LOBBY GOSSIP

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2215, 30 July 1914, Page 7

LOBBY GOSSIP

AND POINTS FROM DEBATES DAILY SUMMARY After the excitement of tho contest over the Licensing Bill on' tho previous day, yesterday's'- proceedings in the House of Kepresentatives wore, by comparison, exceedingly dull. Nearly tha .. whole of tho afternoon' was sjienv in discussing a . presented to".tho motion of Mr." -Noswortliy, which showed tuat from 1893 to 1912 proceeds from vrown land sales totalling nearly a million and a half sterling were treated by the Continuous, Ministry as revenut, and went to swell the annual surpluses. J'be central facts of tho position were . interesting'and important, .but the suW • rounding discussion was flaccid, and threw no liew'Jight upon tho matter. Tho usual Wednesday afternoon discussion on Questions was crowded out.' In the evening private members' Bills . came up for consideration, and the first measure on.tho list, Mr.; Wilford's Factories' Amendment Bill, gave rise to a long discussion. It proposes that the statutory working hours of women in woollen factories should be reduced from 48. to 45 per-week, thus bringing these establishments'into lino with the ordinary factoryjiw. After occupying the House from T.'iO p.m. untjl 11.10, the Bill was read a second time on the voices. Mr, Okey then moved to refer it to tho Labour Bills Committee. On a division the amendment was negatived ■by 34 votes to 32/ . ■ ;. Mr. Hitidmarsh's Imprisonment for • Debt Limitation Amendment Bill was put through Committee almost without discussion; ' The House rose at 11,25 p.m. ; The Legislative' Council Bill was . passed through Committee in the Legislative Couniil yesterday, without serious amendment. An endeavour was made to throw,out the .clause by which three Maoris can be nominated to tho Council, but this was defeated. An endeavour made to reduce the number from three ta.two was also defeated. The Bill was referred to the.Statutes' Revision Committee, to report on technical voting provisions in tho third schedule.

A HICHER TARIFF?

"Wo are 'producing articles in this couHtry which, can-' bo, produced muchmore., cheaply, elsewhere,'' said Mr.' E. P. Lee in the House of Representatives last night. ''Then, we have onb of two things to do. Either we must reduce ■; ov.r prices here to a level at which' we . can compote with the goods ,of those ether countries, or we must impose such a tariff as 'will keep _gootls of foreign manufacture out of this country, or will allow them to be landed only at such a price that we can compete with them and-at the same time pay proper wages and;'give the workers proper labour conditions." . ' :

■ Mr. Payne: Hear, hear. • Mr. Lea: Their don't lot'it come.from the. honourable gentleman that the cost of living'is going up,' because the cost of living .must inevitably go. up if: .we , raise-.the tariff. :. ... It has come to'this:in this country, that.the workers must have certain payment' conditions and certain working conditions, and industries must meet, those conditions or close down. It'may.-be that in order . that they may not be compelled to.closo down they must be supported by' pro- ■ tective Customs taxes.

THE LICENSING BILL.

- ■ > Although the tension which the Liceni smg Bill occasioned while it was still a live issue! of tile session has relaxed, it is still'the subject of a good deal :of talk - iiv> th'e;'lohbies. :i .'Most of" the talk, however, is retrospective'. So far 'Jts, immediate political, v action is' concerned, the opposed parties do not seem to-be forming any plans: 1 ''Those'members 1 who supjxirt the _ Trade- (ire ob- : viously, but not obtrusively,, delighted. The Prohibition members are taking things quietly, and ho doubt are looking forward to participating in the brisk campaign wliich 13 to be organised by the New Zealand Alliance. Meantime such talk as, is relates, mainly to the abstention of some members from' Voting. :

WRONC ACAIN!

