IMPREST SUPPLY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 960, 29 October 1910, Page 6

IMPREST SUPPLY.

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE.

THE SURTAX.

MR. MASSEY MOVES FOR ITS ABOLITION.

STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER,

Thero was an interesting debate as to whether tho surtax provided under the Customs Duties Act last year should bo abolished, 'besides/'discussion's' on other? important subjects, ■ during the passago of an Imprest Supply Bill through tho House of Representatives yesterday. '. '

Upon tlio motion that the messago embracing the Bill bo referred to the Committee of Supply,. Mr. -Massey, Leador of the Opposition, said that he 1 wished to express his congratulations upon the improved financial position of the Dominion as shown by :the figures . which"the' Prime Minister had given the House that afternoon. (The statement ;read by Sir Joseph Ward appears in anothor column.) v Mr. Massey Urges Hepeal of the Surtax. In view of'that important fact (continued Mr. Massov), he wished to move an amendment as -under: —/ - .. "As since last session the revenue . . of the Dominion , has considerably . increased,'and : is intended "to .be"' /still '.further- augmented .-'by flegisla- .■.■/, tion before Parliament, and is already more than sufficient for tho ordinary requirements of tHq, Cor s -•. ' '. solidated Fund;.:and..as unnecessary. .' ■ taxation is harassing to the people and likely to have a bad effect on . tho country as a. whole,-this House is of opinion that the surtax pro- * vided by the-Customs Duties Act, , 19d9,- should bai' aboibhed forthwith." . Mr. Massey (proceeding) said that he did not intend to say much on the amendment, as if all the members spoke . for a month they could give no better argument in favour of his amendment than the figures which the Prime Minister had quoted. It was his view that " the' increases all round would be. at an ■ oven greater rate, during the .-last five months of the year. He would 'like to remind th<3 Prime Minister that, there was a growing- impression' that ■. the.-people .were being over-taxed. ' This impression was doing a great deal . of harm outside the Dominion. ; The Gov-, ernment should endeavour to remove the impression without' delay. . When . the surtax was agreed to, it. was not intended that- it should run tho full term. When tho matter was being dis- .. cussed, : the Prime * Minister ; had stated that: if it were necessary to" remove, the surtax before.Maj-ch 31.next, this would be done. Need to Increase Confidence. After the glowing statement which had been made 1 by tho Prime Minister, it was .the' duty, of ; the-. Government to : remove the surtax'at once.- The Government should lighten the burdens : on the-peoplo and. in;every way inspire the people with greater -confidence; If that/ were done it ! would result in the increase of'the exports by at least 50 per cent, before: ;long. . : No j doubt the Prime Minister; would tell' the House thatuf the amendment was' adopted it would block the Imprest. '.This, , how-. • eveiy-was hot what would happen at' all, for. the motion could again -.be moved. The' Prime Minister 1 said that one could only marvel at the extraordinary amendment, which had been moved. During "the difficult position which pre-, sente'd';itself./twelve."months .ago the Opposition, instead of helping to steady. / matters in-the.-interests of the people, adopted 'an', attitude : which , was' calculated to weaken and do. an immense amount, of injury. Tho; /.Government had/lie held, faced the position in a courageous manner. " Mr. Massey: Wo gave-you ,all/;the money you wanted. ' - './/- Sir Joseph (continuing) said that tho amendment' had been mo.ved for political reasons. /':///'/■ ;/;.-' Mr. Massey: For ths good - of '.' tho country. . The Government and Remissions. Sir: Joseph went on to say that, spread' over the', whole of the people tho -. surtax' was infinitesimal. ■ He felt that the people would be ashamed .at any suggestion that they Should not pay what .was right towards defence. -Since 1895 railway remissions which had gone to the. producers had been made to the ■' extent of £2,282,000. OtheT remissions included £700,000 . in . Customs and £390,000 in/post and ; telegraph rates. The amendment was not fair from the . point of view of party-Warfare. No ono could gainsay that the figures which he had given showed that the Dominion had made a splendid recovery. The. increase in the taxation was for the protection of ;,the "national and private assets. "; "considered that" the insurance of'this Dominion was being' effect- / ed at a very moderate rate. It was. : necessary to provide for a fixity of revenue owing to the heavier demands on the, expenditure and the necessity for further outlay on defence. He .would like to know when Mr". Massey prepared his amendment./It'looked to him'as if it wero-the hatching "of a caucus of the Opposition. Mr.:Massey was- apparently in a bit of a hurry, for ho could not know the contents' of .the" Public Works Statement! He might tell him that the • proposals of the Government in this regard would be:very, satisfactory. The. effect-of the amendment , would be to ■ reduce the Government's capacity to provide public works .to the ■ extent of £50,000.. .He did not know- how tho exports .could : be'increased by legisla- ' tion' by 50 per cent. ~ / • Mr. Pearce: A proper land policy would do it. . What tho Covemment is Doing. . Sir Joseph went on to'.state . that a, : large number'.of people. had- be«n sottied: during-, recent years. Then there was the beneficial ; effect of , the State lending Department. Only the other day a private; ldhding institution' had .- lent a largo sum to a local body at par at 4 per cent, without charges, and tho interest to be paid only as the money was used. If it had not been for. the : existence of . the State .lending ment no such olfor would s 'havc been made. Ho was sorry that Mr. Massey Bhould have seen fit to propose the amendment.; ' Mr. Allen (Bruce) said that the Gov- ; ernment should not have allowed Mr. Massey to tako the lead in tho matter. The surtax was put on owing to a temporary falling in the'revenue. It was only right that it should now be removed seeing that tho revenues had recovered, lie surtax was not being paid by the rich people—members must know that that was the fact. Tho Prime "Minister had anticipated that the ' increase in the revenue would bo £331,000, but if tho present increase were maintained it would run into £1,000,000. This would show that tho surtax should at once bo removed. Ho wished to challenge a statement by the Prime Minister that the Opposition had stated that the country was unsound. What the Opposition had said was that the country was sound,.but that the Administration was unsound. No Need for the Surtax. The retrenchment in respect to some of the Departments was fictitious.. As ' far. as.defence expenditure was concerncd there was,'no "need for the surtax. The State Guaranteed Advances Act

