PARLIAMENT AT WORK

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 30, 29 October 1921, Page 8

PARLIAMENT AT WORK

AMENDING EDUCATION BILL

• TEACHERS’ OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

THE CHILDREN AND THE FLAG

The Legislative Council passed the Local Bodies’ Loans Amendment Bill yesterday. A merely nominal amendment was made in the sinxing fund clause in order that the House might have an opportunity to discuss the matter again. The Libel Law Amendment Bill and the Rabbit Nuisance Amendment Bill were also passed by the Council.

The House of Representatives received the Forestry Bill from the Lands Committee with some important amendments. The Bill appears to have been weakened considerably. Forestry matters were discussed a some length in the afternoon.

The Minister of Education made a statement concerning some children who have refused to salute the flag in a primary school. Ho indicated that a school committee had the power to exclude such children from attendance.

The Education Bill was discussed by the House during the evening, the debate on the seebnd reading be ing .continued after midnight. Much attention was paid by members to the clause requiring teachers to take tho oath of allegiance. The Labour members indicated their disapproval Of the provision.

RETRENCHMENT

MORE POSTAL OFFICERS RETIRED MINISTER WILL MAKE A STATEMENT & A. report of retrench me nt in tho Post find Telegraph Department was the subject of a question put to the PostniastwGeneral in tho House of Representatives by Mr. S. G. Smith (Taranaki). Tho member asked if it was true that a number of additional officers had received notices of dismissal, and that a drastic scheme of retrenchment had been adopted 5 Had the Minister sought tho cooperation of ths Post and Telegraph Officers' Association in. order to reach an amicable understanding, in tho manner that had been adopted in the railway service? . „ The Postmaster-General (Hon. J. Ct. Coates) said that he intended to make a statement on the subject at a later date "It is very necessary that the officers of the Post and Telegraph Department shall bo reduced in number,” he said. “When I make a statement later I will show the reason. I would not call it drastic retrenchment. Somei officers are going out. The next batch will include about 83.” Mr. Mitchell (Wellington South): All in Wellington? The Minister: Wellington is not Now Zealand. It is a very important centre. It is the/hub of the universe as far as tho honourable gentleman is concerned. But it is not'the whole of New Zealand. I am talking about the New Zealand Pest and Telegraph service. I regret that it is necessary that certain retrenchments should be made. I have not asked tlw Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association whether they agreo to my scheme or not. I hope to have their co-opera-tion all through what promises to he a rather difficult period.

FORESTRY BILL

IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS

SOME CLAUSES WEAKENED The Forestry Bill has been returned to the House of Representatives by the Lands Committee with some amendments. The most important amendment relates to provisional State forests. The Bill as originally presented to tho House provided' that if an area of bush was proclaimed to be provisional State forest, tho proclamation could be revoked within five years. If it was not revoked, then the. area would become permanent State forest automatically. The Lands Committee has struck out these provisions and has inserted a new clause providing that when land is proclaimed provisional State /forest, it shall retain that status until the land is declared on tho recommendation of the Minister of Lands to bo required for settlement purposes. The penalty for the unlawful lighting of fires iu State forests has been reduced from one year’s imprisonment or n fine of .8100 to three months’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding .850. Tho committee has struck out clause 47, which required all males over sixteen yelirs of ago to assist if they were in the vicinity in extinguishing forest fires. It has also struck out. clause 49, which provided penalties for unlawfully depasturing stock, killing animals or birds, and liberating animals in State forests. The clause giving authority for the arrest of trespassers in State forests has been deleted. Penalties provided for various offences have been reduced. Part fi of the Bill, relating to Maori forests, has been referred to the Native Affairs Committee for consideration. _ The Bill as introduced contained important provisions in regard to defining the area of fire districts. It might 'be 'possible to include settlements in these districts miles away from a State forest, and in that case the settlers would- be unable to burn scrub or fallen bush on their farms in the burning season without- a permit from tho forest officer. Amendments have been made by tile Lands Committee whereby the definition of a fire district has now to be decided hv the Director of Forestry and the land Board of the district, and not by the Forestry Director alone. notice must be sent to the settle s, whose properties it is proposed to include in the fire dis-ricts. lhe B 111 piovided for close seasons in such durin- which it will not '.be lawful for any person without a written permit from a forest officer to burn t.imbei or undergrowth or debris from. forest operations or grass, or any specially inflammable material, “except in a properly constructed fireplace.- ’ Iho P IOT ' S1 ™ about burning in a fireptace h«« toen struck out, and in its place tho follow, in" words inserted: "Without taking such precautions as may be prescribed by the State Forest Department. LEGITIMATION BILL PASSED BY UPPER HOUSE. The Hon. J. MacGregor’s Legitimation Amendment Bill was pa-sged by the Upper House yesterday. The principal Act provides that illegitimate childien may bo legitimated by tho inter-mar-riage of their parents. It excepts, however, childrun at tho time of whose birth there existed some legal impediment to the inter-marriage of tho parents. Mr. MacGregor’s Bill abolishes tho exception. It has still to go, before the House of Representatives. I

