PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 5 July 1907, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

THURSDAY, 4th JULY. err LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. bri I ha ,l!y iVegiaph—l'cr Press Association, itci Wellington, July 4. \ f " The Council mot at 2..10. 1 The lion. Mr Paul, in 'moving the L.. Addross-in-Kcply, stated that while the (^ country had been undoubtedly prosper- « oils, the workers mid not had' their fair fe •diaro of the general prosperity. It wis f v gratifying to note in this connection v ; that tlie Government proposed to amend \i the tariff in the direction of a reduction •,, of taxation. ]Je would take the pre- |„ sent occasion to congratulate Dr. Find- j: lay upon his elevation to the Attorney- p; Generalship, a position which the spea- p; ker considered well deserved. Having a spoken in complimentary terms of tiie el work done by Sir Josepii Ward at the C Imperial Conference, he entered a pro- c( test against tiny way some of the Pre- it micrs from democratic countries play;d w into the hands oT tlie. reactionaries at " Home. He heartily agreed with' this n Premier's proposal to alter the term !'• ''Colony'' to "Dominion." Referring to " the propo-al to increase workers homes, n he held that the greatest necessity for }' workers in tiie cities was. cheap rents. ,' If the. Government tackled the land , (juesiion as it might be done, then they could deal olVectually with workmen's' homes. lie repudiated the allegation that had been made by some during j the slaughtermen's strike that the Ar- c bitralion Act had failed. The jpeople , of tlie colony are, he said, stronger | than ever in upholding the Act. The j proposal to institute a Wages' Board was 'a wise one. Anything that tended to bring about conciliation was better i than bringing matters betore thocou/t. ' On the land question, the speaker main- i taincd that there was to-day a greater hunger for land. The main thing was ! lo put poor men on the land, and thltj had been done under the leasehold sys- • tern. In conclusion he thanked the Council for their considerate hearing, and sat down amid applause.

