NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2193, 4 July 1914, Page 6

NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE.

THE FOURTH DAY. HON. W. FRASER ON PRIVATE RAILWAYS. Mr. \V. D. S. MACDONALD (Bay of Plenty) resumed tho debate on tlie NoConfidenoo amendment to the Address-■in-ileply. Jn spifco of all that had been said about tho beneficial land laws or the Government, he ventured to suggest,that settlement was not progressnig as' rapidly as it might. . Ho was ono'of those who believed that tho only land-that could be. successfully settled by people without capital was good land. -.Poor , 'land','if'poor settlers were put on it, would remain poor. In any case, there was a diminishing area of unoccupied Crown land available for settlement, arid, the amount must diminish every year. Ho contended also that the Minister was not' giving tho freehold to every settler who desired it, as •ho had so often promised ho would. The Minister had time and again declared that the 66 year* lease was a bad tenure. Of course, the land beld under this tenure was National Endowment land. Why had not the Minister douo awiaty with this freehold? Because he had a leaseholder in his Cabinet who wanted to bo able to say to his electors of Wellington Central that ho was carrying out his leasehold pledges. , Mr. Massey: You know perfectly well that every section under tlie sixty-sis years lease iv National lSndowmcut, unl no Minister can touch it.

Mr. Macdonald said • the Minister could giro the freehold of the National Endowment just as ho had given it to the Li.j>. tenants. Mr. Masscy: Will you support it? Mr. Macdonald: I will support it in eomo directions. And I want to tell tho honourable gentleman' that I havesupported it already in some instances. Mr. Massey I am. glad to have a definite statement. Mr. Macdonald said his-own district thero was much poor pumice land, which could never he settled under lease by poor men. One man wiiom lie knew held 12,500 acres of it, and Worked for. 10s. a day at a sawmill. Another man who held 20,000 acres at ( ii rentalof £20 a year earaod hia living 'by working on the road. Mr. Fraser: Who put him there? Mr. Macdonald: Never mind who put him there. Ho wont on to say that in those areas the parts suitable- for settlement should be opened for selection] and tho remainder reserved for treeplanting. Tho fact was that most of the unoccupied Crown land was of such a character that a poor man could not touch it without assistance from • the State, and a man with money would not go on it. Ho urged that tho Government ought to take .some more active measures to purchase and settle tho Urewera Blcck of Native land, the most valuable block of Native land in tho Dominion. , ■ Minister of Public Works. The Hon. W. ERASER (Minister of Public Works) said there had been no suggestion from. the Government side to sell endowment land; that was the suggestion of tho last speaker. He had also misrepresented the position with regard to the occupation of gum lands. Members on the Opposition ,had been confusing commitments with liabilities when attacking wliflt ho had said to certain deputations in .tho country. Ho had been asked to support expenditure for roads and bridges, and ho said at tlie time that there were certain commitments which had to be provided for, ond Uicro' was no certitude then of when the money would bo available. Ho was not going to enter on expenditure ivhen be was not certain -about tho money. In every instance his audiences understood. Mr. Hannan: .When were those commitments to bo paid? Mr. Frasor: When else has a commitment .to be paid? When it was due. You authorised-expenditure which bad to be met. It was the items that were not put upon the Estimates that were ihe cause of' contention amongst the people. The Small Contract System. With regard to the small contract system ho would say that it bad been a success. -Ho would not say an unqualified success, fie never dreamt that this was the only system to bo carried on. He had kept the co-opera-tive system "going for a number of men ivho were not in the full vigour of life, anil who had to bo provided witlAwork. It was not the caso, as the hon. member had,said, that ho was trying to do all work on the contract system. Ho wanted to reply to Mr. Sidey with regnrd'to reference to , the Otago Central railway, .and why he had not started work in the .first yo.ir he was in office, lie had to solve.a difficult problem; to construct a line between Clyde and Cromwell. He was giving the settlers a light line between the places mentioned. It was only a light lino, but it was giving the settlers what they wanted, something on which to carry their produce. He honed that- when'it . was finished it would be an object lesi son for the building of other lines, in. the same way, in other parts of the country. He was not ready to start it in the first year he came into office. WltMi ho was ready ho asked the House for a small grant for tho line, which covered a distance of 13 miles. Ho war, i making provision for Iho unemployed nn public works. He liatl done' so ill TViiiiralin. Cliiistclnii'ch. ami Auckland. If uncninln.vod mon would •jo to tlio Labour ■Department " workwould bo found for tliom. ,\ membor: Do you pnipnM to carry ■ tb» ligl't line past Cromwell? Mr. Frascr: I am going to Cromwell

first. , I am not goinfi to be thwtt till the Public Works Statement conies down. Private Railways. Proceeding, Sir. FMA&ER, wcafconto refer to tho state-Weiil that.a Bill was being prepared for the eoftstractioh of a private railway )«»• frotn β-oterna to Opnnake. Last year lie pttpiired a Bill .which was afterwards put <m tlio Statutes, wliich enabled local bodies or companies to . statfc prrvftto linos. Oil looking into the matter bo.found that ic was liardl.v satisfactory. As- Mr. Okey had said, local bodies- olectoil for a specific purpose- were not. best fitted to build and eontoai A railway. It was very evident that soaietteiß more should bo done. Hβ realised that, and a Bill was being prepared, ate) would bo submitted to ttto House, lor iha purpose of creating a board wftich wmiid bo elected from several local barlios i«' terested, and tho board would bo the one- to have- tho cfcrryi-ng otit ©£ a»y railway scheme m that pajfeufer dts-

