PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 969, 9 November 1910, Page 4

PARLIAMENT.

■: —-H» ' - - ■:.:■■'■■' ■■ ;''■.'.: -THE COUNCIL. / BILLS FROM THE HOUSE. When ■ the Legislative* ■ Council assembled at; 2.50 yesterday afternoon, . The National Provident.Fund Bill and tho Public" Revenues Bill were received . from the House -of Representatives, : , and were read a first time; The Justices i ; of the. Peace Amendment Bill,- ComV" panies.-Amondment Bill, and Judicature' :'.. Amendment Billi were received from the House without amendment. '-~'' CONTAGIOUS DISEASES ACT J- : :! i •;-":"" REPEAL. ' • i ■ ; . The second reading, of the Contagious ; Diseases Act Repeal Bill-was moved !..' by .the ..Attorney-General, and 1 was ;'. agreed to. ■ -•:•.- i . The introductory speech of the At- ; -. torney-General and- the discussion • are ;.-!' reported in another columu. !:■'■' FIRST READINCS. ;' : When the Council met at 8 o'clock last ;.- night the Education Reserves Amend- [ .-' ment Bill and the Counties Amendment ( '."Bill received from the House of iv Representatives, and wero read a first ;-.- 'time. ■'■/-.' i - ' LAND SETTLEMENT FINANCE. ~ ;" , Speaking in reference to, the . Land ; Settlement Finance Amendment Bill, ■ , ,■ The Hon. ' J. ANSTEY '(Canterbury) said the Act had done veryylittlo good ' during the past twelve months. He i had hoped that tho Minister of Lands would- have introduced- an-amendment r . .this year which would have made the ■ Act operative. One of, the greatest f'"..obstacles was the requirement of forma-

~ tion of associations before -purchase, ;■ The Minister of Lands had stated that; !.>■'. there,was no joint, liability under tho (Act. ' If that were so, tho main object i. of an association did.not exist.' There !;. was a marked difference to taking up I'/- land under, an Act such as this and p under, the Lands for Settlement Act; ' There'was no Act better than this'latter, under which a man could favourably take up land. On present land values, ;'•• where a man had ;to pay up to the full . productive capacity of tho land, he could , do little more than 1 pay his 'rent and /live in decent comfort. A-man takirig : ;.-' up worth £2000 would pay £25 .more, under the Act than under the Lands for Settlement Act.' Another j. error.'in the Act'was'the failure to al- : t low ,a member of, ah association to, ;- ' hypothecate his rent. .As a result of .-the limitation of .'.area,-the Act would - be applicable to small areas only. There ; would always bo great difficulty in forniK'.'ing (a large association. All the pre- ',: liminary work in connection with the j-, acquisition of estates under the Act [..should be done by commissioners, and r tho •■ necessity, for associations could be h done. away. with. ",If this course \: .werev . adopted,'. , ,tko '. Act conld f be made a very useful mea- •; sure.; He was sorry, that the Statutes ':•"• Jtevision Committee had' struck out '.Clause 7, which dealt with the limited i, fl a ™ Wtf of members of' associations. (•■; lifter ; referring to- the working of the' l :.: 'Act,Jihe.speaker -remarked that New "■ Aul ani 7 a l; P! lin S,"P.a huge national ,<. debt, and the only good excuse should i-- pe a close settlement of the country. ; The pastoral runs could bo better dealt ;'. .with than they were at present. Thou- !',: sands of acres of educational.reserves . were lying waste owing to bad mani. . agement and bad administration. The person who drafted this Bill was unac--1;' quainted with s the interests and the • wants of the farming community. There ' 'Were a number of practical men who Leonid have helped to make the Bill ainore t : practical measure had they been con- : suited. It was all very well for white- ;'••■ collared gentlemen to sit'down in. their- !■ offices and produce such a-narrow and i defective measure-as this. K', would; : not, however, assist the farming comr inunity...

