Queensland

Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]

Legislative Assembly

THURSDAY, 25 AUGUST 1921

Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy

Perscnal Expla;,aticn. [25 AUGUST.] Return of Officers. 277

THURSDAY, 25 AUGUST, 1921.

The SPEAEER (IIon. \Y. Bertra'll . . Van c) took the chair at half-past 3 o'clock p.n1.

~1ETROPOLITA?-J A::--JD IPSWICH WATE.R SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE ACTS AJ'.1ENDMENT BILL.

Ac~E~T.

The SPEAKER announced the rhjDt from HL Excellency the Governor of a ri1c ;;:1ge conveying His Majesty's ascent to this Bill.

PAPERS. The following papers were laid on the

table. and ordered to be printed:­Eleventh annual report of the 'Cniversity

of Queensland for the year 1920. Amended regulation, •dated 5th July,

1921, undl'r the lVI ining Act of 1898. Return in acoordancD with section 9 of

the 11ining Machinery Advances Act of 1906.

RET'CRN OF OFFICERS OF PUBLIC ·woRKS DEPARTMENT.

Mr. PETRIE (Too m bul) moved--" That there be laid on the bHe of

the House· a return showing--1. The respective a>:es and length

of serYice of eacl1 clas..;illed officer in the Public v.-orks Department (includ­ing the Under Secretary and all professional officns).

2. ThP nnn1b('r of cmplo_yrcs. pro­fessional ·and otherwise, employed in the dope rtment since the ye .. r 1914 to 30th J uno, 1921.

3. The names and agr:3 of those l.vhose f'.,rYicrs hav~ rcccntlv b0en dispense·d wi!h (including- these ,-;ho hav0 bc<~n giYf'n notice of retirement within n c0rhin period of the nntic:o given them)."

Question put and passed.

278 Want of Confidence 1>1otion. [ASSEMBLY.] Want of Confidence 1>1otion ..

W AX'l' OF CO::-.JFIDENCE MOTION.

RES (J}1PTIO~ OF DEBATE.

Mr. vYARREN (Murru1nba): I would like to congratulate the leader of the Country 1)arty on n1oving thi~ motion. If ever there was need for an expression of \V J.nt of con­ficlcnce in the Govcrn1ncnt, that noed is present to-c:e"y. Ever since the last general -e!ecticn the UoYernment have not constitu­tional!:; held the front benches becau,e they ha\c not r<•pre ented the people as a \·,hole, bnt have represented a minority of 20,000 Yotors. I would not n1ind what section on this sido moved the motion, I would sup­port 1t because \VC "\','ant "ano govt:..rnment. \Ye do not ant to be pushed forward by chques, "pn•hes." and people who haYe no rnaterial interest in tho prosperit:,~ of this State. r_rhe honest worker has a n1aterial interest, but it is not he who is keeping the G overn:r1ent on the 'l're·asury benches. No 111an a(innres the honest \\ orker 1nore than I do, r.eca use I work m, ·self. \V hen the Govcrnn~: nt '' 0re first reb:lrned to. power not Jong aft;:_,~· i~o \Yar con1menccd, £hey h.; cl a lan:{C nlaJonty. r\t tho next election their HWJolit:: ' as increased because tho people thoug·ht they had not had a fair trial o-wing to the 1.var. To-day, ho\veYer. tho Govcrn­!llon\ r:nist ov~·n that they have 'bee_n weig-hed >ll ne~ oa!ance and found wa:·tmg. 'l'ho people have told them deliberately that they do not '·ant them. Any Government which h:.d aw· self-rospoct would have amended the h~n~rible rolls after the last election, and woula nave gone b~ck to the people to see whether 1t waF then \Yish that they should continue in office.

'l'ho statem ·nt has been made by hon. n1e1nbers opposite that- our party do not want to get on the Treasury benches. I do not think even the unemployed, whom hon. m«Dbers oppo•ite. ha Ye derided, held up to ;;corn, plo~d('d w1t~1 and \Vept tt·.-trs over, 'Y~-onld ,rebsh the 1dea of getting on the GoYcrnment b0w hcs, bccaus~ the great bulk of the unmnplo·.-od arc honest me '1. If thoro 1re any people who need the sympathy of uvcry nH'U 'nd wO,lHtn t:wy are tho~o 'vho ara able to work and have not work to do. By their inability to p-et oYer th(ir diffi­culties the Government' have forfeited the ri~oht to govern. The only constitutional form .of government is r-overnment by a maJonty of the people. Under our demo­cratic system if a Government does not reprcse;>t ': majority of the people it is not a consbtubonal Governme-nt. Hon. members opposite say we have not assisted them to govern. I should think we had not as.oisted them to goverr:. ~ should be very sorry if any membcy on thiS s1de of the House attempted to assist thmn to goYern, or rather mis­govern. It is absolutely osscntial that we should do C'Yerything po"ible to drive hon. members opposite back to their masters. \Ve do not ask them to relinquish the reins of government to the members on thic, sid ,, of the House, and it does not matter whether there. is any understanding or misunder­standmg between hon. m em bcrs on this side. \Ye hne a perfe9t ri\l'ht, as an Onposition, to do what we thmk best in the interests of the country. \Ve have at all times con­sistently assisted the Government in matters that were for the benefit of the people. We have done. all we could to assist throui;h tho House bunncss that was likelv to be for the benefit of the people, but we' have not seen very much that was in the interests of the

[il1r. Warren.

people, and we have soon too much that was in the interests of a class. \Ve know thP Government _:)tand for class. \Ve have had the spectacle of Lon. rnembers standing up and boasting of cl ass-cons('iousness. \V hen the Couutry party was formed the idea was to get a different class of politician-to get politicians who would repruent the great middle-cla", >tnd me'! that .,,·ould t,., fair to all cluBses. Ii the Go,·ermnent .de ire to bri11g fon< ard anything that will make our finallcial position better and be for the benefit of thi' ]IOOJ1lc, then, speaking for myself, and I believe for the whole of the Opposition, we will stnnd right behind them. AJthough t:hey are in a minority, in no c;:;,sc ha Ye they governed along pror~r lines.

Hon. n1:·mbers opposite sneer about co­operation, but that is the only ,;ay to as.,ist the people. The pc0plo should co-operate w·lth tho Governn1cnt. and the Govern1nent should co-operate with the pcop\8 to bring about '· bet er state of atf,c irs in Qur·ensland. I do not ~,,,j._h to er~, "stinking Jish," as it is a terrible thing for ~anyone to run the Statr~ of C!noensland dol,"n. Thi3 is a niost ""'~ ondorful country. I !.~_ave seen parts of the world ln vvhich it is ab<;:olutely irnpossiblo fo1~ A u<tra1i ans to live; and, when I lcok at this wond~rful Stat0, I say wo :::ro able to ::tand, to a certain extent, tho c:'-:pcrimC'nts t!1at h:cv' b_,cn indulged in by the CO\·crn­lJ:cnt. ~3nt therr 1nust be a Jin1it to all things, and tho"c muot bo a limit to these C'XfH?l·irnc-nLs. \Vho \Yeighed the GoYcrnmtnt in tbc bah.nce? It '·rns the peop]c \Vho -,,·eighcd them in the balance. \Yhen I first r .me to this Assembly wc Y: ere a very small Opposition, and all we could do was to enlighten the people on matters as they presented themselvcq to us. \Ye did our best, nd gradually there has been a gre-at ··evul,ic'1 of feeling. Hon. members opposite call themse!n•· the Labour party, and some of them call thcmsc-lvn the Socialist party, and I thi1!lc wo could ea•,ilv call some of them the 1.\\-.\v. JXd't). '

]1/[r. CoLLIKS : \\'hat rot !

Mr. WARREN : I do not want to be unfair about this, but the actions of •,omo hon. membc:rs on the other side nn: on a par with thc'le of proplo outside \Vho arc dpmanding ihat the l)rcminr should go in a different v;av to what bo desire~~. nnd I an1 very pkns~d to know that the Prmnier has taken a cert:1 in rt Jnd. There js a party outside that has be, n forcing the Government in a ccrta in direction. and I am f.,Jn·~.~ to say that the part:- opposit? aro not easilv fore· ,l to ado1)t a iegif in1ato course. V\ ... lwn the people raise their voice, then the GoYcrnment have to bow to thP.ir will. Is it not plain that, because the poople haxc spoken. tho Governnwnt aro becoming more moderate' It is :c good thing tlnt they haYc spoken, and that the Government haYe become more moderate. I think thrv should listen to the vcicc of the people to' this extent that they shou:d go bark to the pcoplo am! got from them a mandate to ~O'"orn. or be releg-atrd to the Oppositicn. There arc rnany parties, and they .are all krpt together throt,gh the 'amc principle-a selfi h principle. !Ion. mcmb),j;,S opposite sa:· that they arc out for humani!13": I ould like to know where they are out for humanit:·-. They arc prompted· by the nmc crd.vings as the capita17st~ whotn tht~y run down. Thev arc out for loot the ,.a;nc as the capita!i~ts are out for loot, although

H' ant of Co>'fide1'Ce 111otion. [25 AUGUST.) Want of Confide>· e .Motion. 279

they have not the same capacity. \Vhc1·e do they show t.heir humanity? Do hon. gutlc­men oppolito go and vis1t the si.J~ and -carry fruit to invaLJs 'I Thcv veil! du these thing~ throtLQ;h lcgi:,lation, but they would not touch these peo11le with one ul 'heir little fingers. \Yh· re i' the difiPn'nce behcecn hon. gcntlc:nen oppusitc and the eap1tahst·: v·hon1 the~- arc .~lv-.ra ,~s runnin< do\-'.-Il, and whon1 tbc'v are Ur!fai~· to? \Y~ want all the capital ,;,..e can get come to Qu{- ''""'lls1.anJ, but \VP are not to bP drilled by capital. \Y c \Yant t, ecP capital conung 1nto th1s State bccau o we hclieYD that it is tho 0111.~- way in \vhich thi~ ~tai • is going lo be dcYPlopcd, and L0lievin~ that we arc not going to r~n' llo\Y~ t~1~ capitalist" a~ though t'tev -,,Tm·o dingoe:) amongst our flocks ctnd h· rcle. \Ye ought to encourage thcn1 all ''·~ _c -·nd b:.'illg about a better t2te of feeling 00;·· th:_ two c}as-;c's. If. hou. r:c1tL-:-nl011 oppo;;i·tc· thir~;: tncJ: arc gon.g .to fortH a nc1v •--:;·;-trr1l, I S<tY [t<clv',;edly tha_!: the:- aro not g(:illg th0 l'igh't ·wa_y to do Jt They <'re not ~,;!shing to bnng about n. betttT sv;:..tm1l: all tll\ ." \'ant to-day j~ to gt•t ,' JP1ething for 1~o:.hing. I ~111 conv1n: ·· d that one of the :;re 1t troub: ., ~n connection \''i'ith the un~_rnp]Q~-ed q;w'-tion IS that l11C'll wa~;t t 'J !llUC11-lWt trJo nlu:->h

rc.?ll"'' 2.Ho~etlv'f, but thPY ·ant to ;rct so111C­th1ng for nothing. Tnl-:t' n1·,T o-,,-=-n fann I employ onP man. 1) 1~t I eoufrl cornfortab1. employ four if I ronlrl r;pt de ·>nt r( ,,dt~ for thP DlOYWy. I p··~y d gond \\- an;] i challPnge a:.Jy·-np fo ~.ny that I do not. Thn hon. m:c'-rnb""r for Sc.uih B~·1sl:)[Jn;· -I ~n1 not n1aking .·,~ pcrson;:d ref.erene·:>·--·has staJPcl tll8t the; Govcnml'. ut d10nlrl forcn the cap1tah· ts to f:!IL,c-riLc to t br?- loan. I sa 1·

c .arc not c:ncr 'lr[!glng capitalists t- j-_lVl ~t then· money !ll this State to doyelop it.

Mr. COILJX~: .:\fothir will happen t<1 cap!tal; bnt sc•r1'·.•thing n;ac· happen to tlw capitalists. The hon. gentleman rlo<·, not undcrdand.

1\Ir .. \YAHRE~;: I under·,tand ~~:". 111uch about It ns tho h(ln. nlf'nlher for Eo·>t·cn, although lw does not think I do.

I! the Gov~n1mcnt arc going to run tl·c; State enterpn.ses succe~c;fu1ly, thev ,., ill h~~ ,,-D

to put men 111 charge who wilf rnn th< 111

on f.dund. c?mn1crcial lines. I do r2ot kno\v wh<:ther Jt 1s true, but I arn not inr~in~cl to behevo the siatem'"'t of the Minister that the ma.nagc;r of the State Produce Agc"cv took thf'm clo"' ll, as he •n1s in the c1l1 nlo~ of the St !0 lc:r oomc concidew1,)e ti w ~ft~·r the tranc,ac+ion took phce. l_T;;til we grt competent 1non to run St.Btc f':ntnrnl'isp·. \Y8 sha]! h;,;v~ to dcpc11d on nri"'. ~t(l Cnt.crDri·'~ 01' 00-0llPl'a!ion:. but hon. nlPmbers opp.osite do not hehcYe m co-operation. . l\Ir. Cor.r.IKS: The Goycrnrnf'nt do believe 1n co-opPration.

Mr. \YAH.REK: The hon. me 1ber for Bo\YCI1 is ~.vrollg a~ain. \"Y"hl'n the hon. rnem­bcr for D_rayton moved a re~olution to -extend <::a-operation to _the secondary industries, hon. m{nnbc·J·s oppo~1te votc'd against it.

Mr. F. A. CooPER: That is entirdv falee. Look at "Hamurcl." ·

:Mr. \YARRF.K: It is correct, and th~ ~10P;. memb0r has plcnt~· of time to proYc that 1t 13 not corr<'-rt. I~on. 1nen1bcr.s opposit. clo not want ro-opcrahon, becJu·;.s-_:- there '\Vould be no tirne for thcn1, a:- a co-onerativ(l roll­ccrn must have go·od bu··inc:::s .. men t; run it.

I Yery 1nuch regret the rcm~rks n1adc by the Treasurer with regard to the Murarrio bacon f....ctory. The gcntle1nan is not in his 'cat, but I hope he will have th" grat-o to withdraw his remarks.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: He did cor.:.ect anything that he thought was \Vrong.

l\lr. \VARREJ'\: I deny th •t he cone .. cd aHything at all. It wa.s ollly likco the wager he rnado ·with the hon. ITlCtnbor for ToO\\·o· g. I do not "·ish to make this a 1wr··onal nu:ttcr; but I a~,k ·him as a gentlmnan ta ,,-ithllra\v the st..;.tcme~"!.t that he 1nade ogainGt that fuctory.

Mr. B1:LCOCK: Did he. nc,t say tlu:.t C\lura ·. rlo \vas a flourishing financial concern'?

Mr. 'I'ARREN: He made an un:ouncled charge against that factor''· \lthouo;h tlw ~Iunnric fuctorv c,n one orru~ion h:::tr1 a serious hit-up, it'has pulled throu;h. If this Govcrnn1cnt had clone half as Innch for 0neen <land as the ::'<Iurarrie factory ha.s donc> fO_._ the pig rai.;;:n's of Qnccn:;<land, \~. ~ should be in a fionri-hing C'·Jnditi,_,n to-clay, and t 1·r: G-oYPrnincnt wonld still ha.ve had their :najorit of twc!•ty. Tht? G-- \ ern<nc·~1t ha• 8

no us istt,cl in the co-optrutivo m·OY(~:rtllnt.

~'·Ir. COLLIKS: Thnt is not true. Look at the Co-operative Agricultural Production Act and other menv :re.~.

~Ir. \YARRE.:\f: The pntti;1g of Acts on the statute-book does not prove th .t the Go r t·nnlcnt ar-e sinrerr. Th~y ha.-vo pa:se~l a )fain Roads Act, Uut they h111vc nut get a n Ein road in Queensland. 1_

1 hcy arr not doing anythinr;- for the fanner:J, and f at is the r-,ason tbat tlH? farnH~rF arc tur:ii11g uiain~t thCin. The d,::ivs of the GoYcnn:rt-:Ht a~:.e ntunbcr.cd) and thC sooEer they get off the map the better.

2\Ir. CoLLIXS: \re have got a ma~ority in the sug-ar districts in the North.

::\1r. \YARREN: The ugar di::tl·icts have been through have all tnr1lPLl again-.L hon. ffi(':nbcrs opposite. I-lon. n1GlLbGrS ovpcr~ sit,~ ou•·ht to read the signs of the tirnos. a.nd f'"ivC the people the chance to say " ~{ 0:,"

or •· '.:.'Jo, to this 1nisrul~"', to this ~~1oli-ation, to th',s \nd manageucnt, bee mse. aftcr all. the l,,·1JOlc trouble is bad nwnngcl'lent. \Vhat have t~c Goyernn1ent done for the fannl-=:r? Th0Y have raised hi~ ta){,JS, and they have raisC.d hiB r.1ihvay freights.

1Ir. C%LIKS: \Yhen did we raise his taXES'?

Mr. WARRE:::\: The Government raised the raih·ay freights, v, hieh are a he~ vier lax thun anything else for the man on the lane!. The Government also imposecl a land t.ax on hin1 . ~h. CoLLIKS: How many farmers have paid

the lane! tax?

Mr. W ARREJ'\: \Yhen the Goycrnment were putting mcmlwrs in the other Chamber, die! they put any farmer,, there 1 I do n•Jt think so.

Mr. CoLLIXS: What about Mr. Courtice?

C\Ir. W ~\RHE;\1: They put publicans and :'-'inneroS in the Council, but never a farewr. The•; die! not \Yant the farmer in t:he other pla~P: l''lt born use the farn1cr is a great :nti ance no\Y the GoYornmcnt arc holding ont a ~o. l to hin1.

Mr. CoLLIXo: Do ym1 say that C\Ir. Courticc is not a farnlPl'?

31 r. W an·m. J

2SO Want of Confidence .:.lJotion. [ASSEMBLY.] Want of Confidence lYI uti on.

Mr. \VARREX: That has nothing to do with this debate. vVh1t have the Govern­ment done for th£' small farmers round Briebane? vVJwn the fanners were paying £20 a ton for chaff. and were being bled -.-.hite, the Home Department put on a nEan, paltry tax o[ 103. a head on the dair""{T­men. It w,1s really a poll tax. That 1s ,,-hat they did for the farmers. ?\ow they hold out a S0'' to the fanners, but they do nc:~hing tangible.

J\lr. CoLLIKS: Look at the price the cant! far1ncrs g~t fer thciT cane cmnpared to ~,~:hat they used to got uEder tho old Governments.

Mr. WARREN: The hem. ?;Pntleman has found one ugri~ulturEtl i11dustry that is flonri.ching-, and I would not be hon~st if I did nDt sa v that the ""ne £ rmer's business is in {L flou~risbing- cDnc1ition. I giv~ the ho11. m em her for Do''· en credit for what he did in thftt connectio11. But we tnl!3t re:nc~uber that, althoug,h the furruer g-t'ts an increased price for his c~n.e, the rost of prcJucjng it ha~ al~o 1~C'Oll inrrea13ed to a g"l'C_·~t rxicnt. You 111ust look fair and sqnare at all tho'Sc thing3.

\Yhat 'lhont tho 1ailway'? I un very kec)nl.v intcre~1 d in th2 fruitgrowcrs c t Qnc('n:land, and I ~<Yill say this in Ltvour of thn Commis8ic,ncr for Railway'·--I am not going behind anyone'a lJUf'k ~ j-o d{n,-n the

G&vernment-I admit thd he [4 p.m.] has n1d us in e,-,,,.. conceivable

~-ay, and ha:; gonC to ~ grtYJt dc.al of trouble to give us better faciliticc' for the ~arriage of our fruit; but 1ve pay wC'lJ for them: in fact, v1·o v~-Y n1o1'c than a fair thing. Tlo- Minister for State Enter­prises (or \Vant of entcrpri~r) coinparcd rail­'' -<Y fre~ght~ with shipping f::'cjght;;: I Din

sorry to r<-a:v WP have to CO!Dh0_t high shiiJ­ping freights; but we haH' also in Que~ns­land to combat "' it~1 the rost of railwav carrin~ro, in which t.here ,has been an enoi~­mous 'increase ~<vithout rrny rorrc'"ll0:!1ding benefit. It is tru'', as the hon. n12n1ber sflid, thai ru_1hvay rah~s hav~ g-one up in the other Stat.~s. but thee ha,-c b, itn faciliti~e there. rrhov are going in for ?., Jnuch better ells::, of truck, for instanc,,, v:hile \Ye Qre at a. dead .·tandstill.

'fho SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LA~DS: The best cattle trucks in Australia are in Queensland.

Mr. \V ARREN: The hon. member knows that that statement is not true. They have not got covered trucks in Queensland, but in the other ·States thev a.re covered in. \Ve are not progrPssing in 'Queensland. If we \Vere, there would be a much better position than ever before in the State.

Mr. GILDIY: You were never better off.

l\Ir. WARREN: I was £20,000 better off; but I am prepared to .sa! that the hon, n1cn1he1· v•:a-; never better off. He glories in bcjng a proft:"sional, and professionalism is bringing the Go,-crnment-not the State-on to the very rocks of d· struction. Hon. mem­bers will ;-a•: that, because we draw attention to and givev timc1y warning of certain things, we are crying " stinking fish." I ha to the exprros'3ion. I think it is a. dirty expres,sion; but, so far as v~·8 are eonrerned, it is not true. Son1e of us ''Tith businf, _s cxnerience have taJ,en part in big co-operatin1 ·concerns, and we and the people see that the Government ecre not tran'Iling along the right lines. If they were "'ivise and rnodcrate n1Pn, instead of extremists, they woul-d accept ad vice and try to co-opcra,tc in the good government of Queensland.

fJJ!r. TrarrPn.

