PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1904, 13 October 1906, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

PRESS ASSOCIATION. Wellington, last night. The Council met at 2 30 p m. Tub GoverDmint Advances to Settlors Bill was rial a third time, nod paasod. On the motion of the Atlorney-Gmeral Jha amsndmoati made by the House in the Training Ships Bdl were agreed to The Mastoiton Trust Lands Trust Em poweriog Bill was committed, reported unamended, and passed. The Council roso at 2 48. HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. The.Honse met at 2 30 p m. Mr Ka'hu wa3 given a wetk’a leave ot absence on aooount of ill-health. BILL. Mr Fisher (through Mr Aitken) gave notioo to ask whether the Gsvernmeot would by reason of the coming endowment policy suspend ihs operation of the Land Board?.

ESTIMATES. The House went into Committee of xxin , Education. — \ long dis oubbloo ensued on vh9 first item. 1° rep ly to the various stitemonts made during the discussion the Miri ter of Education said he had listened with a geo 4 deal of intireßt to the remarks made. .He hoped to improve mallei s in the ciurse of tima. but the opposite views expressed

showed the impoasibili y of givmg ur.ao> moua aatiefadioD. The comments aben

£he syllabus he thought ba.d’y pislifhble •t pres ni. Firstly, the now syllabus had only been iu operation two and a half years. It was unreasonable to up » that teachers and inspretora a 1 over the colony would at onos fall into line in ih* rpjtation of the new eyHabus L was unite clear, from the rema-ks of tn some parts of the oolony at any rat, that the syllabus had given satisfactory results, both to tsnohers and s° bolars ; Failure in this respiot has been due to the

inability of someone to gra-p meaning and intent of the ayilabar. He wr,s satisfied that with the advent of new teachers trained in the colleges a giod many of the ditficullies experienced with teachers trained in other methods would disappear; also that the appointment o younger men to the positions of inspectors would enable the spirit oUbo sylUbaa to Vu 'hn nDD: eoiated nod applied. I .on ttn

colony would got the very ffist rumlta. The resolutions, ho thought, ha . beun in the past too responsive to pressure un er unusual cireum-it moos, aid wnatevei troubles had arisen wore duo to the fee' that they had been emandsd bo frtqae . | on aooount of special c.asses. -.omt.i„ into office as ho bad dor e on the opening of Parliament ho had not proposed to Bubmiii kbe syllabus to tbe Jijanea-ioi* O.mmittee this year. Ho did not think i

would have been right to throw tbi ayllabus on tho flior of the Education Committee without submitting any policy of his own Ho bad thorefors held is over. Ha intonded, however, at the earliest opportunity to go through the syllabus with the cffio3t3 of ths Depanm nt early jn tho next year, when the yearly bias's of iQsptClors would bf> bold, and be

hoped to havo somo amendments for crilickin by those who bad tho nJmiivs tration and in'orprotation of tbo syllabus At tho next meeting of Parliament tho wbolo of tho results of tho oriticiaiu of tho iuspootors would bo put bolero the Education Committee, aid ho hoped they would bo nblo to get the syllabus iuto tho vorv best ahapo. As to centralisation, a goed deal of this had been forced ou tho Department. l’ho wbolo tendency of recent legislation hid been in that direction, notably in reaped to tho cdministiation of tho colonial soalo of salaries, teiohois’ superannuation, and iuoroaso in tbo mutual aid teobnioal work, whilst evon now membirs w<ro urging tho adoption cf a uniform soalo of hocks loading So moro centralisation. As to tho beck blocks, ho neod only s-iy that ho was in hearty sympathy with what had boon urged on behalf cf tho potplo in tho outlying districts. It was very largely a matter of oust, but ho was perfroily satisfied that no oiuotry in the world was prepared to pay auoh a high rate for » sm .11 number of children in tho hick bl ck- m Now aland.

Too U .use -i j tutnod at 5 50. Tho Homo resumed at ‘2 50 p.m , and wont on with tho Estimates until tho hour of abj Durnicg.

