NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 650, 29 October 1909, Page 5

NEWS AND NOTES.

NOT A NATIONAL ISSUE. The Minister for Railways, in reply to a question of Mr. Malcolm, said that the Department could/not accede to a suggestion to stop the continuous passage of newspaper-sellers and others through the railway carriages. Mr. .Malcolm , reiterated his .request yesterday, his charge against the newsboys being that they rushed .through .the carriages slamming or leaving open : aoors, causing headaches to ladies, and obliging:men, in l ,the-secOnd-class carriages especially, to ;draw in. their legs and shift their positions repeatedly to let them-pass.

. A FARCICAL TEST. ■ The alien immigrants' education test is a farce,, in the opinion'of Mr; Stallworthy, member for Kaipara. The test, he stated yesterday, is well .known, and \is„. learned either, in' the immigrant's country: ori'on the; steamers coming out;. Something should be done to keepout the aliens who invaded the Auckland giim- : fields. Naturalisation papers were passed from one alien to another, so that .-licenses could be obtained to work in reserves'set apart for ■persons of' British extraction.''

MR. FISHER AND THE LAND QUESTION.; : A .personal explanation was made by 'Mr. Fisher" (Wellington Central) yesterday in reply to a statement madeby the Prime Minister the previous evening. Sir Joseph Ward had read a rejiort from Thu Dominion, of November 12 .last, -which stated .that: "Turning to the land question, Mr.' Fisher declared himself .in favour, of land nationalisation." Mr.' Fisher read from The Dominion of the following. day, to show that he had corrected the statement m : question, and , in a . letter to I'ue Dominion had,written': "I am not infavour of land nationalisation." In a second "port in Ota; Dominion, it was stated that Mr. t'lsner had drawn a broad distinction between' State regulation and land nationalisa-' tion, of; which he was not in favour; Mr I'isher;, also quoted from . Hansard to show that he had spoken against land nationalisation in connection with the proposal to-■trans-fcrj'tho capital from Wellington. ii. -? rim S Minister ' said lhat' he ' accepted the;explanation. He'had not been aware that Ur lusher had corrected the v report in The Dominion. ■ "

1. BANK OF NEW ZEALAND. _The i following return in connection with .the Bank of New Zealand, called for, by. Mr.' H. G. Ell, H.P... was laid on the table' of the ilouse'yesterday :t7. . ." . _ _Price; .paid by the Government for '75,000 shares m the-Bank of New Zealand, .£500,000; Amounts received by: the, Government's dividends;— Year ended M&rch 31, 1905, 5 por cent.. .£25,000;'. 1906, 5 per cent., ,£25,000; 1907,-7} per cent., i»7,500'; 1908, -7V, pbr cent., ,£37,500;" 1909 • 8l per .cent,,' £43,750; total, ,£168,750." Amount paid annually by way of interest on the purchase money of-, the shares, i! 18,113.

{:; Cl'Vill SERVICE PENSIONS. V •FafecnUw- of 'pensions, granted- uniler ' the! Civil! Service Act, 1908, ; were 'laid before the House in. a- return.yosterday. as follow :—J. M. Batham;.,Stamps .Department';'. <£4f15" 6s. Bd.; J.' Cameron;. Customs, "ie47.ios.-j j. Delaney, Post -Oifico, $199 10s.R.,'A; 1 . Edwin,. Marine,' <£253 6§. Bd.; W. T. Glasgow, ..Customs, ,£533 6s. Bd.; C.i A. St. G. Hickson, Stamps, ,£483 Cs. Bd.'; W. G. Holdsworth, Audit, .£220 ,vJ. Mills, Customs, .£400;, J. IV Rogers, "'Printing, .£203 6s. Bd.; L. C. Roskmge, Audit, ,£296 13s. id. i J. H. Sheath, Post Office,. .£306 135.. id.; K. Snow, Customs, ,£220; G. Tattle, Printing, .£180; E. J. . von Dadelszen,. Registrar-General, £400; W. Whitehead, Customs, d£l22 j and C. A. Wray, Justice, .£373 15s.' 'f-fU

