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SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES DISCUSSED

CIVIL SERVANTS' WAR BONUS

The House of Representatives met at 9.30 a.m. The Supplementary Estimates wore introduced by Govomor-Geueviil's llessase. Sill JOSEPH WARD (Minister of 'finance) made a statement about tho war bonus (o Slate servants. He said it would be noticed that in Ihe Departmental Intimates thero was provision mado for a war bonus. Every Department that wns a revemie-oar/iing ono out of its revenue was required to provide for payment of a war bonus, and in that respect the bonus would not bo charged lo the Consolidated Fund. Tho war bonus to the Public Service, including the railways, was provided for on the same basis ue last year. Separate provision rfas mado ;n the Appropriation Bill for those technical school teachers who could not be provided for last year. A bonus payable ap to the same salary, £315, WJ.UI bo given to both the Public Service and the railwaymeii, as was done last year. In addition to that, members would find in the Kailway vote a total tiTiiouni- by way of boi-.-.;* of .565,000. Of that, all but ".£58,000 w=is pnyable under the war Ixmus system of JS3IS salary last year. So far as the fiailivc.y Department iv.io concerned, ' the mWilioniil amount payable under the Estimates was by way of allowance to married men whose ealnri"= went up to Jfli<\. The total amount for the twelve months was £l7i,m. That was provided for in the Appropriation Bill. Out of that .£175,000 the .£58,000 was required to make payments u,p to the end ot the financial year. One ot the reasons why this allowance tor Uie war period was" Riven to railwaym»n wac that so rr.sv.y men were lpaviiii* I tbo Sin-ice to get Vghpr po>' vlsewhore, I ?>i this we? causin? .'.Teat difficulties in ! thi carrying on of Hie service. The K'-.a. I). ?,l'W (Kaiapoi Mid r-.-r V:* thanrl'.t l>.e provision made lor I the S'att servant-! ws a very proper one. I -r* ,1,-j f . ,:■ ti-ifiir the Government had doise" wmciont for the New Z<«'«:"' T.-ldcff<! «f mm killed in the war while in Hu Imperial Artrv, or tor the Aew 7iv.la!'' "i'f of "'■?"■ ™ ov n " nc ' lve Kt ' r * vice rriLh unite other than the Now ZealitT'i Riceditionarr Fnrce. V- T?'.A TP/iin ,1, ,'WHlincfon SubiirW snid that the Hnii=e '..nd heard of th? proMSsl to make additional allowances to the ower paid railw»ymen. But he -rouM .IVe to ask the Tinanro MirAelor to consider m like manner Hie lower paid wen m the Postal emCe ' Wnllington Gns,

Mr. 8,. -FLETCHER (Wellington Central) said that n recent increase in the cost of living had been put upon the people of Wellington by (he Gas Company, in raising the price ct gas. the matter was one for the Board 'f'wf"; Mr Massey: Yes. 1 can tell the Jionourable ? entlcmanthatatn,v requjrt (ho Board' of Trade is dealing with it n °Mr. Fletcher asked whether anything would l)e done about the quality of the Bl sfr Massey: lam told that, the quality below the E, ftetcU°ur g ecl the Government to insist upon the maintenance of a proper standard He went on to ask about the fw of Living Committee;* report Would the Government, appoint a .Nod Controller? Would the report be gnen full effect to. or would it be «»»««' Mr. Masee-y: It is a matter for consideration of Cabinet. Wpl ij ne jli- yiolrhev urired that 'n WellingGovernment might well "f. fvrn remaining Commissioners ami (linn fho Zlescheme, which, he declared, South) scolded the Po S tn ment for its "stinginess" in the eetun n 1 , f eot telephones. Then he had a word or two with the Minister of Public Works about Parliament Buildings.