The Hon. Mr Tucker seconded tl motion. Having somewhat exhaustive referred to the past history of the 3( ony, contrasting the depression of ! years ago with the present prosperit he said the turning point of our fo tunes was due to the visit of Mr Wa (now >Sir Joseph) to the financiers the Old Country, and arranging for [ constant stream of cheap money in the colony. He thought the ehan of designation from Colony to Donii . ion might be an Improvement, thou , it could not affect facilities of coi i mence, or bring about any malterij t benefit. He congratulated the Attorn: - General on his appointment. On t < land question he maintained that ,■ tenant with the purchasing clan ; would do more with his property th - a tenant who had no such advanta; i! The native land question was a diflict e one to dead with, but it would be mut n ally advantageous to the native owe ■ and the community if the large arc •• that were unutilised were placed in < fc cupation of. those requiring lands i u settlement, lie. urged that more libei " provision should be made for roadi e the backblocks, and advocated the ft 1 mation of roads "before putting lan e on the nnrrkct, cuarging tho cost " roading to the land. Our system 8 local government needed iinproveme. I Single authorities were limited 3 £6OOO on loans, but in his distr B £50,000 eould be spent to the best i 'L vantage on roads to-morrow. Mr Tuck I concluded amid applause. ,j The Hon. Mr ScotUml moved the l B journment of the debate, and the Coi e cil rose at 4 p.m. : ' HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ' r WEDNESDAY, JULK 3. * ADDRESS-LN-REPLY. 1 The House resumed at 7.30. Mr Massey resumed the debate on t ; Addrcss-in-ltoply. He stated that '- was usual for two junior members, the last two elected, to move and seco t the Address-in-Reply, but on this oct 1 sion the two new members were on t t Opposition side of the House. Referri - to Mr Davey's remarks on the Chine 3 question, he gave way to no member his opposition to Chinese entering Ni i Zealand, and he repeated his remarks - 2 years ago, that if the Premier broug - in a Bill to double the poll-tax, or ev i go further, he would support him. De t ing with the proposal to change frc colony to Dominion, he said he. saw b reason for the change. There was r parallel between New Zealand and Ca l ada. Touching on preferential trai t though the Home Government had mil - ed the opportunity of cementing t ) ties of the colonies and the Old Counti he was confident the time would coi i when the statesmen of Britain wot s arise to the adoption of preference. Dei - ing with the mail question, he thoug i the Vancouver route should be taken t The Imperial Government, he hope ' would do so, and carry it through, pa - ticularly as sonic New Zealanders we ' dissatisfied with the Suez route. ( - the question of the naval subsidy, thought we should be prepared to pay ! substantial contribution for the up-lcei '■ of the British navy, and had the Hon ■ Government asked New Zealand ■ double her contibution, he thought t' 1 people of the country would gMly_i ' so. He considered that Australia ai 1 New Zealand should have, been consulti ■ on the New Hebrides question. He ho ed the report of the Conference won ' soon be placed on the table. Touchii ; on the Exhibition, he considered we wet 1 a bit too previous in holding it, and showed the effect of Government mi management in affairs of business. I ; had expressed the opinion, and it was i record, that the Exhibition would co: £78,000 to £BO,OOO, but members of tl Government said it would only cost£2C (100. Subsequently a member of 11 Ministry said the cost would be £50,00 whilst a prominent politician from at other State said it would cost £IOO,OO and he hoped, the Government woul soon let them know what it had cos Keferring to the Land Bill of last sesslo: he said it had created a deal of exeiti incut and unrest amongst people in tl country, and the modification it was pvi posed to introduce would not lessen thr excitement, as the people of the eountr knew the socialistic view 'and single-ta views held by members of the Govcn ment, and the Bill was a most insidiov attack on freeholders. The Oppositio proposed to give the people the frcohol in order to softie difficulties that ha arisen. He was imab)e to understan where the Ministry was going to ge endowments from. He advocated a improved Local Authorities Bill, as th Government was not doing what it ough to do In assisting local bodies. He coi sidered roads should be made before lan was opened for settlement, or as soo: afterwards as possible. Referring t the Native Lands Commission, he sail the people of the colony were looking fo Something definite being done with tin large tracts of land which wore of no use and not utilised by the native. He con tended that the telephone was of vas importance, but the charges were to< high, and should be reduced. THR PBEMIKR explained I he consti iulional precedent followed in the mattei of moving the Addrcsa-in-Ecply. On tin Chinese question, his own firm convictior for many years was that the whole colony was against the importation nl Chinese. The Leader of (he Opposition had expressed himself as usual over the Governor's Speech. He suggested that as Mr Massey had never been able lo see anything in any Governor's Speech, he should move in tlie direction of recommending having no Governor's Speech. There was no sentiment in his proposal to change the name colony for Dominion. Referring lo the Premiers' Conference and the question of preferenee.hc did not think it possible for a. Government returned as ihe Home Government had been, pledged strongly to a particular policy, to turn round and reverse their pledges. He was one of those who believed the Old Country was not going on the right lines, but (hey could not exited them to change in a year. All they could do was lo educate them. Referring to the mail service, it would pay (he Old Country handsomely if it wanted to see the bonds of unity strengthened to join hands with the younger countries and give them a faster mail service, and subsidising it. The contract with the 'Frisco line was stopped when it was recognised (lint we were not getting what we had a right io. What the country should do was lo get Into closer wd speedier communication villi Engand. 'foucliing on naval matters, he mil strongly supported adherence to the mliev of the Australian squadron. Tf lie KVslom of submarines suggested were idonted. it Would cost New Zealand as nitiative cxnense £470.300 . upkeep £70.100, depreciation £31,000, and for owpleniente : £50,000, The latter were