was not the reason why local bodies wero getting cheap money. Tlio reason was'-the abundance of money. There wore not the same facilities for local bodies getting small sums that there wero ■several years ago. Moro money should not bo raised by taxation than was required year by year. The country had got into a habit of borrowing a.cortain sum of, money each year for public works and then a scramble ensued for the money. The sound method would bo to detormino what public works wero to be undertaken and thou find tho money for them. Mr. Allen' went on to say . that tho Prime Minister showed a growing tendency to igiioro Parliament. Sir. Josoph Ward: Oh, no, .I ain not. Mr. Allen said tho House had forced the Prime Minister's hand with regard to Customs remissions. Did tho Prime Minister, when talking of tho remissions of - £000,000,. ever mention the increases in the preferential duty taxes which were now amounting to a fairly largo amount every year. Tho hon. gentleman was. whining all session about the- increased" cost>'Of. defence.' What had it been? There'had been £500 as progress payment on the Dreadnought, and in tho Estimates r.n increased £22,000 was shown in the cost of defence this'year. . _ To. meet these items the Prime' Minister asked for £200,000. .Sir Joseph Ward: That is very misleadingi Tho largest proportion will be in interest and .sinking fund. Mr. J. A. Hanan (Invercargill) said .that - some member's of the Opposition" would find it difficult to vote for Mr. Massey's amendment in. view of their previous votes. . ; . Mr.. Stallworthy; (Kaipara) said the remarks of the Opposition wero a bundle of contradictions. : . The. amendment, was rejected by 44 votes ;to 28. v, . / , i 'The division- was on strictly party lines, Mr. Luko (Wellington .Suburbs), and' Mr. T." B; 'Taylor (Cliristclmich North) voting with the Opposition.

. WITHHOIiDINC/01-/RETURNS. i ■: COMPLAINT AGAINST THE '" GOVERNMENT. ' -Another important question was raised by Mr. Massey upon the motion to go into Committee of Ways and Means. He said that he wished to emphasise the failure of the Government to supply Parliament with return's that had-been ordered by the House.' It was generally • supposed, he said, that it was the right of every member to apply , for any information he -might want by way of a return. Tho popular impression seemed to be that a member had only to move for such information and the request would be granted. It was just about' time .that impression was removed, -and the people knew, tho exact position. In October last yeaT, for instance, it. was ordered, on his motion, that a : return be prepared showi ing 'the travelling expenses of Mk_sters for the year ended March 31, 1909, and the half-year ended September 30, 1909. That; information had never been supplied to Parliament.., ■ Was there any reason why Parliament should be flouted in this/way? 'Then; again, a return dealing with newspaper advertising for the year ended March 31, 1909, had been ordered, on his motion, but. the information had not been supplied. ; . .Sir Joseph: What do ..you suggest'has not been supplied in regard to this return?

