FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1835, 22 August 1913, Page 8

FINANCIAL DEBATE.

CUSTOMS DUTIES. PAST ADMINISTRATION DEFENDED. Mr. H. G. ELL (Christchurch South) expressed the opinion that the debate upon the Budget had been of value to ! the public. The most remarkable feature of the Budget was that it indicated that the members of the Government had ■absolutely backed down in regard to legislation which they had at one Hm» opposed and now lauded as successful. He defended the administration of the Customs'tariff by the Government which 'liad'gone out of office. He recommended remissions of duty upon corrugated iron, cheap clocks and watches, cheap lace, oilcloth, ordinary glassware lamps, and other articles. He denied that the last tariff had done no good. On some Manchester goods .the gain to the consumer •bad been six shillings and more in tho .pound. I<ocal botlies too small to provide a superannuation scheme for their employees should be enabled to do so under the National Provident Fund. . This

had been proposed by the Mackenzie Government, which had prepared a Bill dealing with the matter. The Bill, as prepared, applied not only to local bodies, but to universities and similar institutions, and to large commercial institutions. POLITICAL GRAVEYARDS. ' FTJLL OF THE OPPOSITION. Mr. F. H. SMITH (Waitaki) commented ion -the fact that the Opposition had nt first said tliat there was nothing in the Budget, and then had spent many hours trying to smash it. In answer' to the charge that tho Government had closed down on railways that wero in Opposition electorates he said that tliero was a Tailway' in his electorate which the Government had not yet decided to go on ■with, and it was ,a railway that would pay from the outset. Ho said this to phow that it was not only the railways in Opposition electorates that wero closed down. Ho did not agree that it would be possible to cut down taxation as was rlleged, but it would be possible to readjust the tariff in order to make the incidence of taxation more equitable. He •would support a proposal that an increased excise duty of 3d. per gallon be imposed upon locally manufactured beer. He supported the Government's freehold policy, nut he would like to see that pol- ' icy extended: so that all holders of Crown leases would have the freehold of their lands. Close settlement with freehold tenure would make this country prosperous as it had mctde # prosperous every ot.heT country where it existed. Agricultural schools and colleges where boys of all classes could learn the rudiments of farming should be dotted over tho country. Such schools should be absolutely free. He was a thorough believer in military training. The difficulty that now 'existed in tho country districts would bo lar«ely got over if . permanent camps wero established for three months in.the year during tho winter. If tho people of ike country did not ffish to consistently.

support the Arbitration Act it should be . wiped off 'tho Statute Book. He condemned tho principle of preference to unionists. So weak and impotent were the Opposition that they were continually harking back to the political graveyards for help in their piteous plight. Tho men whom they now called upon to help them were lying quietly in their graves. He did not deny the Opposition credit for what they had done, but under their sway trusts and combines had grown and flourished. The Union Company was a' monopoly, and they had crowned its head. . In their last desperate dash for life, they had sacrificed their head. Now they were going down on their bended knees and begging and praying for the resurreotion of the men whom they had sacrificed. • ■ • v LABOUR SUPPORT. MB. BUXTON MAKES COMPARISON. Mr. T. BUXTON (Temuka) stated thai a Eeform party supporter in Levin at the time of the last general election telegraphed to tho Primo Minister: "Aro we expected to .support Robertson, Socialist, in preference- to Field, Government?" To this, lie stated, Mr. Ma'ssey replied; "Wo can't support Field or any Govern-, ment candidate, but any arrangement entered into by- Monckton and Kobertson and their respective committees should bo strictly adhered to." Mr. Payne :\Massey was licking the boot that time! ' ;

, Mr. Buxton said that The Dominion, at the time of the last general election, had inculcated the policy of_ making use of Labour and Socialist'candidates. Now it said that it was an iniquitous and>hoirible thing in the Liberal party, to liavo anything to do with Labour and Socialist candidates. He asked tlie Prime Minister not to 'condemn the Liberal "party for doing- wliat he had already done. Tho Reform party organiser i?i tho South Island (Mr. D. 'Jones), he stated, had once professed Liberal politics, and had done his best to • unseal mo present member for • Ashburton. Now the Eeform' party had got &:'Labour.-agitator - . from "away down south'*! to orga-niso from- them. Speaking of his observationisVabroad, Mr. Buxton said that in London he sa.w some New Zealand ewe mutton of poor quality.