Extraordinary zeal has been shown' I lately by Mr. G. AV. Russell to protect i the country from being put upon by the Dominion Portland Cement Company. This company is. established in the Whangarei district, and one of the directorate is a' member of the Government party. The other day Mr. Russeli wanted to know about a sale' of land by the Government to this company, and was told.that no land liad : been ■ sold. Then he asked a question: "Whe- . ther the AValirna Falls, m the Whangarei district, have been handed over to the Dominion Cement Company; and, if jo, would the Minister of Public Works state how the interests of tho people of the Dominion have been protected?" The Minister of Public \V6rks replied" to the question yesterday as follows"A license for 42 years has been • granted on tho application of tho Whangarei Borough Council. and with .the consent of the County Council, AVhangarei, to the Dominion Portland - Cement Company under the Public' Works Act to use . the water, of the Wairua Falls for; the purposes cf generating electrical energy for mining, power" lighting, and, other purposes; and by • perusing the copy of same appearing in the 'New Zealand Gazette' of July 24, • 1913, signed by Robert M'Nab, and Claude Slack on. behalf of'the company, ! the honourable member , can easily , ascertain how] the interests of tho people of the Dominion have been' protected."

MR. ISITT'S APPLAUSE.

Mr. Isitt's readiness ,to applaud the utterances of members on that side of the House on which he first appeared , aIL is quite reraarkn Yesterday, for instance, : Mr. : Russell was fulminating against the Minister of Finance, and in one deliberate period had got as fa? as: "The lion. ■ gentleman had, not produced a fair •——" when he was interrupted by-a vociferous "Hear, hear!" from Mr; Isitt. Even Mr., Russell was surprised at this premature explosion of approval, and stopped long enough to let the House indulge in. a hearty laugh before he resumed his discourse and . made his interrupted sentence definite enough to really warrant applause or , -dissent.

WOMEN AND WOOLLEN MILLS.

Some unconventional arguments were used, in tlio debate upon- the Factories Amendment Bill in tlio Ifouso of Representatives last evening.' ' . At one stage Mr. J. S. Dickson marked that; tlie member for Grey (Mr. Webb) evidently did not understand much about woollen mills. Mr. Webb replied that ho know what work the women had to tlo. Mr. Dickson: It is obvious tliat the women know him, because he has not . been able to get married yet. (Laughter.) Another point inado by Mr. Dickson was also at the expense of the Labour members. Referring to Mr. Webb's impassioned advocacy of ■ State factories and the encouragement of . local industry, Mr. Dickson remarked that that t member was not wearing clothes of New Zealand manufacture. He ad.ded that he had been looking at the clothes worn by the other Labour members, and so far as he could see only one of them had patronised local industry. . Mr. J. V. : Brown stated proudly a 'little later that everything he had on' (excepting buttons) had been made in >' New Zealand. Even his hat .(which lie was, not wearing) was of New Zealand manufacture. . A member: What about your spectaoles? s Brown: They were made in New

Zealand too—at Lambton Quay, Wellington. Sir Walter Buchanan: You don't say that in Napier. (Laughter.) MISREPRESENTATION AND FALSEHOOD! "Misrepresentation I I have had' an instance ' brought under "ray notice of | somothing tho other day that was not misrepresentation, but falsehood," said the Prime Minister in tho House yesterI day.. ' "

