PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2680, 9 December 1909, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS.-.

: rj»jg'£ Pkkhs ASSOCIATION.I WELLINGTON, Doc. 8. In the Council this afternoon, the Hon W. C. F. Carncross moved, “That in the opinion of this Council, every trading institution that has a superannuation or pension scheme and is carrying bn - business in the Dominion, should be compelled to have in connection with such scheme a system of surrender value for tho benefit of contributors.” He pointed to the unsatisfactory state :of affairs in this connection at present, and contended that the time had come when the Legislature should take steps to secure to all contributors some share of their contributions upon retirement. _ The Hon. Dr. Findlay thought that if the State interfered with these superannuation funds thev might not be carried on, and it. would he unwise for the State to do anything that would give 1 the banks air excuse tp abolish such schemes. There was another reason why the Stato should not interfere. It was the duty of the Government to provide a superannuation fund for every honest man in the country, to see that every man should have an opportunity of providing for his old age, and not' wear out his life for merely provender, and when he is old get cashiered. This was going to be the law of this country sooner or later. The motion was agreed to. The Magistrate’s Court Amendment •Bill was passed. , The New Plymouth Recreation and Racecourse Reserves Exchange Bill, and the Timaru .Loans Consolidation Bill were read a second time. The New Zealand Society of Accountants Amendment Bill was put through the final stages. .The Reformatory Institutions Bill was committed, reported with minor amendments, and passed. ; The Attorney-General moved the second reading of the Shinning, and Seamen Act Amendment Bill, recently passed? by the House. The Hon. J. T. Paul and J. E. Jenkinson generally approved of the Bill, which was read a second time, and the Council rose at 5 p.m. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION. After midnight on Tuesday,’ on the motion of the Premier, the word “compulsory” was deleted from the clause providing for land being taken within the boroughs for homes for workers, and the word “acquired” substituted. Town districts were also excluded from the clause. Clause 25. on the motion of the Premier, was amended to read that land may be leased' on the renewable lease system as modified by the principal Act. The’ Bill was reported with amendments, and the House rose at 2 a.m. At the afternoon sitting to-day, the Premier >laid on the table papers relating to the recent Imperial Defence Conference. The remainder of the afternoon was taken up in discussing a motion by the Hon. A. T. N-gata relative to a petition of Grey mouth residents praying that tlyi Greymouth reserve at present inthe possession of the -u.aori owners should be sold to the lessees. In the House this evening, the Speaker announced that as the session would close, on the 22nd inst.. all Bills .introduced after to-night could be carried through all stages at* one tingReplying, to Mr. Massey, the Premier said he hoped that the House would get through the work by December 23rd. and that the Land Bill would be taken.

The debate on the amendment made by the Council in the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill was resumed, and it was agreed that the House accept the amendments with the exception of certain clauses dealing'with the power of Boards, and clauses 71 ancl 72 relating to relief to be granted at Government sanatoria and the maintenance at hospitals of members of friendly societies on special terms. A committee was appointed to draw up reasons for disagreeing with the Council’s amendments. The Death Duties Bill was recommitted, on the motion of the Premier, for the purpose of inserting further amendments.

Amendments were inserted to- the following effect:—At clause 12, exempting certain estates from estate duty, the following was substituted for subclause 1, “No estate duty shall be payable on any estate the final balance of which' does not exceed five hundred pounds, and the estate duty nayable on any estate, the final balance of which exceeds five hundred pounds, shall not exceed the amount by which that final balance exceeds five hundred pounds.” Sub-clause 2 of the same clause was deleted, and a new clause added to the effect that the value of the interest acquired by the widow' of the deceased not exceeding £SOOO is to be deducted from’ the final balances of the estate. ’ Mr. Massey (moved to make the £SOOO £lo,ouo, but the amendment was defeated by 33 to 25. A new clause, 29a, was inserted pioviding that, as between several successors of a dec-eased person, death, duties shall be paid, by each successor m proportion to the value of his interest. The Billwas reported as amended. Considerable discussion took place on the motion for the third reading. , Sir Joseph Ward, in his reP| y ’ observed that the whole basis of the Bill was to, prevent a jinan during Ins lixotime from dividing his estate with a view to escaping death duties. The third reading was agreed to on the voices, and the Bill passed. . The Premier moved the second reading of the Naval Defence Bill, which contains two operative clauses, . empowering the Minister of Finance to enter into a contract for building ships of war and limiting the cost to two millions. Referring to the conference on naval defence, papers on which bad been laid on the table of the House, the Premier said that the reports or the speeches made, at the conference were not included in these,, and they ivere regarded as confidential. ine papers placed on the .table had been supplied by Imperial'.authority. Iho Premier went largely into the correspondence that had taken place on the subiect of naval defence and the attitude which lie had taken up respecting New Zealand’s desire to retain her relations with the Imperial navy. Mr. Massey said that had lie knowit that the vessel would have formed part of the China squadron, he would not have been enthusiastic about the offer, lie believed it would have been better for the Dominion to Have co-operated with Australia, and he gathered from the papers laid on the table that this was the vie.w of, the Admiralty. , 7. ‘ ! (Left Sitting.)