PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 19, 22 July 1893, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

House of Representatives.;' (PFB PRESS A6SofcIATION.) j Wellington, Juij 21. On the motion to set up a select com- , mittee to consider how the manufactures i and industries of the colony may be en- I couraged, a lengthy discussion arose on j the whole question of frcetrade and protection. Eventually the motion was carried. Mr O'Connor called attention to a matter which he said, affected the dignity of the House. He referred to the charge made last night by one member against another to the effect that the member's hands were reeking with corruption. He (O'Connor) thought statements of that kind should not be allowed in the- Honse and he thought they must have escaped the Speaker's notice. His opinion was, that in a case of this kind the Speaker s~honld instruct the chief reporter of Hansard to omit such an offensive charge^. Th« Speaker said he certainly had' not heard the remark in question! Had he" done so he should not have allowed it to pass. He could not, however; undertake to give any such instructions to the chief of Hansard, as suggested by Mr O'Connor, reporter as it would be two much power to place in the hands of the Speaker. Mr Carncross resumed the debate on the Financial Statement. After congratulating Mr Ward on the straightforward character of his budget, he went on to refer in terms of praise to the speeches of Sir John Hall and the Minister of Education, expressing regret at the approaching retirement of the member for Ellesmere from active politics. Tho other speeches during the debate were not tuch as reflected much credit on the House. With regard to the surplus he hoped the House would do its best to assist the Treasurer in seeing that the amount was not considerably reduced when the supplementary estimates came np for consideration. He, was* not one ot those who had a feeling of antagonism towards the Railway Commissioners, but it seemed to him that a touring company of footballers or bowlers received more attention at their hands than the working classes. As to Colonel Fox's report, he thought it was just what the colony required, and the Colonel deserves their thanks. He could not support Government in increasing the graduated tax, as he had understood that the impost was merely a finger of warning to prevent the acquisition of large estates. He did not advocate the abolition of the Railway Commissioners, but he thought some scheme should be devised by which the House would have more control o vat the railways. Ho also urged a reduction in medical fees. Mr MoKenzie (Clutha) complimented Mr Carncross on having made a sound common sense speech and he thought his constituents might well be proud of him. The point Mr Carncross had raised with regard to the reduction of medical fees was worthy of every consideration. The question would have to be dealt with seriously before long, as it was of vital interest to the poorer classes in the colony. He believed the Minister for Lands was doing his best in the interests of agriculture, but his officers had not practical experience. He strongly supported a Minister having a seat on the Railway Board, but without the right of veto. There was plenty of room for improvement in the management of railways and less red tape and wore commercial knowledge would have a beneficial effect. Referring to the budget he said that so far as Mr Ward could break through officialdom, he believed he had endeavoured to tell the truth and lay before them an honest statement of the affairs of the colony. He strongly condemned the Income-tax and said there was certain to be a great loss by that form of taxation. After referring in detail to the several recent speeches by Messrs Seddon and Reeves, many statements in which were both reckless and incorrect. He went on to congratulate the Minister of Lands on the business like way in which he had purchased the Cheviot estate. He also spoke strongly in defence of the Atkinson administration, saying that the charges of jobbery and extravagance made against Sir Harry and his colleagues were ungenerous, levelled as they were, against a man who was no longer present to defend his policy, and one who had given his life to the colony. As matters now stood, the workers of the colony were paying the bulk of the taxation, and a premium was oflered by Government to the affluent middle classes in order to secure their voices at the general election. Mr Finkerton deprecated the personal tone that had been introduced into the debate by certain speakers and thought criticism of the Statement would be lost sight of in the effort to attack (he Government on all sides. Mr McGuire in the course of a friendly speech, said the West Coast settlement reserves of last session had done a great deal of good and opened up over 100,000 acres of land for settlement. Mr Buick alluded to the moderate tone of the budget, and of the absence of anything to create alarm, and they should feel the finances of the colony were perfectly safo in the Treasurer's hands. The debate then adjourned, ani the House rose at 12.80.