ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1792, 3 July 1913, Page 8

ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

PROBLEMS OF LAND & LABOUR-

PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS,

ATTACKED BY HON. J. DUTHIE,

The next business was the Address-in-floply debate. Th.-< Hon. .1. DUfPHIE s(iid that, in Accordance with the practice of the Chamber, he had been called upon to niovo the Address-in-Beply. He rose to speak with diffidence. Having been out of touch with politics for some time he might probably require their indulgence, which lie was sure they would accord him. Ho wished it to be clearly understood that the Government was in no ,way reaponsiblo for what he might say. In the other House he lmd always been somewhat of an Independent, and ho would speak now simply as a membor of tin Council, and not in any (sense for the Government. After alluding to the dealh of the King of Greece, Mr, Duthio went on to speak of tho universal regret felt at tho deaths of Sir Arthur Guinness and Sir Wm. Steward. £0 referred with approval to the visit of the battleship >,W Zealand as likely to stimulate tho Mill" of love and loyalty to the Mother Country. The question of naval dofenco in the Pacific was in a somewhat lnd"finite state at the present .time, but t.hs MinUtAT for Defence, having visited

Great Britain, was no doubt conversant with the national ■ plans, and would- bo aWe to take the country into his confidence without loss of time. On the sub- I ject of land policy, the Speech was very dofiniite, and satisfactory assurances wero given regarding Crown, Native, and privato lands. Twenty years ago there had been much talk about land ,being "dummied." He did not know that tliero had been much of it then, and there was less • at thu present timo. Thsy wert, told that the Lands for Settlement policy was working satisfactorily. No doubt it had induced a great deal of satisfactory settlement,' but it had also operated as a factor m raising the price of land. A buyer to the extent of seven millions sterling, in the aggregate, could not como into any market without affecting prices in it. Land prices undoubtedly ruled too high. In the newspapers there wotc lists of farms offered on tempting terms, and yot buyers could not be .found at the prices asked. Subdivision of Land. They were told that the graduated land ' tax had augmented the revenue and accelerated settlement. Tin's probably was the alternative to the polioy of purchase. It was quite evident that not only in this country but in Great Britain the democracy would not tolerate large estates. This revolution was iu progress and would go on, The land-owning class in the Old Country had done great work in the advanco of civilisation and in the improvement of constitutional government, in which Great Britain now presented a model to the world, and he was not sure that ill'effeots would not follow upon their disappearance, but the course of events, oould not be stayed. The fiat had gone forth that distribution of the land must be carried out. Probably the idea would be that the land must be heid in such sired blocks as would give the best return at the least expenditure. Subdivision of lands might bo carried too'far, as was instanced in the case of, Japan, where a man with a family might be compelled to acquire two or three plots nt land miles apart, and where the dividing ridges between holdings formed an appreciable percentage of the total cultivable area of tho country. Iu this country it would be useless to cut up much of the mountainous-country, whioh was only lit to carry gheep. In moderation, however, the country would have to be cut up, and he hoped it would be done on such lines as would be for the benefit of/the people. ■It was in the interest of'the country that there should be a large rural;population. A man earning his living from tho land tended to become a staid and responsible citizen/ and not a disturbing elem'ent in the State. ■ The Native Land Problem. The assurance put forward in the Speech that there would be energctlc action in the settlement of Native lands was entirely satisfactory. Possibly the Council had heard like assurances before; every Government promised a, vigorous Native land policy. He hoped that the'; present Minister, new to his office, would really grapple with the problem. The country wa3 feeling _ the evil effects of Native lands being locked lip i in every direction. The question was surrounded - with great difficulties. The Treaty- of Waitangi had been honourably upheld by . this country. It was a ihing to be fulfilled'to the letter and to the spirit, and yet it. had been a very great obstacle in the way of the progress of the country. Sixty years ago, when the treaty was granted, the country was held entirely by' tribal title, and if it had been sought, at that time, to define tho position, even on broad lines,' there would have been war from one end of the country to the other. There were, no aotual divisions in the early days. A chief indicated the extent of his tribal lands with a wave of his -hand. In the first the effort had been to do justice to tho Natives rather than to do justice to the settlers. In spite of all difficulties tho unopened balance of this country must be dealt with somehow, and before matters got, worse titles should be individualiseu. In the disposition of the lands inalienable reserves should bo set apart for the use of Natives so that none of them might suffer distress. These were matters that the Native Minister would have to grapple with—tho country undoubtedly . desired- that .the question should be settled. In the early days the Natives had shown an inclination to embark in various industries, but this wholesome tendency had evaporated during -the long years or drifting and complex procedure in dealing .with Native lands. Hanging around Courts and such places, tho Natives had _ forsaken healthier and more useful activities. This sort of thing should be brought to a close. Reform of the Native land policy was necessary if it wore only in tho interest of the small settler, who now bore a heavy load because tho Native, whose lands were improved and increased in value by the construction of roads and bridges, seldom contributed to their cost. He hoped that tho Minister would not weary* in carrying out this heavy and somewhat -hopeless task. • The Hon. G. JONES: Very likely he will; every other Minister has! Mr. Duthie commended tho efforts made to promote a-reciprocal treaty with Australia, and stated that any agreement arrived at would benefit both sides. The freer interchange was made the better it would .be for all. He also commended the reciprocal arrangement with Australia regarding pensions. The Rights of a Freeman, Mention was made in. the Speech. Mt. Duthio continued, of amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and amendments were urgently wanted. ' All men had a right to combine, and no man should be driven or coerced against; his will.' That was .the right of a freeman; but it was subject always to the rights of others. This consideration, he was.afraid, was not always recognised in the Labour conditions of tho present day. So-called disputes were often not really over any hardship that men were suffering, but due to a spirit that had got abroad amongst a section of the workers, which led them to abtompt coercion whenever a pretext could be raised. A desire was prevalent to embarrass employers and cause them loss when the oocasion in no. way justified it. For instance, demands were made by shearers at the beginning of tho season, and similarly by harvesters in the South, and by slaughtermen throughout the Dominion. When men behaved in this fashion they exceeded the rights which he had spoken of as fundamental in relation! to labour. The business of the country could not be carried on whon relations of this kind obtained between man and man. Men had a right .to see that justice was extended to them, and there should be no difficulty in getting it, but in face of the spirit he had spoken of it was hopeless to attempt to arrive at satisfactory settle-, ments. In past times it had been pleasant for an employer to be about amongst his men and to meet them on friendly terms, but the exisiting condition of affairs was deplorable, and served no good purpose in any section of the community. He hoped that in future men and employers would be drawn back again in sympathy. The Hon. J. E. .Tcnkinson: Don't you think they are as brd iu other parts of the world? Mr. Duthie said -that it was more or less tho same elsewhere, but he had travelled a good deal and had not met any cases of such bitterness as were to be witnessed hero. For instance, such things had occurred as one small scctioh of labour holding up shipping. He was not speaking oh one side, but considered that matters should be approached on both fides more in a spirit of conciliation. One result of unsatisfactory labour conditions was that the development of industrial

