GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2395, 6 September 1892, Page 4

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. The Council met at 2.30 p.m. on Friday.

workmen's lien bill

The motion for the committal of the Workmen's Lion Bill was agreed to, but consideration of the measure in Committee was deferred till Tuesday, in order that Councillors might have time to fully consider the amendments made by the Labour Bills Committee.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House met at 2.30 p.m. on Friday. THE LABOUR BUREAU. Mr Fishe* inovedthe adjournment of the House, in ovda' to call attention to the working of the labour bureau and the co-operative system of public wo*'lt'.e. He made sensational reference to a letter froi» Mr Seddon to the Melbourne Trade Hall Council, which contained a laudation of the co-operative system, and which Mr Fisher argued would have the effect of leading needy Australians to some in large numbers to New Zealand with thp idea that the bureau was bound to find them work. He quoted a number of instances in whiph tuo mell ou tne works complained o( hardships and niismanagemen t. Mr W. P. Reeves said that it wouid bo an extraordinary thing if in sending four tho?js#ud men out to new work some cases of hardship had not occurred, but the bureau, whemyef any case had been brought to its ixotuiti," piudfiaypured to remedy it. He detailed the circumstances connected with certain cases in which comnlaints had been made. Was it fair argiiiufcnj; to assume that because there were two a? three failures the whole system should be «i,i„dpmnod '! As to the charge that by their aetloit ij r e Government are attracting people from cite nther colonies, he challenged Mr Fisher to pro.y.e that statement, and denied that they we?e flooding the labour market with unemployed fr.ym Australia. If he thought there was any danger of undesirable people flooding th« labour bureau it would be his duty to provide further safeguards aganist further contingency, but he had not the slightest reason for supposing this was the wise. Measra Fish, Seddon, Hogg, and Pinkerton continued the debate, which was interrupted by the 5-30 adjournment. On resuming at 7.0(> the Laud .Bill was further considered in Committee. Clause ?> —lnterpretation. Mr Rollcst'in ,said that he should like the Committee to decide once for all what they were going to do in the matter of a lease in perpetuity. It was i\ .complete change from the existing law, and if the Committee decided to rytain it the passage

of the bill would be greatly simplified. He moved that the clause inserted by the Waste Lands Committee giving a lease in perpetuity be struck out Mr Allan, Mr Fish, and Captain Russell 3poke against the lease in perpetuity, and Sir John Hall, Mr Macintosh, Mr C. H. Mills, and Mr Taylor in support of it. Sir John Hall thought that a lease in perpetuity would go a considerable way in settling people on the land. After a discussion lasting nearly three hours the House divided on Mr Rolleston's amendment, which was lost by 45 to 15.

Mr Tanner moved to strike out of the interpretation clause the words "occupation with the right to purchase." He was opposed to the State selling a single acre of land. Mr McKenzie could not accept this motion.

The motion was lost by 38 to 22. Clause 87 —Married women disqualified from selecting; provoked considerable adverse criticism, but it was retained on a division by 24 to 15. After the telegraph office ' closed, the clauses of the Land Bill, up to number 100, were passed, with the amendments made by the Waste Lands Committee. Progress was then reported, and the House rose at 2.10 a.m.