e amounts per annum. Tljere ap- j p ared to be a wish at Home to make t ngapore the headquarters of the South- ! o n squadon, but thnt would not be suit- c lie to New Zealand. Mr Deakin, in i inging forward his submarine scheme j id not in any way expressed the in- ] mtion or idea of cutting the painter . om th' British Navy. Referring to , ic Exhibition, he stated it had been imputed the colony had gained £250,- '. )0 more revenue as the direct result of re Exhibition. In addition, it had been f inestimable value as an educational >atnre. Dealing with land matters, he wittcd Mr Massey with altering his iews from those expressed on June 28th, 005, when he held that leaseholders-in-icrpetuity should be granted the freciold at the original value. Replying to ifr Massey, he explained that all lands mrebased from the natives after the Bill lassed would be outside the endowments, mil dealt with under the ordinary lasses. Proceeding to the Native Land Commission, he said no legislative power ould endow the commission with authty to deal finally witli the matter. That vould only be done by the House, and ;hey must await the result of the Comnission's enquiries before they could car•y out what he believed would be of lastng benefit to tlie country. They had no nore right to tell the native landowner what particular tenuc he could dispose Ids land over, any more than they could tell European landowners. Dealing with telephones, he said he did not know any country in the world where such enormous work had been done for the people. What had always been given settlers in the country was a good article at the cheapest possible price, and he contended that the greater the facilities given the people in this direction, the better for the country. He resumed his seat amidst applause. MR. LEWIS did not think it necessary for the country to turn its back on the word "colony," which was one of the iinest words in the English language. The House adjourned for supper at 0.30.

After the supper adjournment M. Lewis resumed his debate.

MR MASSEY made an explanation with regard to his views on the freehold. He urged that the capital value of holdings should be apportioned between the interest on the one hand of the settler, and on the other that improvements belonged to the settler, and the good-will also, because "the Government lent moey on improvements and goodwill. That had been urged by himself and the Opposition, and was no deviation from the views always expressed.

MR HORNSBY said he had been termed a singlo-taxer and Socialist by Mr Massey. He was pleased to let the country know he was a Socialist. He spoke at great length on the wages paid to railway laborers and other employees. He maintained that they should be paid better, and less expensive and palatial railway stations built. He advocated setting up a Royal Commission to inquire into the working of the railways. HON. MR. McNAB said that he was unable to see why any of the charges brought against the Railway Department could not be dealt with by the Minister. During the time he had acted as Minister for Railways, he had never altered a decision or recommendation of the Appeal Board.

j Replying to Mr Alassey, he defended T his action as Minister for Agriculture, in '_ appointing additional dairying inspectors in order to stamp out tuberculosis. The ". extension of the work of the administration of tlje Agricultural Department was urged on the Government by the respons- '• ible officers of the Department. ? MR ELL also spoke, and the House 1 adjourned at 11.47 p.m. ■ / THURSDAY, JULY 4. The House met at 2.30. i- _ FIRST READINGS. The following Bills were read a first time:—Coal Alines Act Amendment Bill (Colvin), Municipal Corporation Act Amendment Bill and Nelson Institute Bill (Graham), Accountants Bill (Fra-

