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King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 612, 18 October 1913, Page 5

| [iiY j The House met at p. 1 Replying to Sir Joseph Ward fclu Minister of Public Health stated it is proposed to place a sum on the Supplementary Estimates to cover payment for vaccinating. Already claims ror over £BOOO had been received for vaccination alone. The Hon. Mr Allen stated that if the Ministers had been able to meet in council last week-end, final details cf the naval policy would have been concluded. He hoped that the matter would be finally dealt with at the I coming week-end. j The debate on the third reading j of the Land Bil was resumed by the | Hon. D. Buddo who commended amendments made in the direction of improving" the tenure given holders of pastoral licenses. He strongly condemned the proposal to give the freehold to leases in the Hauraki mining areas, and holders of small grazing runs. These lands ought to have been put into the national endowments and preserved to the public estate. He questioned the utility of the clauses designed to prevent raaggregation of land, which was going on in many partS; and was a serious menace to small settlement and to county school?. He doubted if the scheme had been devised to check that process unless it was through the agency of the graduated land tax. Mr T. M. Wilford drew attention to the state of aifairs existing on a farm at Cheltenham, in the Oroua district, where a woman with nine children bad to milk some thirty cows with the assistance of two of the children, aged 13 and 11, for the sum of 30a weekly, and nothing found. Mr Wilford hoped the Government would put an end to such a disgraceful case of child-slavery. Mr Rhodes challenged the Opposition members to assist him in getting the name of the writer of the letter read by Mr Laurenson concerning 'ois connection with clause 25, in order that he might compel him (the writer) to substantiate his allegations in open court. Mr Craigie reiterated his protest against the* selling of Crown lands and the destruction of the leasehold tenure. The settlement of land was a great national question, and should be removed from the arena of party politics. Mr Laurenson said the man who loved his country could not allow the Bill to pass without protesting against the sale of our lands. If we had boundless tracts like Australia it would be different; but already we had parted with the greater part of our national estate, and the world would soon be face to face with a position that was serious. If the world was to be re-settled to-morrow, he ventured to say not a civilised people on earth would part with an acre of its land. WELLINGTON TRAMS. LAND BILL PASSED. In the House in the afternoon the Minister for Public Works introduced the Tramways Act Amendment Bill to compel the Wellington City Council to convert their cars before March Ist next, or withdraw them. The rest of the sitting wag taken up with the debate on the third reading of the Land Bill which was carried by 39 to 14. The House rose at 12.22.