PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1918, Page 4

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. By Telegraph—l'ress Association. Wellington, Last Might. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m., the lion. J. G. W. Aitken presiding. On tell motion of Sir Francis Bell it was agreed that the chairman of committees (Hon. W. C. F. Carncross) during the remainder of the session be the acting-Speaker. The Hon. I). Samuel was elected chairman of committees. Sir Francis Bell stated that the Speaker, the Hon, C. J. Johnston, had wished to resign in view of his illness, but had been persuaded to retain office at the wi,s'h of the Council until next sessionThe Council passed motions of appreciation of the services and condolence with the relatives of the late Sir Chas. Bovven, Sir Henry Miller, Hons. A. T. Maginnity, W. Morgan, Dr. Bedford, and Mr. Charles Pnrata. The . Council adjourned at i p.m. till, 2.30 on Friday.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tlie House met at 2.30. Dr. Tbacker gave notice of his intention to ask tlus Premier if- the Cabinet had yet decided who was to be actingPremier during t'lie leader's absence from the Dominion, and, if it is to> be the Minister of Defence, whether that Minister will resign his portfolio of Defence, as he is already over-weighted by it. DURATION OF SESSION. The Premier, in intimating that the Government would not answer questions without notice, unless of a very urgent nature, said there was no earthly reason why tlic session Should not be brought to a close by Friday night. DELAYED CABLES. Replying to Mr. MeCallum, Sir Joseph Ward said the delay' occurring in the transmission .of soldiers' cables was due entirely to the congestion of work on the cable lines owing to war conditions. It \Vas not in any way the fault of the companies. The business offering could not be cfu'.'iecl without great delav. and lie feared that free cables to soldiers would have to be discontinued, but ost this due publicity would be given., MAJOR-GENERAL ROBIN. Mr. J. V. Brown (Nfipier) gave notice of 'his intention to ask the Government whether, in view of the condemnation of Major-General Robin expressed by the Minister of Defence in connection with the escape of German prisoners from Motuihi, the Government proposed to take any steps to remove him from his position.

COMPULSORY CONTRIBUTIONS TO LOAN. Sir Joseph Ward stated that the last war loan had been oversubscribed without the necessity to put into force the compulsory clauses of the Act against those who failed to do their duty to the Dominion and the Empire by helping the loan, but since the present loan had been announced he had received communications from all parts ot the Dominion, from people who had subscribed to earlier loans, telling 'him tliev were Jiovr withholding further subscriptions until those who had not subscribed had been made to do so. He knew there were some who had not done their duty to their country, and he therefore desired to say the Government had determined that the compulsory clauses should be enforced. Moreover, those to whom tliey applied would be treated drastically, inasmuch as they would not only be penalised as provided by legislation to be brought down, but they would receive only 3 per cent. • for their investments, instead of 4% as promised by the prospectus. The Expiring Loans Continuance Bill was introduced by Governor's message and read a first time. One week's leave of absence was granted to the Hon. D. Buddo on account of illness. NEW BILTjS. Leave was granted to introduce the Temporary Employees Bill (Dr. Newman), and the Naturalised Subjects Franchise Bill (Mr. Brown). Both Bills were read a first time. Mr. Massey asked members to meet in joint caucus for t'he purpose of discussing the business Ministers intended to submit to the House during the session The proposal was agreed to without .discussion, and the House rose at 3.10 till 6.30 p m. MR. LUKE'S SPEECH.

The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. In moving the Address-in-Reply Mr. Luke paid a tribute to the fallen soldiers. He would like to send out a message which would reach those still fighting for us, and which would show the appreciation with which the House and people of New Zealand regarded the services of those still fighting the cause of the Dominion and Empire. He stressed the importance of the mission on which the Premier and Sir Joseph Ward wero proceeding to Great Britain, where, he doubted not, they would well and worthily represent the Dominion. He held strongly that New Zealand should not stint its efforts to assist the Empire in the crisis. The pledge of the last man and the last shilling had been given, and it was t!heir duty to honor that pledge. He had been fold that our Interest in the war was not sufficient to warrant us spending more men or financial substance in seeking a victory, but he cotended that victory was more Important to New Zealand than it was to Great Britain, because, being more Isolated, we would he more liable to conquest by a foreign Power. New Zealand had already sent away 100,000 men. Though there had been carping at the work of the Minister and his department, he considered it a fine tribute to our organisation the fact that we transported so large a number of men without a single accident- This alone entitled them to our confidence. Speaking of finance, Mr. Luke considered it a wonderful proof of the country's prosperity that such large sums could be raised and such heavy taxation endured practically without complaint;- but caution was needed, especially in expenditure, and all leakages should be stopped. The secret of our prosperity undoubtedly was our increased exports, which was the basic'source from which money came to onal>!n ns to carry on the war. He favored sending more men to '-nnt if necessar For this purpose he was. prepared to adopt stringent method!'.

