Parliament

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 42, 10 July 1914, Page 5

Parliament

[ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, JULY 9. •' .!!/ Telegraph—Press Association. '-; m, ,-, Wellington, Last Night. the House met at 2.30 p.m. After formal business had been di«« posed (if, Mr. T. T'arata resumed the debate on the Addrr.is-in-Reply. He refuted the chums that the legislation of the Government had been 'beneficial to the native race. He contrasted the areas' held by the natives and by the large pakc'ha holders, contending that the agitation for settlement of Maori lands was only a ruse to draw off attention from the holding's of Europeans who owned not blocks, but small dominions. The legislation of the Government was a lure to the Maoris to sell their land and div;-..; themselves of their property. He a ease in which a young Maori had sold some thousands of acre 9, for whieu he received £27,000. Now ill he iii.r! so show for it was some racehorses and a few motor-cars. The native raee was handicapped in the House by the fnct that the Minister did not understand the native mind, and had no experience of native thought, while Dr. Pomare had broken his pledges and given a dishonored vote against the Liberals. Hon. Dr. Pomare quoted fronj the maiden speech of Mr. Parata, in TrWch no. stated that the native policy of the Liberals wiw an 'absolute public scandal." In the same speech he had advocated Europeanising native land. Since then he had evident changed his views. Perhaps !'n political morality had been tampered with since then. Mr. Pacta's great grievance was the Ngaitahu claims in I lie South Island. What had the Libera! Government, which 'the then bon. gentleman's father had supportsd for 22 years, done to settle the Ngaitalm claims? He defended the Government legislation affecting the West Coast reserves, which he claimed did justice to the natives as against the legislation o/f the Liberals, which took iway 130,000 acres from them for all time. He described a deputation which lie had introduced to Sir Joseph Ward and Sir .Tames Carroll, when they were ahown a map on the wall, and the Na» tive Minister showed them a spot which, le said represented 18,000 acres. -These 18,000 acres. Sir James Carroll said, he would u«" as a handkerchief to wipe tway the tears of the Taranaki natives. To show the hypocrisy of politics, at that very time, they are told, this Go-' vernment bad a Bill prepared to give that bind away to someone else. He ivas not elected to support Sir James Carroll, hut to right the wrongs of his people. If the Maori was weeping it ivas net for grief, but for joy .at the Eact they had a Government in power ihat would Rive them justice. Air. Ilindmarsh claimed that the first luty of Parliament was to settle New toabind, bit. the fact was,that Ml peo«;*> lie who owned £18,000,000 worth of unimproved land had too much influence in the. House, and though many Gtryern:ncnt supporters knew what ought to be lone they were powerless to do it. The rital question of the moment was land settlement, and the way to it was to .rnrst up the big estates by means of the graduated tax. Air. Campbell said the country was to »e congratulated upon a good year. It . had been reiterated that the Government would he turned out of office, but no valid reason was given. The freehold had proved beneficial, and settlement had been progressing, 140,000 acres having been purchased last year. • The Liberal Government had not purchased the nrtivi- laid along the Main Trunk line, thus fostering native landlords. He congratulated the Government upon the proposal to borrow a large sum for forwarding reading in the backblocks. The financial position had improved since the present Government came into pilice.

EVENING SESSION. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. Mr McCombs referred to tlie Federation of Labor, comparing it with the Smployers' Federation. He held that .lie Federation of Labor was a defensive irganisation, while the Employers' Fed■ration was an offensive one. The ivowed policy of the Employers' Federa;ion was to attack the workers. Strikes, vara and lock-outs were to 'oree which left it doubtful -whctV* * c side of right eould succeed. Jt wis >lain to him that an attempt was beng made to make political capital out >f the strike. It was the shipping com>anies who had torn up the agreement, lecause the agreement, which aliected ■ight groups of workers, had been broken by one. or by one-eighth of the vork'ers. It was tho Employers' Federation who had urged the shipping comianies to break the agreement, and the Premier had aided and abetted the at,empt to deny to the workers the right fi-aivted them'by the Parliament of New Zealand. ' Mr. Wilson said the proposal for a progressive loading policy was to his mind the most important announcement u the Governor's Speech. Mr. Hind- . mush had attacked the man on the land, mt had offered no solution of the setdement question. In increasing the and tax tliey should take the class of • hind into consideration. It was the rich land near the railway stations which should be taxed. They wanted . to put the small man upon dairying land. Under Mr. Massey's administration setdement was going on apace, but there vas more than settlement required. >ople wanted proper access to their and. It was unfair to have men without roads when they were paying interest on reading from the time they took up their land. Development of the ■oimtrv was demanded, and they should •owe down with a bold policy to borrow snough money to carry them oyer five ir six veara. Mr. F. A. Smith (Waitaki) said tnc Red Feds, were out to break every agrcenent entered into. The Prime Mmis;er lhad done all he could to settle the strike, while the utterances of the leader >f the Opposition had led the strikers to 'xpect support from his party. The "arnu'vs were prepared to see that their iroduee was not held up on the wharves. fTe contended that the Government larl.y. was not against Labor. He supplied the native policy of the Masaey Government. Mr. Lee, in the course of his reply, <aid the criticism of the Government had aeen of the feeblest kind. He then pro- •• •eeded to deal with Sir Joseph Ward's speech regarding his proposed Imperial ' Council at the last Imperial Conference, reading copiously from the oflicial report and ridiculing the vagueness of the sroposate submitted. A motion that a respectful address bo presented to the Governor was moved at 11.52 p.m. After Sir Joseph Ward had made apersona! explanation, in which he declared that Mr. Lee had misquoted the oflicial report of the Imperial Conference, so conveying a wrong impression of his (Sir Joseph's) speech delivered by him at that conference, the motion was carried. The House rose at midnight. . ,