Major Steward at Waimate.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 161, 11 June 1901, Page 1

Major Steward at Waimate.

There was a fair audience at Ma}tt Steward’s pre-sessional addicts on Friday evening. Mr John fvfanehester (Mayor of Wai" mate) occupied the chair and introduced (he speaker, referring to the good work he had done while representing the Waiiaki electorate. The H>m. Major Steward, on the evh of his twen y-nioth session of Parliament, said he was there to give therfi some idea of the 'work of the sessioft gone by and of that proposed ia the onh to come. Keicf«iv j d to. the year just past as icnnukable for ih ; d ath of the greatest Queen that ev r lived and 'h6 birth of the Australian nation and the consolidation of the Empire. Re r>. fe< red to the importance of many 'of the Actt passed Inst session, aod said that New Zealand ,s legislation acted visitc.-YS from all pails of ihe wmni to study their cff. cts, The legislators h*d worked hard, as shown by the fart that they hail pas'-ccl into law 107 ili'ls out of 217, the daily work being 9 hours 4 minutes and the average hour of rising 2 a.m. Oh

uia Crown Tenants Iv.-bato Act, which was altered to alow a n b te of 10 per cent, in nucis-'a y oases, he thought any man who was in a position tc slio)? that he could not make a fair living under hi! rental should obtain an adjustment, and this should also apply Where the rent was 100 low. Be dealt at length with it number of Acts in connection with th£ mention of voting qualification when ft person was absent from the Colony, tlte inception o 1 ah Agricultural Department and life in uivnce. In regard to th 4 i'-dO giant, hn bdid it was to pay members for the expense incurred in sending telegrams and letters. He himsell would have preferred the honorarium to be increased by Act of Parliament, bill it Was as broad as it was long. He bad himself sacrillced £2OOO for his eb'tf« etituehey dating the last eighteen months, and he did not think he was b b far out in voting tor £do. Ho had voted for it and was not ashamed. Since the Conciliation and Arbitration Act had been passed thore had been no strike-, and the Act was a very good one id many ways. He thought the Government should bo prepared to take its own medicine and bring its employees undetthe operation of the Act. He expected the Fair Bent Bill to be brought up next session. In regard to the Technio&l Education Act, he said the nation which would hold its own mil t educate its people both in hand and brain, Thil Act nee led working out and developing-, but the beginning had been made. H 4 hoped Parliament would give ’liberal building grants, for the money could not bn bettor spent. After dealing with Maori legislation and various Acta aßeCfing iho Midland railway area, he passed to the Noxious Weeds Act, which li4 thought a most useful measure, as af&4 was that providing for cl airing ing machines and selling clean gras* s ed. The Old Age Pensions Act-, though still in need of amendment, had come th slay, and solved a difficult problem. In the Workers Compensation for AcCidedti Act, iu practically all employments tli4 employer paid for the injury sustftinedj unlass through gross carelessness on ihd employee’s part. By an Accident In* surance Department the employer could insure himself against loss for a small sum. In regard to hia own Share in tll4 legislation, he claimed to have provided for bringing the Unimproved Act, 1500, into operation within tin eh years where a poll had been taken, ot having a clause relating to tho obstruofc lion of roads inserted ih the Publid Works Act, and removing anomalies in the treatmeutof Waima’ eHospi-alby Timaril He dealt at some length with his Elective Executive Bill. If this were carried they would not have the House divided itself, dominated by one or twd men who had to bring in neasures fof the purpose of pleasing this or that faction. He was sorry that the leadeS of the Party did not take this up as % libera! ra asure. He sketched the pre 1 posed legislation of the next session. Hd thought the question of religious educat tion in schools and the Licensing questioft and other vexed questions Should bd submitted to the referendum, llhS question of Young Peoples Protection Act, of a State-owned Cable, ftnd of th& adjustment of hours of clerks in bankl and offices were all touched upon id their turn. In reference to other Bills to be introduced he mentioned thil dealing with State coal mines. At thd pit’s mouth coal cost 6s per ton, and when it got here it had reached so that there was a very good and.it was time those companies which were making so much plunder out of thi. people on this side of tbe range wer2 opposed; Cheap coal meant increased production. The coal belonged to thd people, and they should be allowed to pay fair wages for hevfing their coal and selling it at a fair price. He did not s6i why they should protect private interelfd one bit. In response to au enquiry by the chair l man, Major Steward said he would bt prepared to oppose steadily the attempt to include Waimate Borough in th 3 Timftru Harbour District. Major Steward said thß lo& railwaj rates to Oamaru bad been made to rfid off the steamer traffic. The rate should be raised between Dunedin and Oamarfl* and the anomaly would not exist. The chairmah eftid the same scale di charges existed between Timaru and Christchurch, and it must pay thß Government, but whethfer from Timfctl

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