MRS, MILLAR AND CASUAL RAILWAY ~ "JS„ * .' HANDS, . ' Speakingduring question-time yesterday the Hon. J. : \ A.;.Millar, • Minister for Railways,, made an announcement as to railways.. ißeferrinz, to the difference in suburban fares,''he,said the- Government intended to rethe 1 whole tariff at the end of the year. As to the promise of-Mr. Hall-Jones when Minister for Railways to take, the casual hands with five years' service on as permanent hands, he-said he could not agree to it. If he were to do what, had been, suggested he. would have on the permanent staff , men whom they had.no work for. ■ Tho'result would lie that many: men would have to work' half-time. "Another and a very serious, phase ,of the. question .was in regard.to ttte superannuation scheme. J-Tfie guarantee of the Government was given on'the supposition of permanent • employment .of the hands, and the contributions were such that they would not permit of a" single further charge, being put upon it unless the State came down "and paid the guarantee. The casuals could not come in without increasing! the rate. If the; men wanted these benefits -'they would have-to pay for them.. He would not take the responsibility of carrying out the promise of a former Minister. .

Mr. Wilford:.Why not bring it down-and see if the House agTccs to.it? . Mr. Millar:'! am not'-going >to take! the responsibility. ' : . .. .' • •• ■ '

COMMENT BY A-JUDGE. , •Among.? questions'of which' notice was given yesterday was one .by Mr. - Okey, who desires to know'whether: the attention of the Ministerof Justice has been' drawn,to a paragraph in the "Taranaki Herald" 'of-;September>'l3 containing the following statement made at a sitting of the Supremo Court at New Plymouth by the presiding Judge, viz.': -"Well, prisoner, you are indicted for forgery upon your own evidence. If, not a forger, you are at least a thief. However,' the jury has found you not guilty. With very great regret I :am compelled to-,turn you loose upon society again. Discharge the prisoner"; and does he intend to take any acfion regarding the Judge's remarks?

SOME EXPRESSIVE METAPHORS. "A political babe, that ought to have been strangled or asphyxiated at its birth," was Mr: Wilford's description of the Second Ballot Act. Mr. Fisher's Bill he described as a political pudding, a suet pudding half cooked, and therefore-indigestible, with one plum in the bottom—namely, the clause to repeal the Second Ballot. Bill , 1 -

JOTTINGS. The Railways Committee has reported recommending that the petition of George Swann Hoss for compensation for the invention of a protective plate in locomotive boilers be referred to the Government for favourable consideration., "No recommendation to make"'is the report of the Natives Affairs Committee ; with reference to the . petition of James Sim, of Johnsonville, praying for a land transfer title to certain Nativo land at JohnsonviUe. ; "That the Government take into consideration the question:.of erecting a ,suitable monument to tlio memory of Edward Gibbon Wakefield" —was a quostion of which notice was given in the Legislative Council by the Hon. J. It. Sinclair (Otago) yesterday. ' . . Leave of absence for. the. week, on account of urgent .private was granted to the Hon. Major Harris by the Legislative Council yesterday. < . "I thought tho (lour tax would be repulsive to every Christian community. We prajv or ought to prav,. 'Give us this day our. daily bread,' and then tho Government turns round and says,' 'Yes, and we are going 'to tax you for it.' I would ask .members, 'Were they doing a Christian act when they ■ taxed the workers' .bread?' "--Remark-by Mr.. Hoee in the House last night.

Mr.-M'Laren'wishes'to know whether the attention ol the • Minister for labour has .bean.,

drawn "to the attack made by . Mr. Kettle, S.M., upon the workers' representative in a case for enforcement of award (Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Union versus John Morri'6on, licensee of the Metropolitan Hotel), heard at Auckland on September 21, 1909; and whether the .Minister will use all the powers at his command to prevent a recurrence of such an incident, for the purpose of sustaining pub-lic-confidence inthe law-and in the integrity of our magistrates ?" It is understood that upon the conclusion of its next sitting the Legislative' Council will adjourn for ten days. Mr. Newman intends to' ask the Government whether they will make provision .in this year's Public.Works Estimates for the rebuilding of the'post office at Bulls. He states that the old building was destroyed,by fire in March, 1908, . and great inconvenience is caused to the inhabitants of. the town and district owing to the inadequate accommodation provided in. the temporary building, in which the postal business is now conducted. A strong plea for the reduction in the size of tho larger electorates was, made, by Mr. Reed, Bay of Islands, yesterday. It was his opinion that every candidate.should make himself familiar with the whole of' the, requirements of the district which he sought to represent; He. did not belong to the largest district in the Dominion, but its -scattered nature might be judged when,he stated that it took, him three months to go round it. In the course of his campaign he covered no fewer than 1600 miles!