I would like to touch upon what is damag­ing the country at the prr•ent time. We hear a lot about these three old gentlemen who wont to the old country. More mistaken gentlemen, to my mind, nover crossed the sea. I do not know what sort of a delegation it was, but I quite agree that it wa"' a gigantic mistake. I do not understand what they went for, and the party with which I am connected do not know. They may have gone for the good of thoir health or for the good of the State which they left, or to visit "Uncle Sam" to get some private assistance; but, if the Premio,· is honest in hia convictions-and he is not-that they destroyed hi,s credit, well, I say, "God help the credit of the Govern­ment! " If three old discredited polit'cians could destroy the credit of the Government, it must have bee>n in the sewer long before. By their actions men are judged, and by their· actions these gentlemen are going to be judged. I had a paper sent to me to-day­perhaps they knew I was going to speak­and there is a IDt of vile trash in it that I would not nse in any debate-stuff sent to damn different gentlemen on that side of the Chamber, particularly the Treasurer, but I say that, in dragging in mud, those gentle­me-n have br0'1ght this absolutely on them-selYes.

1\Ir. F. A. CoOPER: \Yho sent you this­stuff?

Mr. WARREN: I notice that the inter­jections are not coming from tho responsible member' of the party. I must give the­intellectuals credit for listening to what is meant to be, at least, an honest attempt to Ehow where the Government haYe made a mistake. The hon. member, with tears in hie; voice, brought a dead man into the­Chamber to get the sympathy of this House and the gallery. I-Ie is the same gentleman who told us what innocent men the Govern­ment were; how thev were not as wealthy as they had been in th<' past; how they were tho victims. of the slanderous, venomous t<mg-m·s of the Opposition; and what good little boys they were. As a matter of fact, that i3 all humbug. I was at Stanthorpo a few weeks ago, and the soldiers gave an entertainment, in part of which they pre­tf'nded to be posing to have their photographs taken. These gentlemen are posing all the time, and the hon. member for Bremer, who would like to be in the Ministry, is posing most gloriously when he talb about a d0ad hero. I have S<'en too many dead heroes to slander them bv thought or deed, The­moment after he was talking about this truly great man he was laughing and sneer­ing at the Opposition. This is the man who was holding up gentlemen on the Govern­nlcnt benches as wonderful examples of virtue:!' and mode,tv. The fact of the matter is that the gentleman who said they were bc!Lr off than ever before has mo~tly likely made a very good hit. I£ thr y are not, they oucht to be. We all ought to be c;etting better off.

Mr. F. A. CooPER: You sold one of your farms.

Mr. WARREN: I did; but the hon. mem­ber who has interjected would never take on farming at alL He v;ould farm the farmor.

The 1)PEAKER : Order !

Mr. WARRE::\1: Anything I hctYe so1d h~s b· ?n sold honestly. The trouble >Yith me is the t the Go,-ernment omake no attempt to r.,pre3cnt the people. It is like a man running in

Wani of Confidence }rfotion. [25 Auuus·r.] Want of Confidence J'vfotion. 281

a mob of wild cattle, jabbing his brand on them, and saying he owns them. The Government have a majoritv of seats in this HDuse, but they make ;10 attempt to justify their position. Is the fact that the <;i-ov~rnn1.ent have a nul.jority of seats any JUStifiratwn for not allowing the peop 1e to say whether the GoYernment should remain in office or not? The people throughout the Strrtc have no conficlenrc in the Gm·eTn· mcnt. It is our duty to lDt hon. members opp_osito know what. the prop le outside ar) s:1ymg, and to persuade th~ _n to allow the people to goyern th-cm·'clYf'·, in a de;nocrati~ ·way. If we, as fn r:mer>, the _Ight tho Govern1ncnt were be:nrfiting us, \Ye ·would stick ID the Government. But '" ·' find that. the Gov_ernment al'C not supporting prir'i1ar_ prodt~cb?l?·. I-lo\\- ar·.c we going to :!1C'~ t our habtlitiCs? Our imr> ;rt•· arc ,·cry much greater than our exports. T,.,-o of tho grcat<st men of the day, ~dr. IIughcs anJ :Mr. Lloyd George, have told m that ':e must produce more. \Yhat c·nccurauc·ncnt is being given us to procluC'c '? In ei·der to n1a.ke any progress ,,-e shall ha ~·c to iL rcnsc our exports.

Mr. Bl'LCOCK: \\'hat abont the wJol anJ the beef that "''2 cannot ell''

Mr. \VARRE=": There art! lot, of other things we can export. \Yhilc~ our 11artv do not stand for a class, yet we believe 'it is absolutely cslential that somechi;cg sho:1ld be don~ to place }Jrin1ary production nn a rr1orc stab,.e footing th2<11 exi t3 at the presc~-t tunc. In calling ourselves a Cr_:.untry p::nt.,: we \vant to twe the \vord '' Countr·; ,. in its broadest sense. One of the principles which ~]] Govcr!'ments have failed to recognise IS that 1t 1S ne.ce,ary to have a healthv and prosp.crous cla"'s of primarv producers." \Ye need to 1nako him a. solid ~itiz.en, not necc ·­sarily a wealthv man. \Ye do not b·'lieve in wealth in th8.t sense any n1Dre than- hon. gentlemen oppocite do. \\' e do r:ot think it is a >VDnclcrful thing to be a wealthv man. iV c do not all Wctnt to bB os ,,.,_ ~lt!w" ae the Tr0nsurer. u -

The TllEASl'RER: Who t1·i·col lo bu>' vour sea.t a while ago? It 'vas no La l--our ~la~.

:Mr. \V ARREX: l\0vcr mind "~ha triecl to do it; I am certain he did not bLiv it. Thci'C arc hon. gentlemen on the other" side who rcali:'3c the nccC's~ity for bringing about a better condition of affairs. The Gm·crn· went claim that the present po,cition is tho n<ult of the war. The'' do not admit anv n1isgovernn1cnt or any \nistakes · thev aT:-2-" Si1nple Simons ~' so far as that isu con­cerned. Yet there haYe bee,, n1i-,~ukc~ n1ade in nearly cyery State enterprise. \Yhen wo take over the canning factorv in the cours,~ of tirne-- "

Ho:1. \Y. FoRGAN s~nrH: \Yho .,

Mr. \YARREN: The frui~grown,-v. he vc be.en offered it time after time· bnt \Ye are not going to take it until a c~rtain amount of debt which is on it has boon written off and \YC arc able to put in a board of dneetors who ,,·ill br bneinc's mana­gers. \Ve ha Ye already progreescd; but not through the assistance of the G.o,-e1·nmcnt.

Hon. \V. FORGAN S1IITH: Did the cannon' not givr you any a;;_">ist:lncc this >,:J.r? "

:VIr. WARREN: I ha~Ye not said the cv.n· nery did not giye us any assi tanc-2.

Hon. W. FoRGAX S:mTn: Di l the Govcrn­nwnt give the fruitgl'o\Yer- any a~sistancc \\ ith the ce.nnery this ~-car?

Mr. WARREN: I have not said that thl'\ cannery did not come to the a'~.istance of­the fruitgrowers. I ~ay that it did come to, their assistance, but because of bad manag:· ment, nDt to the extent it should have. We are going to organise it in a rhffcrcnt w_ay. \Yhen the whole of the Sbte cnterpnses were placed under the con+tol of the one 2\<linistcr they should have . bee~ g1;·en to. the most Bxpericnced man m tr1e Cabinet. and not to the least experienced, as vvas the­case. We would not then have ha;d tl.1e spectacle of the State enterprises being ni the condition they are in ut the present tirne. There i3 any rtmount of roo111 for improvement. Nobody v:apts these enter­prises to succe-ed as rnurh tnc pnmary pro­ducer dG0·. \Ve helped the Govorn:mcnt in every way we possibly coulJ.

\Ye ha.ve heard a lot about the returned solclicr-I am SDrry to have to say anything against the Government on this matter. The: rct.nrnecl soldiers have been managed on a par wi t:h the State enterprises. There are returned wldiC'rs-soldiors who bled for tlw Empire­settled at I3ccrburrum. The roads in thot settlement arc in a dilapidated condition. and the Gcvcrmmmt are a ki11g the men there to cart pines, a very pcrishc,blc c~mmodity, 5 miles tD the railway line. I p·ointed out to the Government that it could not be done. Then; is no proper road mrrde to manv of the farms. It is only. a track cut thrD;]gh the bm.h, and the gr~:mr;d has be:n cut up in fuch a way that It 1 · ID r1 chs­v.raecful condition. A man cannot cart more than hvelvc or fourtrPn ca.Sf'\, of pines at a tin1e, and he ran only cart . b;·o Jonds. ~ dav from a pla~e c.alled Elunbah, whwh mC'ans that in one day he can only cart twentv-eirrht cases. In order tu make "' Jiving at the price the Government are offering to-dnv, he would have to cart 100 c.,sos. Therefore, he would have a balance left on bis far~11, unless h.__' Clnplo~ cd some~ body else to cart the pines.

I do not wish to sav anything against the price, as I believe, on acc'ount of the ''ump in e,,nned frni\3, it is necessary that the pri<::e should be low; but, if the Government cannot afford to give any more than the vrescnt _price, and a ~nan can

1 on1y. cart

t"t.renty-e1ght cases of p1_nes to ~no n11l.way ~idin(r in 011e dav. how IS he g-o1ng to hvr~? It is~ absur·d; an:d I ask the Government to appoint a Commiesion to go into t)"o v·holo question. An analysis was taken cl the soil on some of the blades by a Government officnr, and if this anal:r,,is was correct~ then I '"a v no man can l i vc on Po:.ne of tho:"Je blocl(s. I ask the Government to take t.hc,e thin"'s into consideration and se" if they cam~ot do somcthincr for the soldiers along co-operative lines. nin conclusion~ I -\Yollld suggest that the Goyernment conside1: "their position, and con,ult the people; and, Ii they do that. I feel quite sure that we sh,dl get progress, things will be better, and ":" sludl g-et rid of a lot of tlus Gbetrucbon In

Queensland. I mu,t sav that there is one cxcept.icn on

the other side, and that is thC' hon. mc·rnbcr for :Mount Morgan. Undoubtedly that h?n· ruembcr treated the Mount ~1oro;an qur,twn in a 1nanly manner, and it is np to every­body who believes in fair plny and hone,t:,· ID f<ivc that matter the ,,-,·ir·ht it cleecrvee. I, for one, would be willing to a<,ist in anything that will bring about better con· ditions for the men at Mount :'\!organ. I must

Mr. Warrw.]

282 lVant of Confidence Motian. [A'3SE1IBLY.] lr ani of Confidence Motion.

confess that, before I heard th0 hon. mmnher fm Mount ::\1or~an speak, I thought thin~s were ' .>ry different in th<tt centre.

Mr. HYAK: \Vi!! you eupport an amendment of the VVol'lccrs' Co:mpensation Act?

l\.Ir. \V ARRE='f: Like the Government. I do r•.Jt Jll'O!ll;,;c "nything; but I do say that, if the hen. mr-mb0r was right, then the Pr~rnicr was wrong. 'l'hc hon. 1nernbcr for Mount )Jon~;an, if he gav~ t}H~ fact3, rr1arJe out a gcod caB" lor the nwn at I\-Iount Morgan.

Mr. CoLLrxs: Th0n vour indictment No. 2 has faikd? ·

l\Ir. \Y.\HRE~: EYer:cthing in that indid­mont is quite rl;;·;1t s-o far as v e ,have the facts. .\s the poonle right throughout Queensland have said, " \Ye will not hm·o thPse men to rule over U3," is it not ti1n2 the~; rerogtli~ed the position anrl y~ca.tcd their scat" on the Government benches?

The ATTORXEY-GEXRR.\L (IIon. .J. Mullan, Flinrh,rs): I would not hnv0 spoken on tbs •notion but for the fa· t that eertain unralJcd fcl' rcm::trks hr'vc btvn ma,rJo in -connection ,dth thr~ Rt rl.j, trihutio~l Comrnis­sion. The hon. n1C'11~}(~r for lVIcrthvr wax~cl indignnnt ~~trrduy : ;cau~P o~H~ o( the cont­rnolt peotJ1C, m~·sdi 1 h3.d hc~Jn elc..-atr1d tJ the position of \ttorney-Genercd, wh;],t h'. karnoU in tlw la:~- :_-nd \vise, \Yhi11c.; and pines and f:f'),,ls a·~, <• sccond-rnto 1:1 •:.11bcr of a s. ,•ond-rote partv. Ho nrrtends to re ;c nt the. action of the L3.bour r)arty i1l qna~hing· anc1cnt and rnusty precedents by putting on'­of the {'ommon pCOlJlc in charge of the Jns­tice D0partment: but hi,, real o' jo· tion to me is not bt{'ansc I an1 a la-;, .nFn bUt I a111 a Lc!lJour 1nan. I-!c j ibc8 a' m0 he says I a:11 not an attm~ncv, and I am EDt

<1 ~ener."l. 1 candidly ftd:nit, I :.m n~ithor: but I would point out to the hon. moml ~r that be is not an attornrv, "'' the leadf'l' of th,, Opnosithm will toll ,him: neither is he o. JI0ncral, nnlc::.:s it be n gcnf'rDl humhug. Thi~ i'OUr-soulc··d man \vith a p;ric-ranc-: ~-es­terday critici,,rd the Prcmirr of thi-e, 8t. tr_, becau~o of N':t·tain remarks h0 rna.ae j_n f'On­neetlon with the 1911 Elc<:toral Commissio"!; and th(:n tbis { -rtle71Jtln, l· 1 Vl,Y:='r-likc. pro­ceeded to do that which he himself hn·d con­dmnned, and 1r ?.de a mo:;:t shamcfu1 ath1ck upon a hod:; of honourable men w:ho bad· carried out their work in a most efficient n_nd ":' ale <>lntely impartial way. (Oppori­bon do·,ent.) As o u1ntlnr of fact, only t',-o of the members of tlw party with which the h.on. mc1nbcr i~ a~sociat€ld m:>de anv objt?r­hon at all ag-a1nst the work of the Commis­si0n, and he himself, thi:=; dis!5runtlcd Inem­bcr. mRde lt pur\'·l~·- on pero:::)nal ground:.;. T can sav to-dav that moro n1cmhcrs on th-i3 side of t:he House have complained of th.c work of that Commission then on the otl1er side nf the House. showing that tbe work of the Commission has b<:'ell canie-d out fearlessly and faithfully. The polit2. man­nerly club man who rcnrucnts ::\1erthvr

rharg,ed the Gow>rnment ith [4.30 p.m.] being hand in glove with the

Commission. Ho based the t charg-e nn a sbtement madn bv me to the T'rr s in renh- LJ some of his ponde"ous noints. Th;s is m,, stat'-ment as it appeared in the Prc:-:: :-

" The points raised arc not new. Thc•1 nnd 1!1--,.uy \lth,crs be.:;ide thmn have- he,.~;1 fully ccwidercd by the Government."

Th0 points raised wore not no\Y; my state­ment "'"s perfectly trne. What was wrong

[llir. Warren.

'·' ;th n1\ st1tcmcnt? \Vas it not the obvious dutY of tbe Govcrnn,cnt to rea-d and consider thC', Act. and to consider every possible <>mergcnC\' thctt mig'ht arise? I can truth­fully",,,:-' that cve\-y point r<tised by the hon. !nenlbcr for lv1erthyr, and many other point'. ,, ere fully and amply consid?red hy the 1GoYernmcnt hefort' the ConllnlSSlOn was appo;'Jtc-d d all, showing the the Govern­ment had not been forestalled by the hon. gpntlcn1all. rrhc hon .. g9ntloman Sl1C'OTing}y st:>torl that the CommlSSlOn had turn0d me do·n1, yet in the next breath bo sai~ ~hat 1 \vas hanrJ in g1ove with the CommiSSion. ·what an ,xhibtion of crass stupidity for a man le,•rm cl in the law! Fancy .a man who v. ant"~ joh giving such (::n exhibition of stupidih- (Government lau~hter.) To use tb:-_ lan'iua)!C usorl b:v th~ hon. gcnt1cnlan yc""f'rJa...-~~. hi;;;. stat,enlent was cov.-ardly, o_r stupid, Or both, because he ca.nnot ha Ye Jt both \VftVS.

The h;n. <:(entleman yesterday refcrrm~ to hlf3 obicct1ons, aPd most of h~s conf_enh~Hl'3 cAntr,--cl rolll1{_1 his ar·~;u1nont Ill connect1on vvith the quota. If his argun1er;t yGstei~d~y i~ shorn 'f!f bar-ren lr'?:aJ verb1ag;c anrt 1ts '·dog Latin, we find what he meant to <:onYC:V to th-e House. He nut it in such leC(al Jargon that no one could. understand it. Wh,lt he " •ntcrl to tell tho House was that the Commis 'on that was r-ecently appo!nted had to work withjn the one-fifth rnarg!n._ _of ~ho quota prc:cribe-d bv the Elccton-J D1stnct9 Art o: 1911. For 'the Commie,_ion to have worked within the one-fifth marg-m of the 1911 quota me:lllt that the Act would have be(n umvorkablo. Th" 1911 quota w:ts 3.763: tne minimum. 3,011: the maximum, 4,515. If ,YO~ take the mcnimum quota for 1911 ;11ed nculh­ply it lw the seventy-two electorates, :,ou. would g·et only 325.080 ohctors; and, as therf' arc '14.722 elector' in the State. thue \VOuld h~ve been a ~urp1us of 89.642 eJrc+ors unpro­vided for. rr >1" woulcl have had to create ninet'·cn additional >eats. which shows the absurd boo- the hon. trcntleman wo•dd have ~Et u~ intonh:v his logiC~ and technicalities.

Mr. KIXG: Thereby proving his ccmtontion.

The ATTOR?\EY-GF:NERAL: Legc1l opinions lwvr been obtained on the very que.<tion of th-> quota. Jt has bo.-m fully considered bv lc:ldinp; members of the bar h0rc. and nOt hv a 'tinpot c!hamber la-wyer likP the ho11. gcrlt1cm!ln.

Mr. MACGREGOR: I rise to a point of order, Mr. Spe•: ker. Please do not r~·train the hon. gentleman.

ThP PRDIIER : That is a reflection on the Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The Attorney-G0nernl is not in Ol'do;· in making personal reflections.

The ATTORNF:Y-GEJ'\ER.i..L: I wonld not dream of de>conding to personalities such as the hon. g-entleman indulged in yesterday, which I sbould ha Ye thought would have been beneath a gentleman learned in the law. I am referring to the hon. gentleman, who is onl:v a tinpot hrief la\v;~or.

The SPEAKEH : Order !

The ATTOR~EY-GE)[ERAL: The bon. gentleman said that the Commission could only work 1Yithin the one-fifth margin of the 191'1 quot<t. I am going- to give the opinion of leading members of the bar.

Mr. Knw ·. Which bar 1 The ATTORNEY-GENERAL: The bar

at which the hon. memoor for Merthyr

[25 AUGUST.l TVant oJ ConfidBn~e J.'.iotion. 2S.~

Dl'Cil, ionnll:;.- attcnrls. The hon. g-entlc1nun does rot bk~ it .. bur he will hcv. ~-·to like it. Here is the C)inion on the quo',a l1Y the lradinrr members Df the hnl'. rrnd u Jon ,;·hic.h the hDn~ gcnt]cHIRll ha~ l. ,,-~Jv floundered-

" The nur!ll;cr of de( :ors 1n auy ::;pecitlcd clt ;_tor£!Je n, ,,d 1 -;t b: ~') apprcxi•nat- {l to t}1• p_:_' ., ·l'i::c ~1 Q'J.fJta nft.·r ndjr>~tmcnt that its nn1nbcr n1u<::t fall "·ithin tho one·Efth marcin of the 1911 que:'·" ~

Tl1is lr'gal prodig~ ha:" bt:on tnrne.fl ·Clo\Yn LY his 01Y'll broth,.l' h~;r. istC-'l' -, H] v1e ou~ht to hear no mor" nf him in this IIou c. ~,. :!\h lr:nned brot!H'r" -·--(GoY·cr,.mcnt laughtf;r)-.::_ sa,·s that the whe1lo of the pro]Josed adjust­Incnt b.r· tho prcs~Jnt Corn!:li _·s:on is ultra virc nnd inYCllicl. I£ it 1::: inYalid. he ha~ hi-s rrmcdy. IIere is a chanc-e for a ri~incr y0ung ba_rri~tcr ·who has P\Tr~~thir;g to fr i1l and noth1np- tn Ios~. If hc lose,,, it v ill be on]y_ ',\-hat evcrybocl.v. i11c1uding his ln·nther barr-.:>tPr.s. ;,qndd f'Xl)rrt of :bion. If. on the ot'ocr hand, he ~'ins, thc·n he '· iil h<vr· done S'll11Pthi:_!g to retrieve the uncnvi-1bl ~ record which hc made in th" r trl· dav· of last c<-.;ion. wh0n hC' .~:::~ ni~h! d and a1;1uscd th~

T-TonsC' l1.v gc•tting np and tcJllng- us thc.t IYC'

\~·e-re wrongly <:'onstltuted, for wEich he crot a joll_v g-oori spanking from the I-Ion1e Sccr~tar:: and the Spr.akor.

I have hacl cxncrience of bcth Con1nlis­Rions, and I h ~v8 no hesil;ttion in st 1tlnt; that tho men1bcrs of the 1921 Con1111ission have beep transparently fair, while the 1911 Cornmiss1on outra1!0d public d·'r:'cnrv bv a sranclalous manipulation of the elcCtor<ltcs. (Opro.sition diesent.)

:Mr. BRAXD: Not one Labour member objected in 1911.

