THE FINANCE BILL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 41, 12 November 1920, Page 8

THE FINANCE BILL

r COMPLETION o]"' DEBATE IN THI 1 . HOUSE.The debnto on the Finance Bill in thj House of Representatives was complete! early yesterday morning. Shortly -before 1 a.m. Mr. G. Miichcl (Wellington South) made an appcjal to th Prime Minister to make some fuvther pro - vision for tho old-age pensioners, th< r . widows, and the blind. A grant ol 1 £250,000, or even of £150,000, would In *" greatly appreciated by people who wen " naving a hard strugglo to livo under pro 8 sent conditions.. r Mr. Holland's amendment (suggesting 3 further increases in pensions) was defeat- '• cd by 38 votes to 20. 1 The Committee stage of tho Bill wai 1 reached at 1.90 a.m., after Mr. lysnai (Gisborno) had made a speech about wool 6 prices. l: Mr. T. E. ,-T. Seddon (Wcstlan.l) Bugi gosted that two members-of the proposed 1 War 'Pensions Appeal Board should ft' 3 returned soldiers'and that -tho Ixartl f should sit in the four centres, t Mr. Massey undertook to consider these - suggestions. - , The Bill was put through Committee - with a few slight amendments, read a third time, and, passed. ' The House adjourned, at 2 n.m, until 1 10.45 a.m. -v CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL. While,the Finance Bill was under consideration in the Legislative Council, the Hon. O. Samuel criticised the proposals of the ' Government that the _Hokitika ] Savings Bank, the Auckland" Savings k Bank, the Auckland City Council, and tiro Auckland Harbour Board should r have the power to contribute considerable sums of money towards the erection of ■ war memorials. He sympathised entirely with the desire of the people to . commemorate the fallen, but he felt that [ the' clauses authorising the expenditure referred to. and the decision of the Gov- '• eminent to snend £100,000 on a, national ' memorial wore inconsistent with the reiterated assertions of the Government that ! there must' be economy. He felt that ' the Government, until hotter times' came, ' should omit nothing that could teach the I neonle the need for care. j Mr. Samuel found a supporter in the Hon. T. Mac Gibbon, who also thought • that, the present was not the time for heavy expenditure upon memorials. • Tho Hon. P. J. Nerheny warmly ap--1 proved of tho proposed expenditure on war memorials. He was glad to see whnt the Government was doing for the '. old-age pensioners; but ho could not unr derstand why all pensioned widows should not be placed on as good a footing ns women who had been widowed through the euidemic. Sir William Hall-Jones supported Mr. Nerheny's view regarding the war memorials. A feature of the Bill that he was specially .pleased to see was the provision made for the benefit of tho poorer investor in post office certificates. However'small the amount invested, tho investor would receive a rate of interest eciual to, that paid on' the largest investments,,, The avoidance of any distinction in this matter between tho big and the-small investor so, commended itself to him that he thought the certificates oueht to be" called "the Massey certifi- • cates." in honour of the man who instituted them. TJnauestionably, said Sir Francis Bell, in the.course of a brief reply, the Government.- moved to compassion at the time of the epidemic by tho suffering it saw. had spent money at a rate that would be grossly unfair to the country if maintained. It might be argued that the present scale of ordinary widows' pensions was too • low. That argument might or might not be correct: but to offer the epideniic scale ns proof that the other scale wns' insufficient was to put forward a contention that, was not sound. The Government was doing what it could. The Bill was put through all stages and passed. LATE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION A GRACEFUL TRIBUTE. Mr. If. S. Williams (Bay of Plenty) yesterday told the House that ho was exceedingly pleased to note in tho Supplementary Estimates -, provision for an allowance to the widow of the late Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald. , It was only right that such provision should be made, and he hoped that if the necessity arose later the amount would be increased. He wished to express his appreciation of what tho late Mr. Mac Donald had done both as a member for the district and as a member of the 'National Government. Undoubtedly the attention given by Mr. Mac Donald to the affairs of the country had helped to shorten his life. Tho sneaker was indebted to him for many kindnesses, and had always regarded him as u. friend. (Members: Hear, hear.) THE INSURANCE BILL PASSED BY BOTH HOUSES. Tho Hon. J. G. Coates moved tho second reading of tho Life Insurance Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives 'yesterday morning. The chief effect of the Bill, he said, would be to require every insurance company to place its policies before the Government. This arrangement would enable public officers to become acquainted with tho terms of 'tho policies. Legislation' baaed on the information thus acquifcd could bo introduced in another session. Mr. F. N. Bartram (Grey Lynn) expressed disappointment. The Bill would do nothing to remove the admitted evils of industrial insurance methods. , The Minister: Yes, it will. Sir. Bartram thought that men acquainted with the subject ought to be consulted by the Government. He proceeded to point out somo of the weaknesses of insurance systems and to complain that the Bill did not protect the public in respect of lapsed policies. When tho Bill reached tho committee stage, Mr. Bartram moved to odd to clause 10 a provision that in the ense of the death of «, child, the whole of tho premiums paid or the amount mentioned in the policy, whichover was tho grcator, should bo paid to the policyholder Tho amend-, ment was lost on the voices, and the Bill wns reported from committee without amendments, _reod a third time, and passed. The Council also passed tho Bill.