'■■' The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in reply, ... said "the head andfront of the Government's offending appeared to be that '■; they/had not consulted thohon. gentleI : •■' man: No doubt it, was the duty .of the 1 -Government to have known everyone ; having a knowledge of a particular [ ;..' matter, and to have- straightway con- ; , suited, him—sat at his feet, so to speak ;■:'■ —in order to get. the benefit of his ; houndless wisdom. But probably even I;: a-farmer was not infallible. A gentle- ;:■■ man who woro a white collar might not : have so much intelligence as a farmer, ;•-. yet he might, be able to hold a /candle r to one who.was a sort'of Shakespeare .'■•■' amongst farmers. In future, no doubt i.- the Government would avoid any disi'... courtesy. ..-..' >~ '. Mr.'Anstey (laughingly)::l'll forgive !- ~>,• you if you-will only settle the land;: i : Continuing, Dr. Findlay' Said.', that f Mr.. Anste'y had said that the purchase ; of only Vone. estate had been actually *-, completed.; In reality, the purchase of ; :';.- seven estates had been completed under ; ; . 'the Act;, and gazetted, and the pur- ;./ chase of-four others was under :.way. :•:■.--If the Act was such a blundering : piece of legislation, how came it that it ; /'had done this work in so short a tinio?, :.'■.; This was'.an inexcusable blunder. t In reply:to the Hon. Mr. Anstey, ;:. .The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said no ;■■■:■ proposed purchases had fallen through; j '■ ; . In Committee on the Bill, the Attori' . ney-General,. referring to the clause in ;' reference, to limited liability of members j ■_■ ,of associations, which, was struck out ; by the Statutes Revision- Committee, : said a complete misunderstanding see'm-['••'-■'ed to have existed in the minds! of mem- ;.' bers in another place ■ as'. to the legal ~ position of theso associations. There ; '■-". was, he.said, 'no joint liability of any j l kind on the part of members of associat tions. ''All. each member was respbn- ; ' siblo for-/was his part of the purchase money. -/If'his neighbour failed to '-..' Pay, : the other member was not liable. ;• ■.-'.-■-The whole of the amendments made by i ; the Statutes' Revision Committee-were I. agreed to.' / ' ".'; : . New clauses were accepted: Providing j .'that an /agreement may provide that any area.or..areas of the land comprised in that agreement shall be reserved as a site for. a school, church, cemetery, recreation ground, or dairy factory, or for any other, purpose of comnion utility to tho members of the association. All '; ■;■. such reserves shall he excluded from !..";. the scheme of subdivision of the land. ! v The association may deal with or disJ : pose of (whether'by sale, gift, lease, or otherwise) any such reserve in such ;'■ manner as the association thinks fit.A further new clause was added that: '■: for the purpose of providing a fund out }■.''■'. of which tho expenses of management !., can be paid, and out of which losses ; , caused by the defaults of purchasers or ;. " ' otherwise can bo met, (a) on the execu- ; •:'• tion of the transfer or conveyance of ;■' an allotment tho purchaser shall pay t to the association a sum equal to one- !•'■ half per centum of the purchase-money; !. (b) the sum shall be'payable in addi- ;■';- tion'to tho purchase-money, and not as ;.-. . part-thereof. I ' The" ATTORNEY-GENERAL said it

I ■;'■'. was expected that this sum would in the | '■. "long run ■ meet any possiblo default. '/.''•, He did not"tliink it. would bear very V hardly oir members of associations, anil he thought, it ira's only fair that they \ ; should take sonic liability. ..for' -the guarantee the State gave them. ■'-.. ':.''-. The Bill was reported with amend- ' • uts.

COMMERCIAL TRUSTS. "In Committee on the Commercial Trusts Bill, The Hon.".;J. BEEHAN (Auckland) moved -that "fish" bo, added to.-thoi schedule pf tile Bill, giving tho same reasons as he had voiced on the second reading. Tho Hon. GEO. JONES; .(Oamaru) thought tho best way'to. moot the position would bo to omit tho schedule altogether. ■ ; The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said ho could not agree to Mr. Jones's suggestion. The Government was making a beginning with,.this Bill, and it..was a good beginning as it stood, They could hit the different monopolies as they arose." He thought- a mistake had been made in saying, that there was a fish monopoly: in Now .'.'Zealand to-day. ... : Tho Hon. Mr. 'Boehan 'pressed his amendment, and' on a .division; being taken it was "agreed, to by .12 votes to 5-' ■'' '.. . ■ .-. - , • -.-..', The Bill was later, read a third time .and passed. ".'•'-' "■'■■•-. OPIUMAMENDMENT BILL. ■■ The Opium Amendment Bill \was put through 'Committee'without amendment, and was then'read-a third' time and passed. .' ,'.: 'inspection of machinery. After negotiating its Committee/stage without, amendment,. the Inspection of Machinery Amendment Bill was" -put through its third reading and passed. KAIAPOI RESERVE.''"'; . The Kaiap/>i: Reserve-BJll was put Committee stage, the only alteration;-inade being;'the' insertion .of a;new,.clause>in regard -to rents being paid, to ..the; Public -.Trustee:" "'The Bill was put through-its final stages and ,passed.-K'-;;'.J::^:- : :; ! The Council''rose" at" 9145 "p:'m."~'