PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1245, 29 September 1911, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

y THE COUNCIL. CORONATION INVITATIONS. DEGREES IN DIVINITY. LAND SETTLEMENT QUESTION. • The Legislative Council met at 2.30 yesterday afternoon. The Sir Donald M'Lean Memorial Pnrk Bill was reported from Committee, with n recommendation that it be allowed to proceed. On tho motion of tho Hon. J. 1). Ormond, the second reading was mndo an order of the day for next sitting day. 'The Greytown Land and Hospitals Land Exchange Bill was also reported from Committee. Tho second reading of the Bill was made an order of the day for Wednesday next. 1 - Tho Hauraki Plains Amendment Bill was received, from tho House of Representatives. and was read a fwst time.

CORONATION INVITATIONS. Tho question of the Coronation invita- ' tions was raised by The Hon. C. H. MILLS, who asked the Attorney-General whether ho' would explain :-(l) Why tho members of the Legislative Council did not receivo from the Government a copy of the first invitation sent through the Premier to tho New Zealand Parliament by the Joint Committee of the House of Lords and Commons, inviting eight, members of the Now Zealand Parliament to attend tho King's Coronation. in London; (2) why they did not receive a copy of tho second invitation sent by the same committeo through the Government, inviting eight members of tho Legislative Council to attend the samo ceremony; (3) will the Attorney-General lay oil the tablo of tho Council copies of all cables, letters, or papers received by the Government in connection with tho Coronation invitations, with copics of the replies thereto pent, by the Government? Tho Hon. C. H. Mills said ho put the question on tho order paper because there seemed to be somo mystery regarding invitations. Some light had been thrown on the matter by the Prime Minister, and the speaker proceeded to quote the statements already made by the Premier. He (Mr. Mills) took it that tho cablc published meant that both Housss were invited and the Council should have received an invitation, but none was forthcoming. They had been given no opportunity, of accepting or refusing, lie had never heard of anything of the kind' during his Parliamentary experience. ' Ho thought tho Council should havo been consulted, and, if it had t>een,a number of members could, and would, havo gone Home. As one paper hod stated, the position was one for a dignified and straightforward explanation. Pome explanation was due to the Joint Committee which sent the invitation. . The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in reply, paid:—"ln answer to questions. one and two, all I have to fay is that t have nothinj' to add to tho statements made by tho Prime Minister, reported in HanBard, No. 10, 1911. My answer to question No. 3 is 'No'." DEGREES IN DIVINITY. The Hon. Sir G. M. O'RORICE (Auckland) moved for leave to introduce a Bill to enable tho Senate of the New Zealand University to grant degrees in divinity. The;Bill was read. first. time, ■ the uecond reading being made an • order of the .day for Wednesday next.

LAND SETTLEMENT. •I'M: Hon.- J. D. OKMOND ;(Hawke's Bay) _moyed:—"That ;this .Council . expresses its satisfaction with tho land settlement proposals outlined .in tho Financial Statement,'especially -that, .in addition. to the present systems for tho' disposal of Crown lands, settlement by associations of'intending settlers is to bo enconrasqtl in,conjunction with.the construction of-public works." Mr.' Ormond said it was a matter of gratification to him..to read tho announcement that tho Government intended to advance association. settlement. This system had got out of uso for a number of years, but iu the past great success.attended such settle merit.,, He-moved in this-matter because lie had.been.associated with it some years ago. Ho had worded his motion to enable any.lion, gentleman to express his views on land settlement. Proceeding to deal with the. present systems of land settlement, Mr. Ormond condemned the ballot as being ruinous to the bona fide settler, and the soonor it could bo altered, he said, the better. Very few of the applicants to-day wero bona fulo settlers. Wholo families went in to tho ballot, and in this way tho bona fide settler got no chance. He had known capable men who wero anxious to get on tho land follow tho ballot-round and round, but they could sot-get--a prize, and in. many cases they loftthe country in disgust. To his minil a better class of settler could bo secured if tho land was sold by auction. Tho ballot system was, in his ■ opinion, a failure, and was not doing what, it should for the country. Neitliei was the settlement under tho Native land laws a success. To get this land a man had to know his way about and how to get tho services of the middle agent. A more advantageous system would bo that tho Natives should uso .tho .ordinary- land regulations and systems of the colony. Proceeding to deal with settlement associations, Mr.'Ormond gave an interesting narrative "of. tho settlement, of tho Seventy-mile Bush in tho early seventies. In view of tho Buccess which attended these settlement eliorts, ho thought the Government could be assured of success if it pushed on the system in question. On the East Coast, going from Napier to - Tauranga, tho Government wero projecting a railway which is to go through country which has nothing on it. This would givo employment to settlers on tho land. All through this -land blocks could besecured suitable for settlement.- Tho worst of it would be between Napier and Wairoa, but oven there good blocks could be secured.

