PARLIAMENT.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3580, 16 September 1920, Page 6

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WELLINGTON, Sept. ,14

The House met at 2.30 p.m. After | Ministers had replied to questions, j the House resumed the adjourned debate on the. -question, "That the report of the Lands Committee on the Te Aroha Crown Leases Bill do lie on the table." , t Mr Parry moved as an amendment to the motion that the report be ferred back to the Lands Committee' for further ' '_' The debate was" again interrupted/ by the 5.30 adjournment. ( . •When the House resumed at 7.30, Mr Massey moved the second reading of the Immigration Restriction Amendment Bill. The Bill was the insult of a deep-seated sentiment on the part of a great majority -of. the people that the Dominion -should be a "white" New Zealand, and that, so far as legislation could provide,, that, new arrivals should be loyal to the country and to the Empire. ■ --. •

Mr Sidey said the Bill was one of the most important brought before Parliament this session. «

Mr Stewart, while affirming desirability of having a "white"' N,ew Zealand., thought the Government had not been very happy in the way they were going about it. Some of the provisions of the Bill, he 'thought, -would be unnecessarily offensive to citizens of America or France. Mr Holland, while not favouring "barriers against t~e people of other countries just because of the colour of skin or country in hwich they were born, at the "same timtf satd that he and the Labour Party would do all in their power to preserve our higher standards'of living. He favoured organising fST Indians into unions to prevent them entering into unfair competition with the workers. Mr Malc^r'wktt^supP ol the •principle of a "white?' New Zealand,

tn~ tfill ui »«.o tion, particularly in connection with Chinese.

Mr Savage objected to the power given in the Bill to the Minister of Customs either to admit Asiatics or exclude tneni at his sweet will. The fixation of numbers would be better than the ineffective poll tax and the 1 inefficient education tests. Mr Harris thought the Hindu problem was much more serious and more difficult to deal with than the exclusion of Chinese. Mr Mitchell thought both Hindus and Chinese should be kept out, but did not desire to see it done offensively. Hon. Hanan supported the Bill. He favoured the reTentlon. of the poll tax. Mr Malcolm thought the House would be better employed discussing how to encourage the immigration of our own people. Mr Sullivan said so great was the discretionary power given to the Government under the Bill that no matter what t*e efher clauses provided the Government could ignore them if it pleased, ;|nd admit as much Asiatic immigration as it thought fit.

. Mr Kellett wtTuld go further than the Bill. Hfe would not admft a single Asiatic into the Dominion.

Mr Lysnar supported tin Bill absolutely, except that he thought the

form of oath should be made more drastic, to" keep disloyalists out.

Messrs McCombs. Ngata, Parry, Young, and Atmore, supported the Bill.

After midnight the debate was continued by Messrs Bartram and Howard.

The Bill was read a second time and the House rose at 12.30 a.m.