PARLIAMENT AT WORK

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 150, 21 March 1921, Page 6

PARLIAMENT AT WORK

MORE QUESTIONS FOR MINISTERS

- HOUSE DISCUSSES FIRE-BLIGHT RELIEF FOR THE SMALL SHOPKEEPERS Members of the House of Representatives started work on Saturday with tKe idea that £ho day might be the last of the session, and they spent the first eighty tninutee putting questions to Ministers on very many topics. Some of the answers were of importance. The Prime Minister made a statement regarding JJauru Island phosphate and the reimpositiou of the meat export regulations. The Leader of the Labour- Party (Mr. Holland) sought information regarding the censorship. The Minister of Labour told the House something about the progress of the housing schemes.

An amending Bill prohibiting the planting of hawthorn and permitting local authorities to declare hawthorn a noxious weed was passed after much debate. The measure was designed to facilitate the fight against fire-blight, and the discussion indicated that dairy interests and fruit interests were at variance on the point.

The Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, intended to relieve small shopkeepers from compulsory early closing, was passed in an amended form. Any shopkeeper who does not employ assistants is to have the right to appeal to a Magistrate for exemption from six o’clock closing, on the ground of hardship. The second reading of the Finance Bill, which was to have' been taken in the afternoon, was postponed, and the House adjourned at 4 p.m. until 11 a.m. ■toiday.

EARLY CLOSING LAW MAGISTRATE’S COURT TO BE TRIBUNAL SMALL SHOPKEEPERS’ EXEMPTIONS The Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, having been passed by the Lower House, was considered by the Legislative Council on Saturday. The Attorney-General (S'- Francis Bell) referred to the amendment made in the Bill before it left the Lower House. The amendment was intended, he said, to enable the shopkeeper having no assistant but a member of the family to apply to the Court for exemption from the law compelling early closing. As the amendment was drafted, however, it applied to all shops—even to those large establishments which employed many assistants. He proposed to substitute a clause which would definitely limit the provision to the case of the small shopkeeper, and which would enact that the shopkeeper should make his application for exemption to a Stipendiary Magistrate instead of to the Arbitration Court. ■' The Council amended the Bill in accordance with Sir Francis Bell’s suggestions. . The measure was read a third time and passed. Comment in the House. When the Bill wns returned to the House, Mr. H. E. Holland (Buller) asked what standing unions would have in the Magistrate’s Court when applications for exemption came to be heard. He assumed that in the Arbitration Court a union would have had the right to oppose any application. There was another ponit: Was there not a danger that the Bill was going to encourage “family slavery ? Mr L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) thought it a very one-sided off air if the applicant alone was to be heard by the Court. , The Hon. C. J. Parr expressed the opinion that other evidence than chat of the applicant could be heard. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr. 1. M. Wilford) believed that a union secretary would not have a right to appear as a party to the case, but would have an opportunity of appearing as a witness. In this capacity he could not. of course cross-examine. The House agreed to the . mendmenta made by the Council-

WAR DEBT WHAT NEW ZEALAND OAVES BRITAIN. The Hon. J. A. Hanan (Invercargill) asked the Prime Minister on Saturday ' whether anything had been done towards the funding of the general indebtedness of New Zealand in Britain. He had noticed recently that Mr. F. G. Millen had concluded an arrangement for the funding of Australia’s , indebtedness to Bri- ■ - tain, the interest ranging from 3 S per . cent, to 5 per cent, with one per cent sinking fund. The position in regard to New Zealand’s indebtedness to Great Britain was very unsatisfactory. It nothing had been done by the Government one of the tasks of the Prime Minister dur.ing his coming visit should be to make arrangements for the funding of ° Massey said that there was noi difficulty in regard to the matter. New Zealand had borrowed this money when - money was very much cheaper than it was at present. If the Government wen to the Imperial authorities and asked them to make an arrangement for the funding of the debt, they would probably ask- for a higher rate ot interest, they were satisfied with things as they were. Mr. Hanan: They have done very well iu Australia. Mr. Massey: “They have done very well ” Matters had been allowed to stand over in view of his going to London. Inquiries had been made if there was any urgency and the Imperial «a»»>nties had replied that they were satisfied, to let matters remain in their present position.