More About the War Bonus. Mr G. J. ANDERSON (llataura) referred to the war bonus again. It it is Mt possible," he said, "to give an extra hKown to to children <*"$««• these bonuses should not bo paid. (Hear, he?r!) I believe that a bonus ehou d be given to men earning leas than four P °An d honom e aWe member: Married men? Mr Ando/aon: No; there'is some qualification of that necessary. I beHove that cadets and . young women are not setting sufficient to keen them. I havo no objection to these single people getting a bonus, because they arc very poorly, paid. .But in my opinion no one, married or single, gett ng more than M a week should get to bonus. Kit i 8 possible to pay a bonus to officers earning over A/US a vear up to JE3IS, and if it is possible [o increase the salaries of higher-paid officers-say, those getting over Mrt a rear-no matter what their value to the country may 'be-for I fully recluse their value-it seems to me that the country might very n-ell have hold all these payments over, and added the money to "the fund which would have "iven an extra fe. 6d : to these soldiers children. In my opinion this is what we should havo done. There may be good reasons for what the Government is doin", but I can't see them. I want a referred to the case of the man Carroll, very properly sentenced, as he said, to two years' imprisonment by courtmartial at Palmeretoii Hie other day. He drew attention to. the .-emarks made by counsel for the defence at the trial regarding the congregation of high military officers at that trial. It ?« * great waste of money. He considered that this case had cost lie country far too much, seei™ that it could have been brought before the cinl court, without recourse to ooiirt-martia at a. . Sir. B. P. HUDSON (Motneka) siggested that tho Government should pnichase a dvedgc which could be hired by the boards controlling the small ha ■ hours. These boards could not a (To 1 to buy dodges on their own account and would i.ct keen the dredges occupied if they had one each.

Suburban Trains. Mr C H. ?OOIiS (Auckland West) urged the Governm-nt .to i«toro the suburban railway ficmces. lc "£ and not to returned men.

Cost of Living. troller The increase of prices was a ° serious matter indeed to people wiHi fixed wnges mid salaries. One of the thin-H done by the British Food, Controller had been to tell people to give up crowing flowers in the gardens and produce vegetables instead. Tins was entirely practicable. Tho price of broad might be reduced by allowing the bakers to use an increased percentage of potato Hour and by using brown flour in place of the fine white flour. The Government could koep down the price of butter by buying in large quantities when butter

was cheap and holding it in etoro till it wan needed. It was a fact that 00,000 cases of prime butter had changed hands a few months ago at Is. 3d. per pound. Yet tho people we paying Is. Bd. Ine Govornmont could reduce the price ot fish by a little effort and organisation. The British Food Controller had proved that tho cost of living could bo kept down by State effort, and the Government ought to take action without delay. Mr. It. M'CALLUM (Wairau) also demanded a serious effort to reduce the cost of living. Ciieap lish ought to be availuble in every part of New Zealaud. Ho was glad the Government had continued the war bonus. Sir Joseph Ward: It has got to go on ■until the end of the war.

Mr. M'G'nllum urged the Government h> hasten the completion of the new Parliament Buildings. Mr. Ci. WITTY (Riccarton) said the Minister of Munitions had shown how the Government could reduce prices by arranging to supply at 4s. 6d. per pound the wool that the 'people liiul been required to pay Bs. (id. per pound tor in the shops. Defence Minister's Turn. Mr. W. A. VEITCK (Wauganui) asked (lie Minister of Defence to grant a military inquiry into an injustice alleged to 'liave been done to Captain Puidham, whose; case had been recommended for J;ivni!i'iible consideration by the M to 7> Petitions Committee. He hoped improved arrangements would bo made for the distribution of casualty lists. Dr. TT. T. J. THACKER. (Christchuroh fiast) complained that soldiers had been treated unjustly by being sent away at very s'fort notice. Men had been put to unnecessary inconvenience in connection with tho medical examinations. New Zealand had sent too many soldiers, aild I he put the blame on "the brutal ambition of General Godley, who had con- | tinually increased the main bodies rei quiring reinforcement. Many of the I Staff officers now in the Dominion should i be sent to the front, a start being made I with officers of the highest rank.

Taranaki Iron, Mr. H. J. H. OKEY (Taranaki) urged the Government to give a bonus for the production of iron in New Zealand. The Dominion was suffering froni a shortage of iron at the present time. If the Government would pay a bonus of X% a ton on the first 10,000 tons, iron-works could be established in Taranaki, and an assured supply of first-class iron placed at the disposal of the manufacturers of this country. The bonus already ottered iras not large enough, in view of the increased cost of, coal and materials. Mr. ,T. A. YOUNG (Waiknto) said he would hare Jiked to see more done for i\\e dependants of the soldiers. But the House had to accept the assurance of the Government that the Dominion's financial burden could not safely be increased. Export of Lamb. Mr. G. HUNTER (Waipawa) said a return presented to the House had shown that 400,000 carcasses of frozen lamb had been liberated for <>XT>ort from Wellington, as against 100,000 carcasses for the rest of the 'North Wand. The. -producers felt that this distribution vtis 'np.nilentlT unfair, end lie had been asked to bring the matter forcibly under the notice of Parliament and of the Government. The farmers' unions throughout the North Tsland had requested him to move with the object of frfittin? a morp Pfjuitable distribution of the space avflilable for frozen lamb. Tlrere was a fepling in tho country districts that the port of Wellineton had received undue preference, and that several wellknown and lareo firms in Wellington had b c on unduly favoured in the liberation of frozen lamb for export.

