PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 62, 4 July 1914, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Wellington, July 3. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. An adjournment was made to present the Address-in-Reply to his Excellency the Governor, and on resuming the Council adjourned until July 15.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. AFTERNOON SESSION. The House met at 2.30 p.m. Mr McDonald continued the uo-con-fidence debate. It was no use continuing to gull the people with the statement that millions of acres were available. The poor men could not open the land that was left without assistance. Not a penny had been spent upon the purchase of land in the Urewera country since the Liberals went out. If there were a block of J 7,000 ■acres available, steps should be taken to throw it open. The Liberals were not fighting on small party issues, but for the benefit of the people.

Mr W. Eraser held that the administration of the Lands Department was quite satisfactory. He condemned the building of the North Auckland railway bofor© purchasing the land from the natives.. Mr Glover opposed the Civil Service Bill. The Bill would not stop political patronage, and had operated against the poor people. The Government desired to take land from the natives rather than from the bloated squateters of Hawkes Bay. The natives should not be divested of all their land. He urged the, imposition of the land-tax. The Public Service Commissioner's report was laid on the table. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The debate on the Addre'ss-in-Roply vas carried on by Mr Bradney. Mr Witty, who followed, said that if the leader of the Government had used tact he. could have settled the strike much earlier than ho did. Mr Massey: I settled it, and I'll set* tie it again if it comes along.

Mr Witty attacked the Government for repealing the second ballot without having something to replace it with. The present Government could only repeal. It had not the energy or ability to frame anything better. Mr .Massey had told the electors that he had raised the interest to Savings Bank depositors by a quarter per cent. Phis was true, but he had raised it to people of his own classjby one, two and three per cent, through not doing his duty with regard to the Advances to Settlers. Mr Witty said he was dead against the Government's local navy scheme, which would mean an expenditure of £1 per head of popxilation in Xeiv Zealand. After the supper adjournment, Mr Buick took up the debate in support of the Government. He was glad the Government was going on with the reform of the Legislative Council, but the elective principle would be only experimental, and it might be necessary to alter it again before long. Mr Robertson criticised Mr Buick for his remarks regarding the men working on the wharves, and dealt at some length with the Premier and his actions in connection with the strike. The actions of this Government had been directed towards smashing the unions and making unionism futile to improve the lot of the workers.