The \TTOR~EY-GENERAL: The hon. m":mhrr was not politicallc· born when these th;ngs happened. I ought to know somethino­about whet I am talking of, seeing that I ;•;a~ one of the v;etims sacrificed upon the altrrr of Tory corruption. This miiJ-mannerc d man from Me .. th; r made some allusion to the famous 600 votes that "'·ere transferred to Mert:hyr. Everybody knows the historv of th 600. Everybody lm0ws what he ,.;as ·driving at when he r.nferred to the maninulation of Merth"r. In 1911 Fortitude Valley was, as evcr.~cbody kno\' s. one of the strongest elec­torates for Labour in Queensland and the 1911 Electoral Commission so deli~eated the bonnda ries as to make it, as far a-s it 'vas humanl.v possible so to do, one safe Labour and one safe Tor:· scat, inst0~d of being, a.s it should h:-1\ .. -e been, t·wo Labonr fPbts. The area whic11 includes the 600 yoters to whom the hen. member maliciouslY referred vestcrdav as havina- been )1L;t into his , electorate should ~ncYer have boon taken out of it, if honest men had carried out the 1911 redistribution. A[ncin, eYcrybody kno1.'S that Charters Tcn~-n·s '"<'lS

a good double electorate for Labour. The 1wn. m em bcr for Charters Towers can t~ll yon t~at do,·ilish ingenuity was employed, and h1.•t the scat W1S di,-ided eo that ono of the Labour men in that area "ould lose his sc:lt, which would P:? to the Tory party. Evervbody knows the h1ston· of Townsville. To,vn ,,~ille W-ts diYidod alo'ng Ro·,~:3 CL·eck, .w. tho hon. n1e1nber for To\Ynsville 2nnst admit, so as to make it rortain that one Joat wou'·i be Tory ard the ot:hcr Labour in t~c future. Then_ ag-ain, wh-at greater mampulatron has oc,·mTcd in the history of

Quoe; ,1o.nd than oc;currod in the Roekhamp­tcn c1i, cri et? The 1911 C.a1nn1ission \V8rD so soliritow about a community of interest•·• that tL " actually went across the Fitzroy HiYer a -~.cl tricJ to take in a Labour part there so as to maim Keppol a Tm'y scat.

Hon . .J. G. A2PEL: That is net so.

The }'l'TOR'\'EY-GE:'{ERAL: lt mitv bo all rio·ht for the hon. memb·cr to talk i,'; his pond•;;.cus and .'cpulchral tone,, but wlwt I mn -;;;tatin-: is true. rrhn other night the hon. n1cnlber complained that the 1vestern portion of his el<•duratc had been added to a district -with t, hich it had no co,nmnnity of int<C:l'C'\tc:; aud the reason he said that it had no eom­ruunitv o£ inter0sts 1\H~ b ·ca'.l ea crec~r: thoro \Ya2 fOund illlPd·-·~tble during the rcr\:nt ".'isit of \1 ]_ L·ineo of \Yal-:..;. Bc(~ause o~ a ;_:rer-k ~·unning through tlwl place, connnunit.~ . st Jll,oj_·c;;:~·.~ \d1,~ stn·.·shcu. Fallc~ a m<l..n wnn su1w prci::::n::Ji ):!1.'3 to a kno1vlctlge of la ~y t~· ir!j :,.n arguJlerrt liko that l This young lt, "ycr frcm Albert-(Laughtcr.)

rr~> SPE_\.I<:ER: Order! The hon. n1e2-n~ addre~s hon. rnmnbers b./ their

Tho ATTOR:XEY-GE~ERAL: ·will the 1Iousc lx ~ r y,·ith mD for a n1o~ncnt while I just g:iv the tv. 1 objodion cmbmitted b:.· tho intd], rtl' .J Colc s n, from Albcrt. Ho said th .t tl>c Albert Pk•ctorate, having- aboYe ih r nota, ::,lwulcl not hn_ve been d0alt ~.\ ith by the Comn1ission. If the Con1mission could no<t clc:d with an electorate which h"s abo,·o its quota, how as it going to get yotes to l'PplcnisL tho:::.e "':lccroTates whi{'h \Ycre brneath the quota'? (Lnugbt2r.) Parliament is not the place for H mar:. who u:::es an argu1nent like that-you can g·uc-.s \vhere it is.

l\1 r. 1\:.r:s-G: 1:~ our argun1ent is as clear as n1ud.

The ATTOR;\;EY-GENERAJ~: It is much cle.-,rcr than some of the objections the hon, member made, (Laughter.) VVo will tako th:• second objection made b:;· tho hon. member for Albert. He nys that, when his electorate was first fornwd by the deletion of Logan, the whole CJnestion of boundaries ·and com· 111unity of intere~ts ,..,-as thoroughly inquired into and the pre"'nt boundaries fixed, and that, therefore, the: should not be alterable. Therefore, none of the other seventy-one olcctoratu should be altered for the YCr;' same reason. The hon. member for Logan -who app::trf'ntly h \S bft;n enjoying hinu~clf at the expense of the other lawyers, and laughing up hjs slc<ve at them-n1ade somo remarks about biG electorate, too.

i\fr. VOWLES: No wonder the. people say we should get another Parliament.

The ATTORKEY-GENER~\L: While men of the hon. gentleman's '.tlibre come to Par­liament there will be little hope for his party. This is what the hon, member for Logan said in his objections-

" 1. That neither the spirit nor require­ments of tho Act ha vc been observed.

"2. (a) ·with regrrrd to the Logan elec­torate, the Logan, Cleveland, and Beau­d. scrt divisions of the electorate are inhabitecl, by primary producers.

"(b) That the primary producers' divi­sion has hecn joined in with seasi-de, re,idential, and holiday resort areas, such as VVynnum. Manly, Southport, Coo]angatta, and T\veed.

Hon. J. Mullan.]

284 Want of Confidence 11Iotion. [ASSEMBLY.] Want of Confldenre ~Motion.

" (c) That the interests of the primary producers in theee parts will be subordi­nated to the votes of town electors Tesid­ing in such seaside resorts.

" (d) That the community of inter0st of the primary producers of the di ·tricts referred to "·ill b ' therebc· de-troyed."

As a m'ltter of fad, the interests of the prim:1ry producers of the old Logan elcc­torat: ha,·c been proper!:.· preserved by the adjustment. Taking Logan as it stood, there were 4,900 votes in the Coorparoo or to,vn division of the electorate, whilst 2,500, or only half that number, 'vere primary pro­ducers, showing that the primary producers were outnumbered by nearly two to one under the old diYision. Under the new adjustment; the primary producers of Coorparoo, Logan, Cleveland, and Beaude,ert have been adjl!sted and joined to a similar type of country, and have got proper representation. The objec­tions of the hon. member for Logan were only Cilnl and humbug, because, when he went to the Con1missioner··' office to interviow them. after looking at the proposed alteration, the hon. member eaid that he had onlv a senti­mental objection to losing that portion of the electorate. '(Government laughter.) The hon. mC'mber for Pittsworth took exception to the redistribution of seats. He made complaints against the Commission; but when he got back to Pittsworth, at a public meeting on 14th July, he said-

" The Opposition, through Mr. Barnes, were r0sponsible for the redistribution of seats scheme, and now they would snffcr for it."

:\Ir. J. H. C. RoBERTS: I also said it here in the House when I spoke the .other night. The hon. member for Bulimba did not carry it out, though.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL: .l\'o Com­mission has given such entire satisfaction, taken on the whole, as the present Commis­sion. Th~ Commission in 1911 wiped out country seats, but there was nothiug said about it, because they were Labour seats. They crei!tcd new metropolitan SE'ats, and nothing was said about it. The 1921 Com­mibSion had authority to alt-~r and adjust boundaries within the la'', and, taking it altogether, tlH)y have, in n-ty opinion, given general sati:-:faction. I have no hesitation jn st ~ting- that the Colnlni~,-Jioners carried out tllieir \Vork honourably, fairly, irnpartiall:Y> and efficient!;·.

GOYER!OIENT J\IEMBERS: Hear, hC'ar !

lVIr. G. P. BARNES (H'ar1cick): Very little more evidence in support of the legis­lative and adn1injqtrative incapacity of the Government is needed than the speech which \Ye have ju-t heard. A speech of that kind is scarcely in keeping with what should emanate from a ~;lini,ter of the Crown. It is unfor­tunate that, at a time when tho credit of the country is at 'take, and the Cabinet are called upon by a motion of the Opposition to consider the whole question, Ministers should fail to rise to the responsibility which devolves upon them. Not only this House, but the country outside, will rc'l,lise that no GovNnment can stand under the charges made against them in this Chamber in con­nection with their administration and under the sorry plight the country finds itself in at the present time. It is difficult to under­stand the position when we remember the

[Hon. J. 3fullan.

ren1arks of th•, Premier in NoYember last,. when he :;;:aid-

" It has to be admitted that the prin­cipal difficulties that exist-and they a;re· grave difficulties-arise from the scar01ty of funds. There is no doubt about that. It is not a difficulty that affects Queens­land alone. but even State and every country in the world ~t the prC'sent time. As a matter of fact, the trouble exists in other countries and is reacting on Al!stralia and Queensland.''

The Premier pointed out that there was wor!cl-wide financioJ stringency, and C'mpha­eised the need for both sidc·o of the House giving- attention to the situation. That open confession made so far back as N oYember last certainly made the country believ_e that the Premier and his part:> "ere gomg to· g-ive definite attention to these matters, and would enclca vour to pull the country out of the bog that his administration _has _got it into. \You!d any mo,n, aft,or h-.tenmg to the Premier in 2'\ovember last, form any other· conclusion than that he and the members of his party intended to bend every energy and put forth their best eftort ·, in order that the country 1night be released from 'vhat it was mffering as a result of the want of money brought about by the iJ?capacity of t~e Govcrnm('nt? If the position \Vas grave 1n ~ovembcr last, what about the position now? I suppo~t: no truer words were ever uttered than were uttered by the Premier and

another member of the Govern­[5 run.] ment when thev made the state-

ment in 1915 that "finance is the basis of government and also the test of government.'' Surely, if such is the co,se­and we all sa,. that it is-they stand con­d•Jmned bv the(r utter failure to make affairs bo,]ance! - The' condition of the finances of the country wae brought under the notic~ of the Government by the very officer who giVe~; his time and attention for the" purpose-the Auditor-General-eo far back as his report of 1918-19, in which he said-

" There is now a world-wide dem<md for econon1y jn respect to puhlic expen­diture. and, in view of the deficits of the past three vears tog·ether with the infor­•nation con~ eve.d b tho fig-ures in general ~ppearin;; i~" the l~~!port. lt. is obviou."l-if the financial stabilitv of the State 1s to be maintained-that· the gravity of the· nrescnt situc.tion and the risk in regtnd l? t~; futm0, call for thoughtful reflc::­tion.

The Gov·ernment failed to reflect. u11til the­Premier addressed the House in :--;ovcmber last; but, unfortunately. his reflC'ction ho,d no ·further weight with him or his Cabmct, for the spendthrift policy of the Govcrnm<mt has been continued right along t.hc lino. It is very unfortunate th.at in ahnost every cpeech from the other s1do there has been a lack of r ny particle of attempt ID f,• ce tho true is.suc. ::\.::anv oi the Sl1Cccht -...-en' tLYwl to a de:QTec. ancl 1nanv of thcm-~nch a:3 th~ sJwech 'G£ the Ationioy-Guwral thi, eft~r­lio'Jn-bordr·r _,d on tho corniced in:-tc'-ld of clr-votino: the nttcnt!on ,vhich th0 Pl't mi r d1rcd·,,d l1i~ follcn>-crs to glvR to the great n11.tters, surh ;:-s the· financial pc~ition. the ( •'r djti0n of the pEb1ic lr:llallC€·"', the tr,lni:fcr of the Sa\ ing Hank m~d its effect in prevent­ing \Yorkrr,s .fro_rfl gcttin~ their. di\Glling; nncl farrncrs then· Joan'3, as pl"'V10US1.\'. I1

there had bt>~n srrionsne~q and a realisa­tion by :Uinisters of the position, sure!:;· the

Want of Confidence },'lotion. [25 AUGUST.] TV ant oJ Ounfdence Motion. 285

Secretary for Railways would have re?ferred diffenntly to the railways and their manage­ment. Surely more than t:hc briPf refb-ence nf the ::\finicter ior S 1·at-; ELterprises to State Bnterpri.-,cs \Yould have b-_"211 1nade! Surc1v 1nore would have Lcen heu·d rtgarding unen{­ployment than the very fine &peech of be hon. Irl'~rnb.-._· for ~louut lVIotgan! As it is, .allp:.rcutly the hon. n1cm her an:l the Govern­rn2r:t are not at one i:1 1~

1

-lC'li.· 0tti.tude towards t:hP uneLlployecl, and the whole of the Go­vernment side have L~en silent on the -qu,_,,,tion. Then there i~ the 1night:v CflH''·tion ·of taxation, and th:;) au~ .. 3tion -; hich involves ,dl others---the ~~ucs(ion of ·the countr7·:3 -en clit-yet I defy any man "ho h,' h-ca.rd or read the ·"JV:~:chcs of 111en1bers OlJDosite to ·~ay th1J either ·luts bcr•n dcbah~d _._ b7 then1 in th(:.: fitting spirit. 1f\l e can onlv take th~· fact as a confo.~sion that the destrurtiYc nature ni the nolicv of the GoYe1·nmcnt i' rcali,cd by thelll, and th_at t!w~· fe~l t_hat tl;'' ·countr',- has bf'·._m e.acnficeo 111 tneir Yan1 atL···m6~ to bring about the- millenniun1 in their O\Yn \V~· y.

It is very unfortunate that the complete 'figures representing; the financial pc~i.tl011 are not before the IInuo;e; anJ, if statemcCit, are made and conclusions arriYed at which may be somewhat in error, the Gnvernment are to blame for having failed to suppl~· al: the figures thev shouk!. However. taking the figures as they are presented, we se•' a state of things appalling to any student oi finance Hnd to eYerv man who is inter,_qtJ in the wellbeing o( the countn. One hon. member gave voice to a kind· of vcail that a chance was not being given to the Govern­ment, and tihat they ·wem conducting the affairs of State during da.' s of stress and <:!anger. There seeme-d to be a kind of sug­gestion that there had been a Bhrinkage in rcv{'nuc. Insh·:>d of that, we find that for the six yE ·•rs ended 30th June, 1915, Liberal Governments receiycd £36 982.816. whilst the prr~E~nt Governn10nt have had in tlL'ir hands £57,389.056-an incnease of £20.~06,240-so that any suggestion that finance has been all ~tress ard hard work during the ach,;inistra­tion of the pre~.ent Governn1·"nt jg altorTethe-r forr·ign to the truth. .\.ncl tlwv have ~• man­aged to spend rather more than t hev ha ,·e rre"0ivecl. The 1nillions and n1illionS n1ore that have rolled in to the Governmpnt have k'en quite insufficient to cone with their ideas o~ spending. In that sa~e period they have d1sbursed £21.224,518 more than their predecessors in a similar period. The mag­nitu·de of their expenditure and the growth of the revenue will be realised when it is Btated that the railway revenue for 1920-1921 was greater than the whole of the rc,~cmH' of the State fnr 1911. In ten wan th·• increase in l'C'Yenue h::1r; been so extr'aordinnrY that at t:he nrcsent ti1ne fr01n ~Jv:" dcnart­ment alone t hrre i~, being rec0iyed a grPater ~um than the total r,~ceipts ten ~-fvJ,r.s a <.!'0.

The actual raih~ ay reccints for the financial year 1920-1921 were £5.330.312, and the total revenue for the vcar 1911 was £5 320 088 I' has been imposs.ible to ascertain th~ a~tuai amount received and paid on account of Trust Funds Account because of some alteration in the wav in which the accounts have been kept. Taking loan expenditure and revenue expen?iture together, we find that during the last s1x years the Government !have enjoved £27.572.070 more than their predecessors durin[( a similar period. Coming to the year immediately under review, if the receipts and expenditure have been accurately shown, they display an appalling state of things. In

the_ published report the figures are: Con­~~lJdltcd TL'Yt'llne, £12,601,0:Jl; Tru•t, Fu~1ds, £4.006.070-total, £16.608,101. 1 \Youlcl like tD ud~ the Pr(,·:nicl· ii the stutcu1cut \Yhich aplH~a:!:rd in tho Pr ',3 jg a full and corre-ct Et at, m :1:t o_~ o.ll 1'·- ccil_Jts and all expenditure dur~ng la A y:_ nr?

The PR~2I!En : Yes, it is a eo m pletA state­e'!C!tt.

Mr. G. P. BARNES: The expenditure on Rc\·cnue Account was £12,591,201, on Trust Fund Acconnt £-t,511,7Lt2J and on Loan Account £4.251.248. In other words, last year the 'G'?'·crnment expended £21,354,241-an expcnd1ture over receipts of £4,746 140. \Ye arc entitled to know from the Go'vernment before the House rises what i2 the sL te of the public haLwccs. The pcsiti.m is the rnorc ::crio:.-<'3 when \YC look at the .[_\ucLtor­Gc::.1z-ral's rt'marks under "Cash l::-1lanccs " for last •;ear. He showPd that th2ro was a cr':-dit b;la1 e ~ of £35,927 t'.~. 9d., and he rrdc'rd-

,, To arriYo at this balance allowance has been made for the d<Tmit of ,£1.0JO,C·JO plat cd at call with the Trea­surer b~: the Commissioner of the Queensla{xl Government Savings Bank. If th's amount were excluded the correct cash balance would show a d"bit of £964,072 16s. 3d."

Going further b1ck, the total amount included in the balance on Loan Fund Account is £760,912 5s. ?d. Yet we are told by the report in the Press that there has been an expenditure on Loan Account of £~.251,248, and not one penny of receipts. I think this Hou'C is entitled to know where that monev came from. or how the accounh have bee;, " rjghcd" in order that thr~t expenditure might be mar1e. The answer mig-ht come that it i · port of the £3,080,000 of Savings Bank n1ol1ev. If it is. whv do!?s it not a npear as a rPceipt under Loan Account 7 There is considerable room for explanation. The fact is. there lhave- been no aotnal Lo:...n r0cripts: yet \H~ · ha Ye ix:dulge:l in this cxpcr.rlitun•. Pn::c.:iblv -_,rr(,ngenv!rb haxe bePn l118:de Hh the . r~L.:k of Er~~·lan-d Ot

\Yith 1orRl ban1~, .. The PRE:\1IER: It js incorrect to s:2_7 thl're

have been no Loan receipts.

Mr. G. P. BAR="ES: The Cabinet surely are responsible for what has appeared in the Pre .s. If YOU look in the " Couri,?r " of 2nd July last,· you v:ill find that w:~,,,t I he\'e stated is absolutelv correct. Th~ hon. :-ccntle­man will be able' to say whethr.,- the·~ h~v? r:_,ceivcd n1onev f1'0n1 FOurces which are not Ul,_•ntionf·,d. "

Tlw PnE)IIEil: I would remind the bon. "'ember that the proceeds of the recc:1t £2noo,OOO loan will probably not be inc1mlx1 i" any receirts publishe·d. It is not ll'nal to publish the Loan Fund receipts.

:Yir. G. P. BAR:\'ES: That is eome explanation, but surely a fnll0r sk>ten1ent is due to the country. Hc:·e is a c•mmlete statement made as to the end of June, show­ing that the Loan Fund has not reeeiYed one penny.

The PnEMIER: That is the ucual form. \Yhich has been adopted fc1.· t,~·,~:nty y~::·J rs.