SCHOOL BUILDINGS PREFERENCE FOR. THE BACKBLOCKS. The needs of the backblocks districts in the wav of new schools were the subject of a question put to the Minis.er o Education by Mr. F. F. Hackly (ItotorUThe Hon. C. J. Parr replied that there must bo some curtailment of the pretent expenditure on school buildings. Vhe expenditure in the last twelve months had been on a very liberal scale the . Department had actually paid out a.hoi t £330 000 for new schools and additions t schools, and it had issued grants amounting to about .£500.01:0, winch had not yet been drawn by the boards of ei «cahon. This half million would have to be found during the next seven or eight months. Expenditure could not bn continued on that scale in view of the p. Went financia situation but the backblocks sett ers would continue to receive special attention from the Government. The Mims ter quoted figures to show that during the last two years the. expenditure of the Department on buildings had favoured the country districts. EXPIRING imCONTINUANCE TPo Expiring Laws Continuance Bill This Bill continues the rent restriction laws until the end of this year. 1 The Prime Minister stated in the House that tho legislation cont lolhng rents would be revised m the seconc session later in the year. • Replying to a question put by Mr. T. -a®7Y* Seddon (Grey), the Defence. (Sir Heaton Rhodes) that he had under consideration a /chem for displaying war trophies in tho ■mailer centres of the Dominion. So eht that if a small charge were made" such an exhibition would pay i s own. way.

THE CENSORSHIP KEEPING OUT SEDITIOUS WRIIINGB A QUESTION IN THE HOUSE "Does the Minister in charge of the censorship propose to continue to suppress historical literature as far as New Zealand is concerned?" asked Mr. H. F. Holland (Buller) in the House of Representatives. The member asked who was reepon.fei.ble for placing various books under an official ban, and - what legislative power was being employed for this purpose. The Postmaster-General (the Hon. J. G. Coates) replied that as far as the Post Office was concerned there was iw censorship. The Attorney-General certainly bad a censorship. “I forget exactly where it begins and where it ends," said the Minister. ‘‘There are ven- distinct regulations in connection with the censorship of books and mail matter. Mr. Holland: Who is responsible? Mr. Coates: The Attorney-General. He decides. Instructions come from his office, and are acted upon by the Customs Department and the Post Office. It is a matter for the Prime Minister to say whether he thinks that the censorship should be removed or not. I rather think he does not. Mr. Holland: This is a matter over which very grave dissatisfaction exists and which maw lead to very serious troubles. Quite a number of books are on the index here which are allowed to circulate in other countries. We do not want to take up the time of the House unnecessarily, but certainly this is a matter which has got to be‘discussed.. If the Prime Minister will give an assurance that the circulation of literature of historical value, which is allowed to circulate in other countries, will not be prohibited in this country, I am sure that it will shorten the proceedings. Under what statute are books suppressed ? Can the Prime Minister ■ say definitely who is the Minister or officer who decides which book is to go on the index? The Prime Minister replied that he was not in possession of all the information the member had asked for. There was an officer under the Attorney-Gen-eral, whoso business it was to examine literature brought into this country and see if there was any objection to its circulation. The officer formed his own opinion and expressed .it to the Attor-ney-General. If the Attorney-General agreed that certain literature was not fit for publication in this country, that it was seditious or Bolshevik, then it was not allowed to be circulated. Mr. Holland: Is that to continue?

Mr. Massey. We have not yet considered that. I shall ho very glad to conside*- the matter with the Attorney-Gen-eral. I am not in possessteu of sufficient information on this subject to bo able to give the House all the information asked for. So far as I am concerned, no disloyal or seditious or Bolshevik literature should be allowed into this country. Mr. Holland: You allowed the cablegrams in this morning’s papers to say that trade relations between Britain and, Russia are being resumed. Mr. Massey: There is nothing wrong with that. We can sell goods to Russia, but. it does not follow that we should allow Russian Bolshevik opinions to be disseminated through this country. Mr. Holland offered to lend some of the banned literature to the Prime Minister for his perusal, but Mr. said he had no time for reading of the kind.

