PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2273, 6 October 1914, Page 7

PARLIAMENT.

MIST MONDAY SITTING.

RAN6ITAIKI DRAINAGE SCHEME

EDUCATION RESERVE^

The House of Representatives sat at 7.30 p.m.

The Eight Hon. W. P. MASSEY gave rtotice of the' Wages Protection and Contractors' Lien Amendment Bill.

TELEPHONE SUBSCRIPTIONS. Mr. G. AV. RUSSELL (Avon) asked tile Postmaster-General for the reason why people using the , telephones in Christchureh were being requested by the Government to pay eight months' subscription.' in advance. Previously, the system was to collect six months' subscriptions in advance. Mt 1 . Russell declared that the alteration was causing a good deal of feeling in Cliristchurch.

The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (the Hon. R. H. Rhodes), replying, said that the new system had been instituted to save trouble in the office Up to the present the system was to pay six months' subscription in advance. * To ease the pressure of work, the payments were to be made in different months in different centres. In some places the subscribers, would pay three months in advance; in others, four months, and in'others five months in advance. In Christchurch it so happened that the period was eight months, but it had been arranged that for the present the subscribers in that cit.y could pay two months in advance, and afterwards pay the six months' subscription which would bring them into the period allotted to them. IMPROVING LAND. RANGITAIKI DRAINAGE SCHEME. The PRIME MINISTER (the Right Hon. W. F. Massey) moved the second reading of tho Rangitaiki Land Drainage Amendment Bill. Mr. Massey explained that the Bill proposed to borrow £50,000 (in addition to money already raised) for the purpose of continuing the drainage improvement _ works on the Rangitaiki lands, which are in the vicinity of Waihi. He said, also, that the whole of the money proposed to be borrowed would not bo required this year. Mr. AV. D. S. MACDONALD (Bay of Plenty) warmly supported the Bill, and said that the Government should be complimented for pursuing this policy,; He added that tho drainage , which had been carried out on these lands had vastly ' improved the' value of the block.

Tho Hon. R. M'JfENZIE (Motueka) expressed approval of tho Bill, and said that as far back as 1899 ho had gone over this particular country, and had advised that an improvement scheme should bo undertaken. Hβ congratulated tho Government, and expressed himself as satisfied that the land was going to be of- enormous value to the country.

Mr. H. POLAND (Ohinemuri) thought that £15,000 would be as much as would be required for expenditure in one year.

SIR JAMES CARROLL (Gisborne) thought that the Prime Minister might have given some praiso to the previous Administration for having initiated the work.

Mr. G., W. RUSSELL (Avon) said that some appreciation of the ivork of tho Hon.' R. M'Konzie in this matter should be acknowledged. " ■ ■ . The Hon. Mr. MASSEY said that he was quite willing to give his predecessors credit for having inaugurated tho scheme, but now that the point had been raised it would be well to mention that very little had been done until the present Government had-taken office. The Bill was lead a. second time; • HAURAKI PLAINS. The Right Hon. W. F. MASSEY moved the secoud reading of the Hauraki Plains Amendment Bill, which, he said, proposed to enable the Government to borrow an additional sum of £25,000 for she prosecution of ..the drainage works on tlie Hauraki Plains, making the total sum to be borrowed £170,000. . The debate on the Bill was wholly commendatory, and the Bill was read a second time on the voices. EDUCATION RESERVES. The Hon. J. ALLEN moved the second reading of the Education Reserves Amendment Bill, which, he said, was purely a machinery measure to enable reserves to be sold, and the money devoted to the purchase of other lands. SIR WALTER BUCHANAN (Wairarapa) drew attention to the need for providing roads to give access to Education Reserves in the North Island. To many of them the only access was through private property, and, one_ result of this was that the reserves yielded much lees revenue than they otherwise would. In hie own district there was one huge block of 8000 acres, and there was no road access to any part of this huge tract. He had brought this matter under the notice of former Ministers of Lands. ■ .The Hon. J. ALLEN in reply to a question, said that tho Eill did not apply to National Endowment lands. RIVER BOARDS BILL. The River Boards Amendment Bill was road a second time pro forma, and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee. ; The House rose at 11.3 p.m.