep his promise. ■Sir Joseph, by.way. of rejoinder, said, amid laughter, that he would go to Ashburton, and ho hoped to ehow the ejectors thero that they should return a.-Government member. LAND TENURE REFERENDUM PROPOSED. According to Mr. tJ E. Taylor, a majority of the people do.not want the unreserved freehold. He wns of • opinion that the question should be jeferod ;to the electors for. decision by referendum. He thought that general election day was not , a suitable time for such a vote to be taken, owing to. the turmoil whi6h usually accompanied that event. ■Mr. Buchanan: Why not; on the- day of the general election? ' ; Mr- '|!1I; We.will accept that day. air. Taylor said that when the proposed ltmd measure was brought down, ho would make a proposal that the electors should be asked the question. ■ •. '

U.S. FLEET VISIT DJSCUSSED. ■ t Eeferring to _ the oriticism •as to the cost of the visit of the-American.-'Fleet, the Prime , Minister last night stated -that it would never have:done to have allowed'the fleet to pass by New.Zealand. What had.fceen the effect? Mr. Massey:. Sovereigns were chucked away m shovelfuls. • ■ . ■ ; .

Sir Joseph: Oh; did you get any of them? Mr. • Massey: No, but, some of your friends did..- ■' ■ ■ . - •

Sir Joseph went on to say that, the total expense was:a little over .£9000; in Australia the cost ot,entertainment of the: fleet had totalled .£40,000. Was it >ot . an, important event?- -Why, m' addition to .the representatives of the Governor, officials of tw fleets and members of Parliament, there were present.at the celebrations leading citizens from all over the Dominion. Tho citizens of land and the Harbour Board there had assisted the Government to bear the expense of the ■welcome. Perhaps, instead of banqueting the viators, their hosts should have given them bread and.water, , and in'order to save expense accommodated them in H.M.S. Prison. (Lauehter.) Why was it that, the criticism had not been made before, seeing that twelve months had elapsed since the fleet was here. ■ If another great, navy visited this, part of the world, the.people would, of course, want to welcome it in the same way as it had welcomed- the American 'Fleet, and in the same way as the British Fleet was welcomed wherever it went "I am afraid,"-Sir Joseph added, but I would not-like to be offensive to him that the criticism is for the purpose of doine us harm m one-way or another.'■ During the course of a personal explanation, ater, Mr. Allen said, that the reason why he had not touched on the subject More was that 81, which contained , the figures, , hnd only ; just been • brought down. • ■' ] Sir Joseph-; retorted ; that a vote "was made J last year.in connection with the expenses;- '

OPEN;UP THE NATIVE LANDS! A :petition, .urging that'steps should.be taken to more speedily settle the Native lands, was presented V Mr-.Reed yesterday: It bore no fewer than-426'signatures of residents of'the .distnote .north, of Auckland. .'The petitioners til "V?! 1 a ? atlre laad court should be appointed to eaoh county, concerned, and that when a block of land is under consideratien, the .court ehouldsit continuously until 1 the'dif- . erent owners are defined. .It is their opinion «HI.S tl v «? estlon - of ' ownership has been settled, the Native owners should be allowed to dispose, of_ their lands i by sale or lease. Either-provision should'.be made, for more speedy adjudication of the titles or the restrictions against.disposal of the land should-be removed. . In', cases where unimproved lands Pub,io for ta»».on ta' half of the Maori owners the instrument of loascjhould contain a provision that-the lessee should receive .compensation, for improvements at avaluation at the termination of the"'lease "■

"PROGRESS"-AND MR. CARROLL :: "Which is. the party-of progress?" asked Mr. Newman (Manawatu) in the House on Wednesday.'Can- it be possible," he added '"to associate with progress, a party of which the Native Minister is a leader? It is stated in ttto . bpeech from • the Throne-that there are sevonty statutes that have to be consolidated which are complex,, profuse, and inconsistent. a it r^P;P si H e • for that? Uos t undoubtedly the Native Minister,'who .has been ln.ohttTge of that Department for the last eighteen Mr. Newman added .that, he believed Native Minister' had been' actu:aWcl by the best of motives in protecting what' to btf the interests of the Natives, i ihe Hon: J. Carroll: You have .referred to legislation "of tho'last forty" years. " " v ? : Mr. Newman .repeated ..that Mr. Carroll. had Been more responsible than any other man in t 3 n, Do 1 !? I 2 lon ,M retarding the settlement of: the j Native land question. It was beyond his understanding how any. North Island mem. Carroll had cfiarge of Native affairs. Without re s!?? ng lat,.a"."I at ,. a "."P 0,1 thc Native Minister" he considered that tne control of - Maori . atos should be taken out of .the hands of aiy btnesfS 3 "^^^ o^ll^^:' The Hon. J; vCarroll: Ifako an ' excha^e" ?o "a"? s .° Ver ° CO ' ltrol Of Eur °P Ciin * S &s wli T ' ,V CW S nn , J sai(l ,le , wuW like.ti see the Hqn/Mr. Powlds ■Oγ tho Hon. Mr. M'Kenzie or. arty other man -who had had a busiS method ZT& t6 «*.SSSSS SftXth 8 nbo ? t an 4" ly eettlement ?u| e w^^p^^ h^^^^ ]0^ s ""der tne ■ Unds for the s7mn fo «' and J ntti »e- 'he Maoris 6n tne samo footing as Europeans. ' i"