employment by no means kept pac« with the growth of*the country.. A Great Wrong. Preference to unionists, Mr. Dutliie went on to ■ remark, was one of; tho, greatest wrongs over inflicted upon o tree people. That one' section should lie ablo to coerce another was a vile tiling; to be introduced into legislation. It was an outrage upon, the principles of justice between man and man. So far'as ho, knew it had never been approved by the Parliament of the country. He, questioned, whother tho Judge had power to grant preference, but tho power was being exercised. ' Latterly preference lin.l been granted to storomen. A merchant in ongaging a storeman wanted a man of good character, and would naturally desire to make inquiries beforehand, but now hie had no choice. He had to tako -whoever was on the books of the union. ■ Who was to guarantee the honesty of a man forced upon an employer in this way? Again, a fortnight ago, preference had been extended by tho Court to journalists, and newspaper proprietors, under tho verdict of the Court, would bo greatly hampered, and. would have to employ writers regardless of their convictions and views. If a man had convictions he wonld writo upon a subject with much moro vigour and intelligence than if his views were at variance with those of his employers. Ho hoped that tie Amending Act would at least remove this great blot which operated in engagements between man and man iii this country. Owing to the unsatisfactory ' state of affairs different branfches of trade were languishing, and they must be # relieved of vexatious restrictions now existing, or. duties would have to be imposed to pisvent the importation of goods which formerly were produced in the country. If the country was not to go back upon its industrial prosperity a change was immediately called for. - The Financial Outlook. On tho subject of finance, Mr. Duthio referred briefly to the relief' which the country had ' experienced as'a. result of tho activities of the Minister for Financo in London. There were indications that the time had come when borrowing would have to be greatly reduced. The visit of the Minister to London had brought to light the expense •of raising loans, and particularly short-dated' loans. '■ He had very great confidence that under the present management of the' country's finances' the position would greatly improve. Mr. Duthie referred' with satisfaction to the' announcement that a number "of short-dated loans werci to bo converted into long-dated.stock. To be continually in the market renewing loans, he remarked,, would ruin the credit of any country. It was far better ■to convert short-dated loans into funded stock, and add them to the permanent debt. Ho hoped that before this session .ended the finances would be on a much more stable footing than they had been of late years. The increase in revenuo was satisfactory! as .was also the intimation in the Speech that the cost of living was to be reduced. There was room- for tho reduction of Customs duties which pressed heavily on .the people. Upper Hous* Reform. Regarding reform of tlife Council, Tie hoped that a satisfactory Bill would be carried through. They had undoubtedly come to the position that the Council would have to be an elective body. There might be various points • and circumstances as to the' conditions upon which the election should' take place which would demand consideration, . and he hoped the Government would not make the measure too hide-bound. " » The Hon. H. D.. Bell: Hear, hear. Mr. Duthie concluded with the remark thft't when the Bill was brought down, some scope'should be allowed for the experience of private 9 members of both Houses of Parliament. v

