PARLIAMENT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9790, 13 October 1917, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

YESTERDAY’S SITTING LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WAR PENSIONS AMENDMENT BILL. Tho Legislative Council mot yesterday at 2JSO .p.m... the Acring-Speaker (me Hon. W. C. F. Carncross) in the chair. Tho War Pensions Amendment Bill on its stlcond reading was briefly exp.ained by Sir Francis Bell. Ho said tout t ic Government had in i~s proposals gonv os far as it was just and sale to go. The Hon. R. Moore considered tho pensions generous aifd Ching, tho Government was erring on too side of being too generous. The Hon. .1. T. Paul expressed ns gratification at the great inin-avcmrnl in the administration of the Wai I elisions Act. There was no doubt, however, that the pensions would hare to he Increased, again fhortly as the 'ost of living 'increased. Altogether there appeared a genuine anxieiy to treat tho toidier better than he had been t.eated hitherto. The Hon. A T. Maginnity considered tho pensions more than goenrous.^ The Hon. G. Carson ttud the e. idlers had been treated fairly and reasonably, as they deserve*! o be. The Hon. J. Barr expressed his surprise and gratification. at the generous provisions of the till. . Alany cl the provisions cit t'-he bill were, however, too loose. Sir William Ilall-Jon.es said ho was giad to see the nil and to see that Sir Joseph Ward and the Defence Minister had realised their responsibilities to the soldiers. ' ' The Hon. W. Barnshow said tho whole country should be gratified with the generous spirit in which tho Government had approached the matter of soldiers' pensions The Government had l gone as tar as .prudence would allow. Sir Francis Bell said that the Government was putting the new scale of pensions into operation long before the Second Division men would receive them. To say married men who had already gone to the front should receive retrospective pensions was preposterous nonsense. The Second Division would not go into camp until March, so that tho married men who had already gone to tho front would receive the new pensions long before Second Division men. The second reading of the Bill was carried. At 4.55 p.m. tho Council went into committee to consider the Bill. At 5.10 p.m. tho Bill was reported to tho Council without, amendment and was read a third time and passed. Tho Council then adjourned until 2.30 p.m. on. Tuesday. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SOLDIER SETTLEMENT. THIRD READING OF AMENDING BILL CARRIED. The preliminary business was competed by 3.45 p.m... and the Prime Minister then moved the third rending of the Dkic'hairged Soldiers’ Settlement Amendment Bill. Messrs 0. 11. Foote (Auckland West), R. P. Hudson (Alotueka), C. J. .Talbot (Temuba) and Dr Thacker (Christchurch East) oammiienthd in somewhat desultory ■ Cashion on the measure, and at 4.5 p.m. tho third reading was carried. PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT DEBATED BY THE HOUSE. Tho Hon. W. Fraser ‘ (Minister for Puibldo Works) then moved formally that as House should, eo ij-to Committee of Supply cm tho Publiio Works Statement. Mr R. McCollum (Wairuu) stated that the dapaubment in tho past had been top much inclined to delay a necessary work of a temporary character till they could do a job that would last practically for over. He oom/plirarated the department on the fact that throughout their record there was no instance off the loss of life through the collapse of a bridge or any other construction, anil ho did not advocate doing anything that would endanger the lives of the public or of its servants; hut in many cases, ho nrgexl, that urgent tcmiporary needs could be often adequately met by works of a, temporary character, when the department had not got the funds necessary for more permanent work. For example, they could put up a ’bridge that would last. Saw for ICO years instead of 200 years, and so on. Ho thought that it would be a good thing if the Minister could take a trip to Canada and see how railway work, for instance, mas carried on there. ».110 complimented the Minister on the increase to -860,000 this year as against -840,000 last year of the vote for making good damage by floods. NORTH ISLAND HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER. Dr Neiwm&n said that one part of tho Public Works Statement pleased him very much indeed —tho report with .regard to the provision of hydro-electric power for the provincial district of Wellington and this city. He was very pleased that Mr Plarry (the chief electrical engineer to the department) lad discovered in the Manga hou Raver a Bnippiy, of power greater than, chat of Lake Coleridge—2s,ooo horse-power, as against the existing 10,000 horse-power of Lake Coleridge, though that could be enlarged later on. Tho discovery that at a point 64 miles north