.'BETTER ABOLISHED: THE,NATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Some.vigorous statements on. the Native laid questaon were made by Sir. Guthrie? member f>r 2i?t, Ua 4 oll i ? nesd % , : G ««>rie urged that, with the-least.possible delay, tho-Nativo jatidsmust,be thrown open,, because the people of the Dominion were getting tired of spending, million after million of borrowed money.for the purpose of improving land that was not reproductive .The-Native land- must- be-made-to "ear its own share, and nothing else would ■ sa . t ,'i s . f 7 tUe People of.this country. There were ■mi life of acres of' Native land- which ought to be under production... The .-European we; not ■allowed to hold back lnrge areas from settlement or cultivation, and the same law should apply to the Maori. .Ho thought that tho Gov-ernment-would-find-it a very diffioulttask to : "'"f," o ™, a .satisfactory bill to. consolidate all those J«ativo land measures which had been weighed in thebalanoe and-found wanting. ■Hβ suggested that the Native Department shoud be wiped out,.and that the Maori lands should be placed under the land boards. They were capable.of administering, the Crown lands, and-Eurely they were capable of-dealing with .the others.. It would be a glad day for :J.ew Zealand when the Native Department was wiped out of. existence.; ..... • . •■■ ■'■■-.;- ■■■:■■ TRIFLES.. ■ : ! , The figures relating to < the public finances : aro usually, large': and imposing. But- the States receipts are not always on the grand scale-not ilways millions. In the paper 81, the det&ils- of the -"'miscellaneous ordinary revenue the .State as appearing: 6Oraetimes as a second-hand dealer in a small way, or a''struggling bottle-man. Here are some of the items: Sale , of fireworks, sale of waste paper, inspection fees for docs from Sydney, -sale boat,' sale : of wreckage, sale of old survey boat" (.62), "sale oi old winch," (£2), and so :on, Somebody got by purchasing "kauri transoms*' lor i l i\ W., and-the^efioit-was further staved off by a shrewd sale of "old furniture ft'hedjra rC0 ' mj C ) il . ristehnroh '" Th "

i QUESTIONS. .Mr. J._ _C. Thomson (Duaedin ; Ncrth) has given notice to -ask -the - Prime- Minister- if he will make prevision to fittingly commemorate the services-■»( Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the fouader of -New- Zealand. . .^■;. wi .W°rd has, given notice to .' ask ; the Minister for Railways whether he will cause inquiry-to be made as-to the necessity for the erection -of --an ■ overbridße -from- -the • Petone railway station to .the .Korokoro Boad; and whether he •will; in the event' of a favourable report, accede-to, the request of the Korokoro' ratepayers and place a sum upon the Estimates for its construction. , ■ .

Mr. Wilford wilLasbthe Minister for Educa^ h *°V vh wM e / tbi3 session Provide out of the Wilford Settlement, Petone. an area suitable for a' school site." Tho Wilford Settle-' pent is, he states, at-present practically mmrevenue prodncing, and it is in the interests of : education in itho' Hurt Valley that such an area be selected .before:any building programme. be carried out. ..-■ -...-■■ "-.:••• ~",-.' , JOTTINGS. : ■ ,' iu'-T, tt?k ■ tli«,Gowrnment to ■.remember' this, thit- for f6ui ■ yewr/wo- haT» nev*r .lost- a seat to^tlie;Government, whiijt iz'jte iw&gdad

they have lost eleven seats to us, and they fn, take what comfort they like out of the fact. —Mr, llassey, Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. K. A; Wright;is urging the instaUation of an independent telephone exchange at Newtown, and tho construction of a post offlco at Brooklyn. ' . ■ , t < ; ;• -.