Mr. G. P. BARNES: In any case, the state of the finances was so critical in NoYember last, when the Auditor-General drew attention to the way in which the

Jfr. G. P. Bczrnes:'

286 TV ant of Cu1~(idence 1\Iotiun. [ASSE:\IBLY.] lV ant of Co.lji<Jence lv!otion.

balances had been " faked " that surely theTe is room for the moti~n of the hon. member for Dalby which is nov. before the house. I wonder that any Government should bo al;'lc to find a solitary rnan to suppOl't them when they haYe been respon­sible for ?ltting tho finances into the condi­tion they are in at the present time. In the raihyay Ggurcs \Ye have presented to lB

Sllreh· a state of things which should haYe ckmaudcd some better consideration than wa, giYcn to it b•: the Minister. The deficit for liYe years e.ndcd 30th June la:·t was £4,F21,547. \Yhat the loss is this year ca11not Le accurately f'tated; but, seo:ing .. hat :_.he 1~cccipts only sho\v an excess over ' -:pcndi~nre of £233 314 to go tcnvarr1s pay­iug the i11t<~rest bill-whirh will not be h>3 tLtn it was last year, v1 ::1en it was £1,866,339 -it is sltfe to sa"· that the lms for !act year ·. ill amount to £1,582,525, ancl, if that i nddcll to the pn vions d<>f;0its, \v.: ha,~c a :-u!,t) of £6.507,072. 1\'onld ycu not imagine thtlt the 1\finistcr \YOulcl have vi-n-n US SOll10

explanation, knowing, as he d~Jes, the facts of the ea~ c and thn excceding-l7 sick condi­tion of the raihv·avs, and knowing, too, that, in ordCl' to makC up that lo::.s the burden h · d to bo pass cd on to other people' This lo-t;, ha<?, to be made up by taxation, and it is a sorry thing to find that taxation is rommanding the attention it does and that there arc being imposed upon the people burdens of this kind which are throttling C".'f'rv aYcn:ue of industrv. Our rPil-v\ a\ .. -'i\--hiCb -were ju~t about a" paving conccr~ in 1q15, ,.,-ben they paid £3 16s.' 7<1. per c•cnt.-1 ·t :·f'u o;cl_v paid about lls. 6d. per cent. It v;·ill t hcreforo be readily re diced how rnormou~ the loss \Yill be. In the vear ended 3Cth .rune, 1920. the raih:-a"s 'r~id £1 7s. lld. per cent., and, in spite ,,( the profe, .. ed economy and in cpite of th0 Prcn1irr's speech t.l which I haYe referr d. Y'Te find still grf'atcr cxtraYagancc a.nd that .e hcn·o gone to the bad to a greater cxtrnt. It 1::;: useless for us to say that this kind of thing 1·. common to the othn States of tlJo CommoJw .. "lth. It is nothil1[7 of the kind. New South \Yalcs ra ilwa n hst :car paid 4.43 per cent., " .. hi!st thc \~ictorian railways paid 3.72 per cent., and. 1f :;·ou _want a_ny p_roof of bad manage­rtH'nt and Incapacity, 1t is only neccssa1;y to cast your eye over the figures showing t h_o r~1lway _revenue and expenditure. I w!ll s1mply g1ve the percentages paid from the year 1910, and hon. members will -ee how gradual and sure the shrinkage has been. In 19.10 the railways paid £3 14s. lld. per cent. ; ,.. 'P 1911, £3 15s. lld. per cent. ; m 1912, :u~ 10s. 2d. per cent.; m 1913, £4 Ss. 4d. per cent. ; in 1914, £3 10s. 3d. per cent.; in 1915, £3 18s. 5d. per cent. In the year the present Government took charge of things, although the railwa \'S

E'arn~d about the same revenue as for tiw prenous year. they only paid £2 lls. per cent. _In 1917, they pai-d £2 b. 5d. per cent.; m 1918, £1 9s. 7d. per cent.; in 1919, 13s. 9d. per cent.; arcd in 1920. £1 7s. lld. per cent. On the cstimato for this ,-car the r:til"~a:cs wil) pav lls. 6d. per cont., and, not \lfh.3hndm<: that tho railwav revenue for the n~ri9d nan10d sho\vs an, increase of £5.~· 1A 777. For the five Years ended 30t!, J Ull"' ] a'!, t h • earnings i TICl'ea sed by 29.44 per c"n!. and the e:x_percditure by 88.22 rwr cent. Loan expenditure for last year is ].Ut f

1 '1wn -at £4.521.2S8. ·what ]W~nortion of thr1t has 1JC'f~n cxrwndcJ in connectiOn with

;_I",, (' J.

railway construction? It is an extraordinary thing that, although we arc spending million"' in radway constt·u.ction. corn par _:ti\·ely fe'Y r1jles of ne'" rail,~'a.y ha' c been opened._ I lind !.hat for the Year ended 30th J unr, 1920, '· expended .£2_.629.3!)6 on raih' ay construe-• on or in ronn~>d.ion vYith the Rail-way

D(·_partmc-nt, and during that yt ar 73 miles of ne;'c raih...- ':' s ,._ erL' Ollcnod. Last year hm1 me,ny millions were expeY>decl I do not knm•. Thnt will be revc -tied later on, but only 57 1nilcs of nc·v raihvays -were opened. The SecTf:tarv for Fc,jl·<a-- s spoke of the · rlticis1ns th'Dt ~,Yer·..; being leYeilccl aguin~t his ckpartn1ont, and he beg~~~d and prayed th'l,t the tioYernnwnt should not be embarra~h -;d by ~n1ch cri~icisms. It is tho people \vho arc bojng cn1barrasscJ; it is thos: who use the railways and those who p.·y the taxes who arc being ,,con,lded and embarrassed. ·when tho hon. member fo1· D.iurnnnbn \vas speaking thi;:; a ftrTnoo~ the ~·linister indi ated that there lnd been no increase in raih\ ay charges. \Vhs, they ha,~e been simpl.\- enorn1ous! I ha,-o a fe·vT figur-=-s w hi rh will indicate to the House what hc~s been done, and which will show t~utt, in a.ddition to djrcct t·a·;::ation, we have bf'r·n suffering a [J;reat Joal through indirect taxation. rrakc r:tock for ir st.-tllCe. For an eig·ht-wh<•cled CQttle truck a distance of 100 miles, in 1915 the charge was 80s., and in 1919 it was 139s. 3d. For the s,1111e siZ<:d truck f(lr a distanc..:: of 200 n1ilcs, in 1915 the c-11arge "as h6s. 6d., and at the present time the chargo is 244s. 6d.; for 300 miles, i:1 1915 the charge was 202s. 6d.; and at ~l:c p,.~ ··'.lt tinop it..is 323 . .:. Jd. The,-:; flgun-, show ti "t the increase> for 100 miles ha' lw0n 59s. 3d.. for 200 mile' 98s., and for 300 miles 12ls. 3d. 'l"hat is a mighty increase, and when you comE.· to other cla~.-;e" you find the same thin:;. In connection with merchandise the rate for Class I. h;u. been increased by 20 per cent., for Class II. by 17~ per cent., and for Class III. by 20 pei· cent. That is an alarming state of things, and surely the hon. member for J\furrumba had ample rectson for charging the depart­ment with not having assisted the man on the land, but with having farmed th<J farmer. He is the man who is embarrassed by the increased charges.

The TRE..ISURER: \Vhat did you g{'t out of the Ro1!way Dcnartment for a iitt1c bit of land outside the r .. ailway yard :;t '\Varwick?

Mr. G. P. BARNES: That is outside the qurstion. I a1n spt_'aking of the increased charges mad€ by tho Railway Department. I find in connection '.~:ith rnaiz0, on ~hort rnns they ha,-e put up the charge, three-fo'd, and on a 15-n1ile rnn they have done like'.Yis0.

On a 20-mil ~ run the rate ha • [5.30 p.m.] increaced from 2s. 2d. to 5s. Bel..

and on a 55~milc run to 10s, 6d~ The increases in the wheat ratm have not been c;uite so p·reat, ranging from lOO J)ler Cf'nt.. dowll to about 20 per C•cnt. A gr<:.lt num bcr of Il1C'11 j nst no,,- Dut of 0 npluyment arc turning their attention to ood grtt1n6, and are 1naking nsc of the r tilways, and we find that the cJ,a_q:r(~ for a. .J~-to11 'nq2·cn for a 10-n1ile run .h: s incrcasrd fron1 Q,~·- 3d, to 18s., "·hilst for a 20-mile run it has increased Lom 11·... lld. to H'' 4d. I am calling attention to th0se thillfS sirup~~ on account of the plea of the ) [inisti:'r tint the Gon:rmP<mt shonld not be ombarrah"d. It is the ''Tare ra.rn~r. it is the worl;;:cr, lt is the :man Trho lives jn the couutr,".~. i~ i_, the

Want of Confidence Jiotion. [25 AUGUST.] Want of Con)dnce Jiotion. 287

taxpayei· who at every turrr is and has been embarrassed by the GovNnment.

The TREASURER; \Vhat about the whoat pool ?

:IIr. G. P. BAR::--JES: I am not going to discuss the wheat pool. Th<ese are weighty and sm·iou Inattcrs and they re argu·nents in suppurt of the res<Jlution suhrnia :d to thi ~ Hou<~ and to the coui~try bv the leader of tho Oppositi<.'~n, I \'.'O~l~der 'that there i:~ a tnan '\vlw \Yill stand to the GoYcrnmont, I \Yonder t~1at then_, i~ a mpathis,- r in the countr:v ,vJ-o \Yill remain truo to thrrn, ·when th:=- actual position has bP-?n rnado h:nowE and rertifi.: J tc. 'l'he Libera-l Governn1e:ut, during thrir six years of offire cndf'r1 1915) nE1.naAod to get in in taxation £4.619.G2J. whilst the prc· :nt GoYernm:::nt n1anaged to scrape in in thelr six YhtP of office bv t'Xf'ru:;ive, cruf'l. and bnrd0n,ome taxation "£15,059.291. Just imagi1:c irr1posin~ on the peopl.e in six :-·cars an incr<:>ase of taxation of £10,439,602! I 'Y\·:J.o1t the L[ou·e to noL; the ta·,ation for the year <:>ndod 30th June last, under the r!d•nini:;tr.•_tion of this GovcranH:nt. It i3 £3.682,641. which is jnst about the nmount that the Libcr~d CoYcrnm('nt collrd,-d -i:i four vcnr '), which 1\'JS £3.Z66,577. Thele are other ~1cpartmont3 that are s}JoYring inrreas ~d t Lxa­tiou. all of which mount up. In the year 1920-21 frorn tho raihv:1· alo1ic the rt:Yenu.-. i:l< e1sed by £964.099, the i!lcreo "' in freights and fares accounting for £837.150 of that am_ount. It would not r:1attcr so 1nuch if thc)rc \YJ.f.i anything to be ::-,__;pn for it, but I dt"fv anv man or an nu~nbPr of men to sho·w th~t the C:)Untry or tho GoYcrnr11ent i'3 a.nv bcttf'r off a:J a r"'·ult of the i ~creased taxa t'ion. Duri n.g th/}. ~ix, ~:.re~_; rs the Go\~ern­m---nt ha\·e bren 111 ottwe tlF' Inc:::'f'·lscd dncct nnrl indirect taxation aLlount, to HO lm's than about £15.000.000. or. in other worch tq an ayerR_E,G of £2,fi1'),00J per aLl(lXn, nnd yet 1ve haYO the Governrnent plc:a.ding that '\ c arc in str0~,. and danger, 1Yith our credit g"onc. In this connection I find smnc Yery fine comment- in the Sydney "Bulletin." It says-

"On last grievance· day in the Reps. T. J. Ryan arose to discuss the multi­tudinous unemployed in tho Sbto from which he fled when tho finances began coming homo to roost. He laid tho blame on the wickedness of the Federal Govern· ment in not supplying Queensland with £2.000.000 to ' open up' the lands on the Burnott River. Briti'h financiers turned the loan proposition down as not nearly good enough. Tho l\finisL'y of Misery evolved by R_;·an and Theodoro having rushed Queensland's taxes up to about hvire the ayerage of its neig-hbours, Father Bull didn't believe there was anv further taxpaying power to depend upon.;'

That is what I "ant this House to note. The• GoYerJJment thought that, by going on eqneezing and squeezing, they ·could make onds meet, and that thee' "ere doing no injury to the credit of the State. It just shows how shortsighted they were, for, if vou incrcas•J taxation and the burdens of the people. any man with a head on his shoulders kno'->.S that you arc ro·ducing your ability to wry what may be borrowed on the othor side.

"Federal Treamrer Cook took much the sa1ne view. IIe had no spare money to lend, and he didn't see why ho should borrow it, putting the narnes of fairly honr,,t States liko Victori?, S. ~'l.us., and

Tasmania on the back of the tattered mendicant's p.n. The preliminary census returns and the publication of the revenue figur<'' to J nne 30 show that Theodore ald Co. have raised their State taxation another notch in these piping times of pcaco·-to £4 17s. 6d. per inhabitant per annum. It is really a little more. for the ca-lculation shol!ld bo based on the average population for the year as at December 31 instea,c] of on the larger one at census day; bnt £4 17s. 6d. is some­thing to go on with. This moans that, b_.d as things are in N.S.W., they are £1 6s. 4d. per hoad per annum worse up North."

It will show what happens under Labour rule. The article goes on to show that in' )," ew South \V ales, under the Holman Admin­j;,tration, the taxation in the yoars 1914 and 1915 was £1 5s. 5d. and £1 lls. Bel. respec­til·ely, and in Queensland, under the Denham ~\dministra.tion, for tho i~.an1o years it ''"as £1 6s. lld. and £1 Ss. 2d., whereas last year, under Labour administration, in Ntw South \Vales it jumped from £1 lls. 8-d. to £3 lls. 2d., whilst in Queensland, under the present ' Administration, it jumped up to £4 17s. 6d. The article continues-·

" It is in these two States that the cry of the unemployed is most intense, and the doling' ,out of pauper rations most continuous. And they are both beggars­both clamouring that the Federal Govern­ment should raise monev for them with the names of Victoria, "s'.A., Tasmania, and W ostrali<L on the back of the bill. along with their own OYerworked signatures.''

Tho TRE ·,suRER : That is a Yery shmt argument.

Mr. G. P. BARNES : But it is very serious. I thought tho hon. gentleman was hcco1ning s.erious, and beginning to realise the position of the country. There would be hope f01· the countr)l if Ministers rc:ally l"EL!ised that the position was so gravo.

It is posy to see the unemploymcn" in our midst. If the £10.000.0'-d or £15,000,000 extra taxation imposed upon the people of thCJ State b:; this Government had remained in tho hand of tln people, it would htwe been incr,_ .1sed to £20,noo,ooo. which would have been used in enterprise'S and in the development of tho Statr, thus finding en1ploy1ncnt for a "ast ar:ny of rncn. I am confining my:>el£ largely to figures.

Tho TREASURER: Quotc,tions.

Mr. G. P. BARNES: They are quot:ctions frorn the Govorn1nent's books, and it is no"cr,sary to show the incidence of bxation.

I "·ant nuv to speak about tho way in -;hich the Government hC\vo managed thmr State entcrpris· ;, confining nlJ "'plf largclv tJ the matt-er of tho station and meat busi­nesses. I notice by the paper to.day that the J\J:inistor, who took a certain imtitution to task in connection with their way of Yaluing things, has b·:Dn imrnodc·.t encugh to rush into print and attempt to reply to a certain h tt-'r which had been · cnt to him. It will be remembered th::t thn hon. mcmbor for Port Gurtis the other rveninr; bronrht up the matter of the halanco·shvet of the State stations. Tho J\Iini't·'r t 't0s in tho paper to-day that the Auditor-Gc:Joral )Wf1·

Fentcd a balance-sheet, or ';·ords ~Cl thnt

Mr. G. P. Barn,;J.1

233 Want of Confidence 111Iotion. [ASSEMBLY.] Want of Confidence 111 otion.

effect. The Auditor-General presented no balance-sheet. \\'hat I find is something very --different to that. Ho says-

" The indebtedness of the State Stations Department to the T1·c·asm·y at 30th June, 1920, was £1,335,614 29s. 3d., and the profit for the year, as cbown in the accounts, £25,661 19s. 3-d."

But that is a " faked " balance-sheet. I mvccelf drew attoution to it before the House ro;e last year, and tried to g·ct the facts. A sale was made. The Sl:tte statiom and meat­shops wanted to show u, balance for thF Y'",lr, but they "ore unable to ·do it. That made them think as to how to work it out, and as late as November last they put on their con~idering cap, and) in order to come out with some balance, they CJmmcnced to do certain things. If you are running a business comprising, say, an ironmongery department and a softgoods department you may find that your softgoods -department is not going to show up as well as it should, and you therefore p11ss a certain credit from one department to the other, inflating it •and making it appear as if a profit were being made bv charo-ing certain gDods. ~hat is w·hat the State Trade Commissioner did. The butchers' shops and the State stations were being run as one concern, ancl in November last it w.as decided to make a sale to the State butchers' shops of 14,867 cattle. That little bit of "faking" of the fig-ures arlded to the profits for the year a stim of £75 313. But that was not enoug-h. The Govern~ent, or the Commissioner. said they required another £75,000, and it was then decid0d to increase the value of 181.320 h0ad of stock bv Se, ld. per hc:td, thus ~iving them e,nother £73,283, making a toto! increase of £148.596. Then. after taking all that.. they come down with a balanc'' of £25.661. Actu~lly the loss on the State stations account, •··ithout referring to other things in connection with State enterprises, should have been shown a·· £122,935. A Government that will lend thomselveB to that kind of thing should not possess the confidence of hon. members following them, and they certainly ·do not possess the. con­fidence of the country. Then there 1s an item referred ID in connection with the State enterprises which requires some explanation from Ministers. I quote from the last Auditor-General's report an State enterprises, wherein he states-

" Tbe oxtra cost of supnliL:; received to 29th ]'ebruary, 1920, including interest and storage charges referred to on pai"e 14 in n1y pl·ovious report, was u1tinuttcly f1xed by agreement at £100.000. This amount was not included in the accounts for the year 1919-1920, but by Executive m.inut0s was ntado a charge B gainst th0 <·ombiu•d accumulntcd profits of the State stations and State butc!H'r shops­£50,000 b, ing payable on 15th July, 1920, and thn bnlance. with intere!t, in DeC'cmbcr f'nrrent."

Tho point I wi'h to make is that there is another £100.C·!O for which dame rumour says the n~·itish Government are rL:3;)0r'(,;ible. li thd Briti: h Govcrnn1ont arc in a nv \Y{1~7

respons:!·.-Jlf' for tJy;t an1ount-which I bPE0ve has to do with lnt0r0·,·.t ::tnd star ~e charg-es, f'S it \VaS pr• viouslv r{'ft:rrrd to llT}dCr that l 0ading in an \ 1rll'T :rcnort-'\vhv ~.y~.;; that J;Ot ,,i 1ted by the Commi",;ioner throllgh tlw

[ilfr. G. P. Banus.

Auditor-Genera] and the matter fullv and frankly referred to. instead of havin.g t'his huge Gurn kept in abeyance? V,le are told that the original amount was £166,000. Do you think that, if that sum was charged against the Briti;.h GoYernrncnt, the Queens­land Government would have troublc·d their hr -1d'· one Lit ir order to se~ure from tho pastoralist~ or the meat f't>1lpanies in Queensland tbe sum of £69,000? Does not th( .. ~,er> f 1 ct th :t a.. comprmnise -..vas entered into between this Govcrnrnent, the pastoralists. and thP Ineat \Yorks prove bcvond doubt that if the GoYornment had ,_nJ lo--~ or any charge, it \Y:-ts their rnavver, and not a mattBr for the British Govern­IYJent? "l"Vho w.aulJ acruse the hon. gentle­Dlan of trying to ~JYC the British Govcrn­n:ont the sum of £6:1.000 in t1ho fac,J of the \Yay thP Lusiness y;.·as transacted? There is c znple proof that the account is no charge flgainst the British Q,vernment. It is sirnilar to the £18.000 or £19,000 which b.v eo:nc subterfuge a fe\\ years ag-o \Vas obtained from the F'cdoral Goyer71rrwnt for a like consideration. I ,1m coining now to deal with a 1noro serious aspect. I was g-oing to de<l.l with the effect of the excessive taxation, and the mad plunging into enterprises hich has taken place. vVe know t.he waY the "hole of the cTedit of the State has been ruined b:-· hon. gentlemen oppositr. I was glad to nDte that on Friday or Satardav last the Pn,,n;er dolivere·l him­self in a ~very 1YCighty rr1anncr 1vhen ho referred to the I.\V.\V. spirit which is re1in· ing unionis1n in Queen""·lnnd, and called upon Labour supporters to help him. It as a kind of deluge warning. '_fihe deluge is ~0ming, and the Premier, standing· half ~.-.ay, cautioned his f.allovYc::(', against carryjng <Jut the ideal,; of the I. \Y. W. There is h 'PC when a mccu thinks. and th • Premier i-', thinking;. I am not satir:eal for c~·~1c mon1ent: I con1n1cnd the Prcrnier for ·what he has clone. I sav that the n1ovo n1ade b'-' the Prelnier 1.YaS a right one, and he conld go v0ry much further than that.

The TRE :sc:RER: If he '"' s that he \vill do so, will you suport him? ·

:Mr. G. P. BARXES : He shouJ.d t<ell that to the lEOn vho have got int<J their ranks. lie should state to his followers that thev haYe been on the wrong track, arid that the i ime has e.rri,·cd when they should review their vtbtude to\Yards many things .,,,hich have to ken place.

Th" SPEAKER: Order! The hon. gentle­man h;:; exhausted the timo allowed him by !h-' Sbndi 'g Orders.

Qtwtion--That the Government do not poes(·,:s tLo confidence of tthis House (Jlr. raw':;s's lnOtion)~put; and the House divided:-

AYES, 32. J.Ir. Jppel

., Ea;:nes, .G. P. , Bn.rnes, VY. H. , Tit>lJhingtcu

]~ ·,11 Brand Co,tt('rmull {;ostello l)Pacon F:rlwards

, F,lphinstone l?l'3tP1H•r

" r}~-~f'n .Tones Kerr

Tellers: )fr.

Mr. King , Loga.n

:).iacgrevor l\faxwcll

, )foo:re , 3forgan

~ott Petrie rolwrb, .T. H. C. Robcrts, T. H. 8izer

.. Rwayne T':.Ylor Yo;Ylts

., Walker , \.Varrrn

Brand and Mr. Fry.

Address in Reply. [25 AUGUST.] AddTess in Reply. 289

11r. Barbe;· , lln·nnan

Bulcock Collins Conroy Cooper, F. A. Cooper, \V. Coyne Dash Dunstan Ferricks Fihelly Folev Forcle Gilclay Gillie9 Gledson Hartley

NoEs, 36.

l\Ir. Huxha.m Kirvra.n

,, Land Larcombe :McCormack ~lull an Pavn:~ p~__"::tSC

, Pollock Hiordun

,, Eyan i-=m:.!th

,. Hopford Tlwodore \YP]r

" v:ellin~ton "--ilson

, \Yin~tanl,, y

Tellers.· i1-1r. Forcle an cl :Mr. Pease.

Resolved in the negative. The rPsult of the division was received

with loud Government clwers.

[7 p.m.]

ADDRESS IN REPLY.

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE.

Illr. MO ORE (A 1lbi[Jny): I would like to say u few words on the Address in Reply and, first of all, I desire to express my pleasure at the presence of His Excellenc:r the Governor at the opening of Parliament. It is a matter for congratulation that we have a Governor of Sir J\.1atthew Nathan's personal qualities and intellectual calibre, and one who is earnest in his endeavour to lParn all that he can of Queensland. If the notorious delegation had anything to do with the appointment of Sir Matthew Nathan, then their trip was not in vain.

Unfortunately, in the programme put before us through His Excellency, there is nothing that is going to be of material benefit to Queensland. Jmt. before dinner we had a division, the result of which was received with cheers from members on the opposite side. I venture to say that those cheers will not be echoed throughout Queens­land. _'\. large number of per"ons outside were waiting am:ionsly for the result, and they will bo grievously disappointed. Not for one instant do I think that the Government will be able to carry on very long.

The TREc\Sl:m:R : 'Whom are you after llO\V?

Mr. II100RE: I would not have any of the members opposite as a gift. I wish to state emphatically that I have been doing, and our party have been doing, nothing to induce anvone over there to con1e over here. 'Ve want them to go to the country and meet their fate at the hands o£ the people.

The PRE>IIER : So we shall.

