PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 October 1919, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

By Telegraph.—Press Association, j Wellington, Last Night. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 Hon. Louisson was granted leave of absence for the remainder of the session. .. The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill was reported from committee without amendment, was put through itsfinal stages and passed. The Board of Trade Bill, after technical amendments in committee, was put through its final stage and passed. The Council rose at 3 o'clock. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wellington, Oct. 8. After the telegraph offi*e closed the House proceeded to consider the Mines Department estimates (£39,800). The discussion was brief and of a desultory nature. At 2.5 the vote passed and progress was reported. The House immediately after rose till 2.30 to-day. The House met at 2.30. Replying to Hon. D. Buddo, Mr Massey said there was likely to be a considerable surplus of apples in the Dor minion this season. The Government understood the position, and would do everything i tt its power-to provide the necessity shipping to get the surplus away from New Zealand. Replying to Mr Young, Mr Massey said he would ask the Board of Trade to ascertain definitely from the Colonial Sugar Company whether or not \ there is a shortage of'sugar in the Dominion. Replying to Mr Isit't, Mr Massey said there need be no shortage of meat in the Dominion as any meat salesman could go to any of the freezing companies and get what they wanted. WOMEN'S PARLIAMENTARY RIGHTS. A message was received from the Legislative Council stating their insistence on their amendments in the Women's Parliamentary Rights Bill. Mr Massey moved that consideration of the message stand over till next aitting day.—Agreed to. ' COST OF LIVING. Oh the motion that the House go into Committee of Supply to further consider estimates, Mr McCombs precipitated a discussion on the cost of living, claiming that the figures quoted by Mr Wilford yesterday regarding the coat of living in Queensland were misleading. E-STIMATEvS. The House then went into Committee of Supply on the Estimates. PENSIONS FOR MEMBERS. In the Internal Affairs Department (£294,597), Mr P. Eraser made an appeal for strengthening the Statistical Department, as what was needed was prompt and accurate information and this was impossible while the Department was being starved. ) During the discussion on the vofp, Mr Massey was urged by secvral members to do something for former members of the House in the shape of a superannuation fund. Mr Massey agreed that the time had arrived when tl>is proposal, which had been discussed for many years, should be taken in hand with the object of placing the matter on a more satisfactory footing. They knew of members who, after twenty years" service, found themselves in straitened circumstances after devoting all their time to the country's service. He was not in a position to ..put forward a definite scheme, but a superannuation scheme should be arranged by which, after a man served, whatever time might be fixed, he could keep himself" in comfort in his declining years. He was VmabTe to say if. this would be done this session, but, on behalf of the Government, he would undertake to look into the matter at the earliest possible moment. Continuing, the Premier said that no doubt the present payment of members was quite insufficient, and it would have to be increased without delay. The vote was still under discussion when the House rose at 5.30. EVENING SITTING, Wellington, Last Night. TOTALISATOR BETTING. When the House resumed at 7.3(1, the discussion oh the estimates was continued by Mr. Pearce, who contended that the State should do away with the bookmaker by agreeing to a double totalisator and permitting investors to telegraph bets to the secretaries of clubs for investment on the totalizator. These two changes would completely undermine the influence of the bookmaker, who was a danger to the youth of the Dominion. Mr. Isitt said if the House was really in earnest about reducing gambling they should stop newspapers publishing sporting news, prevent the use of the telegraph offices for gambling purposes, and strictly limit the permits for totalisalors. Racecourses were simply nests of blackguardism, and if we. had any commonsense we would wipe the whole thing out, lock, stock, and barrel.

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS. On the question of the Public Service Covnmissioners, Mr. Witty asked if it was proposed to continue the Commissioners on the expiry of their term of nppointment. Hon. ,1. B. Hino said the Commissioners had been asked to continue in office for three months longer than the term of their appointment, which . would take them up to June 30. After that the whole matter would come under review. Mr. Ell said what the House wanted was a definite assurance that no appointment of Commissioners would be made till the House h:id an opportunity of considering the question. Mr. Holland urged the appointment of a board of control, on which there should be representatives of the public service. The Premier said he recently met a deputation from the public service, which spoke very strongly in favor of the retention of the Commissioner system. It was true that they suggested they should have a representative on the board. An extension of time had been agreed to between the Government and the Commissioners, but he was firmly of opinion that the House would meet long before that extension had expired. He was quite satisfied the House would have to be called together early in the year, when the. whole question could be gone into. Personally, he was in favor of Commissioners every time. Pressed fpr a further statement by Mr. Veitch as to what opportunity,, the House .would ;

have of discussing the matter before June, Mr. Massey said that, if he were in office, Parliament -would be called together long before June. „ Sir Joseph Ward said he was by no means satisfied with the present system. He believed in placing representatives Of the public service on the board, and he had got the House to affirm that principle in connection with the P. and T. Office, The Commissioners had not sufficient discretion to recognise ability, consequently many of the best men were leaving the service. The Public Trustee, who was one of the Commissioners, had placed on record his dissatisfaction with the present system. Though he did not believe in what was being done now, he certainly did not believe in political control. Parliament should meet soon after •the election, and then the whole matter could be gone into thoroughly, but one tiling must be made quite clear—that Parliament must not lose control of the total sum which is to be spent on the public service.

Replying to Mr. Semple, Mr. Massey said it went without saying that if a representative of the public service was put on the board he would be chosen by members of the service. Regarding his personal view as to this course, he could only say that when he spoke on questions like this he spoke as head of the Government, therefore, he had to consider carefully what he said, but he could go so far as to say that the proposal appealed to him. The vote passed. The next vote taken was Mental Hospitals (£507,372).

Mr. Massey stated there was a complete reclassification of this Department. The estimates • before the House were not based on it, but all increases would be provided for on the supplementary estimates. • HOSPITAL MATTERS.

In the discussion of the hospital and charitable aid section of the vote, mem. bers generally urged that better provision should be made for paying probationary nurses, so as to attract the best class of young women to the profession. Better medical aid for the baekblock districts was also urge.l, in view of the large number of medical men who were being'freed as the result of the wan coming to an end. Mr. Massey, in reply, said a new scale of pay for probationary nurses was now bein* prepared. * A Hospital Conference would be held at an early date, when this would be one of the* matters discussed, and an effort made to secure uniformity in salaries throughout the Dominion.

Mr Massey further stated that superannuation for nurses had not been forgotten. The Superintendent of the National Provident Fund had i been instructed to prepare a scheme. The vote was then passed. Tourist Department (£ss37l)—This was passed after a brief discussion. DEFENCE EXPENDITURE. The Defence Department vote of £500,000 next came under consideration. Sir James Allen, in the course of his statement, said a number of officers were undergoing a trying out course of training at Trenthain for appointment on the staff corps. Replying to Mr Witty, Sir James Allen said be had no intention of going on with his four months' territorial training scheme this year. Tf adopted next year, the scheme would not cost anything like a million. An" equipment for two divisions was coming out from England as ballast, and at no cost to the Governr.ior.t. He added that it was not possible to provide gratuities for home service men, but it must be remembered that many of these men had obtained accelerated promotion because there were fewer of them. A very large proportion of the officers in trainins at Trentham were men who had risen from the- ranks. Rifle ranges were being purchased wherever found possible tr do so with a view to encouraging the formation of rifle clubs. The vote was passed at 1.15.

The marine", and harbor vote (,-£2!>.",7fiß), was passed practically without discussion.

Labor Department (£35.8121. Mr. Massey stated he hoped to introduce the Housing Bill to-morrow. The vote was passed, and the House rose at 1.55 a.m.