PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1922, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

YESTERDAY’S SITTING. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. In reply to Mr. J. Edie (Bruce), the Hon. J. G. Coates said that where the Government was erecting post offices and other public buildings for the purpose of absorbing unemployed artisans it was the desire of the Government that local labor should be employed. These buildings would be erected under contracts. Of course the Government had to use control over contractors as to what labor they employed. In reply to Mr. T. M. Wilford (Leader of the Opposition), Mr. Massey said he might be able to lay the report of the Taxation Committee on the table of the House.

Replying to Mr. W. T. Jennings (Waitomo), Mr. Massey said he would instruct the Electoral Department to endeavor to secure as polling booths some building other than a school, so as to avoid closing a school on election day. In reply to Mr. G. Mitchell (Wellington South), Mr. Massey said the Government could not possibly forego taxation on the £lOOO given by the Wellington Racing Club to the unemployed fund. The Government required all the revenue it could get. Replying to Mr. E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) and Mr. H. Holland (Leader of the Labor Party), the Hon J. G. Coates said there was no truth in the statement that the wages of men on Government relief work would be reduced from 12s to Ils 8d per day. There was no intention to interfere with the wages of men on relief works. Replying to Mr. Wilford, Mr. Guthrie said he would not order a re-valuation of soldiers’ land until he had an independent report. For that purpose he •proposed to appoint a commission outside the Land Boards. In doing this he did not consider he was casting a rejection on members of boards, but he did not think it fair to ask them to reduce their own work.

THE ADDRESS-IN-RE PLY. The debate on the Address-in-Reply was resumed by Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston North), who urged the need for up-to-date information regarding the London markets. He believed the meat pool would have beneficial results, but he doubted the advisability of a dairy pool, because if a too energetic attempt was made to control the Home butter market he feared Tooley Street would go outside the Empire for supplies. Therefore a dairy pool could not succeed without big Government backing. Immigration might wisely be stopped for the present. There was much unemployment about and until that could be absorbed importations might be temporarily stopped. Mr. G. Witty (Riccarton) criticised the meat pool, which he contended would only increase the price of meat to the consumer. If the pool succeeded in raising the price of meat on the London market why was a beef pool not started ? He also warned the House that there was a grave danger of our flocks being depleted, and that unlimited exportation must not be indulged in. What, he asked, was the Board of Trade doing when we considered the price of meat in the ships to-day ? Mr. T. F. Hockly (Rotorua) said the Labor Party was demanding that the standard of living in 1914 should prevail to-day, but that was impossible to many. There were many in the public service who recognised this and it was only a few agitators and members of the Labor Party who were fond of championing Russia, the Chinese in Samoa or the Indians in Fiji, but they never troubled much about the welfare of the Empire. Mr. E. Dixon (Patea) declared the Premier was a courageous man to make the civil service cut in the face of a general election, but it was his duty to do it and he would do his duty. We were passing through difficult times, and such times necessitated desperate remedies. By reason of superannuation and regular increases in salaries civil servants were amongst the most fortunate people in the Dominion. Though the cut had been criticised, not one suggestion had been made as to how the money was to he obtained. The debate was adjourned and the House rose at 11 p.m. till 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.