PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 July 1922, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

YESTERDAY'S. SITTING. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. By Telegraph.—-Press Assn.—Copyright. Wellington, Last Night. The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. Replying to Mr. G. Mitchell (Wellington South), who asked a question regarding the case of F. W. Mills, a returned soldier, who has I n forced into the bankruptcy court, the Hon. D, H. Guthrie denied the Government was in any way responsible for the man's position. On the other hand the Government had done everything possible to see the man through his difficulties, which were due to his having paid for his land a price far in excess of the Government valuation. A number of questions were asked of Ministers regarding further assistance to injured soldi arc, to • which Ministers promised consideration to the merits of individual cases. Mr. G. Witty (Ricearton) gave notice of a question asking whether the Government will lay on the table all correspondence which has passed between the British Government and the New Zealand. Government concerning the licensing of Armours. Mr. A. D. McLeod (Wairarapa) asked the Prime Minister if he would, during this session, introduce legislation to give assistance to trustees in estates administered for minors. Trustees, he explained, had no means of obtaining from the Court power to reduce mortgages where land which had been sold had, been thrown back -on their hands. The Prime Minister said the responsibility of trustees was under existing circumstances a very serious one and if it were possible to put this matter right without injustice to minors he would do so He would con. jlt th? Crown Law Office. THE ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. The debate on the Address-in-Reply was resumed by Mr. D. G t Sullivan (Avon), who repudiated the suggestion that the Labor Party was disloyal, but claimed the right to discuss questions of Imperial and constitutional policy without being labelled “disloyal.” He quoted Hansard to show that in 1911 Mr. Massey eulogised Germany as a country from which we could learn something. That was very well in its way, but so soon as Labor members did a similar thing they ‘were at once branded “disloyal.”

Mr. R. A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs) combated the Labor professions of 1-oyal‘.y;. at least, they had nevergiven a very cal is factory explanation of their position regarding the war. He urged the Government to amend, the Local Bodies Finance Act so as to enable local bodies to include in loans the cost of the flotation of loans to pay off their antecedent liabilities. It would cost the Wellington City Council £17,000 to raise its loan for that purpose. He also appealed to the Government to ease the burdens of business people by demanding from them less in the way of statistics. For instance, printers were asked to make a return of the quantity of ink and paper used. This was often a troublesome and expensive requirement and if it was merely to keep up some department then it was a fitting opportunity for economy.

Mr. R. W. Smith (Waimarino) said the Government claimed, and rightly so, that a fair amount of land settlement had been effected. They were also calling out for more production, but they were not doing anything to help the settlers whom they put on the land; they were simply sitting down and letting things go to wrack and ruin. If the Government could guarantee to help local bodies they could raise a loan to help settlers. Commercial firms were selling settlers up because those settlers could not tide over the present financial pinch. These firms were doing this for two reasons—first to get money to pay off the bank, and, in the second place, to earn.'commission out of the sales. This was'most unfair and must depreciate the production of the country. He suggested a tribunal should be set up to consider the case of every farmer before a merchant was allowed to sell him up. Dr. A. K. Newman (Wellington East) regretted the existence of two Oppositions to the Government in the House, but predicted that Inhere would be no Opposition at all efter the next election, for like the Kilkenny Cats, they would eliminate themselves. A characteristic of the Labor 0, •’osition was their paucity of ideas. They had but one idea and that was to tax and tax and tax again. There was nothing to be gained by further taxation. He regretted he could not see any way by which what they were now paying could be reduced. The Premier had at one time said we were to get a certain amount of reparation money from Germany on the first of this month, but it was now the 20th and we had not a dog’s chance of getting a penny. He favored setting up a commission to ascertain what the losses were on soldiers* settlements. Let us,, he said, write the losses off and give the soldiers a fr°sh start. It was no use letting the soldiers go on carrying burdens they could never get rid of. / • Mr. H. Poland (Ohinemuri) twitted the Government with being a one-man Government, which was not a good thing for any country, even if it was a grand old man who was running the country. Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) said he looked to the Government to fairly administer the Public Expenditure Adjustment Act—-fairly and justly towards the public and justly towards the public servants. It' was the duty of the House to find a remedy for the evils of the liquor trade and not drive people to prohibition. Dr. H. T. Thacker (Christchurch East, recounted the history of the National Cabinet for the purpose of showing there was nothing in common between the Liberals and Reform parties. The debate w» adjourned, and the House rose at 11 p.m.