THE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1483, 4 July 1912, Page 6

THE COUNCIL.

THE ADDRESS-IN-REPLY DEBATE. CRITICISM BY HON. J. RIGQ. "TOO VERBOSE AND LITTLE TO , PRAISE." Tho Legislative Council met at 2.30 yesterday afternoon. . Tho Hon. Sir W. J. STEWARD, in moving tho Addross-inJionly, said the Speech from the Throne dealt with an enormous number of questions, and probably not a tithe of them would come down in one session, or all of them in one Parliament. Consequently it would not be possible to deal with all the points in one speech, and he would ask tho Council to follow tho latest precedent, and reply in general terms. Ho proceeded to deal with what he considered tho most salient questions, commencing with tho land question. Wo had now n, population of one million, but the time would come when wo would support a population of 20 million. That population must have tho laud on which (o place their feet.' There was an immense demand for land in NewZealand. Only recently there had been 3G4 applicants for 1" sections put up for ballot, and in another case 100 applicants for 12 sections. It was clear that something should be done to alter tho present state of things, and he was glad to seo the,-matter mentioned in the Speech. It wa.s essential that land settlement should proceed much faster than at. present. A Minister holding half a dozen important portfolios could not, in his opinion, properly administer the Lands Department. It required the whole time of one Minister. Something should be done to prevent the undoing of the work of tho State in breaking up large estates by checking the ronggregation of small farms. It was suggested that the railway administration should be modernised, and this he thought would be a correct move. After dealing with tho questions of defence and education, the mover expressed his pleasure at hearing that Ministers intended to stand by the principles of tho Arbitration Act, and that they wero bringing down a Local Government Bill which had been looked forward to for about forty years, and promised for about twenty years. He dealt briefly'with various other points beforo moving his motion.

Seconder of the Motion. The Hon. T. Y. DUXCAX seconded tho motion, and dealt shortly with the Speech. Referring to land matters, ho thought -Now Zealand bad done very fairly, although lie was glad to tlrink they might go back to arbitration ?or deciding the price of land for settlement purposes. He did not agree that the Minister for Lauds should hold no other portfolio. Lands and Agriculture should go liand-in-hand. Sir Wm. Steward: "I don't object to that." Continuing, Mr: Duncan said there was no doubt that tho land question was the first question in New Zealand at tho present time. There were immense areas of land in Xew Zealand which could with advantage bo set aside for fruitgrowing, particularly the Mackenzie Country. The Hon. C. H. MILLS, speaking to the motion,' said tho outlook generally for • Xew Zealand was brighter than ever it had been, but there was a stagnation in enterprise due, he was told, to. the, unsettled state- of labour affairs,. "Altogether Too Verbose." Tho Hon. J. RIGG thought thero was very little to be said in praiso of tho Speech. ' It.contained some good things, but in tho present state of'affairs it was a weak effort, and contained lifllo in regard to policy. Thero was matter in the Speech which should .figure in Departmental reports, and the Speech was altogether too verbose. At the present time they-sliould have expected some indication iu regard to tho future borrowing policy, and he would like to have seen an indication that there would l>o a restriction of borrowing. Tho borrowing policy was a costly and expensive one to any nation, and the Government should see if somo more economical and better policy could not be adopted. There must, be a certain amount of borrowing, but other means should bo exhausted before borrowing was taken advantage of.. They should do more out of revenue for Hie development of the country' than tliey had done in the past. Mr."l\lgg laid the cause of tho sluggishness of business at the door of the banking system in Xew Zealand, which was most unsatisfactory. Money which should lie used in developing tho. country was, ho said, being sent out ; of Xew Zealand, so as to earn more. What was required was a State bank. Land tenure was another point which might well have been dealt with in the. Speech. Ho would like to have seen tho Government declare that there should bo no further sale of Crown lands, and they could also have dealt with the question, of limitation of area. Mr. Uigg thought tho Arbitration Act should lie recast, and tho policy of imprisonment for striking cut out, and provision made that where a union goes to arbitration it shall givo security that it will observe the terms of tho award.

The debate was adjourned on mo. tion of the Hon. .T. T.'Paul, and tho Conn cil rose at S p.m.