A deputation which waited on Mr Massey to urge daylight saving was representative of numerous local bodies and sports bodies both in and out of Wellington. In his reply, Mr Massey said he had been watching other countries. Australia passed a Daylight Saving Bill some years ago, and at the end of 12 months repealed it, and not a single man in the Legislature was in favour of it when the repeal measure was going through. He had been told that if the Act had not been repealed it would have led to a revolution. Daylight saving was in operation in Canada after a fashion, but the original legislation broke down, and now the municipalities ran it for themselves. "It is a most awkward arrangement," remarked Mr Massey. "In Ottawa, when I was there, I happened to time myself by the wrong clock on one occasion, and it resulted in my getting up earlier than I wanted to get up, and I did not like it." (Laughter.) If a farmer were growing cereals daylight saving would be of no use to him, because he could not start work any earlier than he did at present. He had to wait for sunrise and to give the corn time to dry before harvesting operations commenced. There were numbers of people who were already observing daylight saving. Nearly all the sawmills were run on the principle, some of the mines did the same thing, there was no objection to that. Wherever it had been tried in those industries it had worked well. What he was afraid of — he might be wrong — was that daylight saving might interfere seriously with primary industries, agriculture and especially dairy farming. It was upon that industry that we all depended, no matter whether we lived in town or country. Those people already got up at 5 o’clock in the morning. Under daylight saving really it would be 4 o’clock, and personally he did not think they would like it. Not the slightest notice was taken of the daylight saving law in England at harvesting time, and he thought the people concerned there were right in that attitude. He considered there must be exemptions or no law would work. He could not support such an all-round proposal as suggested to remain in operation indefinitely.
Bible fuels Bill’s debate
The politics of some biblical heroes was the cause of a crossfire of interjection, chiefly from the Labour benches, during the Prime Minister’s speech last night on the Religious Instruction in Schools Bill. The Prime Minister had praised the literature and general teaching of the Bible. He quoted freely from it to show that its doctrines were applicable to the conditions of present-day life. A storm of interjections broke out.
Mr P. Fraser (Labour): "There were splendid land laws in the Bible." Mr Massey: Yet based on the freehold system." (Laughter.)
A Labour Member: "You read the Bible upside down." (Laughter.) Mr Fraser: "What about the community ownership of land in the Bible?" There was a general interchange of comment in which one member said: "Nehemiah was a great reformer."
The Hon J.A. Hanan: "What about Moses? Mr Massey: "The honourable member is thinking about his namesake, Joseph. (Loud laughter.) He was a leaseholder." (Laughter.)
Another Member: "So was Moses a leaseholder?" Mr Massey: "It is laid down in the laws of Moses that after 50 years the land reverts to the rightful owner."
Mr D.G. Sullivan (Labour): "What about the biblical instruction not to add field to field nor house to house as you are doing?" (Laughter.) Mr Massey: "Oh, no."
An Opposition Member: "What about the usurer? Is he not with us?" Mr Massey: "Read what David says of the usurer in the 15th Psalm."
The Hon D. Buddo: "It is a pity yen can’t apply it here." Mr Massey: "I agree it is a pity." (Laughter.)
Mr Fraser: "Joseph instituted the first wheat pool." (Laughter) Mr Massey: "He was the first to attempt to nationalise the land and the first leaseholder. Egypt has not recovered to this day." (Loud laughter.)
Another Labour Member: "Moses was the first strike leader." Mr Massey: "He did not lead any strike. He led his people, and led them very successfully."
A Labour Member: "There were no railways in those days." (Loud laughter.)
Then the interjections died down, and Mr Massey proceeded with his speech.. — ODT, 18.7.1924
Compiled by Peter Dowden
Bible fuels Bill’s debate
