PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 40, 17 October 1913, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

~. TUESDAY. OCTOBER 16. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. IPeb Press 'Association.] * Wellington, October 1(3. ° The Legislative Council met at 2.30. ] The Public Wovks Amendment Bill, | was read a first time. J The Hauraki Plains Amendment Bill [was reported with one small amendiment.

The Cotinicl also passed the Public Trust Office Amendment Bill through committee, with minor and consequential amendments recommended by the Statutes Revision Committee by 15 votes to 9. It was decided not to give the Public Trustee power to establish branches beyond New Zeaurid. The Council adjourned till .Wednesday next. HOUSE OF REPRhSENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30. THE COOK ISLANDS. The Cook Islands Governinetit Act Amendment Bill was read a first time. The House resumed at 7.30. • THE LAND BILL. The Prime Minister moved that the /arid Laws Amendment Bill be reommitted for the purpose of amendrrg clause 25. Sir Joseph Ward riioved, as an intendment, that the clause be re-com-nitted for the purpose of reconsidering t. He wanted to vote against the vhdle clause, and tlie motion of the 3 rime Minister would not allow Mm to do that: Mr Massey said he had a lively •ecollecetion of ten hours' obstruction m this clause. He was not dispose:" o re-open it to permit a repetition if that proceeding. Sir Joseph Ward denied that there i r.d been obstruction. The best proof if that fact was that the Prime Minuter was bringing down these amendlents. He objected to the clause beatise it proceeded to set up a special ondition of things in the Hauraki istrict. He wanted to know why the pe'eial tenure was not being applied • 0 all other parts of the Dominion ■i it was right for Hauraki it riuist ,e equally so for Nelson, Marlbor,ugh; the West Coast and similar disricts. It raised -the question of the ight. of prospectors going on mining •and& to- prospect. It was admitted 'hat' the 1 land was, csat ;bearijng. '_ If' ,ihe, clause -passed the ; same position iiight airise was: fought .out in coiri»nittee between the miners < 'and the' : vauW-■ Timber. 5! Coinpahy,'; Hyhere /the |' 'sucpessfu^Ly'j r the 1 , lajims- ftf thfl prespeetifts. clause 1 M'ljeiyprt. 'lt NVdsj^esjrablp : m /as 'sectional'legislation, and he was ;lad of the opportunity of . voting gainst it. : -' Mr "Maisey^saidfbaf 'Sir 1 ' Joseph" Vard had shown an astounding wan J , if knowledge of what was in the Bill, nd of the nature of the country. He iid not .denv that there were miff-* mHjier'e, min'•'ng and sho,ujd, go hand in ''mnd. { Minerals tffew' regeifvckli to the ';rown'and the surfacd -was placed at -.he di'sposal of /farmers 1 on .the best :iAd ; of that : c6uWiie given ■ •:ho interests of *the State, the miner md "the agriculturalists were all safe- , ;uarded in his present amendment. Te quoted the Lands Report of 1912 o sh'Ow that thousands of. acres were :overed with blackberries, and the position was even stronger than in hat year. Representative men from '•;he Thame shad waited on him to ask i'or legislation of this character. What was being done would be approved in that district. National* endowments would not suffer, because other, land would be substituted for this. He was not prepared to apply; the system to ill other districts, because' he, wanted to go slowly but He' asked the) Leader of the Opposition to say whether he was prepared to let the 200, 7 000 acres affected lie idle and rapidly deteriorate. Mr C. W. Russell contended that the real point at issue between the Opposition and the Government was that the Prime Minister was going to .rive the present holders of leases the freehold against all other people ir the Dominion. The Opposition opposed the clause because it was special ■egislation. The total area held under • ; his tenure in the Dominion was 95 300 races, but a few people at Hauraki were being given favor over the,, holders of similar leases In Auckland, Xelson, and Wellington. The clause was being pushed forward to assist fche member for the Thames to get yotes. The amendment moved by MiRhodes was one of the most sinister placed" before Parliament, because of his (Mr Rhodes') personal interest in 1000 acres of land affected. Mr Rhodes defended his position as the owner of a Hauraki lease. He had got the land af ballot and had been returned to Parliament pledged to get the freehold for his fellow leaseholders, as that was the only tenure that would suit the settlers and promote settlement. The debate was continued by Messrs Payne, Harris, Webb and Young, and at 10:45 a division on Sir J. Ward's amendment was defeated by 36 votes [to 33. j The division lost on Sir Joseph IWard's amendment Avas as follows: JFor the amendment (33).—Messrs Atmre, Brown, Buddo, Buxton, Colvin, Craigie, Davey, Dickie, Glover, Hanan, Hindmarsh, Isitt, Laurenson, McCallum, McDonald, McKenzie, Myers, Ngata, Parata, Payne, Poland, Rangihiroa, Robertson, Russell, Seddon, Sicley, R. W. Smith, J. C. Thomson, Teitch, Ward, Webb, Wilford, and Witty. Against (36).— Messrs Allen, Bell, Bollard (2), Bradney, Buchanan, Buick, Campbell, Coates, Dickson,

