NEWS AND NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1483, 4 July 1912, Page 6

NEWS AND NOTES.

LOANS TO LOCAL BODIES. HAS TIIE SCHEME BROKEN DOWN? Mr. A. M. Myers, Minister for Finance, in reply to a question by Mr. G. V. Po.irce (Patea), asking whether tho regulation fixing a limit of .toOOU as the maximum amount any one local body could borrow under the State Guaranteed Advances Act, said: "There is no regulation governing the practice. The board of the Advances Ollice, not having sallicient moneys to supply all demands, resolved to give preference to smaller local bodies and those which had not already received .£SOOO loan moneys. As the engagements already entered into will absorb all the available loan moneys, that will bo obtainable for nearly a year ahead, there will bo no alteration for seme lime to come. It is not an annual limit."

Vigorous protests against this r-tate of affairs, mainly by country members representing sparsely settled 'and badly raided districts, were made when questions were being discussed yesterday, afternoon. The Taranaki members, Messrs. Pearce, Hinc, and Okcy, said that the scheme had broken down, .and urged upon the/ Government the desirability of reverting to tho position obtaining before the Act came into force. Mr. Pearce protested also against money being lent to be expended on building opera houses and tho like, while it was badlv needed for reading the back-block*. Mr. C. K. Wilson (Tauinarunui) said that ,£SOOO hi a district like his was no more than a drop in the bucket, and the fact that no mora could bo obtained was retarding the development cf valuable areas of land, and keeping settlers from settling upon it. The Minister for Finance, in reply, said that the whole question bad been misunderstood by speakers. In 1911 the mm of „C452.3«S had been lent to local bodies, and in 1912 the sum of .££03.801. .

Mr. Hinc: Is it a fact that .£84.000 was advanced to the Itemuera Road Board?

The Minister said lie was not aware of it. Since the Act came into force ,SM,7SI,COO had been advanced under it, a very much larger amount than had been available prior to the adoption of tho scheme. He pointed out that there wero commitments over and above the amount actually lent, ond that further application had had to be treated as he had indicated in liis replv to the question. The Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald stated that lie knew of a county that had borrowed .£75,000.' THE REBUILDING SCHEME. PROTESTS AGAINST WASTE. The delay in putting up the new Parliament Buildings was the subject of a complaint mado by Mr. F. W. Lang (Manukau) yesterday. He had moved an amendment after the lire to the effect that the building be re-erected on'the old site. Had this amendment been carried, it would have saved the country something liko a quarter of a million of money, and the Parliament would hnvo been comfortably housed two years ago. While this enormous waste of public money was going on, the local bodies in the country wero complaining that they could not borrow money from the State to carry out necessary roads and bridges works. It was argued at the time that the old Government House was falling into decay, but in point of foct it appeared to bo in sound condition. He thought it a. pity that tho Government did not tako tho House more into its confidence as to what was to be done about tho Parliament Buildings. A protest was made by Mr. J. B. Hine (Stratford) about the manner in which tho work of laying the foundations for tho new buildings was being carried on. People passing by stopped to look what all the workmen were doing. It was even worse than co-operative . labour, . though even under that system the scale rate was always subject to increase on application to the Minister. 'By day labour it was very inuch worse, and members need not be surprised when they learned, later that, tho cost of these foundations. was a great deal too heavy. The Minister for Public Works (tho Hon. W. D. S. Macdonald) maintained that tho Government now was doing nothing more than was recommended by the Committee of both Houses which con-, sidcred tho rebuilding scheme generally. Ho stated also that the instructions to tho responsible men in charge of the work wero to employ anybody who came 'along for a job, provided the maximum numberw<i'S not exceeded and to discharge unsuitable or incompetent men. (Laughter from Opposition members. ) Mr. Macdonald snid that ho did not propose to spy on tho men or to act as inspector of the works. These duties did uot come within his province.

THE SEDDON. MEMORIAL. A HATTER DEFERRED. Sir Joseph Ward asked the Prime Minister, in the House of Representatives yesterday, whether lie would make the requisite provision I his session for the erection of the promised public monument to the memory of the late Right Hon. R. ,1. Sedilon, towards the cost of which a considerable sum of money, contributed by the public and by tho employees of the railway service, was lodged in tho Public Account.

Tho Primo .Minister replied: The amounts in the Public Account are .£BOB 10s. 'ad. collected by tho committee of tho Sc-ddon Memorial Fund, and Ji-llili os. lOd. contributions of tho railway employees; paid into the Public Account in 1908 uiid 1909 respectively. The interest accruing on these sums will, therefore, bp considerable. It is the intention of the Government to restore to the estimates tho vote for the monument that was previously approved by Parliament. It was hoped to have been able to havo completed the monument, which was intended to lx; placed in the old Parliamentary grounds, but Hie destruction of tho Parliamentary Buildings by fire, and the change in the location of the new Parliamentary Buildings, necessitated deferring tho matter.

PENSIONS FOR VETERANS. Asked yesterday by Mr. E. Newman (Rangitikoi) whether tho Government inlended to make more- generous provision for pensions to veterans who fought in tin Maori wars, tho Hon. A. M. Myers' (Minister for Defence) replied (hat Maori war veterans who considered that they had been insufficiently rewarded in ti past as regards free grants of land for payment of money in lieu of military services rendered, had been invited by advertisement published throughout New Zealand to submit full particulars of their claims and of their military service through the nearest Stipendiary .Magistrate. Tho claims with the reports of the Magistrate thereon had been carefully gone into and classified by officers of tho Lands Department. Tho report of (he L'nder-Secretary of Lands with his recommendations on. tho merits of each individual claim were submitted to Parliament last year. The amounts recommended had been paid in each case. Parliament last year passed tho Military Pensions Act, 1911, in response to tho representations of Maori war veterans. Tho Act provides for a military pension being paid to eligible war veterans of the same amount, and subject to the same conditions as nil old age pension. 1 AUCKLANITuNIVERSITY. An increase in the membership of the Auckland University College Council, and an alteration in the law regarding students' fees, are propped in a Local Bill which has been introduced in the House of Represenlatives by the Hon. A. M. Myers as member for Auckland T.a't. The Bill proposes to increase the membership of the College Council to twelve, by providing for Hie representation rf (bo Professorial Board by one member elected annually in March by (lie mcnilx'rs el the board, ihc firrf eleMion to 1;? held ill March. 11)13. The second clause provides that the council may from lime to limo prescribe reasonable fees for (he attendance of students 'at lectures and Masses; such iocs shall be paid to ,he Registrar nl Hie ] lice is a further provision Unit Ihe council may. at its di-crelion. pay In Hie protrssors o: lecturers or any »f llicm. the f"e-'or any part, of them. The existing thiiirc in (lie Act of ISS'.' regnrdiui; l!i;> payment ».' fees to professors and lecturer!, is fo 1 repealed. The Bill was read a (imo yesterday afternoon.