INTO COMMITTEE. FIRST ITEM DISCISSION. The Hnuce went into Committee on thf Estimates at 2.40 p.m.

Mr. Anderson (Mataura) said he objected to the payment of a war bonus to public servants whose salaries exceeded £i ner week. The Government had assured the House that the financial situation of the Dominion made it impossible to increase thp nllowancp to soldiers' ohildrpn from 7s. Gd. to 10s. per week. The Hnuso had accepted that statement in good faith, but now the Government was proposing to increase the salaries of cnmpaTativelv hwh-naid Civil Srnmts. TT« hoped the Ministers would explain the reason for this wnr bonus as clearly as they had explained the possibility of innreasinjr the soinrnt-'nn allowances of soldiers' wives and children.

S'r .ToßPnh Ward said that on the general principle he was in agreement with flie liiPinher. Rut the Government could not ley down a fixed rti!i> Hint it wnnltl not jrant any increases of =nlnrv. Thori* was no rase nf increase that was not ■warranted in the opinion of the Government. Mr. Okey: This is not a timo for an.T increases. Sir Joseph Ward eaid that practically no increases had been made in tho higher salaries. If the Government had refused to make nny increase at ell it ■β-ohio , lihtc opened the door to very great dissatisfaction.' The Departments could not retain some essential employees unless it paid them reasonable salaries.

Mr. Anderson: What justification is there for a bonus to persons receiving over X2OO a venrt Sir Joseph Ward said it was not practicable to make a sudden break in the existing system. The bonus had been going on since the end of March, and could not be stopped. Mr. Anderson: When can it be stopped? Sir Joseph Ward: "I should say when the war is ever." Hβ believed that twothirds of the people who were receiving the bonus couM scarcely make ends meet.

The first item of the Estimates was agreed to at 8 p.m.

Losses of Cash. Dr. A. K. Newman drew attention to the fact that scattered though the pages of the Estimates there- were votes to make up defalcations. Members had a feeling that there should be tome closer 6ystem of audit. Sir Joseph Ward 6aid that 6omo of the cash deficiencies were the result of losses by fire or robbery. One reason why in the past there had been no votes for losses of this kind was that thore was a guarantee fund to which all members of tho service subscribed. It was considered unfair to honest officers, and the system was dropped. But there was no such thing as a loose 6ystem of audit in existence. Replying to another question, Sir Josopk Ward said that they had been most anxious to discover a plan by which the war bonus could bo more equitably distributed, so that men with responsibilities sho'ild have more. But the Commissioner had come to the conclusion that no eystem would avoid injustices. Many men with f amihes had ■;rown-up famiiles, not dependent upon them. He was very sorry that members had received a circular from the Post and Telegraph Association. Tho circular would not etand examination, it iras the first time the Post Office men had attempted to bring pressure to boar on Parliament in this way, and he deprecated it very much. If work wae to be done under these circumstances the life of the ordinary member of lanmment would not bo worth living; Tho Hon. W. H. Herries (Minister of Railways) said that the payment of the allowance to railwaymen would begin on December 8.

The Crown taw Officers. Mr Anderson asked about increases to salaries to two Crown Law Officers, one o? Xl5O and one of .£sl. . The Hon. A. L. Herdmii) said that unless these salaries were given it would no t be possible to retain the forvicee of salable men as Crown Law Officers. In U« last few years three very valuable office." had left to go into private prac-. tice-Mr Ostler, Mr. Neavc, and Mr. Meredith. Mr. Mncaasey had been twice offend partnerships in private practice, and he had only agreed to stay with (he Crown Law Department on consideration ■ f rccoiviiiß this increase in salarj. Mr. HeK said that he could not riui

thn office unless sufficient salaries were nnid to retain capable men. Mr T. M. Wilford supported Mr. H rd'man. He expreswd the opinion hat ici par allowed to the judiciary and to Z Crown Law O&cm was not ade9"ate" The War Correspondent. Mr R. Metchor made a protest about the vote of .WOO for the New Zealand Official War Correspondent. He moved

