WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3571, 6 September 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

COAL. \ NATIONALISATION AND COOPERATION. 1 I (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 3. The presentation of the S ate Coal Mines report, in the House of Representatives yesterday produced a very interesting discussion on mining matters generally in which nationalisation and co-operation came In for a good dea of attention. Nationalisation hitherto has been' regarded as a party question, and so it probably will remain for some years to come, but yesterday’s discussion disclosed a growing disposition; on the part of many members of the House to look favourably upon a system of co-opera-tion in which the working miners would be assisted with capital and with the necessary railways. This view was not confined to the members of one party or another, but seemed l to be the view of the majority of those Who were seeking for an effective solution of the coal trouble. INCREASING SUPPLIES. Mr. Hudson, th member for Motueka, whose constituency is now intimately associated with the mining industry, declared the coal output could be easily doubled and trebled by a judicious extension of the cooperative system. He-. advocated that . when the Government constructed railways to tap new supplies it should debar speculators from acquiring tbe coal deposits and opening them up wi b paid labour. The field should be preserved fo,r co-operative parties of workers that would never gto slow and while benefiting themselves would relieve the country from the constant nightmare of a coal shortage. Mr. Witty and a number', of other members spoke to a similar effect, Mr. Lysnar adding State colliers to the cooperative service, and the only discordant note came from Mr. Holland, who thought the ‘"‘syndicalist idea,” would not work out to the advantage of rhe community. MEMBERS’ PAY. The Civil List -Bill No. 2, providing for fhe increase of the salaries of mehibers of the House from £3OO a year to £450 a year, and the salaries of members of the Council from £2OO to £3OO, came up for its second', reading in the elected chamber last night and met, on the whole, with: the favourable reception that was to be expected, Some of the more -flippant members of the' House would have their little jests about the measure, but even®they said nothing likely to retard its passage on to'the Statute Book. The general opinion of members appeared to be, indeed, that "the proposed 'lncreases were father too small than too (large. • Mr; Wilford suggested that the payment of members of thei House should be raised to £SOO a year and that. 10 per cent, of this should be devoted to the establishment of a superannuation fund. Some proposalyof this fiind may be made when the BiT is in committee. 1 OTHER SUGGESTIONS. . ’ During the debate it was suggested and endorsed from barb sides of the House, that a salary and a secretary should be provided for the leader of the Opposition. This is no new idea, it having been mentioned again and again during the" last twenty years, but when a Government gets firmly seated on the Treasury benches its members seem apt to forger- the disabilities they suffered themselves when sitting on the other side of the House. The princip’e, however, has been accepted by o her British communities and there seems no weighty reason, from the public point' of view, why it should not be accepted here. Another suggestion was tha- the term of Parliament should be extended, Mr. Field naming; four years as a reasonable period, but a majority of the members were not anxious to commit Gicmselves to an expression of opinion on this delicate subject.