NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 881, 29 July 1910, Page 7

NEWS AND NOTES.

ABOUT A PAIR. A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES. After the result of tho division on Mr. Massey's amendment was announced last ni"ht, there was some discussion with reference to a pair. According to fair Joseph Ward; Mr. Sidey had had to leave for Dunediu, owing to tho death, of a relative. Sir Joseph said that he asked Mr. Sidey if.he had a pair, and ho replied that he was paired with Mr. Allen. There could be no doubt but that Mr. Sidey went away under the impression that he was paired with Air. Allen. "Ono side of a story is a very good story until the other side is told, remarked Mr. Hardy, senior Opposition Whip, amid applause, and a few Oh s. Mr. Hardy went on to say that when Mr Sidoy came to him in the lobby, hn (Mr. Hardy) was very angry over what he thonght to be sharp practice on tnu part of tho Government Whip. Mr. bidey said that Mr. Allen had offered to give him a pair. In reply, ho had told him that Mr. Allen could not do that and he would not record .it. He had, however, offered to pair him with Mr. JNewman, who was ill in bed, but could, if required, come to tho House and vote. In the course of his conversation, he had asked Mr. Sidey why ho had not snoken after having , moved tho adjournment, but his excuse was not satisfactory to him. He (Mr. Hardy) had given him clearly to understand that he was not paired with Mr. Allen. Mr. Arnold (Uuncdin Central) said Mr. Sidey had asked him what he should do. He had prepared notes to speak in tutafternoon, and he oven thought of wiring to Dunedili to delay the funeral, but he (Mr. Arnold) advised him to go south and' have: his . vote recorded. Mr. Sidey told iUh Arnold later that he had arranged for Mr. Allen to-pair with.him. , Mr. Hardy, said he had.given Mr. Sidey. distinctly ,, to-understand that he coiild r.ot pair- with Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen (Bruce) said that Mr: Sidey had told him prior to that day" that he expected to be called away, and he (Mr. Allen) replied that he would probably bo gun* to Dunediu-on Friday. Ho . told Mr. Sidey that ho would be willing togive- him a pair, but bofore anything, could be fixed definitely he must see tho Whip. Later on Mr. Allen saw Mr. Hardy, who said that lie could not allow him '(Mr. Allen) to give nny.thhiij but a live pair. He could only give the pair if he was going to bo away himself. Mr. Hardy told him later that lie had told Mr. Sidey that that pair could not bo made till Friday. . Sir 1 . Joseph Ward said Mr. Sidey told him before he went away that he >va» paired with Air. Allen. "Mr. Ell: Hβ told mo too this after-

Mr'. Hardy said that if all the members of the Houso were against him ho would still give his assurance that he told Mr. Sidey he could only pair with Mr. Allen if Mr. Allen was away.

Mr. Massey supported Mr. Hardy's version of the matter, and said ho had himself objected to Opposition members who wero present pairing on an important division with Government members who wero away. If Air. Allen had paired with Mr. Sidey there was not the slightest doubt that he would have walked out when the division was taken. Mr. Ell said that Mr. Sidey mentioned only Mr. Allen's naiui! to him. INCREASE IN LAND VALUES. TO WHAT IS IT DUE? During a debate in the House yesterday, Mr. T. E. Taylor (Christohurch North) spoko strongly in favour of a betterment tax in connection with tho expenditure of public moneys. Without such a tax, he said, one of the most real economic troubles in this country was greatly aggravated. Between the veal's 1901 and 1908 the increase in the capital value of laud iri New Zealand was .£131,000,000;.. in the unimproved value .£85,000,000'; whilst the increase in the publio debt was over ,-£26,000,000. What had happened was that the .£S5,0(10,fl()0 iu question had gone into tho bauds of those whose lands had improved in value, whilst tho additions to the public debt of ,£26,000,000 femaiued a charge on tho whole Dominion. Mr. Mnssey (Leader of the Opposition) said that what had inainly_ caused the increases in the value of New Zealand lands was the high price of our products. If there came a slump in wool and butter it would prove a heavy blow to tho Dominiou. He would remind Mr. Taylor also that the British Government had not attempted to interfere with agricultural land in couuection with its taxation proposals. Ecfcrcnce was also made to tho subject by Mr. Buchanan (Wairarapa), who claimed that if the figures were examined they would show that though the public works fund had largely benefited settlers in the country,, by far the greater part of the increase in values had been derived from the exertions of tho settlers themselves, and causes with which the public works policy had nothing to do. Tho invention of the freezing industry and improved shipping facilities had had far more to do with the increase in values than had the publio works policy.

