PARLIAMENTARY POINTS

Otaki Mail, 3 August 1923, Page 4

PARLIAMENTARY POINTS

Land that will carry a cow to the acre is generally regarded as worth £IOO an acre, and a man can make it pay at that price with present values of butteriat aml other produce.—i-lon. Ei. Newman. Sonic people now say- the soldiers should go into the backbiocks. One soldier said to me, “1 have been in the mini ol Maimers, i want no more mud. My ambition is to get ail unproved larin." This man ‘ expressed die general opinion.—lion. Mr Parr. Wnat is the reason that we cannot get cheap houses, and yvhy 'there is unemployment lor our people Y There is one solid reason for it, and 1 am going to say straight out here what h is. it is that we have trusts arid combines controlling the prices ol building material, and the prices of foodstuns, and they «re unquestionably acting in a way detrimental to me people of this country.—Mr WUlo I’d. in the Borough of Te Ivuitj the total amount oi rates levied on Name lauds, and which should be coliected, is £599 lbs 2d, but the amount .which was actually collected at the end of the year was £lO 10s 'Jd. In me Otorohanya County Hue tohil amount levied, and which should have ueen collected, was £lOOl 16s Bd, but tue actual ainoun collected was £2O 14s Id. In tile. Waitomo County the amount levied, and which should have been actually collected, was £3279 10-s, but the amount actually collected was £3l 9s (id. The law at present provide® for the- collection ol Native rates, but tile process is so cumbersome and «o expensive, that local bodies have given up trying to collect rate*.—Mr I. €■ HoUesbon. I Words fail to express one’s feelings ' of admiration for tiie late Sir William ‘ ilerries, and, as I speak, 1 am remindment. The early stages of an attack ed of the words which I understand were written by Hobert Burns and placed on his father's tombstone: — 1 Few hearts like his with virtue warmed, Few hearts like his with knowledge so informed ; If there be another world, lie lives in bliss, i If there be none, he made the best of this.—-Mr J. A. Young. 1 say here and now that, while the Opposition imve on the basis ol these gentlemen's speeches. eharyeid the present Government with having neglected the dwellers in the hackblock, 1 can say without ieai ot honest contradiction—i emphasise the word "honest”—that uo Government has done more for ihe backbiocks tiian title Helorm ministry.—Air Hockley. < If the Agricultural Department does not take every possible step to prevent it we will some day have lire, cattle tick finding its way into the Taranaki district, i know the Hon. tile AI in ister of Agriculture wil] say

j j that. every precaution is being taken l —that they have regulations for inspection and all that kind of thing, hut ail the Government regulations in New Zealand will not catch a tick. Tin's is a most serious matter, and i i think the Prime .Minister trill agree ! that it is a serious matter—this spread of the cattle tick.—Mr Smith. The mortgage system under which llie farmer has been working for many years past is unquestionably an f unsound and most expensive system. I He has borrowed money r for short periods, and in many cases without | any right of repayment being provid- J ed, or rather, any compulsory repay-1 mein-. Farmers, therefore have got ? into the habit, instead of making ■ their land their bank, of investing in other concerns, and spending the , j money carelessly.—Air Hawken. i 1 shah be extremely glad to see ' j something clone to assist the farmers, i but I do not think there is much hope ■ for such a tiling as an agricultural t bank in the country. If t hail time I could show what tint Slate Advances Department has done. It has lern an | enormous amount of money. Alto- | gather the Government has actually I advanced about £30,000,000 to farmers. I workers, local authorities and soldier 6 settlers, and at. a. maximum rale of 5 jj per cent. The Department, indeed, is p almost taking the place of an agri- l I cultural hank.—lion. Li. Newman. j § lam one of those who believe that j 1 ihe wider we can spread education j I among our voting people, and bring 5 them to a better state of thought, and | mind, and to a high cultivation of jj the mental powers, the better it will ? be for the nation; and I want to say I I do not think enough is yet being I done on the technical side. What 1 I want to see in this country is, that ! the boys who have had four years at a ; technical school should be' so -well} • qualified when they leave that school I ■ they may go into a machine shop, or I a carpenter's shop, or a plumber's I i shop, and not go there as first year's I * apprentices, with the advantage that' two years at a technical school'should count for one year in the shop.—Hon. Mr Garland. I want to tell the House what the skim-milk industry has cost the farmers of Waikato. The company Which f supply built and equipped a factory ; ai a cost of i'IJS.OOD. We ran b for j three months and made a loss. We j have had a special report prepared with estimates to sec whether we ii’.unnut improve the running of tlv> factory. This is a factory which is up-10-tiafe in every respect, with a plant which is practically new, and] ihe shareholders have agreed to pay the bank I’d per lb. on the buherfat |in the reduction of their debt. T urn going to fight all the time for a reduction of freights on dairy produce, and particularly skim-milk powder. If there was a reasonable reduction in the freights on the 1 railways, and on ocean-going steamers. 1 am confident we' could manufacture the skim-milk powder, and not have Mini expensive plant lying idle. To-day. however, it is a burden on the farmers.—Mi F. Lye. out of sight.