Debate on The Salt Duties (Amendment) Act

Official report · Assembly of SchwartzistanSession 1958 · col. 14447

The Speaker: The Order of the Day is the third reading of the Bill. The Minister has the floor.

Gregor Brenn (Minister of Finance): I beg to move the third reading of the Bill, and I shall be brief. The Bill raises what it says it raises and spends it where the schedule says. I have the figures and will lay them on the table. The House will note that the Bill is an amending Bill; the principal Act, The Hollhausen Salt Duties Act, is not otherwise touched. I ask the House to pass it.

Emil Brenn (Kesselhöh; The Assembly Union): Mr. Speaker, The Union has no quarrel with the purpose of the Bill; its quarrel is with the fee, and with the officer who will collect it. The members for Kesselhöh have met and are of one mind on the Bill, which does not happen often. The Bill is a money Bill and a money Bill is a Bill about who goes without. The clause is short and I shall not read it. The Bill should pass and I shall vote for it. [The Line!]

Uwe Tarn (The Sudmark; The Reed Party): Speaker, I speak for the farms. A Bill that does not touch the farms is a Bill I can vote for with an easy mind; a Bill that does had better say so. The people of The Sudmark will ask what it costs them, and I should like to be able to tell them. The Bill is a money Bill and a money Bill is a Bill about who goes without. The Bill says so in terms: Sets the duty at 6 pfen in the marka. The Bill should pass and I shall vote for it. [Interruption.]

Klaus Breitzen (Westgau; The Assembly Union): Speaker, I ask the House to consider the tradesman who will have to comply with this. He has not been consulted; he has been notified. In Westgau, which I have the honour to sit for, the Bill will be read at the market cross and understood by half. The duty falls on the trade and the trade passes it on. The House knows this and votes for it every year. The clause is short and I shall not read it. We shall divide the House. [The Line!]

Gregor Pfeil (Norrfeld; The Assembly Union): Speaker, The liberty of the subject is a large phrase for a small Bill, but I use it, because the Bill is small and the liberty is not. The duty falls on the trade and the trade passes it on. The House knows this and votes for it every year. In Norrfeld, which I have the honour to sit for, the Bill will be read at the market cross and understood by half. I cannot vote for the Bill as it stands and I shall not. [Interruption.]

Ludwig Marrow (Westgau; The Workers' Front): Speaker, I ask the Minister a plain question: who pays? The men of the mills pay. The Front will vote as it always votes, for the wage and against the fee. I should like the Minister to say what the yield will be, and I should like it in marka and not in percentages. I sit for Westgau. The clerks there are few and the roads are long, and any officer the Bill appoints will spend a week finding the houses. The Bill should pass and I shall vote for it. [Hear, hear.]

Egon Breiff (The Ostrand; The Reed Party): Mr. Speaker, The members for The Ostrand have met and are of one mind on the Bill, which does not happen often. I speak for the farms. A Bill that does not touch the farms is a Bill I can vote for with an easy mind; a Bill that does had better say so. I have the Bill before me and the House has it before it. The duty falls on the trade and the trade passes it on. The House knows this and votes for it every year. The Bill should pass and I shall vote for it. [Shame.]

The Minister replied briefly. The fee was as printed; the officer was as printed; the House had the Bill and could read it.

The Speaker: The question is that the Bill be now read a third time and do pass. As many as are of that opinion say Aye. [Ayes.] Of the contrary, No. [Noes.] A division was claimed.

The tellers reported the numbers to the Chair. The Speaker declared the Bill passed.

The House then proceeded to the next Order of the Day.