THE GAMBLING QUESTION. Three petitions presented y-eslordpy urge that the two questions of licensing bookmakers and the granting of permits for totalisators should ha embodied in ono issue to be placed before Parliament, us if the abolition of on<! is considered then as ii natural sequence the other should bo abolished also. Mr. T. E. Taylor (Christchureh North) presented one sucli potition with 1500 signatures, Mr. Russell (Avon) on« with 888, mid Mr. Laurenscm (Lyttclton) ono with 957, ;t total of 3375 signatures. THE SPECULATIVE ELEMENT. Speaking on tho laud question Inst night, Mr. Marnier, member for Marsden, said he saw no objection to a man taking up a bush farm, improving it, and then getting another out 1 , making out of the first what ho could. Mr. Jennings (Taumaruuni): Hn may do it too often. Mr. Mandcr: lie cannot do it often in a lifetime. Mr. Jennings: I knew one man who did it half-a-dozen times.

Mr. Mander: If ho could make hnlf-a-dozeu bush farms in a lifetiino ho mnst liavn been ft pretty smart man. 'I cannot ?co any objoctiou to his being repaid for his toil.

Mr. Jennings: Ho is keeping other men out of tho ballot.

! 3lr. Slander:.Oh, no; ho may go back- ' nnd buy. Continuing, Jfr. Mander said ii pettier. should havo a chance of shifting ironi ono district to anothw whore tho pliinatc mib'lit suit him better. If our tnocked out the speculative qualities from toon one would take away tlm motive of enterprise- and retard progress. MINISTERS' TRAVELLING ALLOWANCES. . REMARKS BST MR. WRIGHT. Some pertinent remarks anent the. allowances made to Ministers of the Crown whilst travelling were inado by Mr. Wright, M.I 1 , for Wellington South, yesterday. It was noticeable, he said, that Ministers required very little excuse to make a lengthy tour. Not so very long aso, the Primo Minister went as far as Kaikoura to open. a bridge. Other Ministers had gone much further to attend to matters of even less iinportanco —in fact, only twopenny-halfpenny things. From his point of view, heads of Departments, for instance, might very well perform such ceremonies, and thus leave Ministers free to attend to their Departments. Whilst travelling, Ministers received 30s. per day in tho way of allowances, but why. ho could never understand* for they did not have to pay railway fares, and tho best hotels in the country did not charge moro than 12s. per day. If Ministers were careful—aud he believed that they were all teetotallers — (lnughtor)— they could save out of their travelling allowances from 18s. to 20s. per 'Mr. T. E. Taylor: What a glorious prospect! . Government members: Ho is looking to tho. time when ho will be there. (Further laughter.) PUBLIC SECURITIES. The total public securities belonging to the Post Office, Government Insurance, Public Trust, State-Guaranteed Advances Offices, the Sinking Fund Commissioners, tho State Firo Insurance, and the Treasury held in the Dominion are and in London ,£5,5u5,058. AN UNJUST ACCUSATION. According to Mr. Wright, M.P. for Wellington South, Government members wero not fair when they accused members of the Opposition with having opposed progressive measures. Ho remarked in tho Houso yesterday that the present Government—which he described ns tho Ward-Millar Government—did not pass tho Advances to Settlors, Act, the Old Ago Pensions Act, or nraSiy other measures for which they always took credit. If they were so willing 'to take credit for what their political 'fathers did, why did they decline to take the blame for errors made by their immediate predecessors in office? Then, again, it had to be remembered that only a few of the prosent members of tho Opposition were in the House when the measures in miestion were passed.- He thought that there were not more than three of the present Opposition members in Parliament at that time. "No one," he added, "has any right to blame the present occupants of the Opposition benches for .what was dona on their sido formerly. Why, there are now on the Government side itself members who were 'formerly in tho ranks of the Opposition."

TOO LATE FOR A DIVISION. Mr. H. Knihiui, representative of tho Western Maoris, made his first appearance in the House for the present session yesterday. He arrived in Wellington in tho evening, in time to vote on , the division on Mr. Massey's ho-confiderico motion on the land question, which was lost by only ten votes. Mr. Kailuui, however, had- not taker tho oath of allegiance, and so was urablo to exorcise His vote. Hβ took the oath about 11 l>.in., just before the adjournment of the House. jottings! "As far as I can gather, the only ones' who havo any faith in the Government's Native land policy are the Native element in tho Ministry."—Mr. Pearcc, M.P. for Patea, in tho House yesterday. ."There does not appear to bo much difference now as to tho policy of tho Government and the Opposition on tho land question," remarked Mr. Wright, M.P. for Wellington South, in tho House yesterday. Mr. Wright went on to Siij that thts' only difference as for as ho could seo was that whilst the Opposition was going bald-headed .for.-the'freehold, the Government was proceeding with wigs for tlii> samo objective, tho only bras.o upon thein being the leasehold clement in their policy. A largely-signed petition has been presented by Mr. W. D. S. Mncdonnld, praying for v rolief for John Gallen, labourer, of Kotorua, who has been in the employ of the Government for over ten -years, nud has contracted a serious illness as the result of his employment.