Mr. ::YIOORE : I regret very much, as one who has lived about twenty-five years in Queensland and who has the welfare of the State at heart, that in that division t:he motion was nut carried, for I believe that, if we could only get a change, two things would happon-Queen.Jand's credit would be restorNl, and the unemployed problem vvould be solved. Those ;,re two vital things. and thev are Yorv much inter1voYon. Unfor~ tun'[Ltel:,·, h01v;e, er, the Government have carried th£>ir point. and the result. was rcc<:"in~d ~.Yith cheers frorn thrlr nH~rr1brrs. I feel honcstlv sorr. that that has come a.bont -not that there 'was an0 thing to be gained by hcv-ing to take office. (Gov-ernment

1921-v

laughter.) I quite recognise that, but I recognise abo that, if you can stop a train from rushing dovvn hill at expres@ speed, it is better to do it than to ha vo a smash up. And we are within measurable distance of a smash up; anyone know; that who studies the financial conditions of Queensland. And did you ever hear a weaker defence than that of Ministers vz ho spoke in this House? The Premier, as a rule, makes a pretty good speech even on a weak case.

The TREASURER: You did not speak at all.

J\.1r. MOORE: Is it obligatory that every­one should speak ? As for the Treasurer, the only excuse he had to offer was, " We are bad, but somebody else would be worse." The exhibition to which we were treated this afternoon in the speech of the Attorney­Gener,al was one of the most humiliating spectacles we have ever seen. (Opposition hear, hears!) I was only glad that the galleries were fairly full, so that the people 80uld see what Parliament really is. The finances o£ Queensland appear to be in such a serious condition that something has to be done to rehabilitate the credit of this State.

The TRE~SURER: The local authorities are in a tvorse position.

Mr. MOORE: I have never seen in a local authority meeting an exhibition such as we have seen here this afternoon-(Hear, hear c)-and the finances o£ local authorities, as a rule, arc conducted on sound lines.

'The TREASURER: The member for Bulimba put a receiv-er into one of them.

Mr.' MOORE: I would not be a bit sur­prised if a receiver were put into Queens­land. vVe have a Treasurer who, no doubt, is adroit in evading and ·avoiding answering questions, but the people really want to know the answers to the questions that have been asked; but, though this parliamentary skill may be useful to the Government, it is no satisfaction to the people outside, and it is no substitute for sound finance. (Hear, hear !) The finance of Queensland has been ill-advised-I might almost say suicidal­everlastingly piling on taxr·,-alwavs devis­ing some ne·w n1eans of procuring money. The Treasurer does not seem to r~alise that in a country like Queensland it is necessary first of all to develop the lands and build up industries before the limits of practical taxation arc applied. All he has done has bo0n to dra 11 as much out of the country as he could.

The TREASURER: 'While I have been rrreasurer no new taxation has been imposed.

Illr. J\.IOORE : There was nothing left to t~x, because it had reached beyond the limits of practical taxation; and, instead of bring­ing in lnorf-) reY0nue, the revenue is com­mencing to go down. V,' e see the result to-day in unemployment, want of develop­n~ent, and stagnation. The Treasurer does l!ot seem. to realise that his chief duty is, not to ra1~e rnoney) but to save it.

The TnF.\SURER: That is \'Yhat vve arc doi11g. I haYc 8h01\'11 a surplus each time.

i\f1·. J\.lOORE: 'l'hc condition of the country i-; qnitr-- c]oquc nt enough without any talk. :{on can see \Yhat is going on ontside: and the rcsnlt of the ruinous policy to which v ·~ h_aYc btun subj0dc::l during the last five or flx Yl _us. Is Queensland going to bo ,_ub­jf'"h·d to an cndnrn~~C(' t·- t to soo \\'heth\:>r it will eo !lap"': Eithn the Governmc.t haYc to recognise the true po~1tiDn or co1nc

lrf T. Jl ()f)rt.]

2JO Address in Reply. [ ASSE11BL Y.] Address in Re:rJy.

to so1nc compron1isc so that the:v will be able to secure money \Yith which to pay their interest and renew the loam thrrt are falling due, or go out and make way for somebody else who will be able to gf't the n1oney.

The PREMIER: \Vith whom do ycu suggest We '·hould wmpromise 1

Mr. MOORE : It surely is not necessary for me to say with whom the compromise should be made. I should say it should be with the people who have the money to lend.

Thr PRE!\fiER: Put in plain English, vou mean we should sell Queensland's s'e:f. go\·crning rights?

J\Tr. 1'.100RE: That sort of stuff is all right outside for nn ckction cry, but it surely i::;: time \Y~ '\1 nre past it in thi'~ Chamber. 'Ye ·want soue comn1on-scnsc argument. I v:ill qunt·: an Rrtirle from London "Truth" of 2ncl Jnnc. 1920, regarding the r~Jsition of QLlcensland-

" JYir. Thcodore, the Labour Pri1ne Minister of Queemland, has ma.de a curioue speech on the subject to which I referred last week. Qucensland, he says, needs an additional populatioTJ of 12 or 14 millions, and 'any policy likely to prevent this settlement or the invest­ment of capital is he-artily to be con­dcmwd.' It seems, however, that what J\fr. Thr·odore condemns iR not the policy of predatory legislation which Queensland is pursuing at the instigation of his party. but the policv of those who are protr,iing against it in this country. I--Ic lind~ that 'Qqecnsland's controver~ si 0'.' ·which in his opinion should be rnrrir>d on in Queensland) are known hero and are exorcising ' a regrettable influence.'

" K o doubt :Mr. Theodorc's rema.rke were directed primarily against the depu­tation of promiiHmt Quoenslanders, including a former Prime Minister, who have come to England to urge the Imperial GoYernment to disallow h,·o recent .~cts of the State Parliament. Tha power of disallowance exists, but in spite of the unprecedented character of these measures and the unusual. if not uncon­stitutional, methods by which thev were nassed, thm·e is no likelihood that· it will be exercised. The inexpediency of such inten-ention would have been patent enouvh witl->out Jl,.fr. Theodore's threat that it would not b2 tolerated. To that extent Queensland's le<!islation must be treated as her own affair and investors both here and there must put up with the ronsequences, however unjust.

"Dnt what l\ilr. Thoodore and other A1"tntlian politicians do not seem to understand is that though the old country renounces any rig·ht to interfere in colo­nial 'controvor~ies,' it rctaills the libGrty of deciding whme and how it will im·est its own money. Queensland is free to pflss measures, surh as the Land Act, abrovating contracts on the faith of which cctpita 1 has been provided for the deyclopment of the country, but the party in power must be living in a fooFs parD­dise if it supposes that those things wiH not be marked in financial circles. Capi­tal is :> shy bird, a.nd in thc past two or three years a good d0al has been don(' tn '="rare it not onlv fro-:n Q11C'ens­lend but from other State~."

[Jfr. Moore.

The position to-day is that "·e arc unable to secure money, and public works are not being gone on with, with the result that we ha Ye unemployment throughout the State. Something should be done to amelioratc those conditions. If you are going to take more money out of Queensland b.v raising local lo~ns. you are or>ly roing to int'. nsif.v the ]Josition. Is it rivht that Qu< ,,ns!and should ha ye to ,uffer indefinitely '1 It is not only the unemployed who are suffc'ring; it is the whole of the pcocJle of Queensland.

Mr. BREKKAK: Is Queensland the only country which has unemployed?

::Ylr. 1\IOORE: 1:\ o; but they a.re propor­tionately greater in Queensland than in the other States.

:rvfr. ·\YELLIXGTO~~: They con1e over fro1n ·victoria.

Mr. 1Y100RE: \Vhat is the good of tallting such nonsense? Are we not trying to get people to come to Queensland from other States? The Government induce them to come hC'ro b,- telling them that Qille<msland i' FUfJJK~cd to b<> prospering with l' Labour Government; and \\"hen they get here, they aro abused for coming here. They are the very people we want to get to settle on our lands. The position has to be faced, and the sooner the Govc1·nmeut face it the better. It i' no good bringing in Bills as a palliatiYo. I suppose the L'nemployed \Yorkers Bill v·ill be one of them. Those things are not going to do any good ; you ha,·c to remove the cause of ilhe trouble.

The SECRETARY POR AGRICL'LTURE: ·what do you suggest we should do 1

Several HoNOURABLE MEiiiBERS interjecting,

The SPEAKER said : Order ! Order ! I would suggest to the hon,. mel!'ber ~ha_t. he address the Chair and d1scontmue mv1tmg interjections.

Mr. M OGRE: I am by no means invitirtg interjectiom, Mr. Speal<er. I am making a. plain statement of fact which is contradicted bv hon. members opposite. I was asked ,,:hat I would do, and I said I woul·d remove th0 cal!se. I would stop continually threat.en· in~ canital with confiscation and harassmg indust/y with all sorts of impossible con­ditions.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: Repeal the Land Acts Amendment Act.

Mr. MOORE : What is the good of the Secretarv for Agriculture talking such abso­lute nonsense 1 He is trying to put words into my mouth that I have no intention whatever of saying. I say that I would do away with those things that are continually harassing the people who want to in vest money here; I would stop threatening ~o penalise every man who employs work~rs m this State; and I would do evf'rythmg I could to encourage people to come here and start industries by putting them on the same basis as the people who run similar industries in the South.

The PREMIER: Who threatened to confis~.ate capital? ·

Mr. MOORE: The Premier said he was going to search the pockets of the people ; he was going to keep in Queensland all the money required, and wol!ld see that not one penny-piece went out of Queensland so long as it could be profitably used here.

I want to deal now with the question of the tyranny used by outside organisations

Address in Reply. [25 A"GGU3T.] AddrMs in Reply. 201

in connection with tho administration of this State. and in this connection I received tho following letter from the Darling Downs Teachers' Association, signed by P. J. Fra,vlcy :-

" J'.,1r. vVa!lin. of Greenwood, a mem­ber of my association, has pointed out to us an embarras,ing position in which he found himself at the end of last year, when he was sent two books by you, and w hi eh he says wore intended for presen­tation to pupils. We are quite certain that you were actuated by the best of motives in doing this; but our union, of which l\ir. Wallin is a member, has set itself against prize-giving, and, therefore, vou can see that Mr. Wallin would have been disloval to this union had he carried out vour \~i,hes. Further, he would have left 'himself vpen to be crossed off the list of rn~mbership-a risk too great to take in the'e days of preference to unionists.

" \Ye feel sure that vou had no desire to place Mr. vYallin or' any other teachRr in such a peculiar pJsition, and for that reason we thought it best to point out our attitude to you."

The Darling Downs Teachers' Union were pn)pared to go in for victimisation, and said that, if this teacher gave a prize, he would render himself liable to be struck off the list, and that, in these days of preference to unionists, it would be too great a risk for him to take.

The PRE>IIER: You are attacking the teachers.

Mr. MOORE: I am attacking the Teachers' Union for daring to go to the department and say what should be done. Any teacher has a perfect right to give a prize if he likes. The Darling Downs Teachers' Union went a little bit further, and said the teachers were not to give any marks to the children; every child was to be put on exactly the same level. There was to be no competition in the schools, as all the children were to be levelled down.

The PRE:\!IER: Did the Teachers' Union put that int'J oper::ttion?

Mr. MOORE; Ye>; the teachers are not allo\ved to gi vc a prize in a school.

The PREMIER: You say they have been dictated to by the Teachers' Union. You are simply fabricating.

Mr. MOORE: The dictation is here. The PR£2\liER : Is there any reference to

the question of giving marks in that letter? Mr. MOORE: l'\one whatever. The PRE1liER: You said the Teachers'

Union dictated something in regard to the a" arding oi marks, and then you referred to that letter as your authority.

1\Ir. MOO RE: I did not refer to the letter as the atlthority for that. I referred to the letter in regard to the giving of prizes. I am quite prepared to stand up and say what I think is right; whether the Darling Downs Teachers' Union think it right or not. I say these outside organisations have no right whatever to go to the department and inter­f~re in the administration.

The PRE11IER: You have not shown that they went to the department.

Mr. MOORE: What is the use of the Premier saying that, because the Teachers' Union went to the department and dictated

as to whether prizes were to be given or not, and said that, if the teacher gave prizes, he would be: victimised.

The PREMIER: They made no such threat.

Mr. MOORE: The letter says that the teacher who gave a prize would leave him­self open to be crossed off the list.

The PREMIER: There was no such threat. Mr. MOORE : If the Premier says that is

not a threat, then he must have an extra­ordinary mind. This sort of thing should be stamped right out. \V e have a ~11inister m charge of the department, and it should be loft to him to say whether priz0s shall be gi \'en or not. If he is going to issue an order, by all means let him do it.

Mr. BRE>!XAK: '\Yho is this Frawley?

Mr. MOORE: He is the secretary of the UillOll.

lYfr. BREKKAN : He wrote that "off his own bat."

Mr. i\lOORE : There is no occasion to belittle a man because he is secretarv of a union. I strongly object to this pt:inciple of outside organisations coming and issuing orders against the vvi'.hes of the Minister. If the Minister is going to give these orders, we know what to do; bllt, if we are going to have outside organisations coming in, we do not know where we are.

The TREASURER: How absurd you are in blaming the Minister for "hat Frawley does.

Mr. MOORE: I am drawing attention to an abuse which is growing up in Queensland, and I think this matter ,hould be taken up by the Secretary for Public Instruction, as it is high tirne something was done.

The other night the Secretary for ~\gricul­tnre took great credit to himself for having given a wheat pool to the farmers of Queens­land.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: For guaranteeing the price of wheat.

Mr. MOORE: He said that this is the only Government that dared to guarantee 8s. per bushel. There are men in my elec­torate to-day who have not yet received the first payment for their wheat. I am not criticising the board at all, as the board were unable to take it at the time, but it is a very great hardship that individuals should have to s4ffer because there is a pool. The Government Bay: "You shall not sell your wheat to anybody but the pool"; but they ncade no provision for the pool to take the wheat within a reasonable time. Those men, through no fault of their own, had to store their wheat on their own farms or in the g-rain sheds, and that wheat in many cases has deteriorated. In one case wheat was put in the grain shed on the 29th December, and, when taken out on the 7th J unc, with the exception of forty bags of prime wheat, it was all weevily. The shed was full of weevils, and all that wheat ha-d deteriorated. These men, through no fault of their own, suffered tremendous losses. I asked one member of the board why it was they could not take delivery on the farm, and his reply was that the Commonwealth guarantee would not cover wheat taken on the farm. Kow, where does the State guarantee come in? The State Government did not do anything. Their guarantee is not worth a snap of the fingero. The Commonwealth paid the Ss.

The PREMIER: Who has to pay the advnnr·, by the Cc,mmonwealth?

Mr. Moorc'.}

292 Addre,,s in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

Mr. MOORE : What about these farmers whose wheat deteriorated to second and third grade through no fault of their own? Where did the S'tatc guarantee them?

The TREASURER: \Vhose fault was that?

[7.30 p.m.J ::'vir. MOORE : It was the Government's

fault, because they wme dilatory in provid­ing any arrang,ement to take over delivNy of tho wlheat.

The TREAScRER: The hon. m<'mber for \Varwick said that there should be no pool; and you say it was a bad pool.

:Mr. ::\IOORE : I did not say it was a bad pool. The pool was created at a time when hanesting had already stopped and the wheat was off. It was the Government's own fault.

The SPEAKER: I ask the hon. gentleman, in all seriousness, to address his ren1arks to the Ohair, and not to hon. gentlemen oppo­site. If he persists in doing so, I cannot pro­tect hirn.

?11r. MOORE: The Government of Queens­land have been boasting about the guarantee they have given to the wheat farmers. The farmer, through no fault of his own, "as compcllod to hold that wheat, which dete­riorated considerably, and tihe individual has had to suffer loss for the benefit of the pool. The Government gaYe a guarantee of Ss. a bushel, but the guarantee apparently is not worth a snap· of the fingers. These men ha vc sufferod through no fault of their own in hundreds of cases because the Government were dila­tory in making arrangements to put the guarantee into effect. \Vhen the wheat was ]wing taken off 'during the last ban-est no scheme was organised by \Yhich the Govern­ment were to put their guarantee into effect. They did nothing at all, and the farmers took the matter into their own hands and asked for a pool. They got a pool, but, because it was constituted too late, their wheat dete­riorated, and they suffered grave losses. The fariTI8r WaS not . allowed to sc]l his l,Yhcat, and the pool was not able to take it. The Government said, " \Ve guarantee you Ss. a bushel " ; but what was the guarantee worth? That wheat is not worth 3s. 6d. a lmshol to-day.

The PRE}IIER: Arc you willing for the Government to abrogate the guarantee now?

Mr. .MOORE : The guarantee is worth nothing to th(se men. The only guarantee that is worth anything is the Commonwe dth Government's guarantee of 5s. a bushel.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICT::LTCRE: Are vou \villing to adyocate the abrogation of 'the guarantee?

:Mr. MOO RE: I rerognise the utility of the pool; I recognise the Loard has done its best under the circumstam cs; but I repeat that a large number oi \Vhea,t farrr1Prs ha\·e derived no benefit from the pool. I blame the Government, and I want to find out if the Govcmment will honour tiheir guarantee of Ss. :t bnshel so far as these men arc con­rem<,]? At pro .ent the guarantee is in opera· tivc. lf thcsf~ rnen ~o to the Government and say, "Our wheat was in good order, and. i hrough no f.ault of our own, we held it until il deteriorated from class 1 to class 2 nr cla;s 3," and the Government will say, " \V c will make up the differenre in value," then ld the Government take the credit for their guarantee. They say !Jhey arc the only Go­...;ernn1ent who 'vcrc game to guarantee 8s. a bushel, but they will not hono~r their guaran-

[Mr. Moore.

tee. I am genuinely eoncerne·d about tho~e unfortunate farmers who have not had a fan go. There are a great number in my elec­torate.

The TREAScRER: Are you supporting a cheese pool?

M:r. MOO RE: I will deal with tlw chee~e oool at the proper time. These farmers ihave b0en misled.

ThG PREMIER: \Vithout the pool, how much would the farm!'rs be getting nm> ?

Mr. MOORE: What I am talking about is that the GovernmPnt say tlwy were the only Government who dared to giVe a guanntee of Ss. \Vill the Premier answer this qnes­t'on-These men, througih no fault of then own, held their wheat. \Vill th<'y get Ss. a bushd? The wheat has deteriorated bec-:moe the pool could not take it.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTT::RE : Y\hy could they not take it?

Mr. MOORE : They had not the accommo­dation, and the Commonwealth Governnwnt did not give their guarantee of 5s. a bushel for whc·at on the farm. If the Government arc willing to make up the difference in v:1lue then thov will have some reason to boast.' "

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICcLTcRE: The Go­Y8l'llll1f'nt stanrl by their guarantee.

Mr. MOORE: I shall be pleased if I am ae,ured that I may tell the wheatgrowers in mv electorate that t:he Government are pre­p;{red to see that they get Ss. for their wheat.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: The Go­vernment stand up to their guarantee of Ss. a bushel for prime wheat.

The PREMIER: In the larg·e number of cases of which you speak, is the Common­wealth gnarantPC in operation?

1\Ir. ::'viOOHE: No. My contention is that when tlhe Statn Government give a g-u.arantee thev should honour it. The Go,-ernment ha;e stated that they have gi,·en a guarantee. and now thev are, shuffling. I am stating the case as it "is to-day, and trying to put the unfortunate position before this House.

Mr. FERRIOKi': You said the guarantee was of no value.

Mr. :MOORE : If the Gonrnment will say that it is of value. that is all I want. If tlhc Government sav thev \Yill make up the dif­fer<'nce in value, I am perfectly satisfied; but, if they shuffle out of the guarantee. and say that i't was the fault of the pooL I am not satisfied, and the farmers who have ha·d to hold their wheat will not be satisfied.

The SECRl'T.\RY FOR AGRICT::LTT::RE: Part o£ your sperdh has bet'n a vote of censure on the board-that they were unable to carry out their duties.

Mr. l\100RE: They \YOre elected too late. It is not necessary to <:ast aspersions on tho board. I recognise the utilitv of the pool. and I recognise that theY have done the \~ery hest under the circumstanC'r-'~., and I reC'ognise that there are a large number Qf individuals who have had to wffer for tlhc benefit of the pool. I am not blaming the Government if they are preJ1are•d to v\and to their gnarante~. If they are. }pt them .5a v so, and announce 1t through the Press. If they say. "\Ve arc prepared to etan·d to the guarantee o£ Ss. a bushel," that will simplify matters and n1ake C'Yer.vthing clear; but it is in1po~s1b}(~ to get a definite an:-1,.-cr. The farn1ers 'v11l kno\v 0xnctlv the position, and know tllP'' ,!; vc lwon jug~·lcd with. and that the whole thing is a shuffle. It is no use the Secretary

"

Address in Reply. (25 AUGUST.] Address in Reply, 2!13

for Ao;riculturc talking about this being the onlv Government who have dared to g1ve a gucirantt:c when that guarantee is inoperative.

The SECREHRY FOR AGRICl:LTURE: Is not that tnw?

Mr. MOORE: No, it is not true. In New South \Vales they guaranteed 7s. &d.

The PREMIER : You are speaking of the Commonwealth guarantee.

Mr. MOORE: No. The Government gave a guarantee ·which lYIC'ant nothing, and now thev lean on the Commonwealth and trv and tak~ all the credit. The Commonwealth really ga\·e the guarantee "·hich is being availed of and the State guarantee never came into ~peration at all. I am only trying to point out the position of a larf;P number of men who. throuo;h no fault of their own, have had to suffer', and I want to know if these people arc goino; to come under the guarantee which the Government g·an•.

The SECRETARY FOR AGmcrLTURE: In effect, you :-o·e sa~ving that I n1ade a m1st'tke in telling the farmers to form thoir own pool.

1\Tr. MOORE: I have put the case as well as I am able to do in regard to these farmers. I think it is the dutv of the GoYernmPnt, when they bring in ~a \Vheat Pool Bill, and prohibit men selling their wheat through any other agency, to sec that thev arc not individuallv left to suffer owing to 'the inability of the· pool to handle the wheat. There is ·a large number of farmers to-day "-ho arc in this unf('rtunatc position. It is not a fair position to put them in, and it is not fai1· for the Government to shuffle out of their difficulty by blaming the pool.

