THE HOUSE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 39, 9 November 1918, Page 9

THE HOUSE

The House of E-epresentatives met at. 2.30 p.m. . . CHRIST'S COLLEGE ORDNANCE. Mr. A.'S. MALCOLM (Clutha) reported that the Selection. Committee had appointed Messrs. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North), C. J. Parr (Eden), T. K. Sidey (Dunedin North), S. G. Smith (Taranaki), and A. S. Malcolm 'a comittee to consider the Christ's College Ordnance Amendment Bill. The committee would meet that day' owing to the urgency of the Bill. " , ADDRESS.IN-REPLY. . The Speaker reported that he had waited upon the Governor-General and presented tihe Address-in-Keply. \ AN ADJOURNMENT. The PRIME MINISTER, after referring to the unconfirmed report'of the signing of an armistice, said that many members had suggested to.him 'that in view of the prevailing uncertainty and the difficulty of settling down to business, 'he should consent to an adjournment. Ho was prepared to move -an adjournment until the .evening, , more - particularly a* Cabinet would thus be enabled to meet in .the afternoon and attend to important business.' The House adjourned until 7.30 p.m. MILITARY DECORATIONS. When the House met in the evening ■ the Minister of Defence (Sir James Allen) moved the second reading of the Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges Bill. He explained the .Bill briefly, and it was read a second time without debate. WAR LEGISLATION. THE ENEMY ALIEN. . The PRIME MINISTER moved the lecond reading of the. War Legislation Amendment Bill. He said the Bill prohibited enemy aliens from buying land , in New Zealand, except by consent of the Minister' of , Lands. , There had been. cases ; where moo who were not allowed to eerve in the Army owing to their alien blood had been able to buy the land of. men who were awaj fighting. The Dominion had exchanged soldiers for enemy aliens a 9 land-owners, and that, was a state of affair!) that was not to bo tolerated. He believed the Bill did everything that it was possible to do in the direction of

preventing tW acquisition of land by eneiny aliens. The clauses of the lull extending protection to tenants applied at present only to soldiers and their dcpendar.ts. Ho was not sure that the clauses should not bo extended 'in their operation. Considerable hardship undoubtedly had been caused by-tl)e ejection of soine tenants who were quite prepared to pay their rent and fulhl all tho obligations of the lease. The c nuses relating tc the salo of New Zealand produce were necessary in order that tl o I Government might make arrangements for the salt of wool during the season following the close of the war. Members' There is no limit. Mr. Massey: "The Bill goes out of operation two years after the close oi tnowar." He was prepared to insert further limits if necessary. 'I ho portion of the Bid giving the Arbitration Couit power to vary awards on accouut ot changed conditions or increases m the cost of living was necessary in ordei that the Court might adjust awards where requirpd. There was no such power in the e.v,stim' law. Provision was beinß made to give effect to the wills of soldiers wlic were minors when the vills referred to real estate. ~,,,,, The Hon. D. BUDDO .said hat the granting of a special security of (enure to soldier tenants might have the eflec ol causing landlords to refuse to let- their houses to soldiers and soldiers dcPe D? ant t K. NEWMAN '(Wellington East) urged that the Government ought to make very drastic provision indeed against the enemy, aliens. Persons of enemy alien origin' ought not to be nllowed any part in the government of the country for several generations Ihc Army and Navy and. the Air Service would not take the son of a naturalised enemy alien, and the rule was a perfectly eonnd one. New Zealand had sent abroad men who would not be trusted in the firing line by the military authorities. He, would like, to see strict legislation against enemy. aliens while he memory of the war was still fresh in the minds of the: nation. One of he worst evils the British Government had been required to contend with during the ivar had been the peaceful penetration that had been effected by the Germane in years past. New Zealand had had experience of peaceful penetration, and it ought to resist'anything: of the kind in the future. It was idle to pretend that peace had come. Final peace never won d come. The strong nations of the woild had. fighting Wood in their veins. Iheie were 85,000,000 Germans.in the world today that were badly beaten. But when peace was concluded they would set to work again to win ascendancy. It was the duty of the New Zealand Parliament to pass such legislation.as.would ensure that the generations to come would not ba prejudiced by aliens coming in and getting possession of the country. ,

