PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2675, 3 December 1909, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

HOSPITALS AMD CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS BILL.

[Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, Dec. 2. The Legislative Council passed the second rending of tihe Hospitals an** Charitable Institutions Bill just alter midnight on Wednesday. THIRD READINGS. At the afternoon sitting -to-day the Wanganui Roman Catholic Land Bill, the Roman Catholic Archbishop Empowering Bill and the Tokomaru Freezing Works Site Bill were read a third time and passed. HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS BILL. The Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill was committed. At clause 8, fixing the number of members of a board at not less than eight, and not more than twenty, exclusive of any members appointed by the Governor in pursuance of section 22 of this Act, the Attorney-General moved to strike out ad words from “.exclusive,’' and the motion was carried. Considerable' discussion occurred on section 12, ‘dealing with the method of election, a number of members opposing the main: principle of the clause, the popular franchise. Til© Attorney-General declared that it was the pivotal clause of the whole Bill, and if it went the Bill would have to go too. , . The clause was adopted by 21 to 11. An addition was made, d:i the’motion of the Hon. W. C. Smith, debarring a paid officer under any contributory local authority within a hospital district from belli" elected to the Board, and the committee adjourned until the evening. ; Tlifc Council in the evening resumed discussion of the Hospitals and Chaidtable Institutions Bill in committee. Considerable discussion occurred over section 1 of clause 55, giving a Board power to sell or exchange any land vested m it, other than land held in trust for any special purpose. The Hon. J. E. Jenkinson moved to eliminate the words permitting the sale of land. The Attorney-General explained that certain land.-.' might be unsuitable for lease, and the section had been inserted at the request of a conference of .hospitals and charitable, institutions.

The amendment was rejected. Clause 57, “A Board may borrow upon security far building and other purposes” was amended by the omission of sub-clause 2, and the substitution of a sub-clause providing that a Board may borrow by way of hank overdraft for ordinary recurrent expenditure to the extent of the total amount of contributions payable to the Board by the contributory local authorities during the year, and then unpaid, with the estimated amount receivable by the Board during that year by wav of subsidy /

nr clause 72, providing that a Board may make agreements for snecial terms as to the maintenance in hospitals of members of friendly societies, the At-torney-General moved that the term “children” should mean children under 18 years of ago instead of sixteen,'as in the Bill, and after a long discussion the clause was postponed. The Attorney-General moved to amend clauso 12S, so as to limit the hours of employment of uncertificated nurses to 50 per week in hospitals of over 100 beds. t _ - I The amendment was carried. The Bill was reported with amendments, and the Council rose at 11.55 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. SHIPPING AND SEAMEN’S BILL. After midnight on Wednesday the Shipping and Seamen’s Act Amendment Bill was passed through committee and reported, and the House rose at 1.20 a.m. McLEAN' INSTITUTE BILL. At the afternoon sitting to-day, the McLean Institute Bill was read a third time. LAND LAWS AMENDMENT BILL. The report of the committee on the Land Jbaws Amendment Bill was brought down. It recommended that the Bill he allowed to proceed with amendments as attached. The chairman of the committee moved that the report lie on the table. Mr. T. E. Taylor remarked that if, as had been said, the Bill had been shorn of its freehold clauses in committee things had come to a pretty pass. The Liberal party was practically a coalition party, and its policy was only maintained by a combination of votes on both sides. Mr. Taylor proceeded to denounce the filching away of private members’ rights and the reticence- on the land question shown by the Premier. Ho said that members were being treated with absolute contempt with regard to contemplated legislation and the personnel of the Cabinet-. Ten days ago only the Almighty and the Premier knew what the land policy was. The Dominion should at least have two months to understand the position. Men who were holding for the freehold were influenced by selfishness begotten of well-doing founded on State aid. The leasehold was the only system under which a poor man could become a farmer. The whole Liberal principles on the land question, which were absolutely sound, were being sacrificed to the exigencies of party warfare. He hoped that the Bill would meet with such a protest from the House and the country that the Government would be forced to give the people six months to consider it. Mr Herries moved, as an amendment; that the minutes of the committee’s proceedings lie on the table and be printed. Mr. McLaren supported .the amendment. "

Mr: Massey said that his party believed in the freehold, and also- in giving the freehold tonure to a leaseholder when lie was* nblo to pay for the fee simple. In 19 eases out of 20 country lands became valuable, not on account of public expenditure, but owing to-the energy and labor of settlers. Sir Joseph Ward said that it was extraordinary that the leaseholders were ready to grasp at any straw* in order to prove sinister designs against the Government. He repelled the bulldogging made by Messrs Taylor and McLaren, and, denied the Opposition's statement that he drove his followers. He asserted.’;, that 'every measure introduced by the Government had been beforo the people, and that eveuy opportunity had been given to discuss it. The Premier, continuing, aslced liow many leaseholders recognised the position of land tenure during the last 30 years. It had been that of endeavoring to hold on to a portion of the Crown lands. The critics of the Government's proposals did ~not- realise the position. The great 'majority of leaseholders on Crown lands had turned right round 1 in favor of the' freehold, though they could never have got on the land hut for the leasehold system finan-

oed by the State. The will of the majority of the people must prevail. The leaseholders! lost sight of the fact that under the Land Bill the freehold was 1 only granted under conditions that conserved the right of the State to share in the increased values of. the lands. IMPREST SUPPLY. At the evening sitting, an Imprest Supply Bill was introduced by Governor’s message. NAVAL DEFENCE. The Premier, replying to Mr. Massey, said that the Naval Defence Bill;would I be circulated to-morrow; and a summary of the proceedings at the Defence Conference wuold be placed before the House in a day or two, also that opportunities would be given to the to discuss the reports of the Timber and Police Commissions. THE RAILWAYS. ■ '/

The Hon. J. A Millar, replying to Messrs Herdman and Herries, said that the railways could be made to show squally good returns with those of New South Wales if'fares wore increased to the level of those of the latter State, which paid much lower wages than the Dominion. ' -

STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER. Sir Joseph Ward, replying- to Mr. Herries, denied that there -had been delay in the work of the session. Nineteen Bills had been circulated. If railway charges for sheep were increased to those of New South Wales, sheepfarmers would have to pay an extra £90,000 over the present charges. Mr. Herdman’s remarks on the State mine trouble were unwarranted, and calculated to cause trouble instead of allaying it. (Left Sitting.)