POVERTY B&Y FARMERS’

UNION

Tho usual monthly meeting of the pre* viiichl executive of tho I’jyorty Biy Farmers’ Union wf.a held at Mr A. Graham’s effiao yestnrdny linrnirg, Pic sent: MtssrsW. K Costnbors (oSaUm-m) W. L ssao: 01.ay ton, Eilioot, A. li Watson, J. Hutchinson, A. LI. Wallis, A. ,1. Cameron, and J. A Caesar. Correspondence was road a-i follows : From W. flay, hop. ‘•or o'ary of the Wtmtatutu branch if the Farmers’ Union, stating thai for the i«->6 three months bo h id been unable to raise a meeting nf hts branch, and regretting they were unable to send a delegate to the meeting that day.—Reoeivod. From Mr A. R. Watson, chairman of f the Waimita bo nob, forwarding the following resolution : ’• Tbis tueotiog protests sgiinst ottctnpiing to pass such nn ini' purtant measuro as the now Land Bill without the oouotry first having au opportunity of considering it and passing an opinion on it. It further protests egaios’ -.ho proposed abolition if tho optional systirn suoh being in direct opposition to the w.shos of the rural population, as proved by the ovidenoe beforo the Laud Commission nod by the pledges obtained from tho bu'ls of mombors at present sitting in Parliament,” —Received, From H. E. Burgess, seorc-tary of the Bskauroa branch, Btatiog that the Lsnd B ll had beon advereely ori.ioised, special exception being taken to the proposal to limit the tenure under wh’ob Crowa lands ooul i be taken up to a 66 years’ leasr, and also a resolution was forwarded ■o tho Minister for Ltnds protesting against too Bill. From Obas. H. Bridge, bon. secretary of the Motu Drancb, elating that the rsiolutions remitted to that braaob had been dealt with, seotion one not being supported, it beiog considered unreason* able and unwoikablo; section 2 was not supported, as there was no wish to compel manufacturers of sheep dip to advertise their patent and seoret rights; seotion 3 was unsupported, chiefly for want of funds. The following resolution was passed on the Land Bill: " That the Bill in its present form be opposed to the utmost.’’— Beoeived. • A. T. Ngata wrote in acknowledgement of reedpt of oopy of resolutions, aod sta'» ing that the oonoluding olause of tho roso* lutioDS gave the keynote to ooe-third of the land proposals of the Government as amplified by the Minister of Lands in a reoent speech. It was a matter of opinion whether this burkiog of tho questionvvas not in tbe interests of the ooloDy, which had been recommended to go slow in the matter of borrowing. —Received. Acknowledgement of receipt of resolutions was also received from the Premier and Me CarrollWith reference to resolutions forwardod by Gisborne branch, Mr Clayton said he had forwarded these on his own initiative, ss there was no meetmg of the Executive tabing place bsfore the Land Bill oirno on for discussion. Mr Clayton’s action was approved. Tho report of the delegate to tbe Colonial Conference (Mr Claytor.) was sub* rnitted as follows :

report of colonial confer

ENCE. In accordance with the instructions of of our Provincial Conference, I attended the Colonial Conference ot' the Farmers’ Union in AVcllington as the delegate for Poverty Bay, As the *’l‘armors Union Advocate” has published a comprehensive report of the proceedings, it is only necessary for me to explain my actions as your representative. The fust resolution on the Order Paper, in favor of the optional freehold tenure, evoked a considerable amount of discussion, and was carried unanimously, together with tho two resolutions following, and it is nccd-

less for 1110 to sa.y that I supported the freehold. As resolution No. 7—“ That all the areas set aside as endowments should bo offered under the optional tenure of the Land Act when thrown, open for ■settlement’’—appeared, as it read, an unfair one, 1 moved that the words “in future ” he inserted after tho word “areas,” and my amendment was accepted. The two l’overty Bay resolutions upon Native land legislation were carried unanimously by the Conference. Two other resolutions from Auckland were practically covered by tho two resolutions from this district, and were carried without discussion, but I at first opposed the resolution from Taranaki in favor of a rieffit of purchase to present lessors of Native lands, as being unfair to the Native owners, but the mover inserted tho words “ under the V est Coast Settlement Reserves Act” and explained the peculiar position of these leases, and so the motion was carried as amended. The resolution from Poverty Bay and other districts in favor of local representation in Assessment Courts was carried without discussion owing to tho Government having indicated that legislation would be introduced this session to give ratepayers one representative on the Assossi mont Court. I moved an amendment to