ser), Products Export Amendment B (Ward), Police Offences Act Amem ment Will (Ward), Rotorua Town IS J° (Ward). Vublic Trustee Amendme ]t Bill (Ward). H ADDRESS,IN-REPLY, ;v . Mr U'iJl'ord, resinning the debate i ic the Address-in-Reply, considered 1 lg House was indebted to Mr Hornsby f se bringing forward railway grievances In the manner he had done. He cou w not understand why a railway man af the second division" falling sick forfeit it his pay during tile period of iUne;n whilst in man in the first division a i- sent through sickness received hisusu in pay. This anomaly ought not to exh 10 He instanced the case of an officer »o the second division who was abse: i- from duty owing to sickness for) e > period of eight Months, and on his l 8 ' turn to duty, after working ai mom >® was entitled to receive £9 4s, but h< y> £0 4s tleductcd as contribution to tl ld superannuation fund. He contend j_ the amount should not be collected i jt once, but should be spread over a lo: ger period. He argued that a, ma after three years in the railway servic r .' should automatically lie made a p. l . e manent h;md, and participate in I! i H benefits of the supcrranuation fund. R le fcrring to naval matters, he was i a opinion 'that the fate of Now Zealai: ip if ever threatened, would be decided i io the English Channel, and all New Ze; ;o landers would be called upon to d ie would be to light a sort of guerilla wr 0 with warships' detailed from the enemy d lleet for the purpose o£ withdrawin (1 British ships from the chief base. JV '■ that reason Ue was opposed to amy ii d crease of the subsidy paid by New Ze; R land to the British Navy. He aJv: ° cated an amendment in the divorce, la: 1 in the direction of providing that hab tual drunkenness and insanity I grounds for divorce. Dealing with tail t matters, he suggested that one of th 0 first eil'orts of Ministers should bo i . the direction of revising the tariff, s e that foodstuffs could be purchased mor I, cheaply than at present. By so doiii; i- (he Government would do inflnitol; l, more good than by bringing in th 1 land Bill. :.. Mr MALCOLM (Clullia) referring l( i, Mr Jlornsby's attack on the adminis - tration of the railway service, states b he had shuffled out of his attack oi ■ the Ministers iliy placing the respo.isi t bility on subordinates. He arguei f than not only men whose duty it wa « to carry out the regulations should b " put on trial in the ease of accident, bu ' also the men who framed the regula. 1 tions. Dealing with land matters, M J Malcolm coiitcnded that the State Hindi a very bad bargain when it granted Ui Oft!) years lease. Some members of tin ' House expressed the opinion that tin , supporters of the freehold had not tin ' beat interests of the State at heart ' but he asserted that no member of the [ House took a greater interest in tht , welfare of the State than he and othei , supporters of the freehold. Referring to the Climese question, he quoted Ml • W. R Gladstone's remarks that it was not the vices of Chinese that the British people feared, but, their habits of thrift and industry, and the same might be said of New Zealanders. He recognised flint race feeling was so strong that he was reluctantly compelled to agree Willi those who considered )t necessary to limit the entry of th'se aliens to I he colony. .Mr Witty deprecated the methods of Mr Hornsby in" Imaging railway mattes before I he House, as it was unfair lo attack any civil servant in thai House where he had not the right cr opportunity to reply. Referring to the Bankside collision inquiry, he ranteneied that no official of the railwiy service should ait on similar commissions, as the men were afraid to speak out in the presence of higher oflicials. Mr Hogan said ho thought the debate was going to fizzle out until Mr Hornsby made his remarks on the railways, with which he agreed to a very great extent. Still, on the whole, he congratulated the Ministry on the plliciency of the railway service, which had improved considerably since tho time it was taken over from the Commissioners, but he maintained that the Minister for Railways should be able to devote the whole of his time to the service. Referring to the wages paid to the lower ranks, he considered the rates of pay should bo increased, and that youths of the age of 21 ought to be paid the minimum wage of Ss pelday. Higher officials were paid a fiir ! salary, and with the earnings of the Railway Department, he thought those ] at the Bottom should be paid fair ! wages, also that railway workers ought to come under "the Arbitration Act. j Mr Poole said the difficulties under ' which settlement in the North Island had taken place were such that he believed much good had been done by Ministers visiting the North and seeing f for themselves the resources of that 1E

portion of the country. Referring to the mail service, lie said he was in favour of the All Red route, but San Francisco was the shortest route, and tliey must, not forget that for several years they were served excellently nnd well by that route. The loss of that service had been keenly felt, and when the All Red route, was brought into force, which would enable mails to bej put aboard the train at Auckland for

Wellington, a great cheer would go up. Referring to railway matters, he was convinced there were cases of mismanagement with which the Minister was

unacquainted. There were high officials occupying positions in the Railway Department who were merely passengers occupying the box seat when they ougat to be between the shafts, fie strongly supported the Land Bill, which would tend to do away with land monopoly, and open up the country to settlement. .No man had the right to hold a grjat tract of country whilst there wore numbers of people starving. He strongly advocated reserving land for endowment purposes, and he strongly sup-

ported protection for the purpose of assisting local industries, but he was opposed to anything in the way of creating a monopoly. He was in sympathy with the member for Masterton, who was introducing a Bill having for its object the abolition of the duty on

