PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 74, 6 July 1910, Page 8

PARLIAMENT.

I.ECLS;.ATIVI- eeiwTiL.

By Talegraph.—Press Assooiati#*. Wellington, Last Night. The Council met at i.30, and immediately adjourned for presentation of the Speaker to -lie Governor. ADDRESS-IX-REPLY.

I'pon resuming, the Hon. R. A. Longhnau continued tbe debate on the ild-dress-in-Reply. He said he hoped great things from the water-power scheme of the Government, and looked to rhe time when all industrial concerns would be run electrically by water-generated power. On the land questiou he did not think the question of tenure mattered twopence. The present Act supplied all that was required. The question of tenure had been settled on a reasonable basis. What should be done was to take every possible step to increase the productivity of the soil and extend markets. He believed that by this means £5,000.000 could be added to the exports of the Domiuion.

The Hon. J. B. (.'alien dealt with the! question of tourist traffic, and consid-| ered any money spent in that direction j was money well spent. He hoped the j Government would adopt all reasonable means to attract visitors. Under the present land system, land settlement was going on satisfactorily. He thougfit it would be wise for the Government to rest on its present legislation. He approved the proposal respecting water power, and hoped it would be put into operation promptly. The debate was adjourned. The Council rose.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30. COLONIAL AWARD. On the motion by the Hon. J. A. Millar that a return showing the ■numbers of members of industrial unions be laid on the table, Mr. T. E. Taylor, of Christeliurch, raised the question/ of the Shearers' Union's demand that a uniform award for shearers should be given for the whole Dominion. The enief grounds upon which this was asked was that shearers' work was carried out under similar conditions throughout the country, Various members took part in the discussion, the consensus of opinion being that £1 a hundred was a fair rate, and that a colonial award was desirable. Hon. J. A. Millar said the point raised was a very important one. The Shearers' Union wanted to register as' one union, for New Zealand. This power was not conferred by the Act. The workers themselves were opposed to colonial awards, as these .might be based on the lowest district award. An amendment to the Arbitration Act would be brought down this session, and he would welcome any feasible scheme for securing colonial awards if both sides to the dispute were agreed they could get a uniform award. There faere differences of opinion as to the use of trade unions' funds for political purposes. He could not approve of compulsion being used to compel members of trade unions to support principles they did not approve of. The return was laid on the table. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

On the motion that the report of the Bank of New Zealand be laid on the table, Mr. Taylor, of Christchurch, asked whether the "time had not come to convert the State's interest in the bank into share interest, and make it a National B»ak of New Zealand. Messrs. Ell, Hogg and Russell favored, the idea. Sir Joseph Ward said that under the Act governing the bank, the country! actually controlled the bank. If the proposals to convert the country's stock were carried out, the banls could still retain their deposits and the greater part of their business, the theory put forward that the bank could be changed into a State institution was quite erroneous, although the Dominion could establish its own State bank. j The debate was interrupted by tire 5.30 adjournment. THE ADDEESS IN REPLY.

In the House in the evening, the debate on the Address-in-Reply was _ reslimed by Ho****, wlio spoke clnefl \ on the land question, and criticised the manner in which native land in the King Country had been leased', alleging that these had been acquired largely by family groups, and the eyes picked out of the fand, one family having no less than -21 ?44 acres. The-best of the King Country was taken up at fid and 9d per acre for twenty-one years, with right of renewal. Mr. Forbes urged that immediate attention should be given to the acquisition of large estates. So far as cpmpulsorv acquisition was concerned, the Land 'for Settlement Act was inoperative. Another matter requiring immediate attention was tlie settlement of pastoral runs. He condemned the association of Auckland members for securing public works grants foV Auckland province as an attempt to introduce parochialism in the House. Mr. Clark advocated the reconstruction of the Arbitration Court. Experts in the various trades concerned ought to be employed in making awards. It had been reported in the Press that it was proposed to grant licenses to bookmakers. He was opposed to this, and would prefer to see bookmakers wiped out altonether, while the totalisator ought to be taxed a further 2% .per cent. Mr. Myers said lie listened with pride to Mr. Ngata's speech, which conclusively proved that since the passing of the Native Land Act last .session much had been done in the way of opening up native lands. He advocated taxation of njitive lands and the giving of equal rights and responsibilities to natives. The debate was adjourned, and the House rose at 10:55 p.m.