PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1799, 11 July 1913, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

A DAILY SUMMARY.

■Contention ran high in the Houso (vf (Representatives yosterday afternoon, one party skirmish following hard upon another. In the «arly afternoon trouble arose over a motion by the Hon. J!. QJ-. B. Fisfher to set up a committee ot ten . members to. inquire into his connection with the appointment ol m " bers to the Westport Harbour Board. Iho Minister took ail early OPP °' explaining that an , "iiTovlimr into the affairs of the Westport Haibour Board would be conducted separate! >, but even so. his motion did not " ° Opposition members. ■ Man) ot them were obviously perplexed and annoy« . and. all sorts of protests were raised against the Government proposal. Mr. Cclvin, one of the mem bers whose charges gave rise to the inquiry proposal, said that he would not sit on.tne commattew, and stated that he had never alleged that the Minister was aware of the character of a person whom he had appointed to the board. Other Oppositionists protests cd that accuser and accused should not git upon tho committee of lMUiix complained that it contained six Government members and four Oppositionists. During tho hour of lively debate which followed, many attempts were made to induce the member for Nelson to- say .'definitely; whether lie did, or did not accuse tho Minister for Marine of having deliberately appointed an unsuitable person to the Westport Harbour Board, but Mr. ' Atmore declined to be explicit. on the point. Eventually, the motion proposed by the Minister for Marine was earned on the voices. ' , '. The Hon. Jas. Allien made a statement regarding the financial position at) tne end of the June quarter, which, gave ose to a brief, but lively, disoussion. The Address-in-Reply debate _was resumed late in the afternopn by Mt. Brartliov, member for- Auckland VVcst.' Mr. Craigie, who followed, created a sensation by moving an amendment to tne Address-in-Reply affirming the necessity of imposing "a graduated and, e%erincreasing land tax.' The P on ' Ml -,')!' ■Allen, in the absence of the Prune Mliufir ' tor. accepted the amendment as a want of confidence motion. Mr. G. W.. on behalf of the Opposition, officially disowned Mr. Craigie> acbOT statinff that tho member for Timaru had acted upon his own initiative. . , , r tt ■ The debate was carried on Air. J*. M. Campbell and by Mr. A. S. Malcolm, the latter, of whom severely criticised the attitude taken up by the Government nominees upon the directorate ot tne Bank• of 'New Zealand. , . .. The Hon. W. F. Masser (Prime Minister) wa3 in his place when the House resumed in the evening. ■ Mr. Uraigia asked leave to alter his motion so as to make it clear that he desired only to I increase the graduated land tax and not the ordinary land, tax, but Ministers declined to consent to any alteration. Mr. J; Robertson, member for Otaki. diverted the current of the dpbat© durintt , tho evening in order to revive the subject of the WaiM strike. He repeated ! charges of police misconduct dunne the strike which he has made on previous occasions, but upon the whole failed to cap- : ture the attention of the House. The Minister for Justice (the Hon. A. Jj. Hextlman) did not offer to supplement his previous utterances on the subject. ' Mr. G. Witty, one of the members of the Committee of Public Safety, which, watches over the interests of the Opposition, explained that his party could not support Mr. Craigie's motion because,- as it was worded, it proposed to increase taxntion on every small farmer in the Dominion. i _ Mr. A. H. Hindmarah seized the opportunity to indulge in a violent diatribe on the subject of land policy. He asserted that tho Government had got mto office by championing the principle of small settlement, and'now did not dare to put it into effect. . _ • . Statements of similar import to that made by Mr.-Witty were made by Messrs. •Russell, Macdonald, and Wilford, the lasti named of whom stated that Mr. Craigie ( had proposed lis motion "not ..knowing that it was loaded," andlsuggested'-that he. should be allowed to withdraw it. This, however, Mr. Craigie did not seek to .do.' ' At 11.5 p.m. discussion upon the amendment terminated. No division was called and the amendment was rojected on tlie voices. - The House tosb at 11.8 p.m.