HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 49, 29 October 1913, Page 2

HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES.

The House met at 2.30. The Hon. W. H. Hemes gave n'c tico of his intention to introduce t Rating Act Amendment Bill. The Post and Telegraph Amendment Bill was brought down. The Bill contained a proposal to raise th' amount on which interest could be paid on money deposited in the Pos CKfice Savings Bank to £IOOO.--In ro ply to Sir J. Ward, Mr Mirtsey salt that the Government had hot ap proaehed any financial institutions ir connection with the proposals, no did they propose to do so. JUDICATURE AMENDMENT BILL On a motion to commit the Judica ture Amendment Bill, the Hon: A. L Herdman explained that the necessity for the increase of Judges was mainl. due to the fact that the Appeal Cbur. sat so long in Wellington. He die not favor the establishment of a per manent Appeal Court, as. there wouk not be sufficient work for it. Th Appeal Court sat for 16 weeks in thyear, and during that time work w;;' waiting in different Siipfeme Court; ;which could not-be overtaken.; Th Council of the,> T e\v, .Zealajnd Law S'< piety said that the'Bill jsjhoitld pass The cost of the ' new 4t>P°i ntmen f would l^l£s2oh. 1<; i' '■ '! ' } ! •Sir'JV WaRU-aid that tf| Chief 1 Ju" tice was undoubtedly the" best gnicl in the matter. He thought the wot' of the Appeal Court could very easi! be got through with three Judges. Mr A. H. Hindmarsh agreed tha the Court of Appeal should consis. of three Judges. The appointment oi extra Judges> was necessary in the' in terests of litigants. ; V' * Mr G. Lau'fehsoh hoped that' th r - House would, not rush into these appointments. . , ; •!' ' ' Mr J. A. Hannn agreed witlf the appointment of one Judge.

Mr G. W. Russell said that the appointment pf two Jhdges was superfluous. The Coutt of Appeal shoulc consist of three Judges. He quote* figures showing that New South Wales, with a population o'f 1,800,000, had only eight Judges, yet Mr Herdmah proposed nine for New Zealand. Victoria had five, Queensland three, and South Australia and West Australia four each. f The Hon. A. L. Herdman, replying, said that lie would give consideration to the suggestions of members. The appointments were necessary, but be fore the Bill went into Committee he was prepared to give every consideration to the suggestions to reduce the proposed appointments riy one. The Bill would l)e in Committee at next sitting day. The House, resumed at 7.30. TAX ON LAND EXCHANGES.

The Hon. A. L. Herdman moved the second reading of the Stamp Duties Amendment Bill, providing for duty being payable oh exchanges of land. Clause 5 gives relief to the commercial community in the matter of duty on marine insurance policies. Mr H. G. Ell urged a general in crease in the stamp duty on sales ol land, to provide a large revenue for purposes of pensions for widows.

Mi- G. W. Russell declared that the Bill represented another broker pledge. The Government had promis ed to reduce taxation, but here was another increase without the formula tion of a financial policy demonstratin: the necessity for it. He would support the Bill if the money raised thereby were ear-marked for widows’ pensions.

Sir Joseph Ward wanted to know how much revenue was expected under this tax. The House was entitled to the information, even if the amount stated were only approximate, because the House was not justified in imposing taxation unless it knew how much was to bo raised. He estimated that the sum would be £150.000 ner year.

The Hon. A. L. Herdman, iu reply, said ho was not prepared to say how much revenue would be raised under the Bill. The Government had only been in office for 15 months, and it would take them several years to extricate the country from the muddle in which their predecessors had left tlie country. He could not give any undertaking that the revenue raised under the Bill would he set aside for widows’ pensions. There were ample funds for widows’ pensions, and lie saw no necessity for adopting the suggestion made by Mr Ell. The Bill was read a second time.

BEER DUTY BILL. Tho Hon. F. M. B. Fisher moved the second reading of the Beer Duty Amendment Bill, which was brought down to remedy technical weaknesses in tho main Act. Mr (1. V. Pearce statedHhat lie intended to move a reduction'{in the duty from 3d to 2d per gallon, as an indication that the duty should be 6d, that being the only way in which a private member could bring an increase' about. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, in reply, heartily approved of Mr Pearce’s proposal, which would receive his support. Tlie Government was determined to deal with one of the worst monopolies in the country, i f A DOMINION MUSEUM. Mr Fisher then moved the committal of the Science and Art Bill, affirming the desirability, of establishing a Dominion Museum, National Gallery and Scientific Library at Wellington. In doing so he paid a tribute to the memory of the late Mr A. Hamilton, whose services had been largely drawn upon in drafting the Bill. The House went into Committee, passed the short title of the Bill, and then adjourned at 11 o’clock.