PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 October 1917, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

_ LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wellington Last Night. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. Considerable discussion took place on the Social Hygiene Bill. Colonel-Surgeon Collins strongly urged the necessity for making such diseases notifiable. Enquiries made among 301 doctors over two years showed there had been 15,524 eases. The Bill was put through all stages. The Land Laws Amendment Bill and State Supply Electrical Energy Bill were also put through all stages, and tho Council adjourned till 8 p.m. TEACHERS' EXEMPTIONS REJECTED _ Great interest was taken by the public in tho Legislative Council's consideration of the Expeditionary Forces Amendment Bill. The chief subject of j debate was clause 3, exempting teach, era, and, therefore, the Marist Brothers. Considerable hostility was shown to the proposal, which was thrown out by 11 votes to 4. Ayes: Hon. Sir F. Bell, Paul MeGinnity, Sir W. Hall-Jones. Against:'jHons. Aitkcn, Barr, Buchanan, Carson, Morgan, Collins, Carricross, Moore, McGregor, Simpson, McGibbon.. Sir F. Bell th*jn moved to report progress, asking leave to sit again. This was agreed to, and the Council adjourned. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES By Telegraph.—'Press Association. Wellington, Oct. 20. Alter th e Telegraph Office closed at 2 a.m. the Minister denied that there were any cases requiring whitewashing. No injustice had been done to anyone, but he was advised by the Crown law officers that the clause was necessary in war time. Mr. Wilford said if the facts of Fitzgerald's case were as put to him the .Minister must put his resignation in the hands of the Premier and some prominent officers must also put in their resignations. It was the most extraordinary case that had ever come under his notice. 1 Sir John Findlay suggested holding over the retrospective action of the clause till January next, giving injured persons till then to bring actions. The Minister accepted this proposal, but the suggestion, finding little favor was withdrawn and the clause added to the Bill by 33 votes to 28. Mr. Anderson's amendment depriving deserters of landed property was on a division rejected by 45 to 16. The Minister stated that the Cabinet had considered the proposal and decided that it was going too far. Th e committee agreed to the newclause exempting the last son in a family of which three or more sons were already at the front. * l ': A new clause, moved by Mr. Smith (Wainuirino), exempting the last man on the farm, was lost by 41 votes to 0. The Bill, was then" reported with amendments. Tho amendments were agrees to, the Bill read a third time, and the House rose at 4,15 a.m. The House met at 2.30 p.m. COMPULSORY PRODUCTION. Replying to Mr. Lee, Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald said a conference was to be called in Christelmrch at an early date, to consider the question of 1917-18-1!) wheat. He had drafted a circular for submission to Cabinet, and when he went to Christelmrch to the conference, he hoped to have with him a full statement of the Government's policy on the matter. Compulsion in growing wheat had not been satisfactory a,nywhcre. Mr. Anstey asked the' Minister if the 'Government was prepared to compel people having small areas of land to grow vegetables ba onions were now at a prohibitive price. Mr. Macdonald said the Government had never considered the question of compulsion in any form, but had always considered that if a sufficient price wai. offered, that would be a sufficient inducement to grow foodstuffs. The Government had suggested to people having small areas of land available, the advisibility or growing vegetables. EXEMPTION OF TEACHERS. Replying to Mr. Rhodes, the Minister of Defence said tho amendment passed last night to the Expeditionary Forced Amendment Bill, exempting teachers, would have, a far-reaching effect. It would certainly exempt all teachers not called up, as well as all those who had become twenty years of age, and who had not come into the reserve at, all. He was not sure whether it would exempt those in camp and those in gaol as conscientious objectors. On that point ho would have to get a legal opinion, but, no doubt, the amendment was tery far-reaching. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. Replying to Mr. Nosworthy, Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald said he had agreed to pay farmers 5s lOd f.o.b. for next season's wheat. He would carry out his ,part of the bargain. There must be no side-tracking and no evasions, but It farmers desired to be paid on trucks that could be done, with a proportionate seduction in the price. Replying to Mr. Wilkinson, Sir Jas. Alien said there was no prospect of relieving the men in Egypt on furlough. That question had been already deoided. Replying to Dr. Newman, Sir James Allen said he could not say What would be the portion of clergymen of the Teatiraonv of Jusus now in prison as conscientious objectors if the Expeditionary Forces Amendment Bill became law, as passed by the House. That would probably be for the Military Service Boards, or someone else, to decide. Replying to Mr. Payne, Sir Joseph Ward said it was not practicable to charge uniform rates of a penny on our slot telephone lines, as the cost of the line had to be considered, and often good paying lines had to assist the poor paying lines. MEAT TRUST. Replying to Mr. Payne, the Premier said he would siibmit to Cabinet the ouestion of introducing legislation to deal with the Meat Trust this session, but his present impression was that the Government had all the legislative powers required. Sir Joseph Ward said that during the debate mi the Meat Trust report, it was stated by one member that certain meals companies trading in New Zealand wero not paying taxation proportionate to the capital invested. He submitted the matter to the Commissioner of Tai'es, and he reported that some of these companies had been only recently formed, and it was premature to say they were not paying proper taxation. They were being taxed on the ba=|» uniformly applied *n all such comoanies. ihat was, on the

income earning in the Dominion. The question of capital invested or. the dividends earned did not coma iatsa the, question at all, The only thing effeqt«d by the capital invested was H»e liceue fee, and the' Commissioner had ample power to deal with any attempt on the part of companies to. evade that taxation. ...... The remainder of the afternoon «*s taken up discussing, the report of ■ the Petitions Committee. The House rose at 3.30 p.m. WASHING UP BILLS The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The Premier said it was impossible f<# him to review the whole 128 clauses to the Reserves and Other Lands Dlsnottl and Public Bodies Empowering (Waahing Up) Bill. Ho would, therefore, adopt the usual course by formally moving tie second reading, and in committee he would afford all the information nestssary. He then moved the Becond reading Mr. Anderson protested against ihe manner in which the clauses were Inserted in this Bill, all sorts of subjects be. ing dealt with concerning which the member for the district had never bier informed. Mr. Ell then congratulated the Premier on his interest in the matter of scenic reserves, but contended that a great deal still remained to be done. Mr. Hornsby cnter» • life emphatio protest against the mam -.- in which provisions, which ought to nave occupied the serious attention of the House in the form of local and private Bills, were being smuggled through in this Bill. He drew pointed attention to clause 20. authorising the laying-off of a street in the city of Auckland of less width than forty feet, and declared this wfts the surest way to create slums, of which there were too many in the Dominion already. He also instanced other clause* to which ho took exception. The 'Premier said he was quite prepared to drop the Bill if members did not like it. Mr. Edward Newman (chairmal of Lands Committee) said the committee had carefully considered«4he clauses, and he justified several of those criticised by Mr. Hornsby. If there was anything improper in the Bill, the blame must rest with members. He urged the 'Premier to proceed with his forest reserves. as there was no more profitable field of employment for returned sojdiers. Mr. Witty objected to washing up Bills, because things were rushed through at the end of the session that never would have been passed had they »• e'eived careful consideration. Mr. Buddo complained that land recently purchased at Balmoral was too poor for forestry purposes, and advised an exchange with other lands in Canterbury more suitable for the purpose. Dr. Thacker pointed out that clause 70 was the first instance of confiscation of Herman property. On this land in Christelmrch city was erected a German church, and in that church were three bells which he understood were taken bv the Germans from the French in 1870. He suggested that these ball* should be sent back to France, and pre. sented to the French people as a mark of our esteem and regard. Mr. Massey, in reply, declared there was nothing questionable in the Bill. The Bill was read a third time on the voices, and ordered to bo committed. The Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment Bill (Native Washing-Up Bill) was, on the mo< tion of Hon. W. H. Herries, ordered to be committed. A new clause was added authorising the Hawera Borough Council to transfer certain land to the Tarannki Education Bonrd as a site for a technical high school. The Bil' was reported with amendments, read a third time and passed. The Native Washiijg-Up Bill wag also passed. On the motion of the Hon. W. G. Russell, the amendment made in the Social Hygiene Bill by the Legislative Council was agreed to. The House rose at 11.50 till 2.30 ton morrow.