of Wellington there was this supply of water-power—-that, by a tunnel coming out nearly at Shannon railway station, they could svljxply Palmerston North and district, Shannon, and Wanganui, besides Wellington City—rods a very great thing indeed for the province. He was very glad that the Minister had taken the matter in hand. The work could not bo done, he knew, till after the war, but it had been demonstrated that they had this large supply of water-power, and that the railways could be electrified; and, with Lake Waikaremoana as a. further source of supply, they had ample power for the lighting and tramway services of all those towns. The scheme would be a very great boon indeed for Wellington. Mr Parry, who had. very completely surveyed the district, hall shown that when the scheme Was in going order it would pby exceedingly well. There could be no doubt about the power nor about the .profit. There could be no doubt that Mr Parry had succeeded in making certain that it was going to be a success. For this district, which Was entirely dependent on outside souboea for its coal, the fbot that they had this large water-power, which’ would never be eihhuated as coalfields were, was a very great boon; and when he saw the great expenditure on the State coalmines it seemed to him that this waterpower was of very great importance. In Italy during the last three years of tho war they had in their hot springs to a- depth of SODft and were now procuring a very cheap supply of

electricity and were sroing to ■dfreloa it very largely. Possibly New Zealand might do something in the ©am© direclion. He considers! Mr Parry's report easily the most important report. they had had for many years. (Hear, near./ DELAY MEANS LOSS. Mr H. G. HU (Christchurch South) urged chat the delay In developing the North Island hydro-electric powcr.scheme must result in a loss in the working of industries of the North Island. Hejtncw that the difficulty was that tho_ necessary machinery could not he obtained at prerent, but the scheme should be pushed on as far as possible. (Hear, hear.) Mr J. Craigic (Tlmaru) congratulated the Minister on the success of the Lake Colenugo hydro-electric scheme. He was whole-heartedly in favour of tho waterpower scheme. There was no doubt that it was saving, and would save the country many Hundreds of thousands of tons of coal. Ho was sorry, however, that the benefits of tho Lake Coleridge, scheme had not yet born extended to Timarn. He hoped that that would be done soon. He hoped also that the North Island 1 scheme would bo taken in hand at an early date, and he looked to see some 1 day tho bra.-oh railways all over the is- ■ land running by electric newer, and the ■ nower also in use on tho farms. (Hear, hear.) : A MINISTERIAL OTHELLO. Sir John Findlay (Hawke’s Bay) complimented tho Minister on the firmness ' and fairness with which ho had met the claims he had brought under his notice; and he believed that tho claims of other hon. members wore met in the same fashion. (Hear, hear.) The softness of i method adopted by the Minister in dealing with deputations was, however, very deceptive. (Laughter.) It was not the ■ softness of the answer that turneth away , wrath, hut the softness of tho pillow , with which Othello smothered Desdemona. (Laughter.) His applications had been smothered with a cloud of facts, figures, and comparisons, which ho thought sometimes the Minister himself , did not fully understand. (Laughter.) . THE EAST COAST RAILWAY. Ho appreciated tho attention and the i promptitude with which tho Minister ■ had met the representations made with ; regard to tho flood damage in Hawke’s ‘ Bay. He wished to call the Minister’s i attention to tho wide-spread desire that tho East Coast Main Trunk line at the very earliest possible moment should receive attention. Wairoa, ho, pointed out, was i;n a very difficult position just now for want of access. It had a- somewhat unreliable bar, tho road between Napier and Wairoa had been practically , impassable for months past, and the East Coast Main Trunk line would give the desired access, and would open, up an ’ enormous area of land and very largely servo the interests of the East CoaSi. He thought, therefore, that they might fairly claim that it should be earned out as early as possible. (Hear, hoar.) He welcomed the report as to the possibilities in regard to the hydroelectric development of the North Island. It was 1 generally considered by those who knew that the Waikaremoana power was the best in the North Island, and he thought that as tho most promising available source of power it should have attention in tho order of its promise. If that principle was acted on, the Wa'.karemoa pa source of power could look tor development at an early date. FLOOD DAMAGE. Mr G. W. Forbes (Hurunui) referred ■to tho extensive Hood damage during tho year. Thousands of pounds worth of laind had