Every fit man should go, and the Bending of Second Division men should be speeded up, and, if necessary, the age limit should be raised to fifty. Ha thought we should eliminate gambling. He urged cheap land for closer settlement of waste lands, encouragement of fruit growing, and if the farmers would not grow wheat at a reasonable price the Government should itself grow it for the Dominion's requirements. Mr. Sidey, seconding the motion, said he favored giving the leaders a perfectly free hand at the Imperial Conference, but he asked them not to lose sight of the position of the islands in the Pacific, especially the New Hebrides. He complained that the National Government was using the war as a pretext for doing nothing. Education was being starved, and valuable years of children's lives were being wasted because no money was being found to promote continuation classes. His grievance against the Government was more for what they had not done than for what they had done. Referring to the appointment of a generalissimo 011 the West Front, he said we must be in a position to meet force by force, because force was the only language Germany could understand.. . \ Mr. Veitch said that causes of internal discord existed, but the Government was not taking steps o remove these cajiaea. One section of 11., was grow j ing extremely prosperous while' another was finding it more and more difficult to live. For this he largely blamed the Premier, whose political .opinion® were quite out of date, and his strong personality A would not allow him to meet obvious re-A quirements. He instanced the neglect orT the Government to adopt the recommgn- < dations of the Cost of Living Committee. He complained that land settlement was at a standstill, largely because land cou!£ not be bought by the at U reasonable price. Compulsion should be brought to bear on large landowners. He favored better treatment for mothers of soldiers, and dependents of the Second Division. He favored the retention of Samoa, and the only way to do that was to go on and fight for final victory. Mr. Poole expressed keen disappoint-' ment at the inaction of the Government on the subject of the cost of living. He strongly urged the new Minister of Lands to make good his, own words that "th# day of the rancher is over."

AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT. Mr. Brown said a change was required in the personnel of the National Government. The Minister of Defence had outlived his usefulness, and there were Germans in high places who, like people in more lowly circumstances, ought to be on an island. We have Germans everywhere, and in many cases they are receiving exceptional treatment. So great was liis dissatisfaction with the Government that he proposed to move an amendment to the motion before the House: That this house, being strongly jnipr.esstid with the necessity for efficiency in the interests of winning the war, is of opinion that, in view of the Motuihi scandal and the mismanagement associated'with the return of the wounded soldiers, „he administration of the Defence Department is unsatisfactory, and calls for an immediate change. The speaker was ! about' to put the amendment when Mr. Glover rose and asked if the amendment meant a vote of no confidence in the Government. Mr. Massey: No; I refuse to accept it as an expression of no confidence, and I ask the House to come to a vote on it at once. The amendment was lost on the voices, but Mr. Brown called for" a division. Mr. Massey thereupon reminded Mr. Brown that he had paired with Captain Coutts, who was away serving his country at the front, and accused him of breaking his pair. Mr. Brown protested that he was paired only for one session. The amendment was lost by 47 to 4, Mr. Brown, Dr. Thacker, Messrs. Payne and Ansey voting in the minority. Mr. Payne said he had no confidence in the Government as at present constituted, and proposed to move an amend-, ment which would give expression ta that opinion. ' The amendment was lost by 48 to 51, Messrs Brown, Payne, McCoombs, Veiteb and Dr. Thacker being its supporters. Mr. McCoombs moved" the adjournment of debate, but on the Premier refusing to agree, the debate was closed, the motion.being carried on the voices and at 12.45 the House rose.