The PRE1ITER: \Ye are not blaming the pool. \Ve think the pool is manoging :ery well.

Mr. MOORE: I am glad to hear t.hat, and I also think that the pool is managing very well. I would like to refer to a stat ment made by the hon. member for Mundingbnrra the other night.

The SPEA. KER: Order ! The hon. member will not be in order in referring to a speech delivered by another hon. member in another debate during the same session.

Mr. ::Y100RE: The hon. member said that, if the Tories got back to power, there would be a stampede back to work.

Mr. GLEDSON: He did not say there would be more work, but that, if there was work, there would be a stampede to get it.

Mr. MOO RE: There is no question that the Arbitration Court has, in a great mea· sure, caused a consi·dcrable amount of unemployment. The shire council of which I am a member has employed reo;ularly for yf'ars past eleYen permanent men.

Mr. FOLEY: You are ,cpeaking in averages.

Mr. MO ORE: I am not going to be dictated to by the hon. member. (Govern­ment laughter.) \Ve had the hon. member for Lcichhardt coming here on a previous occu.sion an-d n1aking a great noise about the wonderful system that the Government had got for s• lling gems. He is very quiet DO\\": there has not been a murntur about it. \Ve read in the paper that the miners were s<:arched to see if they had any gems on them. We have learnt latclv that this wonderful scheme for selling the gems has been a failure, and we have not heard any panegyric about it since from the hon.

merr.bcr for Leichhardt. The hon. member now wants to limit me in regard to what I shall say. Owing to the perpetual irritation brought about by the war, and th.c. unccr­taint} caused by the retrospectJVJty of .awards, we could not make up our accounts at the beginning of the year and tell what we were going to spend.

The TREAST'RER: You carry on your shire council now just like the Brisbane City Council carric·· on the ferries.

Mr. MOORE: The mere assertion of the Treasurer does not prove anything. He does not know anything about our council, and I am not going to enlighten him. ·

A GovERN}IENT ME:;JBER: He knows how much you owe him.

Mr. MOORE: Our council does not owe him anything.

The TREASURER: '\Vhat overdraft have you?

Mr. MOORE: \Ye only have the usual temporary overdraft.

The HmiE SECRETARY: You are bound by statute.

M1'. MOORE: I have alv·ays agreed with carrying on day work by the council under proper supervision, when you will get satis­faction from it; but e have reached the stage when it is impossible for us to carry on day labour successfully, because we cannot finance it. Is it a fair thing that the council should be subjected to this con­tinual variation of awards? \Ve have no stability, and we do not know in what position we are going to be financially. The ratr• are struck at the beginning of the year. '\Vhat is the position in Queensland to-day? Nobo·dy will go in for day work because he does not know what it is going to cost. If we only knew how we were going to stand, 'vc could make up our estimates for the vcar.

I no1v~ want to say so1nething with regard to timber.

Mr. FoRDE: Tell us what the Common­wealth Government did.

Mr. MOORE: I am not interested in what the Commonwealth Government did. \Vhat I am interested in is what the Queens­land Govcrnrr.ent did. The Government are continually telling us about the money which has been put into reafforestation in Queensland, but they never tell us that the Commonwealth Government guaranteed £70,000 for reaffore-otation in _\ustralia, out of which £42.000 has been given to Queensland on the understanding that returned soldiers are employed in the work. We flnd that the money has been spent, and men arc now being put off. The high cost of timber continues. Mr. Swain, the Direc­tor of Forests. said in his report that it would not make a bit of difference if steamer freights came down, as timber would still be sold- at a low rate; but immediately freights came down the Director of Forests anplird for an incrcasud price, in order to keep the industry going. People are living in bark huts because thcv cannot afford to buv timber. No mention is made bv the G~vernment of the £42.000 which they~ have lYceivcd from the Commonwealth.

The TREASURER: \Vc have never got one shilling from the Commonwealth Government but what we have to pay back.

Mr. MOO RE: Why is the £42.000 being kept in the dark? When we ask for i nfor-

Mr. M()or~. J

294 Addiess in Reply. [ASSE;.viBLY.] Addr(Ss in Reply

n1ation regar.ding the C'ash balancE·~ we get an eva··ive rep!:.'. It i·· evident that the information his been kept in the hackgrouncl for a purpose

The TREASl'RER: The Auditor-General's rEport deals with the whole thing.

Mr. 1\IOORE: We have not got the Auditor-General's report.

The TRE.lSl'RER: It is in the report for last year.

Mr. MnORE: There is one thing I want to me:rtion particularlv and that is the question of gambling. ·'

Hon. \\-. FOHGAN SMITH: On the Stock Exchange?

Mr. MOORE: That is a beautiful stock joke of hon. members opposite. The most nauseating scandal permitted by the Govern­ment at the prc·•-.ent time is the Liberty Fair going round Queensland. The promoters of Liberty Fair are ashamed to say what it is for.

JUr. FoLEY: What is the turnover?

Mr. MOORE: Xobody knows what the turnover is, and that is something that we would like to find out. The Auditor-General does not audit the Liberty Fair funds. Why are not these funds audited, the same as any other accounts? Nobody knows what the results are, but we do know that the funds go to the " Daily Stand:ud" and to the Labour party. It is one of the grossest scandals that wo have in Queensland to-day, and all the local authorities in the country districts are protesting against the Liberty Fair being brought into their areas. It is the same_ with p_roprietary racing, which is ehll carrre4 on m Queensland, although in 1916 a motiOn was moved in this House by :i\!Ir. Gunn and carried unanimously reading- '

"Tlrttt in the opinion of the House legislation should be intrccluced to con­fme the conduct of ·horse racing to properly organised and licensed clubs that do not race for the private profit of a racecourse proprietor or lessee."

What is the position to-day? That motion was earned under a Labour Government. and proprietary racing is still allowed. During the debate the Treasurer wanted to know how long John Wren was going to be allowed to b':'rgle the people. The racing evil is growrng. Look at the number of racing days we have in Brisbane. We have the Golden Casket. continuing, and there are lotterres held m every street in Brisbane. What sort of a result is it going to have?

The TREASURER : One of your own party owned ·a racecourse when that motion came before the House.

Mr. MOORE: I do not care '1\ho owned a racecourse. I am giving my opinion on the matter because the evil is growing, and the Go-:ernment are not game to tackle the subJect. Whenever the Government are asked about granting permits for lotteries and that sort of thing, they shelter themselves behind the excuse that permits are given to churches !o _hold raffles. If they have to do that, then It IS better not to grant them permission at all. Don't give the churches permission to raffle at all.

The TREASURER: Do you want to do away with the churches?

Mr: MOORR : I am talking on a serious questwn, and I am referring to the increase

rMr. Monre.

of gambling throughout Queensland. 'fhis Government allow lotteries to be carried on in the main streets of Queensland and the town councils object to it, while the police say they cannot deal with the matter owing to t:he permits granted by the Government. \VIrile I refer to these tlringe, and when I point out that the Government have taken reo action in regard to the resolution passed by the House to abolish proprietary racing, the only comment the Treasurer has got to make, "Do you think the churches ought to be abolished?"

The THEASURER: \Vhv didn't vour Govern­ment do something? . They were here for fifty years.

Mr. ~IOORE: I am talking about the present Government. Supporters of the L<tbour party agree with me in denouncing Liberty Fair. The president of the Too­woomba Labour Organisation entered an emphatic protest against the Liberty Fair being brought to Toowoomba, and many other people are of the same opinion.

Mr. BRENNAN: You beat him at the muni­cipal elections after his protest. You kiss him at one time and kick him at another.

;(fr. MOORE: The country municipalities protest emphatically against the Liberty Fairs coming into their to\vns. The Govern­ment force these gambling devices into places ;:here thcv are not wanted, and to the ddriri1ent of 'the people who live there. The Governnwnt are not game to tackle the evil that is growing up, but it will ruin Queemland if it is not settled. I knovr there are members on the other side who do not agree with the gambling devices used by the Government. They think it is a miserable thing to use gambling devices in country towns to raise party funds. Protests are made against the Liberty Fair and other gambling d0vices throughout the length and breadth of Queensland, and the Government say nothing. Thev are prepared to submit to the degradation· of the people rather than raise their voices. It is a shocking state of affarrs, and I hope the Government will make some attempt to minimise the evil.

OPPOSITION l'>1EMBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr. PRASE (H erbert): I am quite satis­fied, after hearing the speeches of hon. mem­bers opposite, that it is necessarv for members on thiJ side to get up and ·advertioe our State as mnch as possible. \Ve have been told that visitors from the South say they were told to carry revoh-ers when they came to Queensland. Hon. members opposite are responsible for the statements made in the South with regard to the conditions in Queensland. During the debate the Opposi­tion showed also an absolute want of sincerity -the usual want of sinccritv that I have heard from that sidD since I came to this

Chamber. With the exception of [8 p.m.] the Iron. member for Kenncdv,

who I believe spoke as he felt, I do not think any member on that side said what he really thought. I am sorry to see that the reward of that Iron. member evidently is tlhat the Northern Country partv arc determined to scrap him, because tli'e Brisbane " Sun" on Sundav came out with the announcDment that my late opponent, whom I had the pleasure of defeati_ng twice, is going to contest the new seat which takes the place of Kenncdy, whilst the sincer~ member· for Kennedy is to try a. seat whi,·~ will be very hard to win.

Address in Reply. [25 AuGusT.] Address in Reply. 295

The position of affairs with which the Government are faced is world-wide, and it was foreseen and has to be faced. Evervbodv knov. s that the loan proposals put foi·ward by the Government were carefully t-hought out, and that the loan of £9,000,000 which the Premier went home to England to rai'e, was required for the purpose of providing for the Bowen Iron and Steel Works, for raihvay construction, for financial hc1p to the sugar industry, financial help to the dairying industry. financial help to local authorities. and for generally -developing Queensland. It was blcckcd b-; the action of the Opposition. •

OPPOSITION l\iE}!BERS : Nonsense !

Mr. PE~"'-SE: It was blockc·d i01 anv case by the party behind the Opposition. · I am going to quote from a paper I ha ,-e be-en very fond of quoting lately, "The Producers' Revie\v," which nri11tJ an article fron1 the "Farn1ers' AdYoCatc" of -Victoria. I claim to reprr"ent as n1any g-enuine farmers as any member on th_- other side of the Home, and it is ver} strange indeed to find that the papers that arp attacking the junb that is behind the Opposition are papers which also support the genuine farmer. That j~ the junta which controls the other side, not the caucus party. (Opposition interjcctiow.) Of courf<' wt~ ar,J the caucus 11arty, and every party in Parliament is controlled by a com­mittee called a ctLucus. Does any party in the world go into a les;-islatiYc chamber to pass leg-islation without having considered it' What rot! \Ye are a caucus party, and I am proud to belong to the Labour party, and the people I represent are proud that I do belong to the La.bonr party; because they are the party that have done more to develop North Queensland in five years than the other Government did in fifty years.

l\Ir. Kew: Y nu admit you arc controllecl by the Trades Hall?

Mr. PEASE: I do not admit it at all, but I atn going to tell nH~lnbers opposite who con­trols thorn. The "Producers' Review" of lOth August, 1921, reproduce- tJhi.J article from the Victorian paper I have mentioned-

"' There is in l\lelbourne a junta with as much power for evil as the r.otorious Ta.mmany institution of l\ew York. It is now following so closelv Tammanv methods that it will be sood' dubbed tl!e Tammany of Australia. It is composed of a group of about twenty-five men, whose identitv has never been disclosed, but is hidde'n under what was styled first ' The Comtitutional 'Union,' and later 'The National 'Union.' This body canvasses the various financial and commercial interests of the city for funds. These funds are used for political propaganda, the election of candidates, and the return of parties that conform to its viem> and are amen­able to its pressure.

"The National 'C'nion stands behind the National Federation, the Australian \Yome:1's National League, and "' numbel' of other political organisations tlmt put candidates into the field. The National 'C'nion supplies each of these organisations with the necessary funds. It permits each of them to elect officers and hold conferences, conventions, and the like, with a view to formulating wogrammes and that sort cf thing. It

never objects to any of these political organisations Inaking an attractive pro­gramme, rather does it welcome their dmng so, bccau~e they are useful 111

ea tching stray Yotes. They well know that there is a vast difference between promising electors a progran12ne of legislation aud cnrrying it out. The tacit understanding is that they will never, under any circumstances, do anything that would run contrary to city vested interests, b.:ruusc if they did it would mean their immediate cxtcnnination, in that the funds \vould be \Yithclrawn.

"The Tammany junta has not only got a enmplcte g-rip and an absolute domination over the so-called Nationalist organisation in Victoria, but is reaching to c..-ery St.,tc, tLnd has become Ans­t:;·a1ian~widc in it;., activities, likc,vise in its pernicious influence."

That is the reply to those who say we arc con­trolled b·.· a uucus. The caucus is the com­mittee ,.,·hiCih i'epresents all the members on this side, and "·ho has a right to say what legislation shonlJ be brought in exc.opt th.lt committee? \Ye haH• a platform, but in the two ·elections I have contested, the X orthern Country party went to the people with half a platform which thcv stole from the Labour party. I would l]ke to show \Yhat true ·Victorians say about Queensland­not \7'"irtori3ns \Yho ran1e to Queensland because, perhaps. Victoria was not too ·good to them. I quote the following nev:spaper extract for the purpose:-

"Mr. G. l\1. Prcndcrgast (leader of the La.bour p:1rty) spoke come very effec­tive wordJ ab, ut QLJeensland in the Victorian State Hou·-e last \veek. He said-

,, There sacms to be a general desire on the part of the press to point to Queensland as a harrible exa:nple of Labour govcrmnent. \Vhen the last Commomvcalth elections were being held the statement wa:l made that Qu :ensland was not a fit country to live in, and that people there received less than the aver­age wage for the Commonw<·alth. I h" ye taken the trouble to get the official figures dealing with this matter. It was rec-ommended that the baoic wage should be £5 133. lld. in Perth. £5 16s. 1d. in Adelaide, £5 16s. 6d. in Melbourne, £5 16s. lld. in Hobart, £,5 17s. in S-. dncv. and £5 6s. 2d. in Brisbane. Those- 'recommendations were bas~d on the cost of living, and it was found tlmt in Queensland a man and his fami~y could live for 10s. per week less than 111 most of the other States.

" In the weekly wage of males, Mel­bom·ne is 2s. 3d. per week below the average, while Brisba_ne is 4s. _1d. above the average, or a d1fference m favour of Brisbane of 6s. 4d. In reg·ar-d to hours in l\lelbourne, male workers work 1.58 hours more per week thtLn male workers in Brisbane, and Melbourne workpeople \York 1.4 hours more per week than t~e average of all the States. \V omen 111

Melbourne work about half an hour longer per week for. 3s. 4d. less wages than in Brisbane. It will be seen that the conditions of workers in Queensland, which the Prime Minister slandered, because there is a Labour Government

Mr. Pease.]

296 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

in power there, are better than the conditions of the workers here.

"'When the war started in 1914, the workers of Queensland wel'e worse off in <tll matters I have dealt with than t[1e workers of any of the States, but in each of those matters th<'re has boen an improvement in Queensle.nd, and that improven1ent has been Inade under a Labour Government. In 1914, the aver­age male wage for all the States was £2 15s. ld. per weok, and the <1verag-e in Queensland was £2 12'. 8d. or 2s. 5d. less; now the average wage for males in QueeiJSland is 10s. higher than the aver· age for the Commonwealth. There has been a similar in1pro\ f'll1ent in re'Spect to the wages of females. The cheap and nasty sneer about the ay in which the Queensland Labour Government is treating its people will not bear e-.:amina­tion."

Then we c-omo to Sydney, where we find the Lord Mayor, .\lderman Lambert, receiving a deputation of unemployed. This is what transpired-

" Alderman Lambert said he regretted the position, but the Government could not be blamed for it. The force responsible for unemployment had beon operating for bnndreds of years to defeat the workers. There should be no poverty in Australia now, but. as a matter of fact, t?ere was poverty everywhere except m Queensland, where a humane Government looked after the people."

What is the condition of affairs in South Australia? I will quote from a telegram from Melbourne of 12th August-

" .A.s a result of representations made by South Amtralian member, of the Federal Parliament, tlte Commonwealth Government bas ,decider! to make avail­able at once £1.000 to>' ards the relief of suffering, caused bv nnen1plc yment in Port Pirio. At the meeting of the Cabinet on l\Iondav consideration will be o·iven to the qu~stion of whether anv fu~'thor relief can be made available." ~

Hon. m, ,mbers talk about the conditions in Queensland, yet in South Australia the Commonwealth Go.-ernment have to come to the relief of people by making available the sum of £1,000. The Opposition should trv to assist the unemployed by helping t,h-;, Government tD put throu{;h mea_,ures which they require to put through. I will quote a !ettor written by J\1r. Hopgood, farmer, of Ehmbah, to the " Daily Mail"-

" Sir,~Mr. Bebbing·ton, in a speech on the nD confidence motion on Tuec,day last, stated tbat tbe present Government had done absolutely nothing for the farmer. Am{)]1g't other things, he stated that at least £100,000 sboukl be spe:1t on fac­tories and machinery in the Stanthorpe fruit district. I might stat~ tbat Mr. BebbingtDn knows absolutely nothing of tbc fruitgrowing industry here when he makes a statement such as that as the industry is as vet too voung 'for the expenditure Df s~ch a large amount. As a m a tt<'r of fact. this district has -alreadv acquired a loan of £15.000 from the pr"'ont Government through the directors of tho . Stanthorpc Canning, Jam, and Pres~rvmg Company for the purpose of erechng cold storage, etc.. here. The directors at first approached the Federal

[jl-J r. Pease.

Government fo1· the loan, but the money could not be procured, onlv on such terms as the directors could not seo their way clear to a{-~ept. They then inter­Yiewcd Mr. Gillic', who offered thorn tbe money on splonc1 id terms.

"I suppose that residents in pract;{,'tlly every farming· district in Qucens:and could relate instances such as this where their requests were received sympatheti­cally by the present Gov('rnmcnt when turned down by the Federal. In regard to Mr. Bebbing,ton's assertion that the Government is not ,in sympatby with the farmer, an:- sane person who thinks for himc,celf and does not take the loading article' in tbe newspapers as his p0litics, knows by the splendid legisla­tion that has boen nasced in the interests of the fanner atL everv session since Labour was returned to power in Queens­land that Labour is tho only real friend of the farmer."

~We bave heard that tho GovernmcTtt took over State stations as a going concern. They also took o.-cr the fmancial position of Queensland as a going concern, and what condition was it in?

"!Vfr. FRY: There was a surplus handed oq:~r to you.

Mr. PEASE : This is the going concern the GovNnment took over. In 1915 the public debt of Queensland was £56,869.046. That is tho legacy which tho continuous Government for fift~- ycan had piled up in Queensland. Everyone realises those were the Government, st;pported by hon. members opposite. In 1920 the public debt of Queens­land was £69.680, 763_:_an addition in the ftve ,·earo, of Labour administration of £12.811,717.

~Mr. FRY: That is more than twice the average of the old Government<,.

Yir. PEASE: The interest paid by this Go.-ernment on the loans "-hich ,had been obtained by previous Governments amounted in those years to £14,129,676. That is to say, this Gm·ernmont would ha.-e been in credit £1.317,959 had it not been for taking ovor that liability. If the loac\.er of tbe Kationalist p<trty took ovor a business on the debt of wbich he had to pay interest to the amount of £14.000 000. and increased the debt by onlv £12,000.000 in eo doing. he wDuld pat ihimself on t'he ba{'k and say he 'vas a good n1anager. The Government have been good mana.,.er,,, and have handled tbe finances in a practical way. In the other States the public debts increased as follo>vs: -New South Wales, £31,000,000; Victoria, £16,000.000; South Australia. £9,000 000; ~Western Australia. £8.000.000; and Tasmania, £3.000.000. The Opposition have been quoting Victoria to the detriment of QueOJF,land. I will shmv wbat Victoria has clone in regard to certain matters. In Go.-ernmont grants to 1hospitals in 1918, the Victorian Government expended £62,664. In tbe same period the Queensland Government expended £169,135. On benevo­lf>nt institutions, this Government expended £37.248; and tho Victorian Government only £21.028. In reg·ard to the protection of abo­rigines. they spent £4.000: while Queensland spent £21.000. In Victoria in 1918, the amount expended on new school buildings was £62,532; <md in Queensland it was £238,434.

Mr. :1.IORGAN: Do you know why that is?

Address in Reply [25 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 297

Mr. PEASE: Because the Victorian Go­vernment are starving the people. The aver­.arre amount per head in the Savings Banks o~ the 30tih June, 1919, in the various States wcs-Quecnsland, £50 19s. 8·d.; New South Wales, £47 15s. 9d.; South Australia, £_41 Ss. 7d.; and this great State of VIctona, £402s. 3d. per head. The average in Que~m~­land is £10 17s. 6d. per head more than It IS in victoria. That is to say, the ordinary people in Queensland are able to bank, on the average, £10 17s. 6d. more per head each year than are the people in Victoria. In Victoria the people are paid low wages; they are starYed in regard to education, and arP not comi·dere·d in am· wav, and that is the State members oppos(te are comparing to the disadvantage of Queensland. I will show you the loan expenditure on railways. I am very much interested in this, because this Labour Government are the onlv Government that have expended one penny of loan monev in developing the Herbert f·D far as nilway construction is concerned. and it has been a very big factor in settling some thousands of people. Tbc percentage of the total loan expenditure on raihv.ays in Qurtonsl and was 68.38; Victoria, 63.33; New South Wales, 61.17; We-tern Australia, 47.16; South Aus­tralia, 43.19; and Tasmania, 35.23. In Queensland there are 7.67 miles for every 1. 000 people; in New South Wales, 2.46 miles; in the United Kingdom. 0.50 miles; in Anwrica, 2.59 miles; in New Zealand, 2.68 miles. Queensland, wbich has a small popu­lation, holds the world's record in regard to n1ileage of raihvay.

Mr. CosTELLO : Who built it?