One of the Finest Districts Between Gisborne and Opotiki there was one of the finest districts in the whole of the ColoDy, capable of carrying a large population. This land would he immensely productive if the Government decided to acquire it for settlement. If the Government thought of carrying out. a scheme like this successfully they must get money to buy in advance of the railway. The laud could now be bought for a wng compared to what would be os.ced in a few years. In a scheme of the kind now the investment would, ho was sure, be repaid twenty-fold in the Jives of the men who took the land up The Hon. Geo. Jones; "Would the sell.'

The Hon. J. D. Ormond said that if tho Oo\crnnif?nt w«is to out eucli a schemo they would havo to do with the Natives as they did with tho Europeans. Land should be acquired compulsorily from the Natives as from tho Europeans. (Hear, hoar.) Mr. Orrnond proceeded to deal with the necessity for securing the best class of settlers. The. system, ho was sure, would revolutionise settlement, and tend to the prosperity of the country. (Applause.) The Iton. T. KELLY (Taranaki) seconded tho motion, and urged that in any Bcheme adopted, the Government should give the working man a chance. What was wanted on the land was workers, and not speculators.

The Hon ,T. ANSTEY (Otago) thought that though such a scheme might workout all right in the north it would not bo of advantage to the south. Whatever system was adopted they must mako due provision against aggregation. Otherwise there 'was bound " to be failure. There was a weakness in the ballot system, but it was not so much tho system as the administration that was at fault. "Flo proceeded to again deal with the Mackenzie Country ballots, to which he had devoted a good deal of attention in tho debate on tho Address-in-Keply. He was not satisfied, with the step tho Government- was taking to promote settlement. Good things had been accomplished in the north, but in the <v>uth they had 110 Native land, but there were many small areas of Crown land, mostly high pastoral country. As they in the south had praotic.nlly nothing to deal. witlnJjut private lauds, it seemed to him a remedy

wonld havo to be provided to moot, tho I cose of tho south. Three Methods, Thwo wcro three methods possible:— (1) By way of purchase under tho I.ands for Settlement Act; (2) the Government could offer facilities for private individuals cutting up their lands; and (I!) the system was:partly covered by the Land Settlement .Finance Act. Tim graduated land tax had not. been effective in bursting up Urge estates, because it was erratic and unjust. It ran along in a plane, and then jumped'up; ran along on a plane again and onco more jumped up. Tho whole system should he rovised. Mr. Anstoy put forward a tablo giving his suggested revision with what ho termed ''a very heavy tax at the top." Ho had, ho said, graded tho table* in easy stages, each increase of tax being based on a value of ,£'sooo. He did not suggest that tho present tax up to ,£G5,000 in valuo should be interfered with, but after that there was a gradual increase until a taxation rate of 1J per 'cent, was reached. U this rate no man could afford to hold the land. All land of a valuo of over .1:150,000 would, under his system, have to be sold. Ho was convinced that the Government would havo to bring down a much bolder programme in land for settlement. (Hear, hear.) The Hon. C. M. LUKE (Wellington) thought that there was something wrong with tho ballot system, but tho difficulty was to know how to remedy the. present troubles. Ho proceeded to quote instances of successful speculators having drawn (I which they had no intention of holding. ,Ho was in sympathy with Mr. Ormond when ho urged that land should bo purchased in advance of the railways, and tho Government should borrow money if necessary, for this purpose. Tho debate was adjourned on the motion of tho Hon. W. W. M'Cardlo, and the Council rose at 4.30 p.m.