MIGRATION OF COUNTRY J.P’S A PROBLEM OF THE OUTLYING DISTRICTS. A request that a supplementary Justices of the Peace list should be issued as soon as possible was made to the Minister of Justice (Hon. E. P. Lee) on Saturday by Mr. W. T. Jennings (Waitomo). The member explained that there was great difficulty in some of the outlying districts in obtaining the services of a Justice of the Peace, because scarcely had some men been made J.P.’s ■when they left the country for the town. The Minister informed Mr. Jennings that a new list was in course of preparation. He agreed that the difficulty mentioned by the member did exist. It was met with all over the country. NEW ZEALAND DESERTERS MAY BE REPATRIATED. Replying to a question asked in the House by Mr. T. E. Y. S'eddon (Westland), the Minister of Defence (Sir Heaton Rhodes) said that an endeavour was being made to trace New Zealand deserters in England. These' men had recently been grafted an amnesty, and steps were being taken to repatriate them. Their dependants had received pay up to the time of desertion, but no gratuity or pension. It was a case of the dependants suffering for the sins of the deserter. TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS NEED FOR RECREATION GROUND. Replying to a question asked by Mr. J. P. Luke (Wellington North) about the provision of a. recreation ground for the students at the Training College in Wellington,. the Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) said ho realised that the students had practically nowhers to take exorcise, but it was a very difficult problem to find a piece of level land for a recreation ground in the neighbourhood of the college. He had under consideration the use of a certain area, but it was about half a mile distant. In about a fortnight’s time he expected to be able to give the member more information. Hon. J. A. Hanan (Invercargill): Have you plenty of money ? Mr. Parr: Very little.

THE FINANCE BILL SOME ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

LOCAL BODIES’ LOANS The Finance Bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday, was circulated on Saturday. The Prime Minister’s explanation of the more important clauses of the Bill was published in Saturday’s DominionThese clauses relate to the extension of appropriations, the increase of unauthorised expenditure, and the varying of the terms of local bodies’ loans.

The Bill provides that the rates of land tax and income tax specified in the Land and Income Tax Amendment Act, 1920, shall operate in the year commencing April 1, 1921. The reduced rates of penal tax, for default in payment of income tax by due date, are made applicable to the tax payable in the current financial year. This is in accordance with tho • promise made bv the Prime Minister recently. The Local Bodies Loans Act, 1913, which provides that the Government may guarantee loans raised by local bodies, is amended by increasing tho total amount of loans that may be guaranteed in one financial year from £500,000 to ■£2,000,000. The Bill provides for tho partial exemption of life insurance companies from income tax. Unless otherwise provided in tho annual taxing Act for any year, the amount of income tax payable by any company carrying on the business, of life insurance for the year commencing on April 1, 1921, and for every year thereafter shall be one-half the amount that would bo payable by the company if this section had not been passed. The rate of interest in tho case of guaranteed loans is to be such rate of interest as the Minister of Finance may approve. Tho original Act stipulated that the late of interest should not. exceed 5 per cent. The- original Act provides that debentures issued with the State guarantee under the Local Bodies Loans Act shall have a term of 33 yca-s. The Bill proposes to provide for shorter terms, by describing tho term as ‘ a period not exceeding in any case thirty-three. A corresponding amendment is made in the provision relating to sinking funds. The Bill provides that members of the Legislature may sit on the Board of Health and receive travelling expenses without incurring disqualification. Section 46 of the Finance Act, 1916, which prescribes “the conditions under which any bank may carry on the. business of banking in New Zealand,’’ is to be amended by the substitution of the word "person” for "bank.”