the resolution (28), “ That the Government be urged to so amend the Hospital and Charitable Aid Act as to give isolated districts which arc cut off from aid from any hospital, and where an organisation exists for the support of a medical man, a claim on the subsidy against their subscriptions and also a portion of rates levied,” as the resolution would, if given effect to, dislocate and make extremely precarious the finances of hospitals, 4

therefore moved to strike out all wore after “ medical man ” and to substitute “ a subsidy against their subscriptions for medical attendance,” and my amendment was carried. As you will have noticed, very animated discussion took place

upon the reciprocity treaty, as well as the resolutions upon the questions ot the tariff, and there undoubtedly seemed to be a consensus of opinion in lavoi: ot reciprocity within the Empire with the view of ultimately bringing about Tree trade within its. boundaries, -the Lonievonco’a opposition to the treaty n\iiy a a first glance appear illogical ;n ww of the fifth plank ol the Union s platloun, but this was really not so as every spoaker expressed lnmsclf in fawn of the reduction of the tariff . .node to app J

all round, hut was not disposed to lawn . a reduction of duties on farm products when the tariff was not reduced on the articles consumed by the fanner, iu> six Inst resolutions on the Ordci Lap on the tariff question, including the one from Poverty Bay in favor of thc CNC ' tion of potatoes from duty, weie with ( Pnrlifi.mont would not t«iK>. * u\

action on tariff revision bevond the reciprocal treaty this session. Llie ic»o

lution sent down from our conference on immigration did not meet with geneijU | favor, the President pointing out that to circularise the British press could not be done except at considerable expense, as they would want paving lor any publication of a letter on the subject, and that such a course would attract many undesirables. As the resolution was unlikely to bo carried, and as the one from Taranaki—as amended—scorned to cover Poverty Bay's desires, I consented to withdraw my resolution in favor of the latter, which urged the Government to adopt a strong forward immigration policy, to reinstate the old system 01 nomination without contract, and, t

arrange cheap passage* for approved immigrants, and this was carried unanimously. A matter which was of interest to I’nverly I>ay was the agreement of the Minister of Lands—who attended the

Conference— to a resolution that. Stock

Inspectors should have veterinary knowledge, Mr fllcNah promising that Stock Inspectors would have to undergo a course of instruction under Mr Gilruth.

it was resolved to urge the abolition of the sheep tax, end to ask the Department to take the sheep returns not later than March Ist, and to accept the shearing tallies, as it was c'aimed that litis method would lie more accurate and at the same time less trouble to the farmers. It is interesting to note that the substance ofji resolution which was sent, down on the

two previous occasions Irotu l ’overtv Bay and lost—viz., that while not taking part in party politics, every political question should he discussed by the Union, and that it should take an active interest in such questions as atlected its manciples—was brought down tioiu Auckland this year and carried mumiuouslv. This was a somewhat significant mil gratifying change, in seconding the notion I pointed out that the Union was tot necessarily supporting any party, nit should support the men who sttplorted its platform, otherwise what value

was its organisation It. could not support, for instance, the freehold tenure and at the same time men who opposed ii.

it was quite conceivable that another party might arise who were more in

sympathy with the Union than either of tile existing political parties and which the Union could whole-heartedly support. '.l’lie last resolution on the Order Paper

was one protesting against the action ol Air Tregear. Whilst of course disapproving of that ,gentleman's utterances, I.

pointed out that we were perhaps attaching an undue prominence io them and creating the impression that we were an intolerant hotly. My suggestion that the resolution should he withdrawn was adopted. IN COMMITTEE.