Aliens, and Land. Mr. W. A. Vtii'iUt OVaugauui) said that he ieit more disposed to uiscuwi what; was not iu the ilui tnau what wus actually iu it. iW '-Bill tonunueu *>W a few sinaii clauses,-uuuu oi wmcli wore of any importance at (ill. TUero was nothing in the JJill to disclose, tlio land policy of the Government. . -, The Prime Minister; 'Ibis is not a "air. Veitch said that it was time to consider tne question ot aliens buying up tub lauds of the country. TJiuy had been told that aliens would not ua allowed to aggregate land, but the provisions oi the iim were not definite eiiuugh. It was a matter lor regret that no progressive land policy had yot been introduced. Possibly the leaders of tne House would be called Home shortly, and it was important that something should'be placed before'the Houso beforehand indicating what the Uoveni'ment's intentions were in regard to the land question. Before long there would be thousands of returned soldiers in the country, many of wnoiu, would want to take up lands. .Was the Minister of Lands ready to open up lauds for those men? Parliament should make preparation for-the return of tho men who had gono to the war. The graduated land tax. was- not suth'cently heavy to prevent the aggregation of land. When the prices of New Zealand produce rose it would be necessary to increase the land tax, otherwise land -aggregation would follow. There was not sufficient sincerity or courage in Parliament to deal.-with the problems of the day. ■ Better legislation should 'be enacted, in order, to etfable returned soldiers to tako. up' land. :, 'Another matter that, needed attention was the provision of lands for settlement near tie towns. The lands for settlement system had broken down through lack of courageous administration. In many parts of the Dominion compulsory subdivision was a crying necessity. After tho war was over ho hoped there would bo a hugo policy of public works development. In conclusion Mr. Veitch complained that insufficient steps had been taken to deal with the cost of living problem. The people of New Zealand' were disgusted and disappointed with ithe Parliament of Wio country, for it had failed to deal with tho important questions which \vere agitating the -public mind to-day.

Mr. Tl. (Wa'irau) thought that some amendment of tho law should lie made with regard to proving soldiers' deaths. This was an important matter, because in many cases dependants could not say where and how soldiers died. On this point Judges of the Supremo Court had laid it: down that the words contained iu the rules of the Supreme Court must us observed in cases where it was necessary to, prove a soldier's death. In many cases that created a difficulty, mid the Crown Law officers should be asked to suggest some method by which it could bo overcome.

Mr. J. VIGOR BROWN (Napier) contended that the Bill should.contain n provision which would prevent alien enemies from occupying any public positions in the Dominion. Ho was pleased,however, that sonic measures woro being tdkenlo deal with tho alien enemies who wore iu our midst. \ A Labour View. Mr. r. FRAZER (Wellington Central) said that it was a matter for groat regret that although members ot 'Parliament and expressed the hope that there woulii bo no more wars, yet some ol them, by their remarks, seemed to look_ forward to a coiiiitl&B vista of wars. The party which ho represented did not believe that there was any luiidnmenlal ditleruncus in mankind, and ho and they regretted that a vondoltn should be set up against any individuals because of their nationality—a matter over winch they had no control. The party to which ho belonged boliuvcd that if tho working classes of Germany liad been predominant there would hnvo been no woriil war. Mr. Parr (Eden): They joined up with the-Kaiser, though! Continuing Mr. I'raser condemned tlio prevalence oi overcrowding, and expressed tlio hope that Hie benefits which were intended to be applied bv the Bill to soldiers' and discharged soldiers in the matter of rent would also be applied to everybody else in the community. Many people who had stayed at homo had, by their industry, helped to win the war, and surely they were entitled to tho same recognition for what they hud done as were those, who had actually gone to.the iront-

MR. C. A- MILIviXSOX (ifemont) complained that the land in his district was being "mopped up" by foreigners, who called themselves Swiss. When tho soldiers returned they would protest against that state ot affairs. Tho native-born New Kealunder should have preference in obtaining land: Taxation not prevent aggregation. There, shouui be restrictions as to transfer. Ho wanted to know what .had been done in connection with alien businesses in the country. The House, ho thought, would not bo iu favour of the expressions uttered by the member for Wellington Central as to tho doctrine of the "Brotherhood of Man." Parliament for all time would be against extending privileges to aliens of enemy origin. The housing problem should bo tackled, and some means should bo suggested for overcoming the difficulty in ill is respect, which existed in Wellington. \ l Labour and the War. ME. J. P. LUKE (Wellington North) said ho had not agreed with everything the Government had done in connection with domestic affairs, but the difficulties they had experienced lin<l to bo taken into consideration. Ho was son? that Dr. Newman had not shown more discrimination in his criticism on the measure before the House. He was very much surprised at tho attitude of somo Labour nieu—particularly one section—to tho war. The leaders of that section had done no tiling to help tho war. Messrs. Hindmarsh' and Holland had sons who had joined the forces, but those two gentlemen had adopted a policy which was s more sympathetic to the. German people than wus wise. Ho was nut very sympathetic to people of enemy origin. The city councils of the various centres should have opportunities of acquiring money for the erection of workmen's homes, i Wellington city could spend n quarter of a million of money in the erection of such homes, but the moi/ey could not be obtained owing to bumpering restrictions in the law. Tho councils should have power to build workmen's homes without having to go to the ratepayers for approval, for the latter would not vote in favour of expending money for such a purpose. A great deal of rack-renting hud been going on in Wellington. It was also a. scandalous thing that people should have had to pay bonuses in order to obtain houses. He hoped the Government would bring down legislation which would prohibit such a tiling being continued. Industrial strife was to bo deprecated, but the conditions of the Arbitration Act needed amendment in order that labour troubles could be dealt with without undue delay. He advocated the establishment of wages boards, A Food Controller should also be appointed to deal with the high cost of foodstuffs. . Mr. J. A. YOUNG (Waikato) said that thero were a number of. enemy aliens in tho' country who were entering into secret arrangements with .solicitors to obtain the transfer of land after the war. Tho Government should ascertain the true state of things and correct suck irregularities. Mr. VJ3RNON REED (Bay of Islands) regretted that the Bill had not been brought down long ago. ' He said that lie was in favour of excluding tho New Zealand-born wife of an enemy alien from tho provisions of the Act. Many of those who would be classed as enemy aliens, too, hml borno arms on behalf of the British Empire, and he hoped that thoy would not bo barred from owning laud. These were matters which he would mention later. Labour and Nationality. Mr. H. E. HOLLAND'"(Grey), said ho was not very mueji concerned with the natiouality of any individual who owned land. Us believed in tho taxation of land values. Tha difficulty they were confronted with- was that the enemy of to-day was the ally of to-morrow, and the ally.of to-morrow was tho enemy ot to-day. Five years ago it liad been claimed that the Japanese would be tho enemy of tho future, but yet it had been proved that they were our allies of today. A man was not bad because 'of the country he was born in. The workers of New Zealand had sent ([iiito 90 per cenl; of their representatives to the war, despite tho fact that Mr. Luke hod said that the' Labour men had not helped to win the war. Compassion was not required by the workers of, New Zealand —they merely wanted justice. The Government's action in attempting to deal with the rent and housing problems had been ineffective. The workers of the country hod no coniidpnee in the Arbitration Court as it was constituted to-day.

