PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81841, 6 September 1906, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. [BY TELEGRAPn— PIfcESS ASSOCIATION;] The House met at 2.30. J FINANCIAL DEIIATE. Mr HOGG opened t i K . clobato for the clay. H 0 reviewed the Budget favourably, and compliautned the tour previous, speakers.. He criticised parts of the hew Land Policy unfavourably, regretting, particularly the proposal to abudish tiio i>JO years': ease, and denouncing emphatically the new lease of 66 years as virtually freehold with all its evils and none of its advantages. He expressed confidence m the present administration of the land,'eulogizing 1 the Crown rangers in particular. The freehold t3nure he denounced as the cause of untiiiled solitudes, and he read lists of owners who, by-stib-' dividing their properties and continu'ng to work them together, were cheating the revenue of large suins annually. 0 r

Ihe PREMIER rose to reply >at 3-40.. He said that if the. wishes jof the other side for the introduction |of tne Lanadiap post-audit system were given effect. to, they WO uld findi a delay of a least a'year in : the making up of tho • accounts, and 1 they would, discover that .there'would jbe check whatever {, on thp< expenditure. As (.o.the suggestion of,.:ihe other side that the , public accounts .ire not properly kept', that he clia' : lactensed not only as wrong, but : as a : reflection on tl)e officers, who all had a large discretion in these matters. Ccming to the criticism.of the cleteimmation of the Government to avoid the London money market jlie was surprised the Leader of the dpposition was not aware of tlife special circumstances which, without any inflections on .our credit, made thaY course advisable. He .detailed thdse circumstances,''among-'them the »c----*H>l> ,"f the Midland , railway debdn- ■ turo holders and' the' lildck Caused by other, operations. Hc.' -maintaitied that the raising of ...half, a! million |in Victoria after that was a very successful operation, and he said" the same. .of the flotation of the \second half a million in ; Australia!." The one had, yielded 2d over pat and the othei 2/, as against the "Victorian flotations a; a discount of, ,£4 2/5. jln these matt -vs, lie contended there ought to be no such thing a s paftv ' considers!''fcns;" Replying on the' surplus, he .said' ih'e; 'Leader : of the Opposition had m , s'taken' i ali' ! entry in the Estimates,for; a, .payment. , -The sum for .Puulic .Trust new buildings; was on the Estimates'for two years running. 1 ' The nioney had never been paid into- the 1 Consolidated Fund for the purpeso by.' the ; Public Trustee. The it.r tfy Superannuation . Fund, which 'the actuaries advised to be paid'over, was not paid over.- for the reason that the Government;did .hot sec :the financial! necessity.. „ ; Much bad Men.m'Sde iof the alleged unsoundness, <jf the .superannuation' funds ,of British, railway companies. .' lie would (juste -from the proposal- otf fi powerful, company, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. C.p., the , . direfctors: of which, after 33-yeari' of fcxperience, were now asking for legislation' for a far moire advanced scheme than anything in this country. Jn criticising the conversions in operation, the Lejider.of. the Opposition. had failed to observe that the saftie assets, n 9 mel yj .tho. wealth of. the whole colony, were ■ as much behind the converted ;l oafls as behind the • original issues'.; In ;'ip. Jnatter of 'Orjis, hc woullt] like to know what the li°n, ilientbor wanted.' Did he want to diminish 'the million annually raised. - 1 <• Mr MASSEY:"No."

flic PREMIER: Then I would conclude - that the ; hon.. gfttifleman must'bo in favour of' yoduc'ng the Lands fur SoU'ciaonts policy,?-. Mr MASSEV : Is'o.; . ..