It did not come. from Canterbury, but from Patea. Ho attacked the establishment of the Public Service' Commission as an abrogation of the Liberal procept: "Trust the people." ■ . THE PUBLIC SERVICE. '• !— ' MR. STATHAM ON THE OPPOSITION: Mr. E. rr. STATHAM (Dunodin Central) said that Mr. Buxton was on the wrong side of t'lio House. He recalled the fact that Sir Josoph Ward had said that the Oivil Service could be reorganised and a quarter of a million, per annum saved. Mr. Statham said that he would no more dream of approaching the Public Service Commissioner and asking him to promote anyone than ha would, in liis capacity as a solicitor, sebk to influence a Judge. Speaking generally, the debato had been conducted with an absence of bitterness. Members on the other side when they read lists of 'large land-owners always left out the fallowing names of persons owning land to the value of between ,£20,000 and ,£3O,OOOMr. Jas. Craigie, Sir Joseph Wa,rd! Mr. A. M. Myers, and J. G. Ward and Co., Ltd. Mr.- Forbes an-d Mr. Russell had been overlooked, and no doubt tlioy felt slighted. The member for Avon had acouscd the Government, by inference, of robbing the widow and tho .aged, by -saving money on the expenditure on pensions. Mr. Russell: My argument was that tho expenditure had been over-estimated. (Government members: No.) Mr. Statham said that what tho Government had dome was to make liberal provision . for pensions. The Labour' members, he continued, were the tail'of the Opposition party, and already the tail .was beginning to Wag the dog. Reform party , members regarded the member for Grey' Lyrai and -the member for Otaki as the best friends they had ever had. If these members had voted with the Reform parity in February it would have been in, office at their mercy. - Instead, it attained office in July bv a satisfactory majority. In rebuttal of an acousation that the Government had adopted a iroliov of "spoils' to the victors," Mr. Statham quoted the foMowiun tpfagnun s?mt to Grnymouth. by Mr.' J. Robertson, M.P., at the time of tlie Grey election:—"l 'hope the electors- will nr>t be ' influenced by the talk of detriment to tho district .'by tlie return of t.he. Labour member. My district had tlie same stuff dinned .into it, but since my return the district: hn-s steadily pmrasej ed, and close settlement proceeds rapidly.. Twenty-Five Strong. There were, he said, 25 Opposition members in ail in the House. ' Mr. AVitty: Equal to SO on that side of the House, any time. Mr. Statham' said there were 2o members of the party aspiring to get on the Government benches. There were four Labour parties. * An honourable member: live'. Mr. Statham: One party consists of the member for Wellington South, the second and largest party consists of tho member for Grey and the member for Grey Lynn, the third party consists of : the member for Otaki, and the fourth party consists of the member for Wanganui. An honourable member: What about

Nelson? Mr. Stathanv: He "is independent altogether. He did claim for the Government, he continued, that fcliey 'were carrying out their pledges to the best of thenability. They had not had time to carry out all their pledges, but they had made good headway with them, and they had broken none of thorn. • AN INDEPENDENT MEMBER. OFFER'S A FKW SUGGESTIONS. Mr. J. G. COATES (Kaipara) said that the Budget seemed to him. to be a plain statement of fact and policy. Ho referred to the fondness of certain members on the Opposition side of the House for callingout "lints." He di.l not know whether they referred to him, but he believed that they did not. Mr. Forbes: No, not at all. Mr. Coates: That being so I need say no moro about it. Other gentlemen can look uofter themselves.

Mr. Bussell: You were pledged to support tho Government for 0110 year only. Mr. Coates said ho had pledged himself to vote for tho Ward Government on a no-conlidenco motion. No mention was made of a year. 'He strongly commended the freehold policy of tho Government, but he thought tho settlement schemes could bo prosecuted with more vigour, especially in the matter of making it easy for selectors to get information as to land offered by tho Government. Tho fruit-growing industry might be helped to a very much greater extent than it now was. There was one expert in the north of Auckland, who. carried out testing experiments with the object of showing the orcluardists how to utilise their trees. The effect of his directions had been good, but one expert was not sufficient. He suggested that the Government should appoint one other, and generally extend this system. He .recognised the graduated land tax was necessary." It had already had .considerable 'effect, and the writing was on tho wall for tho landowners to read. They must know now that, when (heir lancly wero needed for close settlement, they would have to pant with thorn. Ho did not believe that such a heavy graduated-land tax should bs imnosed oa would force all

tho Kami into the market at once. This would not be fair to the owners, nor beneficial to the country. lie hoped the -Native -Minister would take care to see that/ in future 110 Native land was partitioned. without .due provision being made to secure access for the settler. His opiniio.il was tha,t the method by which grants were made for - public works was wrong: and wasteful, in that the Department had net always the best knowledge of the needs of tiie districts. Not sufficient attention was paid to the advice of the local engineers. He supported tile <!'?f™co scheme, but lie thought n3d carre should bo taken to see that 110 military autocracy should be allowed to grow up in tlws country, and that some consideration should be .shown to' certain uic-n 011 whom the Act bore eoniewliat heavily. He wished to impress upon tlra Minister tho. need for improving the status of school teachers. , At present tlie hardships of baekblocks teachers were so Heinous, land the inducements so poor, that people who. were not suitable were appointed to tho out-back schools. This was an addition to the many hardships now suffered by the hackblneks settlers.

At 10.50 p.m. the Prime Minister moved the adjournment of the debate, and the House rose.