NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 694, 20 December 1909, Page 3

NEWS AND NOTES.

. : WEREROA BOYS' FARM: ALLEGED HARSH TREATMENT. \ Mr. Field', stated in the House oil Saturday that he was informed matters were not quite 'as they should bo at the Wpreroa Boys' Training Farm. He liad. no personal knowledge of the matter, but charges had been.made which lie thought should be answered. ;lle' read a requisition by seven employees urging the need for an inquiry, especially in regard to tho treatment: of 'the staff by;the.is'uperiritebde'nt and- his. deputy. . ,v ; Mr. Arnold: The superintendent' is the best man in the colony. " Mr. Field said the' superintendent had hot previously been used to farm/life.. There were charges, of unnecessarily, harsh;.- treatment of the: boys. One boy, •it was said, had been flogged sq severely that lie had to go to bed for tell days. It was, also stated that tho boys had/had their ears boxed, one of them so badly as to send him from. one side, of tho room to, the other. If that kind of thing went on, there was something veryswrong with the institution. He thought that Mr. Thomas Walker had a distinct grievance in connection With tho farm, and' should at least be paid for .certain services lie had performed and certain money he had • oxponded on the institution. The , committee .which cftnsidered his petition liad no recommendation to make, but that was largely'due, ho believed, to tho fact that the petitioner had been dismissed for an offence which he himself admitted. He .understood: that some of the members of tho committee thought he- had not been, quite fairly treated. Mr. Hardy. (Sol wyn) . said ; the matter had been fully considered by the committee. Ho had been astonished at the peculiar statements iuado by tho petitioner—statements that wero entirely unsubstantiated. . Tho Hon. said tho manager .had a reputation throughout-New Zealand as a capable, conscientious, man, well qualified for tho position. -. - A certain-.'amount of unrest had been brought about in tho institution by the petition. Ho would have the general internal administration of tho farm carefully inquired into, but there wero no specific charges—only vague allegations. Whenever a specific chargo had been .'made the committee: wero unanimously of opinion that no . recommendation should bo made, and he was perfectly satisfied that if further charges woro madoythey would come .to the samo decision. , ' Mr. Massey suggested that, instead of having petitions before the Houso every session in regard to the farm, a. magisterial inquiry should bo held. .. . Tho Minister replied that tho present allegations had no . connection with previous petitions.' . ■ ■

NEW LIGHTHOUSES, Speaking on the vote for tbe Customs and ■Marine-Department, the Hon J.'A. Millar said the Government did not . intend; to put a lighthouse at Tcrawhiti. The East' Coast required lighthouses a great deal more. The practice was to ereot , two lighthouses every other year, and next year £hcy would probably be erected between Castlepoint and l'lag Point and near Whangarei. A lieht at' Tcrawhiti would bo less useful' than' these. -There was always a demand for a light after a disaster. '■■ ■' ' - • Mr. Massey urged that Tcrawhiti was the nastiest point on ■ the' coast he knew of. He could not forget tlio. accident to the Penguin. ; Mr. Millar: A light.at Tcrawhiti' would not have prevented it. Mr. Massey said that shipmasters had strongly .'urged the necessity'; for a light':at this point. Mr. Millar:' We've got it down, and it will bo ereoted when we can do so.:; •

THE SEDDON MEMORIAL. Surprise was expressed by Mr. Malcolm (Clutha), ; on Saturday night, that though the late Mr. Seddon had been dead three vcars, an amount of JC3OCO for a memorial to liim still appeared oil'the Estimates.; This was unfair to tho country, which had wished to 'show its respeot lo Mr. Seddoii's memory more immediately, and unfair to tho House, which voted the money year after year . and. found it unexpended. -■ , ■ The Primo Minister said the. original amount voted was £5000. ,Tho work could not be completed till, part of : it, j. which , was being con--triiated out of Now Zealand,'.camo to hand ■

Mr. Hemes (Tanransa) urged that if . .£SOOI had been voted mul J2IOOO spent, the remainder of•the vote should not have been reduced , to JC3OOO. y.y.' Tho I-rimo Minister! We found it could ba done, within that. . . : ' Mr. Herries said ho thought that tho extra .£IOOO should bo spent on somo form of memorial, that being tho object for which it was voted. They should not bo niggardly in th« ! matter. ■ Mr. Russell (Avon) afterwards suggested that tho amount should bo used to establish scholarships for tho foiir university'oollegcs.

PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL-A PRE. SENTATION. A retut'n luncheon to tho members of -.the ■ ■■■'. Legislative. Council was given by tho' Prima . Minister at Bellamy's on Saturday. Sir Joseph - Ward presided, and yjas supported on his viglit \" . by tho Speaker of. tho Council (tho Hon. C. C. • Bowen), and on his left by tho Speaker of tho House of Representatives (tho lion. A. R. Guinness). The members of tho Ministry, in •• - addition to a good gathering, of' councillors, ' 7 were also present, and the function passed of .very pleasantly. ■'There wero only two toasts' in -.;fj addition to' that of "The King," and tho speeches, owing to the fact that the Hou6e had ; to reassemble at 2,30 p.m., were. brief. . . * The health of the Hon. C. C. Bowen war • proposed by Sir Joseph Ward, who bore tcs- ' timony to the many good qualities of thf Speaker of the upper branch' of tho Legisln« ' ■ ture. He asked Mr. .Bowen to accept, on |T. behalf of . tho : Council, a handsomoly-framcd duplicate of the cablegram Bentto himself (Si) :• Joseph Ward), by; tho.members of tho Housi 1 of Commons": congratulating him ; on. tho offor . of. tho Dreadnought gift. (Applauso.) Tho ' original which had been framed, had, Sir Joseph said, boen forwarded by- tho 1 members of the' ilouso of Commons for presentation to' the H°nso' °f .Representatives. f Mr. Bowen, in .responding to tho toast of ' his health,' and in accepting the gift on be- " half of tho Council, said that tho action of '! tho Prime Minister in connection with tho Dreadnought {'gift had evoked a feeling of admiration and pride throughout tho Dominion. Such a patriotic action would ,do a great deal to cemont tho bonds of union bo-> 1 - 'tween the. Old Country and tho colonies, and it was orio that'touched a. right chord amongst all English-speaking , people. (Applanso.) The toast of Sir Joseph Ward was given by • Mr. Bowen and was enthusiastically hon- ' oured. ,Th 6' Prime' Minister, m his, acknow-: ' » ledgmont, expressed pleasure; at tho excellent - feeling existing between the two- Houses. . ,

MR.'HARLE GILES. Some references tb the appointment of Mr. Harle' Giles ;as Conciliation Commissioner at. •Auckland wore made on Saturday morning ; while the. ■ Estimates :of the' Labour . Department. were under, consideration. ' Mr. Poole, in . alluding to the appointment, said that it was a Wot upon' tho system, sit had, lie said, given the utmost dissatisfaction : ; to o large number of peoplo. Men appointed to such positions should' have tho complete ■ • confidence of the people, but this confidence v had been wanting in the Auckland cose. It - v was quite evident '• that ■ Mr. Giles had been appointed because lie was one of the . "whitehaired boys of;,the liberal; party." In regard 1 to the results, ho.) said that under tho condi-■ ' tious~of ■ the new. Act a Commissioner's position was comparatively; easy. Succcss in tlio office was not,'a-' difficult, matter, but publio " j confidence was, the graiit desideratum. 1 j The Hon/ A. Millar, replied that both "/• the employers and emp">yecs had passed nu- ■ / ? morons votes of, congratulation on tho resulU J of Mr. Giles's work, ard from tho time ho ' begun to get th6\,confidenco of parties ■ settled practically: every-dispute that had'boen ' brought before, him. , Mr. Millar' quoted • figures to, support this contention. : Mr. Massey admitted that Mr. Giles had been . "rather a success : than otherwise," and . later -that /he ! had been'*"fairly successful." His objection to. the ■ appointment bad been • that it was conferred as a result of political v A services rendered..' ' . ' . ■ Sir Joseph Ward denied that this was the ■ • case. . ■" .i.'s/ ' "■

THE AMOKURA. ' • To date, 11G boys have shipped in the Amoknra. Mr. Millar fltated ou Saturday that employment has been found for them on ships ,as, soon' as they have completed their two (, .'years'-; coiltse. 7: Tho' position r.wiis"' very "satiwsfa : factory'to date. Mr. Berries' snid'jho thought the quito ' justified tho, expenditure. : SURVEY OF COASTS. . . There i hft's"nfever^'bee'n7aUhorough'survoy. of. ■ the New Zealand coast, including Cook-Strait, the lion. J.'A. Millar'stated on Saturday.- A' ■ 1 survey was' onco commeiiced, - but was stopped on' actouiit'of tho'excessive cost. The portion- - i.--. of Cook Strait round about tho Brothers, ■ and between there aud Terawhiti, 'had been, pretty „ well surveyed. .! .

