QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOUNTY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 437, 20 February 1909, Page 7

QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOUNTY.

: . Sir —The, above is the heading, in larg* type, of a paragraph which was eopiad in your issue of Tuesday last from a paper'called .."Tho Citizen:" '. It. sought to make mo appear somewhat ridiculous in tho. eyesof tho public, inferring, a$ it does, that 1; asked an unnecessary question in tha House', and got "no" for an answer, which samo answer cost 18s. 6d. to 1 print. If. there is to bo a ridiculous featuro in tha matter, lot it be your own paper, for on March 17 last you printed,, under _ a large.* blaok type heading, "A: Maori Grievance"., and a oross-hoading. "That £7000," Wire-, mu Kanika, a great Maori ohicf, had caUed, on Tub Dominion: 1 and related his grievances,- -Amongst other. matters; 'hq said that the Native ■ Minister had -in-formed;-this Natives",that:,a grant was made on the occasion of the Quoen'a Diamond Jubijeo to tho Natives of New Zealand. Tho amount was £7000 a year. He said that Mr. Carroll had accounted for,'£3ooo of the £7000, • but the Maoris could not find out what had" beoome . of thei balanoe. This paragraph struck me as .being a matter; of: some, .importance,- 'If the old Maori chief was correct, some £70,000 had been received by the Government on behalf of ..the .Natives, :but no ;ono knew whero;the, money had gone to. 1 made some inquiries and at last asked for V return concerning the amount of money " received by way ot grant from her lato Majesty Queen Victoria. The return was laid on the" table of . the House 7 about, tho end of ..the session; and -showed tho amount reoeived to be. 'nil," That ■ the return was printed at a cost of 18s. 6d. is the fault of the : Minister who : moved for, it to be; printed,, and; in .any.case, ISs. 6d. is not very, extravagant in a: search for about £70,000. 51y motion in -the, House was prompted by an ancle in Thb Dominion, and that Tub Dominion should attempt to bolittlo mo over tho result is, to aav tho least, . amusing.; Needless to add, I am. still looking for that £?&,000j and if it lias actually been paid we have a right : to' know"' all about it. _ Your paragraph, however; will do good, if .'only to - show the needless . waste of money that goes on in printing every, year tons., and tons, of rub-; bish. It evidently costs at least 18s. ;■ 6d;. for Minister to; s?yj "nil" in the" House. I hope this letter will get. a heading ai. was: the case with your .paragraph of Tues day last.™l am, ete.,' F, M. !B. FISHER. February 18. :; . . ' [Mr. Fisher appenrs to bo unduly sensitive concerning: "The Citizen's" paragraph, .The' ridicule of the paragraph was not' directed at him, but' at a system which permits .this absurd waste of public money in needless printing of .what' ha himself justly terms "rubbish. It is quite possible .that; the Natives Save " misunderstood the nature of .the bounty,' and that further inquiry may elicit information of interest. They appear very confident that; certain; funds intended for their . have been diverted from the purposo for which they were granted.]... i