Fraser, Guthrie, Harris. Herdman, Hemes, Hino, Hunter, Lee, Malcolm, Mander, .Massey, E. Newman, Nosworthy, Okey, Pearce, Pomare, Heed, Rhodes (2), Scott, F. H. Smith, Sykes, G, M. Thomson, Wilkinson, "Wilson, doling. Pairs: Against the amendment—Messrs Carroll, Dr. Newman, ham and Anderson ; for the ariijend-nente--Messrs Carroll, Dr. Newman, AM and Forbes. /

Mr G. Witty said that by the passing >f the Bill a system wliieh had .been milt up during the past twenty years would be done away with. The Governments had told the people that if they ould gain power they would giro all the freehold. They had stirred up the nterest and greed of man. All they iad done was to better the man': who vas already on the land. 'The Govcrnnefnt had no right to give the Grown essee the freehold, as that man knew perfectly well what he was in for when ie took up his lease. The debate was continued by Messrs IcCallum and Isitt. The debate was adjourned and the louse rose at 1.55. OUR LAST LOAN. Sir Joseph Ward asked the Minister 'or Finance if he could give the louse any information concerning a lewspaper cable announcing the flotaion of a New Zealand three-' and a;alf million Idan'. 1 j ' ; ' • —j Mr Jas. Allen,'stated'tliiit : the cable .as quite correct 1 . The loan was floatd to redeem debenture's 'coming due, nd for other'purposes. ' Two loans ,-ould fall due in N6v i emb 1 c i f, aggregatlg •£200,000,. Half, of that amouW .mild be provided for out of the loan .ist raised at'la'discount! df £1 10s >ev cent., witji ii'currency of ten year's,! ,itli the right of conversion into four. ,er cent, subscribed stock. The greaer portion of the ; loan would he conerted this year at one hundred and ne. Ninety-two per cent, of the loan ad been taken up by the uhderwritrs. A portion of the loan,.would be .sed for the purchase of some of the lebentures coming due in July, 1914,.. ne amount of which was four and a- r alf millions. What could not be used or purchasing debentures coming due' text year would be temporarily investd for the puropse of redeeming where •jans were coming due. Two were due ,i 1014, one in January and'the other a December. One was; for.four and . half millions and .the other was the .nconverted. portion of a; live million jan. Before, the end* of-, next year, ,;e Minister of Finance' would heed o go .on the London money! market for ; omething like twelve, millions. He had onsidered,it unwise' to ask/ for tweh-jt? f i.iilli6ns,in ,one, year, therefore he de,grppip.<&(i\ to aijticipate jthe. doans com'-* jig v duo in July ,to the*.. i amount o£ ■ Jih-160,000. -.-. The |balance ; iwould :ifc'J limed next year r . That 1 amount di|3,i ot fnelude the amount obtained from he Post Office, but was for four and •, ljajf, milljpns, cqming du,e in,,J,uly—• , he loan raised about a year ago—arid ho three and a half million loan which ell due about the end of 1914;. Be-: .ides Jhat,, there was, another nillipn in London, and Jhe(annual re- , ulrements. It would ,},)s ,impossible ; 'a girß,'tlie,"cost,of; fche..lpan -.until tne ! pnversion, tpk place, ,The (j cpst of the ast three million loan was £4 is Gilt