trict. Tho proposal in the Bill was that any particular area weftdd bo proclaimed, and within the area the board would have all .tho- powers of local bodies. The board would te elected first, and would have control t}£ any railway scheruo in the area. In conclusion, 1» told the memher-s on tho other side fif tto- liousa that nothing was raorij certain than that, they would lose tiia ng-conJidenso ino» tion, and that would he aft indication of what was going to take place at , tho aiming elections*- (Applause,) Mr. A. E. GLOVBE (Auckland Central) advocated an increased graduated land tax, and tho preservation of all national endowments, m a heritage for ,those who were to fiome. They should -do something mote to ameliorate tho conditions of the passes of the people. Tho worker should.- also get a share of the profits df Ij.js labour. He was not a beltever in a "iki-pot navy," and would support an increased subsidy to the Im-pon-al N.svy. Going or. to the question of the Bank of Ke-w Zealand, he thought- it would be A good thing if tho Prime- Minister could see his way clear, in; conshkraiic-ii of tho State saving tho bank, whereby tia State should get .so-me remtmeratioii. from tho accumulated profits' of that bank. It would do something to assist in tho development of tho hrtelrfjloeks. "A Political intrigue. Mr J. H. BIUDNEt (Auckland West) said ho believed tfe strike- of last year was brought i\hmi> by political mtrigue, with the idea te discredit theGovernment, and there, was' no'iuteti- 1 tion .to i have peace- till it was. brought about.by force.' His own .'efferts '•to ■ assist in. bringing about a : settlement were" frustrated by. tlipse- wild'did not desire a peaceful settlament;.. & at tack of the member for AVatraii- on tho Minister of Justice was q.uit6' irawa*ranted. Referring to homes Mr. Bradney said it- nad boea the custom to erect tho houses in tho suburbs,'too far away #ro« tlm working' places of .the men wh D really needed assistance. " .Mr. Myers: We wa.ni a comprehend sivo Town Planning Act Mr. Bradney commented on the success of tho.Advanc.es to, Settlors' Act one of the. best, aeasßfes plased m ; tho statutes.' *■'..•' '

Mr. G eautehdcd that before the Goverittnent attempted to put settlers oii.th-e gilia lands of tie north they should, put trees in for them.

Mr. Massey: That is what the last Government did, and I had to null them

Mr. T\itty said he dH mh thkh tte Board of Agriculture wottM do. much good because of the constitution of €10 board. He said that, ho weald, repeal ttio Uvil Service OomWiksioiMfs Aet to-morrow -if ho got the eliape. Ho did not think it had; deffie good to % country. Commissioners ware bosnd to lavour tnoso they know i« plate; of those tlloy did not know, and their Mtromica became worso than pMtictil fatroitegd. Mr Witty went on t<. tes the Mhe Minister with voting against '.tut Distress Limitation Biii ' "The Writing on this Wall." Mr. D + BUIOK ttbteetttoi, North) congratulated tho Leader «f the OWo' Bition on tho speech he nmde when introducing the No-tonfidftßeft' mnendnient. He (Mr. Uyisfc)- did aet n-rno with his reasoning. }!e took a, difficient' view on naval questions, flic honom--able member had also said that'tkra was nothing dono for ; I/abdur. 'i'liat was not a fact. Up. fiomtiicndcd the ago from bo years to 60 at whiek weJnefl could get tho pcnsnm. The o&ef Opposition specclies had simply been u>iX3titi6,i.s ot tho speeches of the* "jityigg Bqi)a<b> ron.' They had sete the writing on the wall, had seen tfi# they wete .not coining back again. . Discussing the.Governor's Spsoch Iro said that everybody ought to' k<?. glad that tho country was progressing, ittut that tlio natural pro<ket-s\ef ilia knd were realising pri<!f?S, this' meaftt tliat everybody in tho- cwifttfy, not cmly the producers on the" land, ev«n -tliosl* people who wero makfwg t'htjnseivss mai on tho waterfront, wt-ro- dofeg well. Ho was pleased to know tjiat the werldngmen in New Zealand svp.f6 living on a higher iicale. and also that the werkem of tho Old Country ivero gettkg hefrtef wages and living ami working wider more comfortablo coiiclrtisns generaliy. He hoped that the Government wouU do a great deal to iftptovo tlio , Tongariro National Park. Ho aflded that he was going to introduce a Biß, vriii fto Primo Minister's consent, which wpaM make it tho finest pari? iii the Wettii. It would beat the Yellowstone Pa.rk into a cocked hat. Mr. J.. Robertson (Otalii) was tteksi speaker, and Mr. J. H. Eaott. moved the adjournment. Tho House rose at 0.15 a.m.