been, swept into the sea ' and no inquiry was made as to who was responsible in tho Public Works Department. Ho had. never heard ot any officer in the Public Works Department (being taken to task for a mistake. The ’ principal was “stiaud by ypur officers. • Tho Government had not much to spend : as ft, r as Public Works was concerned, ; and they should see at -least that they hot good value for the money spent. Mr 0. H. Poole asked that the mitral \ steps be taken in connection with the hydro-electric scheme for tho North Island so that cheap power might be obtainable for industrial, and social purposes. They were waiting for the Goyernmeeit to make good its promise in ■this respect. Mr Jennings (Taumarunui) said the Statement now before the House was the most meagre affair for twenty years. This was duo, of course, to the war. He suggested that although the money 1 available was not large, tho Minister ; instead of spreading the votes in small amounts over small arcus should coniocrntruto on particular works. . The department was spending largo sums of money on big city buildings that could very well wait until after the war. Those were being erected at the expense of the people in tho backblooks, who (were neglected in the matter of roads and bridges. Mr Jennings said he knew of okl sttlcrs who were tired of farming oar account of this neglect. Air P. C. Webb asked for more consideration for the workers in the Otira tunnel. They should not be worked move than six hours a day. . Mr 18. P. Hudson (Motueka) said t-ho item of first moment in the Estimates was the improvement of the reading l ' and bridges in the backblocks. More attention should bo paid by tho Government in this respect. HYDIKIO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT. Mr T. M. Wilfbrd sard he was pleased to see that tho Lake Coleridge scheme, was progressing . satisfactorily, although it would bo a time before tho scheme would be a paying one. In connection with tho proposed North Island scheme ho would like to voice a wlarmnlg to the people of Wellington in connection with their electric light aocessoruvs. There was at present no town in New ■ Zealand, except Wellington, that accepted electric power of 100 volts. What was going to happen when pow--1 er mas brought to Wellington from hydro-electric generating stations in tho ’ North Island? This power would be ; 230 or 260 voltage, and it meant that every business establishment and every domestic house would have to have ■ their accessories renewed. This would entail tremendous expense. Mr Wilkinson (Egmont) said he would like to have seen a more liberal vote for educational purposes. ! Air'' T- W. Rhodes (Thames), Dr Thacker (Christchurch East) and Mr 11. J. 11. Okey (Taranaki) also took part in tho cHaeussionSTATBMENT BY THE PREMIER. Replying on the debate, the Minister stated That he had had repeated analyses i made of the air in the Otira tunnel, a nd that it was all right. Of course, it was not pleasant working there; but the men ■ mare not forced to work there, they went there voluntarily and could leave if they liked. The dePiMrimenl, ho stated, was working under gruat difficulties, as 25 men of the head office were away at the front,' besides a: large number of other men in the Referring to hydro-elec-tric powet- ho said that he could not sec hie w.uy to allow any water-power concessions to go to private companiesTho Chjistchuroh scheme was a great succo&s, and the Government tvas pledg od, as soon as possible, to develop hy-dro-rlerttif/c power, schemes for Auckland, Wellington and other parts of the Do--1 minion. They could not, on account of the war, gat the necessary ntoterrau , And maoiCinery, but ail other prepare. ■tiopß would be mad© as far a’s possibleThey would have all the reports and phans for tho hydro-electric cChemeh end other neoassary public works ready, so that wheel the war was over and tho men had. returned from the front, there would bo no luck of employment for .them. lit had been intended to take tho er 2ram Lake Coleridge to Umaru, but he could not do it at the p'resent vinic, as at tflonld oost not lass than JMOO.OOO, In connection with the hydro, c-ipo-no s&homes, .roads, railways and (jther pnfilio works he was making all

propagations, having surveys made, so t'hai when Mr Herdman’s department told him that they had 3000, 4000 or .o©to men available ho would bo in a to say, "Oh, yes; I can find thorn, work here, and hero, and hero." Ho Was, Jor caaimplo. proposing to get authorised and have the necessary suiveys made for a branch line from Opunafco to Now Plymouth. PUBLIC WORKS ESTIMATES PASSED. At 12.30 tfv.m, the House went into Gonnndtteo of Supply to consider the Public Works Estimates. The estimaitee were passed without discussion in three minutes. This unusual happening wns "Tedted with applause by membere. Ait .12.35 ,t)he House adjourned until 7.30 pi.m. on Monday.