Mv. K, A. WItIGHT (Wellington Sui>ivrj>s) said that no one would condemn a man on account of liis origin, but when it came to the Germans tho matter assumed a different .aspect. They had adopted such n cruel attitude to their enemies that people could not possibly regard them in a favourable light The people of tho British Empire would never ally themselves with such -a ncoplo ns the Germans hud turned out to be. The reason why compulsory training had been introduced in New Zealand was not to guard against aggression from the Japanese, but to be prepared for the prosent world struggle?. Mr. Holland and thoso associated- with him had not helped to send a single man to the front, and if they had had their way not one man would have gone. More had been done by Mr. Holland to help the Germans than to assist the British Empire during the war. Much had been said about Iho disabilities of 'Wellington, but the country members had not been able to show a better record than Wellington from a health standpoint, despite its faults. Tho Government had done very ivell for the country, notwithstanding the difficulties it had to encounter. General support would bo accorded to the Government's intentions to prevent Germans and enemy aliens from acquiring land in New Zealand. No doubt be would be told all about tho "brotherhood of man," but; the fact remained that a great, majority of German Socialists- had approved of the war aud no loyal Britisher would ever be williii" to extend sympathetic feelings to such a nation of thieves, thugs, and assassins as the Germans had proved themselves to be. (Hear, hear.) Mr T. A. H. HELD (Nelson) confined his remarks to a criticism of the attitude which Mr. Hollnnd had assumed at the Grey election. Mr. J. PAYNE (Grey Lynn) thought it was wrong for alien subjects to hold land whilst returned soldiers were seeking such for settlement. He was opposed to Germans .being allowed to pursue a policy of "peaceful penetration." In the i'ltufo they must prevent Iho subtle German influence obtaining a foothold in the country. The problem of rack-renting bad to bo i'accd, and the Government sli'juld see that the people hud hesillliy homes to livo in.

Mr. Massey Replies.

Replying at 0.2, r > a.m., tlio Prime Miniator sulci he agreed with Dr. Newman as to tho importance! nf preventing the "lipiiccful penetration" of Hie Germans nftor tho war. The. Germans had succeeded before tlio war in establishing themselves in positions of advantage, commercially and industrially, nil over tlio Empire. They should not bo al-

lowed to recover their old advantages. Tho naturalisation laws of the -Empire would require consideration after the war. That would bo a matter for each dominion to deal with, lie hoped flint peaco would come during the next few days. When the soldiers came back the Government would bo. ready for them. Over 2G.000 sold'ers had returned to New Zealand already. Mr. Holland: Hundreds of them are out of employment. Mr. Massey.- "That is not; correct." He quoted figures to show that tlio soldiers iiad found their way bnck to civil occupations. Ho expected that (iO.fll)O men w.'iuld return to New Zealand at the close ol the war. .Demobilisation probably would take about, eight months. More haci been done by Now Zealand for its soldiers 1 him had Ireon done liy v.nv other country for its soldiers. lio did not except ' Canada or the United Kingdom. Exploitation. "If any member of this House can tell me of a ca.se of exploitation, and con show that the law has been violated, J. will be very glad to put tho. law into operation," 'said Mr. Mussey. "I want.to slop exploitation. 1 want to stop it iu every way we can. I have as much contempt foi the man who exploits his fellow-citizens in time of war as 1 have for tho politician who tries to iiinko political capital out of. the rise in the price of commodities in time of war." .

■ Mr. Vcitch (Wanganui) quoted some increases in the price of manufactured wool' produced by the Koslyn Woollen Ccnipany. Mr. Masse.} said he would have inquiry made, and would let Jir. Veitch see the report. He added that ho did not believe any Government could have done more than the present Government had done to keep down tlio coat of living.

Tho Bill was road a second .time, and the House adjourned at 1 a.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday next,