Mr. PEASE: The Labour Government built it, or they built it in North Queens­land. There was not one inch of raih, av in the Herbert electorate until the Labom. Go­vernment got into power. I-lere is son1e more about Victoria. Mr. Dooley, Chief Secretary in ::\ew South Wales, was in Melbourne last week, and he said-

" He was astounded to find in Yictoria that parents still had to pay for school l' ·oks and school requisites for their children. In Kew South \Yales a.nd Queensland the requisites were free, bec.1use the Labour party realised that ono of the first cares of the State should be; tlhe education of the children-to give all an equal chance. The Victorian Pre­mier had said that the adoption of this idea would cost £150,000 a vear. This amount 'could be raised four" times o:ver by the taxation of incomes of £10.000 a vear or more. It was not too much to ask persons wlho liYed in a State that permitted them to make £10,000 a year contribute a little more to educate the rising reneration."

And yet they will not do it. The school books· in Victoria ·have to be paid for, while in Queensland they get them free from a Government which is out to benefit the people. I had a visitor at the Tecbnicel College the othei· day, and he was astounded to find tJhat we had such fine institutions ir, Queensland, and he was quite satisfied that the Government in this State were looking· after the interests of Queenslana and Queensland's children. The Oppo,ition have stated that the Government loan expenditure has been extravagant, and yet not one mem­ber of the Opposition has shown how that loan expenditure for the year ended 30th .J uno, 1920, was appropriate·d. I \Yant to get

this into "Hansard" in order to show thi• people how the money was expended­

LOAN APPROPRIA1'ION FOR YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 1920.

Soldiers' settlement Public Works Department Tn·asury (including loans ~o

local bodies. £787,000; cashing war gratuity bonds, State Government em-

£ 1,436,000

225,584

ployees, £120,000) 1,176,0bl Lands 71,000 Mines .. 59,58.\ Railwav construction 1,679,353

Included i~ that amount was £742.343 spent in North Queensland. As a North Queens­lander for thirtv years, I know very well that we nevor .., receive,d any consideration whatever in loan expenditure beyond Towno­ville until the Labour Government got ;nto office. The total loan expenditure w" > £4 647 572. Where is the extravagance ·• in th~t? ' I am here to voice my appreciat~un of what this Labour Government have done in )/orth Queensland, and I am sure the Government will be very pleased i!'d2.ed to know that the people in North Que.ws!and appreciate what has been done for thmn l>y the Government. They are not howlin.e- out "blue ruin." We have more farmers in North Queensland who are becoming capitalists year by year thanks to this Government. than in any oth~r part, and I am qu_ite satisfied tha~, so far as North Queensland IS concerned,,_th~s Government will never be turned down. This is an unsolicited testimonial that just came to hand to-day in the " J ohnstone River Advocate" lnnisfail. The "Johnstone River Advocate;' is not a Labour paper, but it is a fair paper, and it does not cry "stinking fish " about its own district. It says-

" The facilities offered to visitors now arc unbounded, and a great contrast to our isolation of past years. '\Ve have a regular service both ways to tourists and travellers, and expenses are curtailed, as delays are ·an impossibility ith train and boat 5ervices. Every week there are visitors from the uttermost parts of Aus­tralia and beyond, and the ·days of vie''­ing Australia only from <1 steamer's deck and seeincr but the Northern coast fringe are entirely eliminated. Travellers may journey ov8r a great portion of our cul­tivated lands, and see the expanse of country by rail which to them ii? forme_r times was hidden. They may bide thc;Ir time for days and inspect our efforts m development and compare our surround­ings, <~'hich are greatly discounted and erroneouslv described in the Southern Press whiclh caters for the city dweller. There is one outstanding,. fca.tLue about the district-that if it lacks in progress from a civic point of view, it can ea .. ,ily hold its own from an attractive view­point. the first and laFting impression of the visitor."

Until the present time the shire council 8;t Innisfail has i:wen mostly composed of anti­Labour people, but this time the candidate for ci vie honours who stood under the auspices of Labour topped the poll in Innisfail.

JVh·. MoRGAN: That is the end of Innisfail.

Mr. PEASE : This paper does not say so. It says-

" If it lackc. in progress from a ci vie point of view, it can ea.,ily hold its own

Mr. Pease.]

298 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

from an attractive viewpoint, the first and lasting impression of the visitor."

Vif 0 have heard a good deal about the Auditor-General's report, and the _Auditor­General's report on State enterpnses says this in re~ard to State sawmills-

" Ti~e· operations for the year gave a very satisfactory result."

At 8.30 p.m., Mr. KrRWAN relie~ed the Speaker m the

chair. Mr. PEASE: The State sawmill at Maria

Creek has been one of the means of devolop­ing a large amount of country. It has given settlers " c banco to build their homes at re:1sonable rates. The mills take the log and give the farmers sawn timber at about half the price that ther would have to pay to private enterprise .. T~e big bulk of farn?-ers in the Herbert dtstnct greatly appreciate the State sawmills. \Ye never heard hon. members of the Opposition saying anything about that phase of the Auditor-Gen2nl's report. The Auditor-General, dealing with the State cannery, says, on page 27-

" This enterprise commenced operati Jns before it was fully equipped, so as to enable the soldiers in the Bcer:Ouc:um Settlement to find a ready muket for their fruit."

Why did not the Opposition give this Government credit for doing something, which probably meant a financial loss, for the benefit of the soldiers? On page 32 of the A-uditor-General's report he makes some remarks ,vhich I think are about the nn•csi tnlmte that has been paid to the State enterprises of · Queensland. Dealing "it h raihYay refreshn1ent-rooms, he says-

;,Although the cost of many articles of foodstuffs has increased, the original prices charged for meals are still main­tained; in fact, the prices of to-d<ty ace the same as those charged in pre-war times by the private lessees."

Ths, despite the increase in wages v;hich were paid, amounting to over £7,000. a year. IL is very strange that the only pomi;s th·' Opl,o~ition deal with in connection with the Auditor-General's report are things with respect to which they wish to decry State enterprises, yet the Auditor-Genera.! has paid a tribute to onr State enterprises to >-how y, b;n they really mean to the peopl<'.

Mr. WARREN: What did he say about the State arsenic mine?

Mr. PEASE: It is a pity some of tho; hon. gentlemen opposite did not ~·et some cf that arsonic. So far as the Labour r-arty are concerned, the principle of State enter­prises is to-day what the Auditor-General has said has been done. Wages in connec­tion with the railway refreshment-ronc:JJS ha vo been increased by £7,000 per annum, tht people in that employment have been treated decently, and have been given a decent wage, and this has not been P"Sccd on to the public. The public have h<td tho same service at the rate which was charged by the private lessec:s before the war, not­withstanding that the commodities nee-:l•cd for those meals have practically doubled in price.

The Federal census figures just to hand show an increase in ton years in the Federal electorates, and the Herbert stands out as having the highest proportionate increase in population of any district in Australia, and that is entirely due to the policy of this Government in pushing on with railway con-

[.Mr. Pease.

struction work, opening up the country, encouraging the sugar industry, and making available sums of money to enable farmers to grow cane. The farmers are grateful for that. Had it not been for the action of the Federal Government in not allowing the milling capacity to be increased, no doubt we would have had several more mille in Xorth Queensland to-day. Under the loan proposals of the Cabinet, which the Opposi­tion had a good hand in blocking, we would have had t,,.o more mills at least in mv elec­torate, besides mills in other parts of the North. Over £6,000,000 has been disbursed during the last six months by the Federal Government for sugar grown in Cuba and Java by coloured labour, and the whole of this sugar should ha \'8 been produced in Queensland, and the money would have been distributed in Queensland; but, instead of that, it has left Australia and has gone for ever to countries which are exploiting black labour. ThP incrc·:tse in population in ten years in the Federal electorate of Herbe~t was 14,929, or 19.4 per cent.; the increase m Oxley was 14,609, in Brisbane, 10,195. The increases in Darling Downs and \Vide Bay did not exceed four figures. The Herbert increase is entirely due to the developmental policy of the Labour Government. The people know it and I know it.

vV e have heard a good deal about the redistribution of seats, and various inuendoos have been passed in regard to the Commis­sion appointed to do the work. It is a strange thing that t.he following remarks were made by the leader of the Federal Countrv party, Dr. Earle Page, who was up here a'ssisting the C'1ndidate in the recent JY1aranoa election :-

" The leader of the Federal Country party (Dr. Page), who has returned to Melbourne after his tour of portions of Queensland in connection with the Maranoa election, was gratified at the Country party's victory, which he regards as highly significant. He stated last night that the redistribution which will take place before the next election will probably make Maranoa a safe seat for the party, as some country districts are likely to be added in which the farmers' vote will predominate."

How on earth could Dr. Earle Page know anything about th8 redistribution? Yet he is able, officially and publicly, to say that the redistribution w hi eh is going to take place is going to be such a redistribution that it will make the Maranoa absolutely safe by including considerable farming· electors that are not now included.

Mr. \VARREN: What other electors could have been included ?

Mr. PEASE: Hon. members opposite have argued that several seats in Queensland should not have been touched, and the hon. member for },.lbert says they should never have been touched at all.

Mr. WARREN: You must take in producers in the Maranoa.

Mr. PEASE: We say the same about you people. The North has been dealt with, and the people are satisfied there, with one exception. It is very pleasing to know that, from Mackay north, over ~0,000 e:x;tra. vot.ers, as compared with the prevwus redtstrtbutwn, have been shown to exist. That confirms what I am trying to get in-that the policy of this Government so far as North Queens­land is concerned, 'is one of developing the

[25 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 299

country. The Government have settled 20,000 pcop]c, who a re ·doing exceedingly well. I wish to g-et that rig·ht through Queensland and in other States. North Queensland is a place whieh offcd a splendid field to any farmers \vho want to rnake a real good living, and who arc prepared to work for it. You cannot expect a living to br made by cheque-book farmcrs-tho men who simply provide the money and put other men in to do the work. The genuine farmers-and there is a considerable number in Korth Qunensland-are the people who are the backbone of North Queensland to-day. They are Labour men. Anv man who has been working in Korth Queensland for any length of time has the ambition to take up a piece of ground, and hundreds have done so. I guarantee th:tt there is not a part of Aus­tralia to-dav which offers the same oppor­tunities to ihc> genuine working-man farmer as North Queensland. The;, are not cheque­beak farmers, and not men who try to farm the farmers.

An OPPOSITION 11E}JBER : Are there any middlemen?

Mr. PEASE: Ko. TheY are real toilers, and they appreciate what the pre•.ent Govern­ment have clone. Right through my cam-· paign I was supported by wealthy farmers, and they had the honesty to come on my platform. · ::'llr. CosTELLO: You said there were no cheque-book farmers there.

Mr. PEASE: What I meant by a cheque­book farmer is a man who sits in a citv otfice and puts some of his money into a farm.

Mr. l'IIDRGAN: There are very few of them now.

Mr. PEASE : The genuine working farmer has a good time in North Qu~"i<sland. Any farmer who is not .,atisfie-cl with the con­ditions in the South will be able to make a good living if he takes up ·a farm in North Queensland. There were somE) Victorians listening to the debate the other night, and they were astounded to find what a fine State this is. They arc going back to Victoria to tell their friends to come up to North Queensland and take up farms there.

I want to refer to what hon. members oppo­site call the "Repudiation Act." The sub­ject has been worn threadbare, but I want to show what it means in my electorate. At one of my meetings at Long Pocket, at the Ingham end of the electorate. a grazing farmer took the chair, and explained the reason why he was supporting this Govern­ment. He said he had land for which he was paying £5 per mile rent, and over his fence a pacotoral company were paying 16s. 8d. per mile for the same class of land. He had been there for a good many years and made money, and lie said ho was supporting the Government because they were going to level the matter up. He asked whether it would be reasonable for him to pay £5 for goods to a store in Ingham which other people could get for 16s. Bel. They asked him why he did not get his rent reduced, and he sai·d the land was really worth £5, but that, tf the rent was reduced from £5 to 16s. Bd. p<'r mile, Queensland would be robbed of £4 3s. 4d. per mile. He said he was satisfied, because the Government were going to make the other people pay the rent which the land was worth. The Government have now got the real value of what the land is worth in the shape of rent from the big

companies by the legislation which they have lltiS'·cd, and the extra money so obtained is spent for the benefit of the people of Queens­land. I would point out that the Federal Gm-ernment do not tax the rich squatter or big company on a rental value of 16s. Bel., but of £5, per mile, the same as in the case of the grazing farmer. They make the company pay on the full value of the land; but hon. members opposite say that the State Go,·ermnent should not do it. The Fe-deral Govcrnn1cnt tax, not on the rental value under the Queensland Government, but on the fair value of the land-that is to say, the GoYernrncnt 'vhom hon. members oppo•,ite rcpn' ,cnt come along and grab money which really bclcngs to the State of Queenslanc;.

I am sorry the hon. member for Townsville is not here, as I wish to show the way m \vhich the supporters of that hon. member treat the workers after they have used them. I have here a report which states-

" The Townsvillc Harbour Board has until lately employed as watchmen five men who have been crippled in the Pmploy of the board. Most of thc<1e men have hcen in the employ of the board for twentv vears, and when they were crippled tl1ey were paid a lump sum by the board and given to understand that thev would be found light work. They hw.:e been competently filling the watch­men jobs for years. Until a couple of months ago their hours were not regu­late-d, and, as a consequence, they were o bli ~ed to \York 100 hours per week. In ':', recent variation of the Harbour Board award their hours were reduced to ··ixty. The board vented its spleen on the unfortunate crippled watchmen, and threw them on the industrial scrap­heap. During the hearing of .the cas~ Justice McCawley asked the chauman of the board if the men had been crippled on the battlef1eld would he have dis­mie<>c-cl them under the circumstances. The chairman promptly replied: 'No; we have a duty to perform to Teturned soldiNs.' The judge then asked: 'Seeing that these men have been injured in your employ, and are cripple.cl soldiers of your industry. do you not thmk that you have some obligation regarding them? ' TJ:e chairman unhesitatingly said 'No.' Th1s little incident should bring home to the misled workers who voted for the Tory candidates at the local authority election how they have scabbed on their class."

That extract will show how the party which hon. members opposite represent will treat the worker. They will promise the worker anything, but will not fulfil their rn:omises. The Queensland Government prmmse the "·orker what thev will do, and they carry out their promises. The workers know that thcv will have a fair deal from this Govern­me;;t, which is sympathetic towards them.

i\1r. 1'loRGAN : Your brother was rejected at the election for the mayoralty in Townsville.

::\1r. PEASE: Yes; but my brother is not crying out about it. 'Ne are told that t~e cre·dit of the State has been damaged m manv \VaYS by this Government, and hon. merr{bers "opposite state that the "Repudia­tion Act" is the cause of it. I have shown that the Federal Government take in taxa­tion from the big pastor.ti companies the amount that the Queensland people have been robbed of, but we never hear hon.

!Jfr. Pease.]

300 Address in Reply. [ASSEJ\1BL Y.] Address in Reply

members opposite saying a':ything about that. Hon. members opposite profess to represent the grazmg farmers, but they do not. I claim to represent the grazing fe.rmer, and I ask why, if the land is taxed at its fair value by the Federal Government, Queensland should not get the fair value,, I do not think it is right for the Federal Government to come to Queen,]and for loan money. Wh,· do they not leave the available capital for the State Government?

1\lr. MoRGAN: Have they a right to float •a loan in Victoria?

Mr. PEASE: Yes, because Victoria is developed. I am speaking as a :-Jorth Queensland er, and "e want all our loan money for ourselves for developmental \\'orks. \Vhen I spoke on the Address in Reply last year I sa,id that it would be a serious thing for North Queensland if we di·d not get anY loan money, as it would croate unelnplo~~­ment, and that is what it has done. The Con1mon\vealth Goverru11ent have no right to come to Queensland and take away the money that we want for developmental work.

Mr. ELPHINSTONE: \Vhere do you suggest they should go?

Mr. PEASE: Let them go home for it, where your bosses are. Let them go to England, where the people are who control the n1oncy power.

An OPPOSITION ME1IBER : You handed over the Savings Bank to the Commonwealth.

Mr. PEASE: It is right and proper that the Common" calth should control that bank. f remcmbc•r \\·hen a run Yt·as start<_ d Oll the Savings Bank when the State had it, but you cannot start a run on the C'ommomvec.lth Bank. The Commonwealth should also have charge of all insurance in Australia. I am in favour of handing over to the Common­wealth the control of the State insurance so long. as we get the money returned as we get 1t to-day, ·as a result of the handing oYer of the Savings Bank to the Common­wealth. But I say it is not right for the Commonwealth Government to come hero and take loan money from the State. Whv do not members opposite attack the Con1-monwealth for taking the loan monev for war gratuity bonds out of the pockets of our people? There is no one sincere on thRt side except the hon. member for Kennedv. I have here ·a quotation from the "'Daily Mail," which reads as follows:-

" STATE CREDIT. " AGAIN DA)!AGED.

"Investors Compfain. "Why thcre is a Shorta(fe of J[oncy.

" \Yhen moving the adoption of the rE'port and accounts of the Brisbane Electric Tramways Investment Company, Limited, at the twentieth annual general m<>eting of shareholders in London on 15th June, the chairman (Mr. H. R. Bedon) made pointed references to the action of the Queensland GoYernment in preventing the company from increasing the tram fares."

There we have a local paper talking about the State credit being damaged. The Queensland newspapers and hon. membm·s opposite have not got the spirit thev should have. I have lived in North Queenshnd for thirty-four years, and I have seen the "'orth lying stagnant for years with the exception of Townsville. Unt\1 a few years ago the North was never con"Iclered. I was astounde·d when I ftrst came to Bri·,bane to hear

[.ilf r. Peast.

m em hers de''rying their State. I was surprised to hear Victorians living in Queensland and getting a comfortable living here howling clown this State. I conside,­that Queensland, and particularly North Queensland, is one of the ftnest c'!untries in the world. If hon. members opposite only offered something constructive in their ideas, it would help the State along. Tl1ey should help us to stop the Commonwealth Govern­rncnt fron1 taking our rnoney.

::V1r. MoRGAN: South Queensland is neglected now.

Mr. PEASE: \Yell, the Governments you <upportod neglected the North for fifty vears. I can say that North Queensland thanks the Government for developing the North during the past five years. I know that the Herbert p]ectorato has doubled in population during the last four years.

I was surprised to hear members opposite cast aspersions on the railway workers. I have been among .:it tho~c \Yorkers, and can say thev are among the fineot body of workmen in Queensland to"da~·. I w"lked alo:'g the line from Innisfail to Ingham and viaJted every camp, nnd I was told b·· the ganger and by the resident engineer on every occasion that the men were a good class of men an:l nid a good clay's work. Half of those men W?re returned soldiers, w·ho went to the other sHle of the world to fight to make the world safe for democracY. For six monthc up J'\orth thev lived ii1 tents during the heavy wet ·weather. and frequently had to work in the mud and the sluslh. \Yhen I >vas up there they \Yere liv-ing on black tea, ri~e, and meat. Thev made a stew of the nc<' and n1cat, and ~drank the t~a. \Yithout milk or sug-ar. Thev had no butter and no bread. \Yho was responsible for that? Supportero of the partv opposite were responsible, because thev caused the seamen's strike.

The DEl~L.:TY SPEAKER : The hon­memb·er has exhausted the time allowed him by the Standing Orders.

Mr. DEACO~ (Cunningharn): The hon. member who sat down is quite satisfied that the Government have done a lot for the farmers in his district. It seems to me that hon. members over there are under the impre<sion that the Government have done the same for the farmers all over Queensland. I will show what the Government have done for the farmers. They started out with good intentions-I will give them credit for that. Th0 Government guaranteed to giye the farmers Ss. per bushel for wheat. \ 0\'e must remember that, when they took that risk, it was not considered a very big risk.

[9 p.m.] The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: Yes, it

'Yas. 1\lr. DEACO~: They created a pool to

deal with the wheat, and then, through the p,·ice Fixing· Commissionm' andot'her methods, did all they could to prevent the farmers getting that price. I do not wish to reflect

·on the Commissioner. The Government gave him power to fix the price of flour, which he did on the basis of 9s. per bushel for wheat; but hc did not fix the price for bran or pollard, and there is n.o ftxed price for either to-day. That left the miller in the position that he had only one thing, flour, from which to get back his money. I am not going to blame the Government for every­thing, but I think I can show some things they ought not to have done, and prove

Address in Reply. [25 AUGL"ST.] Address in Reply. 301

that to a certain extent they sacrificed the farmers. Before the wheat pool was formed country millers took de!iYery of wheat on the understanding that, if the price of bran and pollard were varied, the farmers ·would get whatever in addition it meant. The guarantee wa7' for fair a.verage quality wheat, and neither the State nor the Federal Government gave any guarantee for an:- other wheat. The miller certainly took advantage of that fact in this way, that what was fair average quality wheat at the Lcginning became, in some cases, dockage wheat, classed as No. 2 or No. 3 milling wheat, with dockage amounting to 2s. and 2s. 6d. respectively. On the bottom of each certificate issued by the board in respect to sm;h wheat appeared a note that all future p~yments on each cla::~s of \vheat depended on what the whole of the wheat in each claco realised. The dockage was to bo taken off the first payment. Members will under­stand the position in which the board were placed. Mr. Morgan, the chairman, speaking at Killarnev, r.aid they wer.- being pressed by the Government to realise their Ss. a bushel guarantee. Th~y could say wheat was fair average quality wheat, but they could not force the miller to accept it, as the miller fixed his own price by dockage en clae" 3 2 and 3. on which there was no guarant- o. That is how the board assisted tho Government to fulfil their guarantee and cut down expenses to the lowut possible limit. Then, again, the borrrd could only take the wheat from hand to mouth. Thev had practically only one miller to deli ve'r to, and he did not carry big stores, and the margin they worked on would not allow tb~m to take all the wheat and classifv it; and, though the Government guarantee'd Ss. a bushel for everything that was fair average <JUa!ity wheat, and promised that, if the board could not get it, the Government would assist them. there is a lot of whed all over the wheatgrowing districts of QucNJsland that was of fair average quality but is now only feed wheat. I blame the ho.ard to this extent-that they should, in >pite of everythmg, have taken delivery at once and classed the wheat. If the miller would not te.ke it, t,hey should have stood to their classification that it was fair average wheat, and they should have fought the miller and fought the Government.