IVonty-six houses were completed, or ncarlv completed, under the Advances to Worker's Act dunug the year 1008-00. Up to the end fif «!* i OB , dwe »inge had Vn erected. Of these 105 had been let. The house generally favoured by tenants is the five-roomed one.

lhere were last year > 325 industrial unions of workers, with a total membership of 49,347, and 122 unions of employers, with 3918 mem-

.AWit'onal petitions in support of the claim of the Railway Engine-drivers', Firemenfe, and Ueaners Association for official recognition have come to hand from New Plymouth, Linwood, DuneJin.and Mercer.

] -, sll f a s rol,lm(! S for this. little country tnat it has ;;onc ahead as it has done uith the Government which it has had for the past twenty'voars, but I contend that if there lad been bettor .Native land'laws, arid-there had been no attempt to make the settlers-tenants S f « M^ o,, '"', 1 * wouUl have done infinitely better.'-Eemarlc by Mr. Buick during the dTte hls speech-in- the Address-in-Keply

If thero is any question which the Gov. emmenthas not the backbone to face it avoids iU duty ,by setting up a commission."-Mr. ukey. .

"He.has tho cheek to tell us," was the free and easy expression; used by ~ a member from this province on Wednesday, who had beon previously saying that ■ haviug ■ served a session he knew'something of the ways of Parliament, lhe same member, in ■ replying tea' certain Minister, spoke of his "flapping his wings and crowing'. on- c particular subject" A friv O i"iis proportion of the House pretended to detect'a personal allusion in this'-metaphor, but the ; orator .explained . that, such, was far. from las intention. The Minister's name was "not mentioned, but the member threw some light on his identity, if any, light; was needed, by. declaring: '1 know more about wool ■ than he does. .

Thus Mr. E. H. Taylor during the Ad-dress-m-Rcply debate: "When it takes nve millions a; year to allay their 'spiritual' thirst, the people of the Dominion cannot be very poor." (Laughter.) The member: What I mean is .that in. view of the amount of our-drink bill I look upon it as a slonder for anyone to say we aro poor." (Hear, hears.)

I- am t beginning to feel an old member; I have been here for one' session—it is' truo that it was o short nv—h-t, ' '-—-' <<•■■ ■'-, the time."—Mr. Buick, of" Paimerston Morta.

The day is coming, by present portents, acJjrding'to •• Mr'.," Newman' (Manawatn) •when there will be 'no 'aristocracy in the. country but. the Maoris. , They arc tho privileged class .now,, -Mr. Nowman's- last- 1 remark referred especially to tho advantages enjoyed by Maoris in regard to lands. • ' , ■■ ■■■■■ >■ : -

Mr. Mnssey has given notice to move: That there bo laid before this House a return showing for the year ended. March 31, 1909, the total amount collected by- way of Customs .duty on articles/which were formerly free, but were made dutiable by th'e-Act of 1907. or decisions, of the.Minister for Customs in connection therewith, giving the name of the article and the amount of duty in each case.

At J"! ownrequest, the namo of' Mr. Malcolm (Clutlia) has been removed from the Petitions Classification Committee. ■

"I will bo frank," said-Mr. Malcolm (Qntha) yesterday,._ and I will say that I believe that the. Opposition party has been out of touch with the people of this country in .the past, and they hnyo had to pay bitterly for it. They have.learned their lesson, and to-day they are more in touch with tho people of tliis country than is the Government party." Mr. Malcolm contrasted, the plain, freehold policy of the Opposition with the vagueness and confusion :>f the Government's-land policy. Though the .Government was ■ practically bankrupt as. regards legislation,vits. administration, -was in a worse state. . v . ■ ■; - - '... ~

"It seems to be the principal concern of lion, gentlemen on the Government side to dig out ancient history, and I think that is one of the most foolish things a man,can turn his hand to. —Mr. Anderson ' : ■ . The .education system of this country' is coming into general contempt,: according to' Mr' Malcolm i.Clutha). .'.'llt.js. throughout the country," he declared in the HouJo' .yesterday, "that .our..children,,are.4'ot beiii K : educated as they were-;6ome'years- ago, th'at'! the Minister for Education has allowed himself to bo-led by faddists, and that the admiuistratipn of our cducoltion system has not'been on sound lines.'.' An attempt had been made to make the schools small universities, which gave a smattering of ovorysort of education Without'the children getting the . thorough grounding which they ought to havo in'necessary subjects. ■.-'•. , ■;.',■