MEMENTO OF CAPTAIN COOK. ; One'-of the Horns of Estimates passed on, • Saturday \Vas ! ,K0 for tho purchase of a figurehead of Captain" Cook's vessel, Resolution. It -r was explained' tliat a .resident, of Hull,: England, who claims to possess the figurohe&d,' < 11 had offered it; to , the Government. Mr.' K. M'Nab will inspect tho figurehead during his •;» visit to England, and if he considers lfrgemunt it ,■ will bo purchased for the Dominion Museum.-

f J* ■' i "ORDER," , \ , An amusing incident "occurred during a dis- . -rSg; cussiou' on' workmen's homes 'on Saturday; morning.,- .Mr. Bollard,' in reply to. some to-: '...'.'.-jy marks by ; Mr;. Ell, declared that tho latter ■ . gentleman had a" kink in his intellect. Tho member for Ohristchurch South naturally ob-. jeeted to this, allegation, and Mr. Bollard was -. called upon to withdraw it. Being a lawabiding member,' Mr. Bollard, immediately acfluiesctd, but added that ho would substitute the remark '.that . Mr. Ell : hail no 1 intellect to' . kink. This also had to be withdrawn, and l the member, for Eden, left it at that. .' Li'

TALK. AND KNOWLEDGE. Mr. Dillon (llawke's Bay) is one of tho few ; silent members of the-House, and on Saturday he protested against thotalkativeness of the majority. "When -the .-. member for Avon speaks,'' lie said, "ho would appear.-to bo a . walking! encyclopedia." When Mr. Hogan speaks on railways wo listen to h'im with interest, and when Mr. Hanan speaks on educatiou and land reform wo listen, to him ! with■! pleasure, because m "all know tbey have' a good knowledge of what they, aro talking about, but that is not the case with too many members." • '

A NATION OF,SWISS WAITERS. , From his remarks: in'the House on Saturday . , 1 ' it would appear that tourists would not get ■ much consideration from -Mr. 'IV 13. Taylor;:-- :'. M,P. for Christohurch North, if ho had full control of tho'public servicos. '.'lt seems littlo /; else but foolish;", ho .remarked, '.'that wo should' purchaso steamers on Lakes Wakatipn and To ' Anau in thc.interosts of. tho 'tourists. -l?ori my .: fart, I have no,veneration at nil for tourists. would never do.anything to make their livds ' r.. superlatively' happy- whilst they aro here.-- If • ' < they como here'and are satisfied well and good, but if they don't Hko the place let them stay i away. Wo don't-want to develop into a na-'' "■ tion of Swiss waiters." :' ;

GIVING THE LAND BACK TO THE MAORI. . In tho House^of'Representatives on Saturday 1 >> Mr. Massey, read correspondence ! revealing a l'emarkable state of affairs in regard to Crown lands on the East Coast, near Gisborne. Tho' ■ ' communications- were from residents of Wai„ [ piro Bay. About two years itgo, they state," v bection 1. Block 7, : Mata Survey District, was, thrown open' for selection. : There' were 139 ; ■ applicants for it, nnd:Mr./Dobbie, of Gisborne, was successful,in tho ballot. 'Ho failed 1 to carry. and tlio section' / was forfeited, aiid :'again'advortised for selec- ' tion,' but bn December 6 it \vas withdrawn. In reply to queries, tho Minister for Lands stated that it*, had: been withdrawn to allow tho Na-' 1 tive owners of the adjoining land to ncquiro it > and add it to their block. Tho block to which it was added contained 4G49 1 acres, a largo por- i' tion of which is unimproved. Tho settlers stato that * several sections of Crown land ill ' Wniapu County have recently been given to tlin'Wi Maori owners of adjoining laud without Europeans having been givon an opportunity to bal- • •' • lot for them. Tho sections are siW,iued. AH ; ' tho sections referred to, it is stated, aro ac- - V ccssiblo by formed roads, and nro eminently suitablo for settlement. They would bo cocerly . « competed for if mad& available for selection. v Tho Primo Minister promised to mak6 further - inquirios. Ho' said tho position was'that-tho land should never havo been purchased, nnd it was now being given back ,to tho Natives. . -