PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 August 1922, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

YESTERDAY'S SITTING. THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. PROGRESS OF BILLS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. The Lands Committee recommended that the Surveyors Institute and Board of Examiners Bill should be allowed to proceed without amendment. The Naval Defence Amendment Bill and the Land Drainage Amendment Bill Were read a first time. The Local Bodies Loans Amendment Bill was received from the Statutes Revision Committee, which recommended minor amendments. The principal one proposed that local bodies who have already raised antecedent liability loans should have the right to add the cost of raising such loan. The Council adjourned at 4.50 until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THE PASSPORT SYSTEM. The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. Replying to Mr. C*. Mackenzie (Auckland East), the Minister of Internal Affairs said the passport system had been partially lifted, and so far as America was concerned, arrangements had been made for passengers to go ashore without the necessity of having their passports vised. The maintenance of the passport system was necessary, as it was desirable to know something about the people coming here from other countries. There were also people wishing to leave New Zealand who should not be allowed to do so. He instanced the case of a man who only that day had applied for a permit to leave New Zealand without providing for his illegitimate children. EDUCATING THE MAORIS. Discussing the annual report on native schools, the Hon. A. T. Ngata spoke of the keen desire among the Maoris for education and the steady progress made. He controverted the suggestion made in some quarters that the need for separate Maori schools no longer existed. It was necessary in the earlier stages that Maori, children, whose minds were imbued with the psychology of centuries of the Maori race’s upbringing, should be under the direction of experts from standard 4 upward. The Maori child could run side by side with his pakeha companion and make a good showing. He referred to the experiment started some years ago of sending some Maori boys to the Hawke’s Bay College This was interrupted by the war, and he urged the Government should subsidise the parents’ efforts in sending selected boys to Hawke’s Bay again. The Minister of Education, replying, agreed that there shoyld be more opportunities for Maori and pakeha children to gain training in farm and industrial callings. All that was possible was Doing done as far as the financial conditions would permit. TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION. Replying to criticism when presenting the annual report on the teachers’ superannuation fund, the Minister of Education agreed that teachers who joined the service forty years ago were suffering an injustice through not being able to compute for superannuation purposes the two years spent in training. It would, however, require a very largely increased financial contribution from the State to meet this position. The present state of the fund was: Teachers’ contributions, £96,409; interest on accumulated funds, £35,000; Government subsidy, £43,000; total, £174,409. The actuary’s report was that the fund, which was strengthened some years ago, needed further strengthening now to the extent of £25,000 yearly. A SHIPPING MATTER.

An amendment to the Shipping and Seamen’s Act, 1908, was introduced by Governor’s message. The Hon. G. J. Anderson stated its principal features were provisions dealing with the number of men employed in connection with oil engines on ships and a readjustment of the fees charged. CONTROL OF ROTORUA.

The House then proceeded to consider the report of the committee of the House on the Rotorua Bill. Sir John Luke (Wellington North) put in a final protest against the measure, which, while pretending to give Rotorua a Mayor and council, really _ made the representative of the Tourist Department Mayor of the town. Mr. F. F. Hockly (Rotorua) defended the Bill on the ground that it met the wishes of the people of Rotorua, and after the Minister had briefly replied the Bill was read a third time and Pa The House rose at 8.30 p.m. till 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday.