PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 October 1918, Page 8

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. i w'■ " I * Wellington, Last Nigtli. The Council met at 2.UU p.m. j Sir John Sinclair was sworn in. ; The Hon. Alison moved the Address- j in-Reply. He referred with salisfalion . to the statement of .Mr. Balfour that Lm : pire communications would be safeguarded- The repatriation problem was most important, and a special department ; should be created to deal with it. The Hon. Hawkc seconded the motion. The most important problem requiring solution was the provision for returned soldiers. He suggested the formation of civilian committees at Rotorua to as- ( sist in the administration of the soldiers' workshops, and that civilian committees of business men and retired farmers should also ue formed lo assist soldiers who settled on small holdings and give them expert advice as to sidclc, ..manures, crops, etc. To deal with the cost of living, he suggested that municipal dwellings be 6old at the cheapest rate, also the formation of co-operative associations by trade unions and civil servants. He advocated a combination of technical and high schools, better payment of male teachers, and more modern school buildings. Sir John Sinclair spoke as to the need of preparation for post-war trade by increasing efficiency. The debate was adjourned at 4.20 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The TTouse met at 2.30 p.m. SIGNATURES TO PETITION'S. j Mr. Harris said lie had received letters i from several of his constituents stating i they had signed the liquor trade petition in mistake for the Prohibition Party's petition, and lie asked for guidance as to how the names could be expunged from the petition. The Speaker replied that as the petition had been presented direct to the Government, and not to the House, the names in question should be sent on to the Government. QUESTIONS. \ Mr. Buielc said he had several requests of a similar nature from his constituents. Mr. Witty gave notice of his intention to ask the* Minister for Defence if the Defence Commission's report contained a clause which adversely criticised the Chief of the General Staff, and, if so, by whose authority tlio clause was expunged. Mr. Brown gave notice to ask whether it was possible for a man of German descent to enter the Flying Corps in New Zealand. Mr. Bownie Stewart asked whether the Government, in view of the fact that the general election had been deferred, would submit to the House the names of individual members of Cabinet for approval or disapproval. He held that by such procedure the House would be not only able to pass judgment on Ministers individually, but it would test the efficacy of the elective executive principle. Replying to Mr. Luke, the Premier said he would be glad to submit to Cabinet the proposal that New Zealand should claim 'an indemnity from Germany for losses during the war, but he was emphatically of opinion that not all the money in Germany could adequately compensate New Zenland for tlte 1">,000 young men who had lost their lives in die war. He noticed that Australia, wa? taking some steps in the direction of claiming compensation from Germany, mid he would be glad to give the matter consideration. Replying to Mr. Harris, the Premier said he had discovered that the petitions presented to the Minister for Financft and himself by the New Zealand Alliance and .the liquor trade were really intended for the House, and it would, therefore, be his duty to present them to the House, probably to-morrow If it was desired that a scrutiny of the names attached to the petitions should take place, the responsibility for allowing such scrutiny would rest with the Speaker. In reply to Mr. Veitch. Mr Hanan said bo hoped, a little hte:, to submit proposals to ease the financial cmbarrjv-i----ment of friendly societies regarding their liabilities for sick pay to returned soldiers after discharge by the military authorities. ADDRESS-! N'-P.EPLY. Mr. Witty, severely criticised the war administration of the Defence Department, aiid ridicule! the reference in the Governor's Speech to the proposals for the reduction of the cost ot living, "he had spared no effort to help the flriduccr, but let the worker say ho would' no* wor ' c lor the P rico aIKi ' le had to face v"' e P™peet of gaol or starvat;on Referring to education, he blamed the Miniver *<* devoting more attention to secondarv tban to primary education. He denounced the mismanagement of the railway?, and urged that no more married men should be sent to the front. Mr. Holland said the Labor Party was not in the House to effect a change in the individuals on the Government benches, but to change the principles on' which they act. They were not there ; to start a class war, because class war already existed. That was their charge