NOXIOUS WEEDS AMENDMENT THE FIRE-BLIGHT PEST HAWTHORN TO BE A “NOXIOUS WEED” The. Minister of Agriculture (Hon. AV. Nosworthy) moved the second reading of, the Noxious AVeeds Amendment Bill, which adds hawthorn to the third schedule of the main Act, and so enables local authorities to declare it a noxious weed. It also prohibits the importation into New Zealand and the future planting of hawthorn. Mr. J. A. Young (AVaikato) said the Bill was directed against fire-blight. . He was not prepared to say that fire-.blight was actually present in New Zealajl. Some experts said the disease was really twig-blight. The hawthorn undoubtedly took the disease, and the problem was to reconcile the conflicting interests. Hundreds of AVaikato fanners had hawthorn hedges, which were valued not merely as fences,. but. as schelter belts, and it was impossible for them to comply with instructions to destroy the hedges before March 31. To remove the shelter belts would put back the dairy season a month. He believed that in the AVaikato, if the fruit industry could not live beside the hawthorn, the fruit industry must go. Mr. H. Atmore (Nelson) and Mr. R. P. Hudson (Motueka) argued that the very existence of the fruit industry was threatened, and that the Government’s measures' must be taken on an adequate scale. Referring to the importation of diseases, Mr. Hudson mentioned that diseased twigs had been found in straw used for the packing of imported machinery, Imported fruit was always liable to bring disease. The Minister, in replying, said he was not inclined to take a pessimistic view of the situation. He believed that the past could bo stamped out, and that in the meantime it could be kept away from the South Island. His officers were thoroughly convinced that the disease was the genuine fire-blight. Mr. G. Witty (Riccarton) asked the Minister what the Government proposed fo do about compensation. Mr. Nosworthy replied that it was necessary to be careful about that matter. for the reason that the Government might find itself assailed on all sides with demands for high compensation in cases where orchards which were almost worthless were destroyed. Air. AVitty said that his inquiry had reference to the destruction of hedges. The Minister said ho was not prepared to commit the Government in any wav 'at the moment. ; The Bill was passed without amendment after considerable debate.

PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS ITS ABOLITION SUGGESTED. In the Legislative Council on Saturday the Hon. J. MacGregor gave notice of his intention to ask the AttorneyGeneral the following question —“Will the Government consider in the recess the following matters —(1) The question of depriving the Court, of Arbitration of the power of granting preference to unionists, and abrogating all provisions in awards granting such preference; and (2) the question whether the law should be so amended as to facilitate the formation of more than one union in any trade or industry?” A PATRIOTIC PRIMER The introduction of a patriotic primer into the schools of tho Dominion was advocated by Mr. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) in the House of Representatives. The Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) paid that ho entirely agreed with the proposal. The new Director of Education was at the present time considering a recently prepared ■ text hook, with a view to incorporating all or part of it in the curriculum. INTERRUPTIONS OF THE FERRY SERVICE The Hon. M. Cohen, M.L.C., is asking the Attorney-General the following question: “Is' it the intention of the Government to devise measures for early submission to Parliament for putting an end to the inconvenience to the travelling public, and to the serious losses inflicted on the trading community by the frequent Stoppages of steamer communication by what is known as the ferry service?”