A LABOUR REPRESENTATIVE,

GOVERNMENT'S POLICY UPHELD,

The Hon. W. EARNSHAW said, that he had lentered the Council., as-a Labour, member. He hoped in the coming year to- uphold the honour, dignity, traditions, and labours of the great men who hau preceded him in thajt Chamber. ■ Ho went on to state that events had shown that the Hon. Jas. Allen was the right man to send - Home as Minister for Finance and Defence.- to represent New Zealand. He wa3 glad that the Minister had rooognised that New Zealand must bear its part in defending' the Pacifio. Hecog-" iiittan of this fact would-tend -to rouse -the fighting blood wliich must be dominant in this country if it was to hold its own. the appointment ,<xf the new General Manager-of Hallways, Mr. Earnshaw said that he doubted tho wisdom of paying the head of any Department in Now Zealand as muah as <£3(MW a year in salary. Ho believed that the right typo of' man had. been opicivred, and considered thait tho Government hod acted "wisely in going • outsido the country for a manager, \ A local man would nave been embarrassed in carrying out the reorganisation which- was urgently required. Ho advised the Government to go very slow with tho proposal to build light lines. The existing, lines were narrow-gauge, and now a was proposed. Light railways on- the. lines proposed wo'-'a be costly to construct and maintain, uud of only temporary utility. What tho Government should.do was to establish a .road-making department instead of embarking on a wild-cat scheme of light railway construction. The b£st plan would be to make good roads inland from the ports. Eventually • motorTyagons could bo run over ■. the ' roads, which would be infinitely moro useful than light railways. A-system of light lines was pregnant with difficulties to any Government, and tho present Government would be wise .to set up a committee or commission of 6ome kind whioli would gather up specific data as to the respective cost of .roads and light railways. Ho hoped that the Government would only bring down amendments to the Industrial Conciliation Act. and not a consolidating measure -until tfhle country had answered the straight-out challenge of so-called Labour leaders as to whether ,this country should be governed by law or disorder. Mr. Earnshaw defended the Arbitration Act as a measure that no Government would be justified in- repealing without an appeal to the electors. Mr. Earnshaw went on to remark that notwithstanding what had appeared in tho press it had been a great pleasure to him to reoeive congratulations, - from tho North Cape to tho Bluff, from those who represented quite as many people as those who had attacked his appointment. Mr. Earnshaw offered to meet-those who had criticised his appointment before the workers at the Petone Workshops, before the "lumpers" on tho wharf, or at a public meeting. He stated that he-would take up an independent attitude in the Council, and remarked that it seemed to him that the Prime Minister had done an exceedingly nice and kind thing in asking him to represent' Labour in the Council. This appeared to him to bo one of tl\o best assurances that. Mr. Massey intended to do the fair and square thing by the people of the country. Mr. Earnshaw emphasised the necessity of reducing tho cost of living, and slated that in his opinion New Zealand had little to fear from Australia in the matter of commercial competition, but that industrial efficiency was very necessary in order to be prepared i for competition with Eastern races in the near future. He supported tho Government proposal to make the Council elective, .and stated that tho coping-stone of this reform would be the elective executive. Mr. Earnshaw credited the party of the present Government with having introduced manhood suffrage and with having fought the battle for female suffrage. Tho Council adjourned at 4.35 p.m., on the motion of the Hon. J. R. Sinclair.