“ WILL BE NO RISK ”

INVESTING SINKING FUNDS UNDER LOCAL BODIES’ LOANS BILL “The Government is satisfied that there will be no risk and that in the position which exists now, in which local authorities are borrowing at a Y® I Y high rate of interest, it is desirable that tho sinking funds which they create for the purpose of sinking those loans should also be earning as high a rate of interest as possible.” T hus the Leader of the Legislative Coundil (Sir Francis Bell), in moving tho committal of the Local Bodies’ Loans Amendment Bill. His statement had reference to a clause which had been the subject of much debate in the Lower House—-viz., tho clause empowering the Public Trustee, as commissioner of local bodies’ sinking funds, to,invest theso funds in any manner approved by tho Goverilor-General-in-Council. At present tho funds must be invested in the common fund of the Public Trustee, where they earn a comparatively low rate of interest. Members of tho House had expressed the opinion that the clause was too wide, and tho Prime Minister had promised that the matter would bo looked into by the Attorney-General. Sir Francis Bell told the Council ho could not seo the force of the argument that unsafe investments might bo mado under the power which it was proposed to confer. In the case of local bodies loans not guaranteed by the Government, the sinking funds were administered by commissioners and so far as ho knew the commissioners had made no investments on insufficient security. However, it had been arranged that an amendment should be inserted! in the clans© by th© Council, so that there would be a subsequent conference ,be-, tween tho two branches of the Legislature, when the House, if it desired to prevent tho passage of tlio clause, might do so. He would, therefore, propose a nominal amendment. With reference to a new clause which he intended to move, Sir Francis Bell explained that it was designed to amend certain defects in the Act of .the shqrt session. The Hon. 0. Samuel and the Hon. T. W. Hislop regretted that by the clause extending from two to five years the time within which an authorised loan might be raised, the right of the ratepayers to say whether tho money should be raised at such-and-vnch a rate of interest or a work carried out in such-and--such circumstano-’e, was suspended. Their objection was based on the fact that the circumstances of the time at which tho loan was actually raised would probably, bo voi’y different from those of the time at which it was authorised. Sir Francis Bell replied that the local authority could be trusted by tho ratepayers. He stressed’ the need for the prosecution of works by local bodies in a time of unemployment. If the Legislative Council, he said, were to lay down a. rule that no money should be obtained for necessary public works at present there would bo very serious difficulty in the country. The Council made the nominal amendment suggested by Sir Francis Bell, and added the proposed new clause •remedying the defects of the Act of tho short session. The Bill (was then, passed. a matteFof loyalty MB. WRIGHT ANDI THE PROFESSORS. "It. is common knowledge in Wellington that there are professors in the college who will have difficulty in faking tho oath of allegiance,” said Mr. R, A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs), 5n tho House of Representatives last night, when the Education Amendment Bill was under discussion. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central): That is untrue, utterly untrue. Mr. Wright: It is notorious that what I sa.y is true. Mr. Fraser: It is a cowardly thing to say and a scandalous thing. The Speaker demanded that Mr. Fraser should withdraw his words. Mr. Fraser: I certainly will withdraw. But it was not courageous. Mr. Wright: I say that there are professorsj in Victoria University who will have difficulty in taking the oath of allegiance. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AMENDMENT The 'Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill, which was'recently introduced by the Hon. J. MacGregor in tho Upper House, was put through its final stages in that Chamber yesterday. The Bill limits the amount of damages that maybe recovered from an employer when a worker meets with an accident through the fault of a fellow-employee. ARBITRATION COURT The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, which provides against such a difficulty ns recently held up the work of the Arbitration Court, wins yesterday passed by the House with the amendments introduced at a previous sitting. THE FINANCiALITATEMENT When asked in tho House yesterday when the Financial Statement would appear, tho Prime Minister stated that tho document was being posted for simultaneous delivery to the newspapers throughout the Dominion. He would be aide to bring it down in the House about tho middle of next week. He mentioned that a. saving of -£2OOO was made by posting the Statement, instead of telegraphing it.