THE HOUSING QUESTION LABOUR DEPARTMENT’S POLICY WHAT THS GOVERNMENT HAS DONE Mr. E. Kellett (Dunedin North) on Saturday inquired of the Minister of Labour (lion. G- J. Anderson) whether the Government had decided on a systematic scheme for building workers dwellings. He said that last session the House had been assured that the Department, was considering three systems, and that the House would be advised later what the results of the deliberations was. More than one thousand immigrants were coming to the country this month, and there were more to follow The Minister said that from the commencement the Department had endeavoured to carry out the scheme for workers' dwellings on the lines agreed to by the House. It had met with certain difficulties in obtaining adequate supplies of materials, and it had also unfortunately let a large contract which the contractor would not or could not carry out. He had inquired into all these matters, and he knew that the Department was not to blame. At the present time all the contracts entered into were being pushed on as fast as possible. The Department had in hand a large amount of timber, cement, and iron, and he believed that within a very few weeks the whole thing would be going ahead in an efficient manner. The policy of the Department in connection with completed dwellings would be to give preference to applicants with families of five and more. The Government intended to encourage people to build their own houses, so that as far as possible the formation of little colonies called "workers colonies" should be avoided. All were workers in this country, and he did not •approve of that colony system. He liked to see a man build his own house where he chose. A factor that some people were inclined to overlook in discussing the house shortage was the amount of private building that was going on. Erom November, 1919, to November, 1920, some 6000 houses had been built. Tho question of what was to Ire done with dilapidated buildings in towns and cities was one for the borough councils and the health authorities. The Prime Minister added something to what Mr. Anderson had said. Many people, he stated, seemed to imagine that the only assistance tho Government gave in connection with house-building was given through tho Labour Department. That was not so. The Government was continually lending money every day almost—to workers and settlers who dcsrred to build houses for themselves. He had just been furnished with a return from the Advances Department. It set forth tho following particulars:—Between April 1, 1919, and March 14, 1921, loans to tho amount of 281,103,800 for housebuilding had been authorised in the cases of 2224 settlers. In the cases of 2603 workers there had been advairces authorised totalling 261,123,930. In 544 cases, settlers who had purchased properties with mortgages had transferred tho mortgages to the Advances Department, and the total sum represented by these mortgage transactions was X 199.525. Advances to 59 local bodies for worker* homes amounted to <£317,700. The advances he had quoted wore 5435 in all, and represented Another return going back to the passing of the Act showed an amount of .£640,577 expended in purchasing houses, so that when all the items were taken together it would be seen that the Government had done its share during the period to which he had referred. With reference to the suggestion that the Department had no system, Mr. Anderson remarked that there was a system, "a perfect one," but like every other perfect system devised by human ingenuity it went wrong sometimes. He was satisfied that in the future there would be less trouble than there had been in the past; ,

WAGES AND PRICES THE USE OF THE INDEX NUMBERS GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN’S COMMENT The Prime Minister made a statement in the House regarding the cost of living in reply to a question put by Mr. S. G. Smith '(Taranaki). The member had asked if it was Intended that, wages in the Civil Service should continue to follow the movement of the prices imjex numbers. Mr. Massey said that undoubtedly there had been a decrease in the cost of living, and the arrangement* under which wages had been advanced in the past must cut both wavs. Mr. M'Comhs (Lyttelton) interjected that the last index number issued bv the Government Statistician did not show a decrease. The Prime Minister said he would quote for the information of the House the following statement by the Government Statistician, dated February 21 last“May I take the opportunity of saying that I think it quite wrong that wages should be arbitrarily governed by the movement shown bv these index numbers. The index numbers have certain inherent limitations. They are .prepared for a specific purpose, namely, to show the retail price movement, and. as stated in the Arbitration Court, ‘the principal defect of the present system of arbitrarily applying the official retail price index numbers to increase wages over short periods is that an index number devised and prepared for one purpose is used for an entirely different object/ The weights used in the index numbers are based on annual consumption. and for shorter periods, while they fairly indicate the price movement, their application for any other purpose should bo used with discretian. These figures arc the best guide available, and so far az they go lam Satisfied are accurate and reliable, and in determining increases in wages on account of cost of living only, they should be considered and studied in relation to existing circumstances. but they should not arbitrarily govern the wage movement.” THE FLaTiNDUSTRY THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION. Owing to a combination of adverse circumstances, said Mr. AV. H. Field (Otaki) in the House of Representatives, the flaxmilling industry wns threatened with extinction.’ Low prices, yellow-leaf disease, high railway freights, and ruinous shipping freights were factors in creating this situation. Could the Minister for Agriculture hold out any prospect of ■ relief?

The Hon. AV. Nosworthy replied that investigations were being made with reference to the yellow-leaf. A reduction of railway freights on flax has boon arranged.