PARLIAMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 383, 2 August 1911, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

The Legislative Council mot at 2..'!() p.m.

The Hon. McGowen explained ho had been asked by tho Premier to take the leadership of the Council during Sir John Findiay's absence. He fell, sure he would have the support of the whole Council.

The lion. Sinclair, in moving (be , address-in-reply, spoke for an hour and twenty minutes entirely upon imperial ' uestions and the necessity for i imperial unity. '< The Hon. George said he looked for : a bold forward policy in vain, and j urged the immediate completion of j the trunk railway system, by raisin;; : a loan for the purpose. The donate ! waa adjourned, and the Council rose.

HOUSE OF lIEi'RKSENTATIVES

| The House met at T.oO p.m. Mr W. T. Jennings moved the ad- , dress-in-roply. Ho referred to the i rapid manner in which lands were pas- : sing from the Maoris, and emphasised : the vast amount of land for settlement, | work which had been carried out by j the present administration. The limi- | tation of the area of land was a matI ter which would have to receive oarni eat consideration. ! Mr Witty seconded the motion, and ! dealt approvingly with the policy of J the present administration, and emphasised the urgent necessity {ov i legislation dealing with local government.

Mr Massey deal!., at length with (tic land question and taxation of land. He complained that the more farmers .improved their holdings the more they were taxed. There was enough land in the Dominion to keep people going for the next ten years. The present state of affairs and the present cost. of living did not say a great deal for the administration of the last 20 years. He said he intended to have an enquiry made into the Mokau transaction?, and concluded by unreservedly withdrawing the statement made by him in the heat of debate last session, in which h° referred to the late Mr T. E. Taylor. The withdrawal wag received with applause.

The Hon. Geo. Fowlds congratulated the Speaker on the honour conferred on him, and traversed Mr Massey's criticism of the land policy, and said there were only 200,000 acres of unoccupied land remaining, exclusive of useless land. He did not wish to go into the Mokau case at. any length, but when the matter was gone into he felt certain the Government would come out with credit. He congratulated some of Mr Massey's followers on being converted to proportional representation. The House rose at 32.25 a.m.