STIRRING UP THE OPPOSITION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1836, 23 August 1913, Page 6

STIRRING UP THE OPPOSITION.

•THE ESTIMATES.

J Tho legislative Council met at 2.30 ®.m. , i The Hon, C. A. C. HARDY gave no- . 'tico of his Intention to ask th'e Government -whether they would make better [provision for the welfare of the hospital I'lmrsea by reducing their long hours of {.work, increasing their pay, and. ostablish•ingfor their benefit a> superannuation , '.scheme. ' ' . ' COPYRIGHT BILL. : I. Tho Copyright Bill -(the Hon.. H. D. ,Bell) was recommitted in. order that an jmnendment of, little consequence might !bo made in it. Bill was then read O third time, and passed. LOCAL BODIES' LOANS. ' The Hon. H; D. BELL moved the sec■'ond reading of the Local Bodies Loans s ffiill. The Bill, he said, was along with the State Advances Bill mainly a consolidation of the existing Act, but in Bome - cases ..the law had been varied. He explained that the prinoipaV new.feature in, lithe .Bill, was the ' State' guarantee of moneys Taised by. the local. bodies them- ! The Hon; J; e! JENDNSON said it neemed to him' that the scheme of borrowing from the State seemed to be being ('discouraged, if .not departed from. For ■pis^art,-he saw little difference between .'local bodies borrowing from tho State and sorrowing in. the open market .with the Kaoverirment;guarantee..; . .. ! The;Bon. H. D. BELL,' in reply,.said fcthere was one good reason for the'discontinuance on' the .part of the State dendling to local ibodies. It was .that it iraa [possible for 'a, G<nrernment to commit a [succeeding.' Government "to'- such ,'aii cat(tent that money would not be available if or other local bodies who needed it' very

(much more. The Government's capacity • (to lend was always limited >by tho Government's ability to get money by borrowing. , . Bill was read a second time, and ferred to the Statutea'Revisdoa'Commit--A ..... STATE ADVANCES BILL. The Hon. H. D. BELL moved the secTeading of the State Advances Bill. E main object of the Bill'was to sepaout in a class apart advances to setftlers and to workers from all other State It was more a consolidating Ithftn ,an ' amending measure. A clause twhich had! been'discussed very much in place was that by wWch the Minister waa removed from tho. Advances {Board, 1 ' He attached vory little importance (to it.' Those ton. members wlio had'sat jin Governments knew that a Minister . Siever attended the meeting of any board Jtunfess he was almost compelled to do so, land the Minister; when he 'did attend, jwas very neairly afWys there for mischief fund not for business. '

The Hon; J. D. JHNKINSON protested "against tho exclusion of the Minister for vFinanQO from the State Advances Board. ! (Parliament, l\e said, should insist on the /Minister retaining a seat on ■ tho- board, ■who should be responsible to ..Parliament .. <tfor the board's conduct of/its business.' He ieuggested to 'the Government , that all . fGtate lending whatsoever should be done one Department. At present tho Tublio Trust, the Post Office Savings Bank and the Insurance Department; were all i lending separately, but he believed that {very soon all this lending business would' iio consolidated. . ; ! The Hon. J. DUTHlE'urged as an objection to the Minister holding hi 9 seat on the board.'that Ministers had very many i<hiitie9 already to discharge. A man would frequire to be super-human to carry them idl. • If tho administration, was to bo effi[icient, some of the authority must bo d«le- | [gated, in the same way as it would T>e in ■lany big financial, institution. The Prime ; jlMinfetur in this ' country, for instance, ffluul a burden of work which was far too [much for any- one 'man. Apart from his jtegular work of attending to his Depart'jnents, the Prime Minister was now, ac*t»rding to a practice that had grown up Sn this country, besieged with numberless wepuitations. How he found time for it all passed comprehension. He (Mr. Duthio) Sid not agree that the Minister should sit ■as a member of the board. Mir. Duthio (hoped' that under this Bill, and similar (legislation, the credit of tlho country would fbe conserved by a curtailment of borrow- ■ ling. He would like' to see borrowing pow- ■ lers kept in hand more than, in tho past. jNow it appeared that wo were borrowing jfrfrm three to fivo millions a year, and Ho this there must be an end. The Hon. W. EARNSHAW said he

-agreed with Mr. Jenkinson that it would ■be well if all the State lending could bo : !tlone through one clearing house. He L.would liko to see the v Minister retain his Mseat on the board.' i Tho Hon. H. D. BELL said it would be

'unfair in a reply to. give instances of the bad effect of the Minister having power to attend at the board. VoTy good Tcasons could, howover, be adduced for tho discontinuance of that power. _ . The Bfll was read a second time, METHODIST UNION BILL. Tho Hon. H. D. BELL moved the second reading of the Methodist Union Bill. The Bill was read a second time without debate. The Hon. H. D. 801 l said it. would be necessary for tho Council to meet on Thursday to pass an Imprest Supply Bill, end wlian that was possedlie proposed to «isk the Council to adjfrurn until Septemibcr 3. • . The Council adjourned at 4.5 p.m. until at 2.30 p.m.

SOME POLICY DETAILS DISCUSSED.