1 hte PREMIER: ..Thpij I, wtiuld want to know lie wc.itM like lo seo reduced—roads,' bridges, telephones, t-r what?,. -The hon. 'gentleman, In- knew, wou'd not reduce any of these. The fact was that if the hon. gontleniap were .on the treasury ,he would Tie also a squanderer and a'waste'r'. lie ' thought the liori. , 'gintfelqaH ought not to .attempt the public m that \vay. :A.S;;to the manner of' "Pfyinfi' ~ TrSfis ; ury flills. a, 1 *.,, duedates, the. tOi . .Pay them off,' gradually' otjf of: consolidated reyenue, without 'creating* special funds I .' Speaking cif tho tie) 'bate geriefa'fy, he expressed the pleasure he had experienced' ii'af- ■ inji' the speeches -of last ; hifcjHt' and particularly' l[ that cf his colleague, the 1 Minister- -for Lands, life went, oh toi tion with the ;.-tlwt thf. Government would havf) the, frucijtf ■ question ffiltt; 'arid if any one Jthe,, .QDvar.nip.ent in':tended to shelter ' themselves " generalities,! awl rjldsiipictoaift,' *hey made a etl to take tlie full' ''responsibility of their policy, and they wanted, to do so immediately, and, if necessary, l would bf i'Cady tA.fake the sense off the'cfcurttry iori ft.' i- Tii'e ; Lynds for, ,p q J)qyf\\|a|fjm a'i>'.impos, sible position, it was impossible to go ,on boraewing thrbe-quartffs?°f.'3 million .aivear for,-it-lie purpose.KF ou-i., and a half millions : of, borrowed money had.: been . -Spew on these lands, a id, lulling ; jiad been cjohe to stop the increase of thjit, debt of three-quarters, .of a. million a ye;ir. : The conlinuance of such a state of things. \vus noc to. b'> - thought of. Noticing 'air the' Pre T mier said that' he knew that his ilate Chief, wore lie present that day at the head of aflVrs, woud.be acting precisely in the same way as the Government. : Hon. gentlemen op posito, fc-r ail their talking, had , never dcaie anything. They had taken care to evolve no scheme. (Voice,s .'interjeqtsd: " Wa'son'Si scheme.''): -The. . declarisij that tlicy did iint ~th,omse;vcs believe in tho ason scfteuH', have made use pf i.. . flKvcht-' <rt> to point out the advantages cf the Land proposals, and stated that the Glaslartty .all.tt^er'tV- cot:apiy, u(>((er,the infllieiVce' 1 o!*'UcniVc' 'of- : 'th(< -JrvlWsV* iSitelligent 'Aiftl pi a'cllcat nu-.i -in the colony. More fre?.h(i'd : lands were under, these proposals, t ■ be offered in one year lli.'in all the and leff 'avail- ' able on the hands - t,h<i Crown. I here was the i v of a g. od lease in Ihe prcposats. as weil as the freedom to rejn'ain wuil the present

leases, and there'w s'thc opportunity of escaping under pr per safeguards from rents and vesinc.iMis. There would be,' in addition, large endo\v r rnonts, growing-. •itr-vulue annually; for providing for ffrei.t Departments of the Pubi'ic Service. There wa.s> a practicable policy, fit to gojjfp with and settle prob'em of the land quesii"n- The other side e<ni!d'tiot get any higli'T than the rr.e'ess proposal to change one teiui.e for iinotluir. Iho pti gress and, pnsperlty and well bei-.g of ills c untre ivquirH> 111" really literal arid uscf.it. Of these two propov'.tuv.a, he recommended the dear, 'dotailed, weft-' thought-out scheme, which the Government had had ihcourage to plan: before the country, to the statesmanlike cous'deration of the I louse.

Mt MASSEY pomp|aiiicd by way of personal , explanation that he had been misrepresented in the matter of the £20,000 for the Public Trust Office,

The PREMIER sustained his view by reading- from the Public Accounts.

KVF.NI.NG SITTING.The House resumed at 7,-jo. Mr MASSEY raised • the question tf loans to local bodies, and said there ought to be subsidies a'sn, and as a right in a'l' cases of need. The P REM IKK said the Government would be glad to always luip to any extent' within its power, but the question cf finance, must be considered, as there is a limit b.'yoncf which subsidies are impossible. After the supper ad inurnment', the MINISTER OF JUSTICE, replying to complaints, defended ' the law dealing with the offence of shor l, weight. He declined to discuss any cases <>f the same ill the IToues, and insist 2d. that it was a matter for the particular authorities to attend to. The PREMIER announced in the 1

matter of Homes tb£t his colleague ■-lidd reported that *' the homes at Petone were being let at rents of ij/to 11/3 a week. Mr ALLEN raised the'question of superannuation; asking for the report of the London and North-West-ern Railway Company." The PREISER said he had tried but had failed to get that report, but had reason to believo the scheme of the company wan correct. ' There were good reasons why the report of the actuaries in the case of the education superannuation scheme of i his country was not given effect to. tie to discuss the question ■at that stage. ; . * ... t The first, item of the Estimates passed, and the resolution' reported to the House. The Premier gave notice to move next day the 'abolition of the halfpast nine adjournment. ' * ■ The Hous6.adjourned at i'f.3o p.m.