flour, in matters of defence, he advocated as supplementary to the training ship Amokora the Government securing a sailing ship of 500 tons, which would enable the boys of the training ship .to gain practical experience in seamanship. Such a ship could be utilised for the purpose of carrying timber and State coal to Australia, and by soi- doing would earn money for the colony. Mr FLATMAN advocated railway guards being granted an additional shilling a day, and increased remuneration be given to stationmasters, who had a lot of work put on to them by die Postal Department. Referring to land matters, ho characterised Mr Massey's action in proposing to give Crown tenants the freehold as an election dodge, when the Leader of the Opposition had no policy; and it was a most iniquitous thing to do. The freehold had never been asked for by Crown tenants, but was first broached iby the Leader of the Opposition, The freehold was advocated by the Farmers' Union, but that union did not represent the farmers of New Zealand. He believed

that the cause of the trouble in Ireland was landlordism, and if the land in that country had been settled under New

Zealand's laws there would never have been trouble. He considered the time spent in the. debate on the A'ddrcss-in-Reply was time wasted. He would go further, and say that in a democratic country like New Zealand the Addreis-

in-Reply was altogether unnecessary. Passing on to railway matters, he considered too many casual hands ware employed. He instanced the case cf the Christchurch goods shed, where seven casuals were employed to one permanent. Ho maintained that the scale of pay of engine-drivers was not so high as many years ago, and the scale of this class and others should be increased. He did not agree with the proposal to change the name of the colony to "Dominion."' The latter was altogether unsuitable for a small country. He considered that, as a democratic country we should have the right of electing our own Governor. He strenuously advocated the completion of the Midland railway, which, when finished, would earn interest on the cost of construction. He was in accord with Air Poole for the revision of the tariff, and thought the duty should he taken tft" the necessaries of life. Ho complained of interference with the origin il Commissioner of the Exhibition by the Manager, who ought to be termed mismanager, and he should be surprised if the loss on that venture did not exceed £50,000 or £60,000. It had been stated that the attendance at the Exhibition numbered two million, but for his own part he thought the attendance was not half that number. Nevertheless, if t the exhibition had been properly managed he was confident there) would have been a surplus and not a loss.

. Mr W. JENNINGS eulogisd the work ■ carried out in connection with the North Island Main Trunk railway. Roading was a serious question in the North island. He knew of settlers who had been on their sections for twelve years and who even now had not tracks to their homes. Referring to balloting for frown lands, he knew of instances where the ballot-box had been stuffed with persons who had used the names of all their relations in the hopes of securing the ballot, and urged that the . Commissioner of Crown Lands and Land Boards be authorised to inquire into the bonaltdes of all applicants, He had made it his business to inquire of men from the Old Country working en the Main Trunk line, and found many of them pleased at having come to New Zealand. Home of them said they were convinced this was the best country on God's earth. They had been starving in England, but after being 18 moii'as here they had now banking accounts, clearly proving that work ytaa to be had by those desiring it, notwithstanding what had been said by various discontents through the newspapers. Mr OKEY, referring to the Land Bill, said if Mr McNab spoke his innermost thoughts it would be in expression of sorrow that be had ever brought forth the Bill. He thought the laborer could bo greatly benefited by taking the duty off the necessaries of life, and anything proposed in that direction would receive his support. Dealing with the, Chinese question, he considered it disgraceful to see the manner in which these aliens were supported in Wellington; much could be done by the workers following the action of (lie people of Taihapo and refusing to have anything to do with Chinese. If a measure were introduced to increase" the poll-tax to £2OO, it would receive his support. He did not agree with the proposal to alter the name of the colony to Dominion. He congratulated Mr Miller on the firm stand he had taken over the slaughtermen's strike, and maintained that employers had met the workers in a very fair spirit. Mr lioss said he si ill supported granting the freehold to Crown tenants at the original value. On the question of transferring officials of the railway from the second to the fust division, lie considered efforts should be made to facilitate this process. Mr Clreenslade moved the adjournment of the. debate. The following Bills .were brought \ down by Governor's Message and read i a first time: The Pure Food Bill and Rotorua Town Bill. ' The House rose at 11 p.m.