_. '.'Who by?" asked the Senior Opposition Whip, Mr. Forbes. Mr. Massey: The member who made the statement will , bo told about it within tho nest few days. Honourable members on the other side of tho House should not talk to me of misrepresenta--1 tion. Mr. M'Callum: Who was'it? Tell us. We shall not sleep till we know. Mr. Forbes: Terrible suspense 1 Mr. Massey: It will be suspense or more than suspense for the honourable member when the proper times conies. . Later tho member for Christchurch North asked Mr. Massey to what par- ' ticular statement he had been ,referring. , ' 4 Mr. Massey said he had referred to. the statement about the strike. v Mr. Isitt: Well, in my opinion, the more that is said about the strike and the attempt made to nuke', political capital out of it, the more the truly progressive party will benefit. > THOSE LOAN CIRCULARS. Shrieks of indignation have come from the Leader of the Opposition and his first lieutenant (the member for Avon) repeatedly this session because the Minister .of Finance, in preparing liis loan circulars to be issued in London prior to the flotation of recent loans, did not draw the attention of the London investors to the manner in which past surpluses were swelled by moneys • which should have gone into Capital Account instead of into Revenue. In. other words they have railed upon Mr. Allen for hay.iiig neglected to'make tilings out as black as possible for New Zealand. Always the members of the present Government have held that ; the proceeds from the sale of Crown lands ought not to be added to the ordinary revenue to swell , the surplus,' and in 1912, when they camo into office, they provided that such moneys should be paid into the Lands Settlement Account and not into the General .Revenue Account. Because all this was not pointed out in the loan : circulars, the Finance Minister has been charged with having "taken down the London nloney-lender." In actual fact the first circular, which was prepared while the Minister was .in England, was not prepared, by him, but by'the High .staff. Mr. Allen I saw the circular, hut did hot amend 1 it. On the motion 1 of .Mr, Nosworthy, a return was presented to' the House-yes-terday showing that from 1893 to 1912 the amount received for the sale of Crown : lands and paid into the Ordinary Reve'mie Account was £1,459,028. Sir Joseph Ward made a speech on the' 'subject 1 of the , return,' which, as was well said'by Sir Walter Buchanan, was- "a characteristic speech of the honourable gentleman, all verbiage with no point at all.'' Mr. Russell also had a good deal to say. his', only argument being that the Government had paid cash for some of the lands in purchasing them from the' Natives. " The Prime . Minister remarked that the return had caiised a great deal of consternation'' anionic members on the other side of the House. It was, ha said, -absolutely .true, beyond doubt that the surpluses for the last 21 years had been swelled by the addition of the cash sales of land. ' It 1 was quite true that most, of i those lands were purchased from the Natives, but how werjo tho lands paid, : for-^frqm,,-the,, ordinary; revenue of ilie country.or "with borrowed money? The member for Avon must know that the. lands- were" purchased with • borrowed' money. Then wliat had happened since? These lands had been sole], and tho proceeds paid into ordinary revenue,: while ■ more money was being borrowed for the purchase-of more land. ''I ask auy business man in this House'is that a propej way to dp business?" said Mr. Massey. ""Ia it sound, finance? Most certainly it is not." He had just begun to : defend the much-discussed loan -circular ~Mr. Isitt: Is it a square deal?.. Mr. Massey"A perfectly square deal." The Prime Minister went on to say that far too much importance was attached to loan prospectuses, and he would advise Mr. Allen to float his next lonn. without, any circular. . The ■ debate ~011 the motion that the return be .pointed, of which the above, is. only a fragment, was continued until 5.30 p.m., so that the motion was talked out. ' ... i

THE REFERENDUM BILL.

The Education ' Committee : of the' House of Representatives has decided not to the hearing of . evidence on the Religious Instruction in Schools Referendum Bill on Friday night it desires to, complete tho consideration of the Education 'Bill at the earliest possible moment. It. is thought probable that the further hearing of; evidence upo.n the Referendum Bill would havo to be postponed for at' least a fortnight. A petition from'the trustees of "the Cornwall Park (Auckland), asking that that Park and other reserves similarly situated should be exempted from local rates . was presented to the House '. of Representatives yesterday. Mr. D. Buddo, member for Kaiapoi, who has just- returned from a visit to England and America, took his place in the. House yesterday,' and was heartily welcomed by bis fellow-members. Mr. J. B. Hine, member for Stratford, has been re-elected Chairman of tho Public Accounts • Committee "of the House of Representatives. This is the third session in which he has filled that position. "There can be l no doubt about'it, there is a. tacit agreement between these two parties," said Mr. E. P. Leo in the House of Representatives last night, referring' to the Labourites and the Wardites. . It is intended that in future the full .agricultural statistics shall be collected by the police as soon as possible after harvest-time. The acreage of'wheat will be ascertained in spring by post. : The New Zealand Government, the Hon. Jas. Allen stated yesterday,- has not been officially notified of the intention of the Imperial Government to discontinue the office' of Inspector-Gen-eral of the Overseas Forces. Tho introduction of a Bill to amend' the Orchard and Garden Diseases Act is at present under consideration.