PARLIAMENT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 35, 4 August 1911, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Legislative Council met this afternoon. Tiie debate on the Address-in-Reply was continued, the speakers being the Hons-. Messrs. Loughnan and Wigram. Both dealt mainly with the relations between the Mother Country and the Dominion. The Hon. Loughnan deprecated the idea of the neutrality of the Dominions in the event of war with Great Britain, and doulbted whether the other nations would respect such neutrality. He scouted the suggestion that New Zealand could pass an Act of secession, and said the Speaker would prevent such a document .ever desecrating the table of the Council. , He contended that the Imperial Conference had done some sub- ! stantial 'work.

The Hon. Mr. Wigram emphasised the generous treatment Great Britain had meted out to the colonies. No other country would have treated her colonies in the way Britain treated hers in the matter of granting freedom when they had attained years of discretion. We owed a great debt of gratitude to the Motherland, and lie urged the importance of doing all that is possible for the Empire and to take our share of tlie resultant trade. He held .that sooner or later something in the nature of an Operative Council would be set- up to deal with Imperial affairs. The debate was adjourned, and the Council rose.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30 p.m. LAND SETTLEMENT. The Hon. D. Buddo moved to lay on the table a report on the Land for Settlement Act. Mr. Russell said in connection with this matter 'that there was an apparent dropping by the Government of the Lands for Settlement Act. If the Government did not take up this matter at once, they would find members on the other side of the House using it against them. When the Government wanted to purchase land, a trumpeter was sent out, and up went the .price of that land. Mr. Forbes endorsed the remarks of the previous speaker. The settlement of the people on the land had been a feature of the Liberal Government, and he hoped the policy would be earnestly puraied.

■Mr. Malcolm said the failure of the Government to acquire large estates for closer settlement was a matter which was seriously commented upon in the south.

Mr. Laurenson stated tint no province was suffering from land aggregation as much as Oanberburr. The Government was faced with a very nasty problem in this connection. It should provide a solution as soon as po&siMe. Mr. Hardy urged the necessity for closer settlement.

Mr. Wilford sadd there was a dearth or delay in the settlement of land. In bhe country there were gTeat properties which could have been taken for closer settlement which had not been taken. He condemned party politics as being responsible for the delay in the settlemeat of land. There was far too much time spent on debating freehold- and leasehold matters. Such time could more profitably be spent in devising a way I of opening up the country. Mr. EU, after dealing with the necessity for closer settlement, stated that the most barefaced bribe ever offered to electors was that offered by Mr. Massey, who went to Cheviot" and said, "Give ine your votes, and I will give you freehold' at original cost." Mr. Stalhrorthy and Mr. Jennings pointed out the urgent need for getting people <m the land. Mr. Ma-ssey said that it had been stated in the south that the Opposition ! would sell endowments made prior to 1007, but that was not so. Many people were under the impression that the OpI position was opposed to the leasehold, I but that was not so. He thought that wlhera a man took up Crown land he should be able in the future to make that land hi* own. Agricultural educa- i tion was absolutely necessary to make a man thoroughly competent in the mirsuance of his profession, and lie strongJ. advocated the establishment of agricultural colleges in each island. Messrs. Jennings, Stallworthy, Witty, and Field emphasised the necessity for agricultural efficiency and access to the land.

Mr. Fisher, who also spoke on the question, moved "that this House is of opinion that no legislation is satisfactory that does not provide for a cessation of the sale of Crown lands."

The motion was Tuled out of order, as not having a bearing on the matter under discussion.

The Hon. D. Buddo said that most members on his side and some on the other side of the House recognised that land settlement was being carried on satisfactorily. The present administration were spending a million pounds a year in land settlement. Two million acres had been settled during the last financiaJ year. They were not so interested in the men who had the l.i.p. tenure. Such men had land! and what the present administration was mostly concerned in was the man who hod no land, and they were endeavoring to put that class of man on the land.

The motion was adopted, and the House adjourned at 5.30 p.m.

EVENING SITTING. R The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The debate on the Address-in-Reply was resumed by Mr. Stallworthy, who declared that the statements made by the leader or the Opposition during the recess had been completely disproved.. He would like some information concerning the system in vogue in the matter of promotion in the police force There was a great deal of dissatisfaction in the force in this connection. He enlarged on the vast possibilities of North Auckland from an agricultural point of yjew, and the urgent need for railways in that district. He attributed the present prosperity of the country to the excellent policy of the Government of tin? day.

Mr. Eraser dwelt upon the magical results possible by the introduction of irrigation works in Central Otago, and hoped the work when commenced would not be done in a perfimetory manner he said, "Oufhelp the people of Central Otago." He compli-

mented the Government on getting such an excellent commandant and stall' for the carrying out of the defence scheme initiated last session. He was also pleased to see the response by the people of the country to the scheme. Dr. To Itangihiroa pointed out the desirability for tihe appointment of another I judge of the Native Land Court. The work of the work, he maintained, had been hampered to a great ostent by the I shortage of surveyors. He would like to see monies accruing from the salei of Maori lands invested for the use of the native and his children. He pleaded for instructors to educate the Maoris in matters appertaining to :", r riculture, and so aid 'tlhem to further their own interests and not become clogs on the' wheels of the State. He wanted to bring the Maoris under the Advances to Settlers Act, and asked the Government to place a sum of money annually at the disposal of the Maoris to enable them to profitably pursue their avocations, ana bring them up to the standard of the pakeha. Mr. Buchanan, referring to the census estimates merttiorved in the Governor's speech, stated it had been repeatedly pointed out, and the Government had never contradicted the statement, that population was rapidly leaving the country. Had it not been for assisted immigration there would' have 'been a deficiency of fouT or five thousand in the population of the Dominion last year. Mr. 1511 moved the adjournment* of the debate, and the House rose at 10.25 p.m.