Parliamentary Affairs.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 17 September 1913, Page 3

Parliamentary Affairs.

" As long as I hold the position

of Minister of Public Works," ! says the Hon. W. Fraser, " political influence will have no effect upon me. If I give any sums of money for public works it will not be because of political colour." The Land Bill is coming in for a good deal of criticism, but it is emphatically what Mr Massey claimed it to be—" a good Bill." It is essentially designed in the interests of the small landowner and therefore in the interests of what the Prime Minister had rei peatedly declared the Government's policy to be —" settlement, more settlement, and still more settlement." It gives holders of Crown lands for settlement leases the right to acquire the freehold on mutually beneficial terms, and it makes provision against the reaggregation of land. The Government has been accused of being the friend of the squatter and the big freeholder. Than this Bill nothing could more conclusively give the lie direct to such a statement even were it unbacked by the graduated land tax, and by the actions of the Government generally since it came into office.

The special committee set up to consider reforms in the Legislative Council shortly to be changed brought down its report the other day. It is voluminous, but contained a resolution carried by five to four that it is expendient the number of European councillors be limited to the present number, and that all vacancies as they occur be filled by election by members of the Council and the House of Representaives by ballot. That in the opinion of the committee, the coming "into operation of the Act, if passed, should be deferred until after the next General election.