against the National Government—a uuirgo they dure not deny—thai their legislation was class legislation, and their uuuiinislration was c,iu»s administration. Xkat was why by-ciecuons were going against tuem. Wiiat were the following ligures but tua writing on the wall? In force by-cleetioii:; there were cast 17,45 i votes—o4S7 lor the Government, li).:ylj. against the Government, and of tnese latter SO'J'J were east lor Labor. The light ol llic future was between Toryism and Labor. 'A'he old Liberal Party was dead and couid never recover the position it had lost, because it repudiated all that was worth while ia the programmes of Ballance and Sedtion'J.'he liberties our forefathers had fought and died for had been sacrificed by the imposition of conscription, which the Government dare not submit to the vote of the people. He denounced the treatment of the conscientious objector and others who opposed conscription, some of whom, he declared, had been subjected ti. tiie punishment known as '■' crucifixion," which iie hoped would never again be imposed. Tile National Government was formed ostensibly to win the war, but tic ventured to say they thought more of discussing war pjofits, in proof of which lie declared they had extracted fourteen | more for wool from the British taxpayers than New Zealand would have got had the rame quantity o° wool been sent to Germany before, the war. Twentyeight millions was the value of the war profits on locally-produced produce from the Dominion up to the end of last year. What answer to these war profits bad the National Government? No answer at all, and so at the recent by-elections they simply came out and called the Labor Party names. The Labor Party demanded a general election early next year, on the ground that, on the evidence they were able to produce, the National Government had not proved capable of meeting the situation whieu rod arisen since the Government was formed, nor will it be capable, of meeting the. situation which will arise when the men come back from the front. !ie-r-rmsp the Government was incapable, of keeping the promises niedo £o these mea who had faced death in the trenchesEVENING SITTING. The House resumed at 7.30. Dr. Newman said there was no doubt the hand-writing was on the wall so far ae* the National Government was concerned. The people wanted an election so that they might epxress their opinion on the. conduct of affairs by the National Cabinet. Unfortunately, the Government was so self-opinionated that its various members would listen to no one. There was change wanted not only in the personnel of the Government but in its policy. iHe asked why should Uhere bo no domestic legislation during the war, as in other countries, when so much remained to be done. Ho advocated a vigorous policy of development of our natural resources, contending that the suggested movement to allocate the water-power of the Dominion amongst the local bodies would be most disastrous. The Government, and no one else, should control the potential sources of power in the Dominion. Ho condemned the large importation of spirits that was going on to the exclusion of more useful articles, and appealed ' for moro sympathetic treatment of our broken soldiers when they come back to New Zealand. The country was waiting for a lead and for leadership. Mr. Hornsby said tha i: there was great discontent throughout the Dominion no ono could gainsay. It was part of the compact wlben the National Government was formed that there should be no general election in New Zealand until six months after peace was declared, and ; he inquired if that part of the compact was going to be torn up. The people i did not want an election, ami that was one reason why so few votes were polled at the recent. Wellington Central byeelection.- He considered the National ' Government was entitled to credit for 1 much that tiiiey had accomplished, their ' sins being more of omission' than commission. Ho advocated more adequate > financial assistance to the Education De- | partment, so that children could be ; housed properly and the best of educa- ! tional facilities be placed at the clis- ' posal of children of all classes, includ- ' ing continuation classes. The condi- ! tions amongst the railway employees called urgently for attention, for the i men could not live on the wages they received. Tihis was largely due to the " excessive prices people were being called upon to pay. lie instances the case of • shoes made at a cost of 2s Gd to 4s Gd ■ a pair and retailed at 8s to 10s (id. Yet the Board of Trade had not interfered. A controller should have been appointed who would have prosecuted these ex- . ploiters. The shipping rings were as . great exploiters as anyone else, and he , hoped the British Government would not '■ let go Uiieir hold upon these great com- . panics after the war. One of the fac- , tors in the high price of coal was the i grab which the Union Company got out [ of it after the niWr had brought it out [ of the bowels of the earth. A profit was , actually made out of the increases given , to the men. [ MINISTER OF DEFENCE. , Hon. G. W. Russell said the Government did not object to criticism. The ; purpose for which the National Cabinet was formed was to win' the war, and | the Gove'rninent had, perhaps, not given that attention to domestic legislation i that many people seemed to "expect. . Still, there were certain proposals out- { lined in the Governor's' speech, and tiiiese were not all that the Government bad in view r . Repliyng to Mr. Holland's indictment of conscription, he explained why conscription became necessary. What the country wanted was equality of sacrifice, and conscription was the only way' in which that be secured. On tlio cost of living, lie did not say every tilling had been done' that might" have been to reduce it, but increased prices were world-wide, and he ■nuWed ;i statistics to prove, his conten- ; tibn, Referring to the'problems of the future, ■ the' Minister urged that •.the supreme duty of the Administration was the repatriation of the 80,000 soldiers still at , the front. They must get something ! better than to be co-operative laborers on public works. The men must get the full opportunity to go on the land, and must receive a thorough instruction. Dozens of fanning schools would be. required. He hoped the Government and the patriotic societies would help the 1 aaldicrs who brought wives back from the Old Country to furnish their homes. He was a great believer in small settlements, which wrought wonders in many parts of the Dominion. Ho also considered there must be great industrial development in this respect. He looked fxiih considerable hope to the mining industry, which, to a great' extent, was yet in it's' infeaey. Hydro-electric power would bo !t great factor in this connecI tion, and he, therefore, favored the idea j>f i!awiSn£! the sources of this energy ' fo'vC M ißCft? bodies, which can develop '•it wlV'"e-flu! StfltP is yet unable to do • sc> scjfoftfe jKH?t play a great

part in the reconstruction scheme *.ni become a substitute for the apprentice system, which is now effete, and it was to technical schools we must look for our future skilled mechanics. Speaking of the predicted fate of tile National Government, he said threatened men live long, and he was certain thatywhen the time came for an election the National Government, either as a separate entity or in its two constituent parts, would have a policy to meet the needs of the Dominion. The House rose at 10.25 p m.