Mr. Massey: There are no details of tho overseas advertising. v . : r '. Information Kept Bach. / Continuing, . Mr. Massey instanced other -returns which had no'', been supplied, though-ordered. One was by Mr. 'Scott,'who asfced for details as-to the ■letting'.of a .Central'P'tagS riin; allegedly without bomjietition. He- would also mention a . return ordered on his own motion that a return be prepared relating to loans granted by the Advances Department. •, Another ' return ' which he had vdesired related : to the number of copies of tho Consolidated Statutes, which: had been printed, .and the average cost of each. He could give a number of instances. which had occurred this year. In July last there .was' ordered, on his motion, a return showing the names of the officials^.in the High Commissioner's Office, ■ their duties and their salary. That return, could bo, prepared,'by a clerk-"in an hour. / ' Another return which should nave been supplied and was eagerly awaited related to the payments, if any, which had been made to members of the judiciary apart from their salaries and travelling allowances. ..All he 1 could say was that the Government was treating the House with contempt in the matter. Mr. Lang (Manukau) pointed out that he had not yet seen: an ordered return as te the number of employees a,nd the cost. of, producing articles at the various Government workshops. - Mr. Okey (Taranaki) instanced the withholdings of a return relating .to the town of Rotorua. Mr. Jas. Allen (Bruce) also gave instances of returns which had been kopt back. . Political Pabulum, i . Sir, iJoseph-- Ward ..said Mr. Massey did not linow .what wa:i.going on. in the House. A largo number of returns were asked for by the Opposition for political purposes, and the present Opposition was, more, given to trying to'obtain political pabulum at great, cost to the country than any previous Opposition. If all the returns asked for were granted, it. would cost, ten, fifteerij or twenty thousand a year. One member had got a-return, and a considerable time afterwards had complained it had not been: furnished. Mr. Massey ; That was v a Government member. • . • 1 Sir Joseph Ward: I am not going to say who it was/-(Laughter.) Continuing, Sir Joseph Ward said a number of returns which."'Mri Massey had complained of not receiving had been tabled. . These .charges of' not supplying returns were like others ho could not. refer to.- When they wero probed there was nothing in them, and the backhander' was against those who made them, . Of the returns instanced by Mr.' Massey,'the one relating to newspaper advertising . had been furnished. . / / Mr. Massey: That is not mine. Mine has not been produced. Continuing, Sir Joseph said the one relating to the number.of Consolidated Statutes had also been furnished. Position of Ministers. Sir Joseph went on to say. that he was surprised that a return should be asked of the expenses of Ministers who were invited to visit the different localities, and necessarily must bo at some expense. The return was asked for, ho felt sure, purely for political purposes. As a rule, returns were not of general interest. Where it was felt' that a return would be of little use, tho Government had to step in. Frequently the staff of a Department was disorganised owing to tho i necessity for preparing returns. Mr. Massey, at a later stage, said that ho hoped the attention which ho had drawn to tho subject would have a remedial effect. THE ADVANCES DEP/iRTMENT. "PLENTY OF MONEY." As .regards tho item "Loans to Local Bodies Account," Mr. Herries (Tauranga) expressed tho hope that the amount that was to be advanced in future would not be still further restricted." Sir Joseph Ward: Wo have plenty of money. Mr. Herries: I hope that the settlers will take note of that. Mr. Wilford: There is plenty of money about where the security is sound. The Prime Minister said that no advances had been refused on account of

the want of funds. The Department was now making advances to the total of £2,000,000 per annum. It was not intended to run this Department on stupid lines. If the Government wore to increaso the amount of the advances the Department would probably find itself advancing from £3,000,000 to £4,000,000 per annum. This country was not in a position to do that. Mr. Pearce (Patea) pointed out the difficulty thero was in getting money on leaseholds. "Most Unfortunato Position." Mr. Hogg (Mastorton) said the Department had informed him that preference had to bo given to applications for £500 and under. • The only Department that could assist Crown tenants was closed to them for amounts of £500 and over. It was a most unfortunate position of affairs, and in some cases mortgagees wero "foreclosing. .If tho Government had tho money they wero not; doing their duty to this 'useful class of land-holder. " The Prime Minister feaid it must be remembered that! thero was a limit, every, year to the amount advanced by the State Guaranteed Advances Department. Tho limit on Crown lands had been extended to £1000 now that all tho £500 applications had been met. Mr. Guthrie (Oroua) said that many small farmers were grumbling becauso they could not get sufficiently large advances. There was also the case of leasehold settlers on Native lands. He claimed that the Ohutu Block should be disposed'of on the freehold tenure. More should also be done to help the back-blocks settlers. STATE GOAL MINES. CRITICISM BY MR. HERDMAN. Referring to the State coal mines, Mr. Herdman (Wellington North) said the Port Elizabeth and Seddonville mines had now been in existence for half a dozen' years, and the last report by the manager's of the mines was not, in his opinion, of a satisfactory, character. He had been told that a number of retail coal dealers had had to go out of the business, and others wore anxious to sell out. The competition of the State was in his opinion, carried on under unfair conditions. For .instance, the State mines paid no royalty. If the 6d. or 3d. per ton royalty was debited against the coal' from' tho Seddonville and Port Elizabeth mines, the result would have been that a loss would have been shown last year. Further, said Mr.. Herdman, the reports of the managers of the mines' in'question indicated, to his mind, that 'if they were not exhausted they were getting close t-o it. No provision j appeared to have beeii made by tho Crown'in regard to carrying on coal mines in the future. .'lt seemed to liim that the time, had come when the Government should indicate to the country what their polioy' wasto be in the future in regard to carrying on the mines. A large amount of money was sunk in the mines, and he would like to know if it was intended to prospect new areas, and whether a monopoly was to be created to drive the retailer out altogether.

After further'discussion on the various matters reported in other columns, the. Bill, which was for the sum of £719,900, was read a third. time, and passed. i