"WHO TALKS MOST?"

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1055, 20 August 1930, Page 7

"WHO TALKS MOST?"

LABOUR CHARGE REFUTED BY MR. COATES “HONOURABLE AGREEMENT” THE SUX'S Parliamentary Reporter PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Tuesday. Producing figures which showed that in the debates on the Customs Bill and on the short title of the Finance Bill Labour had spoken more than Reform, the Deader yt the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, repudiated in the House this evening a suggestion by the Leader of the Labour Party, Mr. TI. E. Holland, that the Opposition was breaking its honourable agreement. The debate on a clause in the Finance Bill relating to an increase in the bank note tax was becoming protracted when Mr. Holland rose and said the only effective way of getting to a decision was for the Reform Party to put the question to the vote. Air. Holland said he was very much concerned when a promise he was a party to was not being kept. Two days had been spent on the Bill and the House was getting toward the third day and still the debate went on. Air. A. M. Samuel (Reform — Thames): Two of your men were up Just now. Air. Holland: Four Reformers have spoken without a break since then. It is a wilful dishonouring of the promise wo gave. Air. Samuel: Alere advertising. Air. Holland: It is a fair thing honourably to observe a promise. Mr. Samuel: You cannot hold your team. If he gave a promise on behalf of his party and its members did not observe it, said Air. Holland, he would walk out of the position lie was in, but tho members of the Labour Party would not do that. “Let us get to a vote on this clause,” he said. “If the Government is defeated that is its business. 1 cannot help that.” The Reform Party, said Air. Coates, had been accused of wasting time. Air. D. AlcDougall (Uitited —Alataura): So it did. Air. Coates continued that in the debate on the Customs Bill when Air. Forbes had criticised him unfairly, Reform spoke 59 times on the second reading and about the title, Labour 59 times, the Independents 22 and United 38. In other words, Reform had spoken 59 times and the other parties 119 times. On the short title of the present Bill Labour had spoken 12 times and Reform nine times. That was the honourable agreement. Labour's attitude was thin. Air. W. E. Parry (Labour —Auckland Central) insistently interrupted with a request that Air. Coates tell where he got his first records from and had to be called to order. Air. Holland said every word he had uttered went. Air. Coates continued that Labour's attitude would not wash. Reform was not present to hinder the business, but it had a right to oppose. Air. D. Jones (Reform —Alid-Canter-bury) suggested as an amendment that the clause relating to the bank note tax be in operation only till October, 1931. That would not deprive the Government of revenue. Air. Forbes said he could not accept the amendment, as it showed preferential treatment of one section of the community. He would be pleased to review the taxation next year and was hopeful that remissions might be made. Air. Jones: That’s the first cheerful thing you’ve said for the last six months. Finally the clause was adopted without division.