Several very important matters were considered in Committee, including tho

matter of finances. In discussing tho balance-sheet it was pointed out that while the financial position was in a sense

s I' isfactory, tho finances of the Union were ajsolutcly inadequate for the work which it had to perform, Both the Colonial and the Provincial Executives should have more money at their command, for organising, disseminating literature of interest, etc. The poorest trades union do* mended sixpence per week subscription from its members, yet the Farmers’ Union had tho greatest possible difficulty in collecting (in the majority of cases) about one-fifth of that amount In spite of this many of the farmers considered that the Union was not active enough, To bo more active and useful more funds must bo raised, and it was almost unanimously agreed that a form of sliding scale for subscriptions should bo adopted by branches, as the only solution of the ditlieulty. On the treasurer’s suggestion it was resolved that tho financial year of branches should close on March fl Ist, the Provincial balance-sheet bo made up to April 80, and tho Colonial balance-sheet to June UO in each year. The President gave tho Committee particulars of the “ Farmers’ Union Advocate,” and on my motion it was resolved to place a sum of money in the hands of tho Executive for promoting the interests of the Union through this paper. Tho necessity of having an organ of our own to express our views was generally recognised Other papers frequently failed intentionally or unintentionally to grasp our meaning, and while giving the “ shell ” of our argument neglected the 11 kernel.” This was illustrated at the Conference by the report of certain papers of our freehold debate, and again illustrated by the report which reached here of my comments upon theso reports (which I did not see until my return), for it there appeared that I had condemned the whole of the press of the colony, and that my remarks met with general disapproval of the delegates, neither of which assumptions were correct. The sooner we cau place the “ Advocato ” on a bettor footing tho better. As the number of subscribers increase SO Will tile size of tho paper, and the attention paid to our interests, A very valuable and interesting discussion on general organisation and other matters kept the r ornmittee until a very late hour, I attended the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Mutual Fire Insurance Association at its request, ro the affiliation of Poverty Bay with Hawke’s Bay, and this I have dealt with elsewhere. The rspoL't was a Copied, on tho tn rim of Me Gameron, 3:C3nde 1 by the Chair*, man, and ii wr.s docid;d io a-k the ptets to vnbiish rates,

Mr Clayton presented the fcl’owlng r - pecs on iha I’’arm ora’ Mutual lasuraaoa A-8 ’ciMhi.fi : 1

Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Association. —In accordance with your instructions, and the wish of the Directorate of the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Fire Insurance Association to meet a representative from Poverty Bay, I delayed my return to enable me to attend a meeting of the Board in Hastings- The Board is anxious to have the co-operation of Poverty Bay, but at the same time emphasises that only good risks must be accepted, and that especial care must bo exercised at this initial stage of the Association. While in Hawke’s Bay the Association could have taken a great deal of business, only the first class risks have been aeeepted, and those in bush districts declined until the Association has become firmly established. The amount at present being covered,

.£26,000. The Board of Directors comprise nine members, of which it is suggested that Poverty Bay shall have one, who could work with a local sub-commit • tee to do the routine work, supervise and recommend acceptance or otherwise of risks. Interim receipts could be issued by the secretary or agents before inspection. Inspectors would have to be appointed on whose reports we could rely, and care be taken to prevent risks being insured for more than two-thirds. Several gentlemen in Hawke’s Bay have given a personal guarantee to the bank of TIOO each to make the position of the Association assured. It seems only fair that some gentlemen interested in Poverty Bay should do the same. lam indebted to Hy

John A. Fraser, the secretary for Hawke's Bay, for an explanation of the details and 1 a letter on the subject which I have repeated to branches. These I have for your perusal also — W. Lissant Clayton. 1 Me Clayton rxplainod what wai required I of the Association, and slated he hai ennt 1 a circular letter to the different cruntry 1 Associations, fully explaining ibe obj-ot, and giving the n c.ssary details of the iusuianee Association to enable the branches to deal wi'.h vhe matter.

Mr Clayton’s report was adopted. It was decided that tbo whole Executive jo a revising oommit’co for the purposo oi Jealing with proposals, etc., cf Ibo Fite Insur.nce Aisooiat on, three members to fnm a quorum. Acaouuts having been passed for payment, ihe meeting oiostd.

Attcr tbs above mealing tha Committee appointed to deal with the Farmers Mutual Fite Insurance held a meeting, Me W. K. Chambers presiding. Mr W. L’ssant Clayton effared to act as hoD. secretary until tbo Association was (ai-ly started. —This offer was aooepted. _ It was decided to advert ee in tbo looai p-ess that the Revisory Board of the As. -ociation was not prepared to tska risk?. This concluded the business, aad the muting adjourned.