PARLIAMENT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 49, 14 October 1914, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. [i'jCU Air -n.tllON.l Welling...; ■, October 23. The Council met tit -.30 p.m. The r ( yeert of lh2“ Government Committee fixing Lite standard oi wine at ■2O per cent, of proof spirit was agreed to. LOCAL RAILWAYS. The second reading < f tho Local Railways Dill was moved by Hon. H f>. Hell. Ho outlined tin provisions of the measure for establishing boards and safeguarding the interests of the State. Tho railways would be local ones owned by local bodies. Hon. Ydigram said Co Hill was a groat improvement upon the measure of last year. Eon. 0. Samuel said it was impassible to ignore the disadvantages of privately owned railways. Alter all the experience gained it was a pity that Hie construction and running ol the railways should be left in inexperienced hands. Hon. Jones considered the Bill was groping in tho dark to accomplish something which might be obtained by a better method. Hon. Moore, while believing in Mate-owned railways, said he would oto for tho second reading. Hon. Paul said tho system pro losed was likely to be a very costlv me for the backblocks settlers. Hon. Morgan said he hoped the ■ ill would become law. Ho pointed ut that in his district the progress • f construction had boon very slow, • nd they had no facilities for mailing roads. Hon. Carncross said there should some guarantee that tho hues mild pay two or three per cent, ppn the cost before the Government M-mittod a line to be constructed, Hon. H. D. Bell, in reply, said ' was quite prepared to make an aondment to clause of, to make it issiblo for a local board to contract ith the Minister of Public Works i construct a line. The Bill was then read a second bno and the Council rose at 5.15 . m. MOUSE OF BE P RESENT A Vi V ES. The House met at 2.30 p.m. In reply to Mr G. W. Russell, the linistor for Mines said ho could not •visibly find immediate work for the 00 men rendered idle by tho suspouion of work in the Huntly mine. The m ploy men t of 500 men was no light isk, involving a great deal of prominary expense. He would ccrunly do his best to help tho Huntly •en, although their work inigM not ecessarily he in the Huntly district. the railway system. A Bill dealing with deviations, etc., n connection with railways, was inroduced by Governor’s Message. Mr Russell said this was evidently ho Hiloy Bill, providing for an expenditure of £3,200,000 on station buildings, deviations, etc., the bulk if which would be spent in the Auckland district. Surely this was.elec | urn year and money was being provided to buy up Auckland votes. Win this the purity of tho party who howled against tho expenditure on Dunedin station? The scheme was altogether beyond the finances of the country. The Bill was one tnat would have startled even Sir Julius Vogel, and was a travesty of the I profession of a.-Government which came in to stop borrowing. All that we should aim at was to keep our railways on the simplest plan •ousistont with safety, and. not to .Hind; upon “wild cat” schemes of this sort, the product of a Government of boomsters, blunderers and borrowers. Hon. Roderick McKenzie characterised the Bill a a one of the most extraordinary over submitted to Parliament. What they had to consider was how far the works proposed were accessary. Many of them were ln» iri-.'S, and wore to be executed at the expanse of roads in tho back country. Railways to open up growing • Istricfcs were more important. Not pore than one-sixth of this money v.vs necessary, The whole scheme vis wild and reckless, and was si indy the outcome of paying Mr Hiloy in extraordinary salary. Hon. Headman said that since the Vovornmont had como into office they bad made many discoveries, and one ■ f them was that through the mismanagement of their predecessors nir railway system had been allow'd to get out of date and obsolete. Tho criticism of the Opposition show'd that they still wanted to leave tile railways as they were. Against that they had had told them what they had to do in put the railways in a conditiAn to fulfil their proper functions to let the farmers get their produce to market quickly. It was not to ho borrowed in one year, ft was to he spread over five years. But the main point to- ho remembered was that the expenditure was necessary to bring the railways up to date. In reply to Hon. Herdmnn, Mr Veitch pointed out all through his report Mr Hiloy gave tho greatest credit to bis predecessor for tho way he had managed tho railways. Yet the Minister of Justice coolly stood up in the House and declared that the Ronayue management had resulted in the railway system becoming obsolete. That war not a fact, as the work done on linos in past years was not only creditable lint was simply marvellous. The policy of

I ho. Government was evidently to iced the cities up witli borrowed money, while they asked settlers uy legislation passed this session to oiuul t.iei. own lines. Go strongly conch .......1 tile proposal to import locomotives. JjL-fj «---*■ t»ialocally built engines were doing belter work than imported ones. New offices created by Mr Hi ley were made simply to propitiate the officers who were passed over when the new general manager was appointed. Tim reduction in expenditure on maintenance was a most serious matter, and ought to be carefully enquired into. Mr MacDonald said Mr Hiley hod never condemned the work oi Mi Ltouayne. i.hat was le.t to tno Minister of Justice and that was the greatest asset the present GovernaouL had. They did not hesitate :o inveigh against a lorntcr civil servant or against, their political opponents. Discussing the building of railways, Mr .MacDonald condemnid the small contract system instituted by the Minister of Public Works, which he said was wasteful md was not providing work for the anernployed. Tho Premier said the Minister for Justice had cast no slur on Mr Ron ay lie, his censure being directed against tlioir predecessors in office. Ihe whole position of our railways was set out in the first paragraph if Mr Hiley’s report, i’ which he dated that tho requirements had mtgrown tho system, and this Bill .vas necessary before the railways •ouid he made up-to-date. All he iskod was that the ol iior side would nit the position fairly 1 , and show hat tho money was not going to be xpended in one year. It • would .ossiblyl be spread over even more him five years. He had hern told Mat this was election year. Did ion. members suggest that because I was election year all the public works or expenditure should stop? do could tell them he was not going to stop, notwithstanding the war, md they were going through a great ■risis. The Bill would not interfere ,vith the ordinary construction of railways and roads. Another Bill, risking for a further loan, would be .nt rod need later on for these purposes, but in the meantime it was lecessary to bring ‘the working railways up-to-date. Mr Witty was denouncing tho Bill rheii tho House rose for the supper .djournment. After supper, Messrs A ilford, ■ayne, Hunan and Ell spoke in oplosition to the measure. Sir Joseph Ward, continuing the iebate on the llailway Bill, said the public debt of the Dominion had inroased since the present Government >ar,io into office by fifteen million rbile the credit balance bad been roamed. The indebtedness this year, Dili the war expenditure, would be ol less than eight millions. No .no-/knew > how •in itch n more .< Vet -iu. 'aco of these added responsibilities he Government proposed this wild chonio to borrow over three millions, this was a position such as to make II thoughtful men pause. The Go■ernment was electioneering in the "oddest manner. In spite of Mr Tiley’s statement, the proposals in lis report wore based on the assumption that the money market would he normal. He was in favor of reasonable improvements to open lines but not for the extravagant, proposals in the Bill.

FIRST READING CARRIED. Wellington, October 11. After the Telegraph Office closed it 2 a.in, the discussion on the Railway Improvement Authorisation Bill was continued by the Opposition, and •onsisted mainly of 'a reiteration of die arguments previously used. At 5.23, the House went into committee, uid the resolution reported was igreed (o. The Bill was then read it first time, and the House it'ose at 5.27 a.m.