THE HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1525, 22 August 1912, Page 6

THE HOUSE.

•WANGANUI RIVEf SERVICE. The House met iit.'Z.ilQ.p.m. * Dr. A. K. East) gave notice to ask IJie.Jjlp.stniaster-Goneral whether ho thoughtVth.t',,timo had arrived for the nationalistic);' the Wanganui river service. " OPOSSUMS. Mr. H. ATJ[OBB-:'(Nelson) asked the Prime Minister without! notice whether, now that the recommendation of. the Acclimatisation Societiesihad been made regarding opossums,-he would remove the protection, on opossums' in 'New Zealand, in view of the very great damage caused .hj therein orohanls in Nelson and other fruitgrowing districts. The Hon. W. F. MASSEY (tfrimo Minister) said thnt already were being iiuulo In remove the protection of opossums. The Govoniinont considered the interests t>f farmers should ronie beforo tlio interests oi' spurt. FIRST READING. The Gold Duties Amendment Bill n-n« introduced by rfni-nrnor'i Me-jnge, ,ind read a. first time,

Tho Hon. F. M. 1!. FJSTIHR (Minister for Customs) said (hat tho object of tlio Mill was to exempt from export duty jewellers' sweepings sent Home to lmyo tlio gold extracted from them. The Hill whs being inlvoiluced to meet' the tonvenience »f tin . Customs .Department. HOME FOR INEBRIATES, ALTERED REGULATIONS WANTED. The Petitions (M to Z) Committee reported on tlio petition of John AValsh iind 52 others, praying for alterations in the reputations of the Koto Koa Island Inebriates' Home, and recommended it to tlio Government for consideration. Mr. 1\ AV. LANG (Manukau) said that the petition mentioned savrral grievances for which redress was sought. There was a great deal of feeling in the ' homes created by the wiilo variation in the terms of commitment according to the judgment of this several magistrates. It was considered that six months' detention was adequate, if there was a condition that release at the expiry of that period should not be made unless it was approved by tho medical ollicer. Another prayer was that the inmates should bo given a supply of books and periodicals, and this request was certainly reasonable. Mr. L. M. ISITT (Christchurch Ncrth) said that it was very/ unwise lo commit men indiscriminately for a period of two years. It would be sufficient to order six months' detention, with a provision that tlio medical officer should determine whether tho treatment in that period had been adequate. Mr. J. A. HANAN (Invcrcargill) eaid that tho necessity for returning fonner inmates to the home showed the advisability of a long term of treatment. Tho institutions had not achieved all that Had been anticipated. The trouble was too deeply rooted to be successfully attacked by tho treatment in the homes. The proper method was to teach young people self-control. Mr, G. LAURKNSON (Lyttclton) said the Postmaster-General had informed tho oammittee that ho would consider arrangements to convey free to the Roto Roa and Pakatoa Homes any literature addressed to them by people who were in sympathy with tho inmates. Mr. (i. W. RUSSELL (Avon) said he understood that in most cases persons who showed improvement in conduct wero released on probation before tho expiry of tho terms of their commitment. If they broke parole they were returned for the remainder of their term. Ho recognised that the Salvation <Army had dono good work in tho conduct of these institutions, but it seemed most advisable that some Government official should makeperiodical inspections from tho point of view of the StateMr. T. W. RHODES (Thames) agreed that remunerative employment should bo provided for tho inmates and that there should be some State supervision. Mr. J. HZ BRADNEY (Auckland West) said there had been complaints lately with regard to the liomcs, and it was doubtful whether persons should be committed to sectarian homes. In his opinion tho Government should take them over. Tho Hon. A. L. HERDMAN (Minister for Justice), said that a number of tho inmates appeared' to be ' under tho impression that when they had been under treatment for six months their further detention was simply wasting money and preventing tho admission of others who might very well be there. The Act provided for ■ Government supervision, and it was part of the duty of the Inspector of Prisons to.visit the two institutions periodically and ascertain whether they were properly conducted. A contribution of . 10s. per head per week was made by the State, and private individuals could l)o called upon to contribute to tho upkeep of inmates. Mr. Hcrdman explaiued that if the reports were, satisfactory remissions of from one month to six months were, given. He agreed that greater supervision by the State- was desirable. He wished it to be clearly understood that there was no suggestion that the management l>y the Salvation Army was not satisfactory. Later he intended to visit both institutions, and would then be able to deal more definitely with the matter.