The SEORET.IRY FOR AGRICULTURE : Should they have fought Barnes and Company?

Mr. DEACO)I : They should h-He fought everybody. ~YVe have to rem2rnber that. if they went to the Government for sometl!ing !Jke £250,000 to make up the dE•ficiency, they woul-d have very little chance of getting 1t; thoy would have no yJDssiblc hope of get­ting it, and the7 took the easiest wa v out, and the far;ners all over the Downs have b:cen sacrificed to save the fcc,e of th' Govrrnment..

The SECRETAHY FOR AomcuL: l:P.E: That is net true.

:\Ir. DEACON : I g·i ;·e the Government credit for gcod intentions, but they had a Pricu Fixing Con1n1issioncr to protect the' people, who would have hQd to pay a higher price for their brc~u.d. Tht·rc is no rr D. son ut all, when the Government of this State .did give a guarantee. whv thev ~hon1d not have paid that guarantc.c ar :1 rai~~·J the pric0 of flour.

The SECRETARY FOH AGHICULT""C:?E: Do you say the price of flcur is too lO\v?

;;Ir. DEACO::\": It is too low; you cannot haYe it Loth ways. If the guarantee cannot be paid with the present price of flour, then the GoYernrnent should have increased the price of flour, or else they should make up the deficiency. The men who got in early "·ill get thciT Ss. per bushel.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTt:RE : And the miller who got in early picked the eyes out of the wheat.

l'dr. DEACO)I: Every miller certainly did the best he could in his own interests. It is the farmers who have lost. The people have had full value, and the Government should make up the deficiency. If a man had wheat of fair average quality at the bc;;inning of the season and the board y, as not able to take dcli,·ery of it, then the Government should mal<e up any deficiency. A man at Emu Vale nt the beginning of the year sent a truck of "·heat to Barnes and Company, vVanvick. which was accepte-d by that firm a:J fair aYerage quality. He sent another truck to the Dominion Milling Company in :Vlaryhorough, and it was accepted there as fair average quality. The board cou:d not take dcliv0ry of the halance of his wheat, and, when the general delivery came about

1d the millers took the wheat in trucks on th2 Killarney line, the balance of that wheat, although it was just as good quality ;;s the rest, was accepted on a ls. 6d. dockage. If he gets the balance he will get the Ss., but I -do net think he will get that, because dockage wheat comes in a different class. If the •Government rlo not adhere to their guarantee. at least they shou:d not claim credit for it. The board was rcsponsihle to some extent, but the Government pressed the board to keep out in order to prevent them losing money.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE : The 1- ond got no instructions at all. They were simply appointed to do the work.

~h. DEACO)I: I am not blaming the Government at all, but I am going to show that the Gm·ernnJPnt afterwards put the board in the p ,ition that they made a profit out of it.

The SECRETARY FOR AamcrLTUHE: The mill0rs were not able to satisfy the Price Fixing Commissioner that the price of flour "\YfiS too lovv.

Mr. DEACON: vVhen the Premier c;,llle her0 from I\!elbourno aft(T agreeing to 9;;. per bushel, he said it would permit of flour being sold at a pric0 which \YO'lld n0t necessitate an increase in the prire of bread. That \Yas all very fine for the Government. Thcv claimed credit for keening d0wn the pric~ of flour. and also clai!ned credit for gi,·ing a g-ood price to the farmer for his wheat; bu"t the farmer has not got it.

The TREASUHER: You would not give it to tlw farmer if he had no whect?

Mr. DEACON: The wheat wa, there, and the guarantee was there.

The TREASURER: Arc the Cnmrnonwealth g-iving it v;·hpre we ar~ not g·iving it? The C'ommomvealth guaranteed 5• ., and we guaranteed Ss.

1\fr. DEACON: The Cc mmonwcalth Government found the moN-V for the Ss. per bushel. The QnoPnslan,c\ Govcrnm' nt 1nade a prmnise, but, indil'cctly, t::1c haY<? not kept it.

The SECRETARY FOR ~\GR!Ct;LTURE: Do you not think you are a bit pr0m:1hEf'?

Jlir. Deacon.]

302 Add1·ess ~n Reply. [ASSEl\ffiL Y.] Address in Reply.

Mr. DEACON: It is no USB now because the CBrtificatcs have been issued.' If tho TrcasurC'r will make an announcement that he \vill keep to tho gun ran tee and pay~ up to tho Ss .. I can assure him that we will be a very popular man on the Darling Downs. It wou:d be creditable t<J him and to the Go,Tcrnrncnt if he rr1ade such an announce­~ent to night. I wi)] give a nether instance 111 comwction with dockage whc ot and show you the awkward position in which the board \Vas somctiin.cs pu~. The farmer was pre­pared to deliver l11s wheat. and the millers' representative offered to take it <Jn ls. ckdwge. At the same time complaints had been made to the board bv the hon. member for vVarwick and mvsc]f that the supply Df dockage wh('at was e'xre~slvc.

The Tnr \S1'RER: Do You ag-ree with the ll<ln .. rrwmbcr for \Varwirk : to the pool? I-Ic 1s a buyer of "\\heat, and you are a seller.

Mr. DEACO:\: I agree with him in eYerv­thing he does thet is going to )H<Jtect tl;e f~nncr.

The TREASURER: Arc you in favour of the whrat pool'?

Mr. DEACON: I am in favnur of a wheat pool for one y8ar, and I advise all tny pPopie to vote for the~ extension of the wheat po<Jl f<Jr one year; it i, absolutely nerr''isary. I do not blame the GoYernmcnt for the mistakes th0v have m~Hi.r. b,•cau.:;c I give th-1Jn credit for meaning well,

'rhe rfHEASlTRER: ):_...-CU were 'l :-b·o~Jg ::3Up­porter of cur part\· ut one ti,n,c.

).fr. DE.~\ CON: The rrr,·asurcr is wrong in that. \Ye do 1•ot want to kno''< one another's political beliefs. \Yhot we want to know is whether the Govcrnn1ent bave g.ot_ .the rash, o_r \vhether there is any pos­sibility of their ~etting it, and \Yhethor they '-'~re going to koep ~their protni-.e.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICUL'rURE: The Go­v~rnmc'nt arc gDi?g to kee11 their pron1iso w1th respect to prrmc wheat.

Mr. DEACOX: Do I understand that Ss. is guaranteed for any wl1eat tha.t "as of leir average quality e.t the beginning of the harvest? The Government will not nnswr1~ any definite question. I ha Vf' seen a copv of tho Executive 1ninutc which F<avs that the G<Jvernment l!uarantee for fair av~r­age prime rnilling ~heat Ss. a bushel, bu\ they aitcred that afterwards to fair average quality. A l<Jt of wheat which was of fair average quality at the beginning of the season would ll<lt rc>'llise Ss. now.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICTLTC:RE: That is a serious reflecti<Jn on the board.

Mr. DEACON: I don't care whom it reflects <Jn.

Mr. G. P. I3ARNES: They held it too long and it deterimated.

Mr. DEACON: The farmers harve~tcd it in good faith. Any number of men have planted this year on the faith of that guaran­tee. They have put in 1noro than their o\vn finances could handle. and have had to bm­row mon<ey to take the harvest <Jff. Plenty men in Queensland have not got the money yet for their wheat.

The SEcRET.iRY rOR Aomcvr.TcRE: The Go­vernment guaranteed Ss. 11cr bushel, and now ycu ,ay we have bungled.

Mr. DEACON: I d<J n<Jt bhmo the Secre­i:lry for Agriculture for bungling; but would r~y miller P:l:'<r any nlCl'C than he can get

[ Jir. Deacon,

out of it now that the Price Fixing C<Jmmis· sioner has fixed the price of flour?

The SECRETARY FOR AGR!CULTC:RE: \Vhat do you know a bout milling?

Mr. DE"\ CON: If the miller i, cornered in one way, he will get out of it in another, and lw will take it <JUt <Jf the 11rice of the dockag<e wheat.

Tbe Sr ~RET.\HY FOR AGRICULT1:HE: That is <1. reflection on the board.

Mr. DEACOX: The Gon rnmcnt forced the board into that position; but it does not n1atb'r \Vh(_) tl it rrftcct3 on. I will blaniB everyone \Yho ls to h!a n-:e. I 1vould expect the SccrctarJ' for _\.gricniture :\'Tiel tho hon. mBmber f<Jr H crbert-wh<J sa} J the Govern­ment is a good Government to the farmers~ to assist in kcq1ing their guarantee.

Tb0re arc only two or three other things I 1,·i~h to speak on. In the fa.rming industry there i~ a ccrtrrin amount of uncn1ployn1ent. Every man ·who h~1s been e1nploving men has been forcNl into the posit'on of cnpl<Jy­ing as few LS po"siblc. Tb:: Govru1mcnt arc n·,pcncib'o for that. The policy of the GoYcrn-rrHcnt has ~cnt up the. price of every­thing the fa.rmer hns to buy, and has increased the price of ev0rything that is pr<Jduce·d. It ho.s made production unprofit­.. ble, and th:ct is the rcilwn why so many formers haYe to do with le'S hands than usual. So ,far as the farn1ing industry is conco-',rncd, the Govcrn1nent are responfible for the unernplo;;ment there.

The TRE ISL P.ER : You do not say the farmc rs are retrenching?

:Hr. DEAC:O:'-i: They arc in the same positicm as the G~veni.ment. They have "deflated." It has been said bv hon. mem­bers opposite that there are different parties C'1 this ,idc of the House, but \VO know that there arc differ<ent parties on the Govern­ment side <Jf the House. We have had some hon. members opp<Jsito declaring that unemployment and other things are simply part of the revolution that is going <Jn. \Vu hav<' n<Jt heard that from the front bench. ~finisters nvident1y take the capitalistic view that they have n<Jt got the money. and they cannot pay men if they have not got it.

The TREAScREH: \Vhat d<J vou think of that view? ,

Mr. DEACON: V en· sound and sensible on the pa.rt of the J'viinisten, but not. on the part of the nartv behind them. The "Pr<J­ducers' Review " has been quoted pretty frecmcntlv in this debate. It is nurcly a pro)lrieta.ry concern, and is not the official organ of the Farmers' Lnion. rrhe Farn1crs' Union has n<J control whatever over the editor or the proprietor. It is not even sub­sidised by the Minister. It is purely a pro­prietary c<Jncern, and the editor alone is responsible for the opini<Jns expressed in it.

Mr. VOWLES: The Premier is the big-gl';t .subsrriber to it now.

Mr. DEACON: Its <Jpinions arc merely the opinions of the editor, and n<Jthing more. It is a matter of everyday newspaper hu:=;ine~".

The TREASURER: What did they give you to fight the last election?

Mr. DEACON: Nothing at alL I am expected to bear my own expenses. I get nothing from the " Producers' Review" or from any other source.

What is the position <Jf the Government? Can they carry on for long? We know that they cannot borrow money. They only had a

Address in Reply. [25 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 30:!

very small surplus last yea!·, and they are going to have' a big deficit this year. The revenue from pastoral sources and from mining is going down, and there will be a

decrease in the railway revenue. [9.30 p.m.] They have a huge expenditure

to face. m:d their credit is Pxhansted. One rannot help feeling- sorry for the people who will have to suffer from the mismanagement of the Government.

Mr. WJtRREN (.viurrumba): I would like to say a fc)V words on this motion. The hon. member for Herbert spoke about the Educa­tion De:1artonent. \Ye kliow that education i::3 a vcr, big problP·,.11 for an~v Government, nnd it 'yould td unfair to criticise the Administration in any L!nfricndly manner in this regard ; but, when the hon. member for Hcrbcrt tells the House that the Government find school books for the children, we know it is not true. The school children in the Murrum ba electorate arc not getting the favourable treatment that the hon. member spoke about. I noticed that the hon. mem· bet· owned up to the fact that the South is being starved.

:Vlr. PEASE: I said that for fifty years you have spent most of the money in the South, but the present Government are giving a fair deal in the North.

Mr. W '\RREN: I m:tintain that the chit. dren in the country districts are not getting the favourable treatment which the Govern­ment are giving to the children in the city.

A GOVERNMENT MEMBER: They are getting as good treatment from thi.s Government as your Government gave them.

Mr. W _'\HREN : I do not think so. The children in the country are crowded together in the school., and do not get the same con­,·cnienccs as the city children. The hon. member for Herbcrt spoke about the wonder­ful things the Government are. doing up Xorth at the expenoe, asehe admitted, of the S'outh. He practically said that, becaqse another Government had done wrong, it justified this Government in robbing the South. \V c find that schools are overcrowded and that there is bad judgment shown when building schools. In prosperous centres schools arc built much too small. In nearlv every E'lectorate in Southern Queensland there are schools which it is a shame for children to be educated in. In schools which are built to accnmmodate 100 children there is an attendance of 150. The Hf\ddiffo and Yan­dina schools come under this category, and the Secretary for Public . Instruction is grieved that he cannot find the money necessary h enlarge these schools.

The hon. member for Cunningham spoke about the wheat pool. The farmers have a lot of difficulties to contend with. and the Government should act in a straightforward manner towards them. It is the duty of the Opposition to help the Government in the solution of those difficulties; and, when we get on the Government benches, we shall expect the Opposition of those days to co­operate with us. I recognise the difficulties the Government have to contend with; but they ohould show a little more fair play.

I wi,,h to speak about the fruit industry, which is a burning question. \Ve are getting about £1.000,000 a year for our fruit. This is the best country in the world for the pro· ducti on of fruit. \V e can produce bananas in abundance, and tthcre is no place where citms fruits can be· grown better than in Quoensland. I attended a fruit conference in

New South Wales lately, and the people took us to see their orange orchards. I found they were carting soil and manure from reserves on to their " swank" orchar.ds to produce oranges which, I am quite safe in saying, can be grown to equal perfection anywhere in this fertile State. About two years ago an organisation of fruitgrowers was formed, and to~ay we are handling over £500,000 worth of fruit. That shows the growth of co-opera­tion, which is the only thing that is going to save the situation. The fruitgrower should not only help the producer but also the toiler: and it is all humbug to tell people that they a1·e wage slaves. There is no one freer in the world than the Queensland wages man, and the talk given to these men by agitators and others is a disgrace to them. The great bulk of the working men are all right, but it is the agitator that is wrong.

Mr. DASH interjected. Mr. WARREN: The hon. member inter"

jects becau<o he feels what I say. If you throw a stone at a number of dogs, and one howls, you know he is hit. (Laughter.) It is a disgrace to tell the working men that they are slaves. It is a ·damnable tlhing to call them slaves, and a damnable slander. There arc no people in the world that I respect more than the working men. Hon. members opposite do not like what I am saying, because it will get into " Hansard" and into the PrcsB, and the wodcing man will sec it. The present Government arc dissolving like sugar in water, because they have been feed­ing the people on the wrong stuff. The real worker knows that there is anv amount of work for him. ·

Mr. CoLLINS: At places like Mount Morgan.

Mr. WARREN: An old experienced politi­cian like trhe hon. member for Bowcn knows that the labourer is not a slave, but the hon. gentleman has had this sour milk poured down his throat so long that he thinks the worker is a slave. If we give the workers a fair deal, we will ha vc the purest type of men that it is possible to get. We know that ~he men who do the work are all right, but it is the man who farms the worker who is all wrong. We want to see the worker legislated for. How arc you going to feed him? Only by organising the producers. 'I'ho producing ·machine is like any other machine, and if all the parts are not working smoothly the whole thing will be sma~hed up. If we do not organise our fruit industry, our dairy industry, and our wlheatgrowers, then we aro going to starve Brisbane.

Mr. CoLLINS : You have been a long time learning that.

Mr. WARREN: I preached it over thirty years ago, and I have preaclhed it ever since. Hon. members opposite arc fond of •. ]andcrin~ the capitelist, and they are fond of mislead": ing the poor, unfortunate, silly. stunid indi­viduals who they think are th,cir followers. The fact of the matter is that the workinrr man is not a silly man at all. Anvonc wh~ !has seen a panic on a battle field k;;ows that it starts in a simple way. It is the same with the workers. A panic was starterl in Queensland, and those people ran away from t~e Liberal party. Just now they arc run­mug away from the Government party. The writing is up on the wall, but the blind leaders of the blind opposite are not able to recognise it. The Government hav~ created a chamber of horrors down the -lane. (Laughter.) It is a chamber of t.heir own creation. I am sure that, if a man produced

llfr. Warren.J

304 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

a child of that ,description, he would strangle it. They talk about abolishing that chamber of horrors.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Order! Mr. W ARREI'<: I hope they do abolish it,

because if another GoYernment come into power, 'they will find that Ohamber up against them.

We fmd that the school children are cramped out everywhere, and they have to get their lessons under the trees and under the school. At one place they had to build a bad< bumpy for a school. At Nambour t,he other dav I a'lwd a gentleman namBd Smith -not the :Minister for 'State bungling, but a scientific trainer of children-whether the children of Nambour compared favourably with the children of Brisbane, and he said they compared more than favourably. The children are "' splendid asset to tthe State, and it is absolutely scandalous that we do not give them better facilitiec, for their education.

The TREAScRER : The best school in Queens­land is at Nambour.

Mr. WARREN: That is quite true, and we want more of those schools throughout Queensland. We want better school building-s everywhere.

With regard to the railways-which we oug1ht to call the " fail ways "-we know that they are stage-managed by politicians, a'!d that is the reason they ,do not pay. Our rail. ways are an absolute discre-dit to us, and that is one of the reasons why the credit of Queens­land is in such a condition. If the Govern­ment would remove the political control from the railways, and leave them to the Com­missioner, it would be all right. The Com­missioner is a goo-d business head for the department, and if we left the railways to him they wo-uld not be in such a muddle as they 'arc at the present time. A railway man in the country told me that the trains run millions of miles less now than they were run und<:>r the old Government, and he was afraid that the running staff would be reduced. I want to say that it is an absolute shame to reduce men who have been in t,he service for years, as they have done, unless some other avenue of employment is open to them. If the Government had started on some definite plan of settlement when they began to deflate-! think that is the right word~or puncture the railway FH:>rvicc, as an interjector sugg-ests; if the" had taken up land settlement on some sci<:mtific principle. thev might have absorbed the men turned off, and would not have been doing· a serious injury to this State.

\Ve all know that the function of a Govern­ment is to govern, but we find that the function of this Government, who are not able to govern, is to trade; and I would etrongly advise them to open some matri­monial agency or a pawnshop, because, if we continue along the present lin0~, the State will certoinly have to go into a pawnshop. The only ,vay to avert that is for the 1\linistrv-because, afte1· all, there is no Gov0rn~ent-to con1e to their senb'S, look at this as an ordinary business proposition, H.::;;:ist the proclnccr, and make the country a better place to live in. If they do that, I feel sure we shall have a revival. \Ye have pc>ople coming here from all over the world, and there is the keenest disappointment -·Yaiting· for thPm wlwn they arrive. One of th" ,G_auses is the .\dvances to Settler. Deport· ment; and, if thoro is one thing more than "r.otlcer thnt condemns the Government at

[Mr. Warren.

the present time, it is the shortage of money in that department'. Is it any wonder that the people who come here from rther countries are literally and completely fooled' Ex-Imperial servicemen read the propaganda issued in England from the Agent-General's office, and come out here only to meet with rank disappointment. I took one case to the Secretary for Lands to-day, and I will say at once that he recti­fied it; but I was told in the office that there were dozens of similar cases. That man sold out in England and brought about £300 here. I introduced him to the Advances to Settlers Department, and he was advised to g·o on with his purchase. He put the rest of his £300 into the proposition at \Voomhye, and suddenly he found he >Yas up against ·a wall, and that there was no monev. \Vhat conclusion arc we to come to except that there is something radically wrong there?

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICcLTuRE; He left the old country before the delegation arrived there.

Mr. WARREN: He did not. The person who uses that delegation as a means of swaying the people's minds is nothing short of ·a mislcader-he can fill in another word there if he wishes. There is no sense, rhyme, nor reason in the statement that the dele­gation had anything to do with the finances of the State and it is only made to throw dust in the ~yes of poor, stupid fools. The Premier did not know that am· damage had been done till he landed on Australian shores. I am sure he never mentioned it to any person in England.

Let the Government produce some plan for ,-iping out the past and for benefiting the country districts, because the glowing picture cf the :\"orth which we have had held up to us is not true of the South. A great deal of the h4j1ble we have experienced, though not all of it, is due to misgovern­ment-to the lack of a stable, sound, sensible Government, <upported by a party who know something about the needs of th1s State and about business. The hon. member for Hcrbert implied that the Government were doing- \Yonderful things for the pe~plc up North and told us about a pastora!Ist who was >~illing to have his rent increasBd. It was about the weakest story ever told, and the people up North must be of an absolutely different class from any I have met any­where in this world. _ The Ho:I!E SECRETARY: Have you not noticed it?

Mr. WARREN: I have. I ha 1 e noticed that the Home Secretary is .a profiteer. He bou~ht a lot of cloth from the Common­wealth Gov~rnment for 9s. per yard and sold it to the people at 17s., and decoi':'cd the Commonwealth GoYernrnent by saymg it v. ~s for a special purpose. Instead, he bought it for trading p•Jrposes. The Hor:1e Sccrctarv did not even knm> he chd It. (Laughter.} That sort of thing sh?uld I_Jot bo: but hon. m cm bel'S on the other s1de cannot help it. They cannot help their pawnbrokers' tricks because th<;Y cannot govern, and they cannot do anything else.

1\lr. KERR (Enoggera): I beg to move the adjournment of the debate.

Question put and passed. The resumntion of the debate wac, made

an Order of ·tho Day for to-morrow.

The House adjourned at 10 o'clock p.m.