PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 77, 9 July 1910, Page 8

PARLIAMENT.

FRIDAY, JULY S. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. I % relegraph.-_i» ress Associate' ' Wellington, Last Xmht. .■}'«-• Council met at 2.30. •onSpam °- L - Uke resumod «>e debate in legaul to water power, and ur°vri o S ar at Lake Colerfdge a's UkdJ £ta of the greatest advantage. He referred I -to the depressed condition of the iron trade and other local industries, 1Z ZJ,t tV f ?£ appcal t0 tlle G °™™- nent to further encourage them. So long as the social condition of the workers continued to be improved, t was, he said, necessary to provide »r----fls which would enable industries to be earned on; otherwise, many le&il industries would be closed down | The .Hon. C. Mi.ls defended the 909 yeans lease system of Sir John McKenI zie, the State getting a reasonable pro- | fit out of the leases. The man who carved a .home out of the backblocks de-' served all he could The Hon. J. B.irr inferred to the need , for abolishing the bookmaker, but said that the evil was small compared with snrne gambling evils—the land gambling evil, for instance, which was particu- , larly rife in the North Island. He t the Government to take up tue ques- ] tion of technical trades or education, so i as to fit youths for the practical bust- 1 fless of life.

The debate was adjourned, and the Council adjourned till Wednesday.

HOUSE OF BEPRESENTATICES.

The House met at 2.30. Mr, Speaker announced the resignation of Mr. T. M. Wilford as Chairman of 'Committees. 1 On the motion of the Hon. O. Fowids to lay the report on immigration on the table, Mr. T. E. Taylor (Christchurc'h) raised the question of the proposed importation of boy labor ipto the Dominion. He was entirely .opposed to this. At present a number of boys were ex-1 ploited systematically as cheap labor.! No proper supervision could be exercised over boys who were brought into | the country in this way. Sir J. G. Ward said the Government was mot committed to any scheme of immigration for "boys. It had been re-i quested that the boys should be given the benefit of reduced passages to the Dominion. The Premier had a letter j from the Minister of Labor to a gentleman interested in the immigration, scheme, showing that there were posi-l tions available on farms for fifty boys' who were prepared to come to the Dominion. There were a great number of applications from farmers for such boys. One of the weaknesses of the scheme, however, was that if the boys proved unsuitable for fami work, they would be thrown on the hands of the Labor Department. The Government did not 1 intend to take any hasty steps in the matter, and would be guided by circum- 1 stances in endeavouring to solve die problem. Mr. Hanan (Invercargill) said that if lads were brought out here they would look to obtaining a piece of land for themselves, but there was an insufficiency of land to meet the present demand. The importation of boys would only aggravate the difficulties and ren-l der the position of Xew Zealand boys worse than at present. » ' Mr. J. Luke (Wellington Suburbs) said that Mr. Hanan knew nothing about the subject. The Dominions' industries were tapering off, and the importation increasing in greater proportion than the exportation. Labor had ouilt a wall round itself in the Do

minion. He was not antagonistic to attracting immigration, but he was not anxious to introduce boys into the Dominion,, but to improve the laws, so that those in this country would have no inducement to leave it. ' Mr. J. G. Anderson (Mataura) favored the immigration of boys for tarm labor, under proper conditions. ' Mr. D. McLaren (Wellington East) said the employers' idea was to have as many boys employed as possible* evc:i | if the bovs' fathers were walking the; streets. He held that it was entirely wrong for the Government to lend its [assistance to employers by finding the I boy labor which was calculated to Iwer wages and conditions. f ! The Hon. T. MacKenzie asked how I could fifty lads disorganise the labor ; I market. Increase of population in the |towns-iEas_2.s per cent, as against 10 in 1

the country. There was an Imperial aspect to the question. If Britain was to hold its own, it ought'to distribute its surplus population within the Empire. 'He believed in placing boys on experimental agricultural farms, and hoped 1 that greater facilities in this direction I would be given in future. There vaa plenty of room for lads, not only in I agricultural but in other industries. Mr. Massey (Franklin) said it was known that the dairy industry was being hampered for want of suitable labor, which meant lads from sixteen to twenty years of age. These lads could in five years become employers themj selves. Every inducement ought to be I given to encourage men to engage in i the primary industries. Messrs. Arnold (Dunedin Central), Scott (Tuapeka). and Laurenson (Lyttolton) continued the discussion. Sir J. G. Ward explained that he would make a statement regarding "E. A. Smith" on Tuesday. The House adjourned at 5.30. In the House in the evening, the, Crown Suits Act Amendment and the | Defence Act Amendment bills werei brought down by Governor's message. Mr. Massey hoped that when the Crown Suits' Amendment Bill was be-1 fore the House that provision would bej made to allmv private persons to sue' the Crown for damages, and thus re-

move (-lie. grievance caused by the 1 Act Sir Joseph Ward said it was necessary that the Crown should be protected from the greed of individuals. The Bill would allow of cases being brought into Court under proper safeguards" to the Crown, .. - ■■v 4 The Bill was read a first time. Sir Joseph Ward moved the second reading of the Foreign Insurance Companies' Deposits Bill, intended to remove the anomaly in the existing law. The Bill was read a second time. Sir Joseph Ward moved the second 1 reading of the Contagious Diseases Act • Repeal Bill, which, he said, was intended to remove an Act which was a dead letter and derogatory to the female sex. The Bill was read a second time. Mr. Millar moved the second reading of the Harbors Amendment Bill, the principal feature of which was the broadening of the franchise. There had been no uniformity in the constitution and mode of election of harbor boards, and the Bill was intended to bring the boards into uniformity and grant the ordinary municipal franchise. The Bill also provided for the election of boards on the same day as borough councils. ! Under the Bill no person could exercise more than one vote in the election of harbor boards, Mr. Massey (Franklin) gave his general support to the Bill, which was a great improvement on the existing 3tate of things. Mr. Taylor (Christchurch), advocated a broader franchise, abolishing the privileges given to shipowners and payers of dues in cities. Messrs. Poole, Hanan, Allen, Luke, Russell, Forbes, IPhillips, Seddon, Oliver, McLaren, Taylor (Thames), and Craisric expressed their approval of the Bill. The criticism was chiefly directed against the principle of Government nominations and insufficient country -representation on

boards. Sir J. G. Ward said the Bill ought to be considered by a committee of the whole House, and not by a special committee, as had been suggested by some members, Uea;ardm<r the franchise, the Bill contained provisions for broadening this. Harbor boards had to guard against excessive borrowing for works not required to the full extent for forty or fifty years, thus increasing the rates. Boards ought to exercise more caution in this respect than they have been doing for the last few years. Consiclerablediversion of trade from the main ports had occurred through the development of the railway. This matter-had not received sufficient attention on the part of boards. , The debate was continued by Messrs. Ell, Clark and Ml. Mr. Miller, replying, dealt with the vari|ous objections, more or less of a" local nature, to the Bill, and moved' the second reading, which was earned' on the voices. The House rose at 11.50.