to reduce tho item by .CfiOO as an indication from the House that this ollker should be recalled. Tho Kight Hon. W. V. Massey said that the munej was either owing or had been paid. When Lβ was at Home (he ActinjjsPrimo Minister cabled to him askius him to ascertain what the opinion oL tho officers at the front and in England was on the question of doing away with the war correspondent for New Zealand. Hβ asked General Richardson to make these inquiries on one of me visits to Prance. General Richardson s otvii opinion was that Mr. Malcolm Koss should be retained. As the result of this inquiry General Godley and Genera) T4ustell wrote letters to him (Mr. Maseey). and they wore both of opinion that Air. Ross should be retained, and that if he were recalled the New Zealand publicwould loso by it. . An honourable member: Who does lie write forf Does ho write for British journals ? , Mr. Jlossey: I am going Us show you that the British papers are very «iau to receive his articles. . Mt. Jl'Callum: Let the British journals pay for them, then! Mr. Massey said that the publication of these articles was of much value to advertise New Zealand. He had, when in England, been impressed with the value of advertising. He produced a list of cuttings of articles published in British papers in tho month of August as an indication of the value attached to Mr. Malcolm Ross's writings. Ross was paid at the rate of and .£2 10s. a, day travelling expenses'in France, reduced by half when he waa in Lngland. Mr. O. Witty said iilfiOO a year vraj far too imica to pay for A? news that was being received from the official \\« corespondent. He thought the correspondent's messages were usoless unless Ca The d 'Prime Minister that the Government had found it "pessary to cut down the cost of Government telegrams by over .6100,000 per annum. The cost of cabling the correspondent's messages would be enormous. . , Mr R. Fletcher asked permission to substitute a reduction of .El f«r a, reduction of .£6OO in his am«ndm*t. Hβ Baid he did this owing to the act that the mouey was already due or ha& beeu Pal " Mr. Wilf.ord in Defence.

Mr T. M. Wilford said lue soldier 'who knew least about the operatioiK \t&s ttie man in the front line, who saw only a email phase of the nghtmg. Tho correspondent who got the most valuable news was tho one who was in touch with Headquarters. Mr. Ross had not done good work at Gallipot, bub eome of his accounts of operations Ui France had been excellent, and it irouM be a great mistake to make a change lit this stage of the war. Tie present correspondent had been with tho New Zealand Forces since the outbreak of m. and he had accumulated knowledge that no other man could gather. Mr B. M'Callum said Iho Dominion, certainly was.not getting value for its expenditure on the war correspondent. Mr. L. M. Isitt said he would like to 6 ee the correspondent producing more nrti&es dealing with the actual life of Hie soldiers at the front. But much of ttw criticism directed at the war correspondent had been quite unworthy. The Hon. K. H. Rhodes objected to any suggestion being made that the correspondent had avoided risks. Mr. Rose had taken m many risks as on* other correspondent at the tront. Eoplying to a question put by several members, Sir James Allen said ho had received representations from some newspapers that the correepondents articles were not what was required. He had communicated this statement to brig* land He understood that since then the articles had been more suitable-from the point of view of the newspapers. I Mr. Witty asked if it was not a fact that most of the articles were thrown in the waste-paper baskets. . Sir James Allen said that was a mat-, ter for the newspapers. A division was taken at 4.50- p.m. en. the amendment, which was defeated by. 33 votes to 13. , From 7.30 until 8.10 p.m. the-Labour members kept on talking, at which hour the Estimates were passed. - The Appropriation Bill was introduced and rend a first time. • Mr. F. MANDER (Mareden), speak" inu on the motion for the second read, ing, complained that he had been treat* ed unfairly by the Minister of Pubhe Works in the allocation of grants. Hβ had been denied an opportunity to press the claims of his electorate, and he found now that a neighbouring electorate ha<t fared better than his own. Membra are put in an ugly, awkward, and nisgraceful position when they have to beg and pray for grants from the Minute, and it depends on his liver whether jou get it or not," said Mr. Mandor., The Hon. W. FRASER, Min.ster o< Public Works, said that he did not thuiK he had failed in courtesy to any menu ber. Tho allocation of grants at a time when money and labour,were both scari'9 was a matter of extreme difficulty. \\ was not his duty to distribute the avail, able funds equally among tho electorates. Tho money ought to be spent on the works that were most urgent from a national standpoint. . Mr. H. G. ELL (Christchurch South) urged the Minister of Public Works to call for competitive designs whenever a public building costing more tnaij .£SOOO had to be erected. The standard of public architecture in the Dominion outfit to be raised. The cTebate was carried on by the J,w bou members, who discussed many_ sub. iects, and were called to order at inter* vals by the Speaker for getting far outeido tho range of the Bill. The Bill was committed at 11.00 p.m. Dr A. K. Newman objected to clause 29, postponing tho re-grading of the Pirblio Service until soven years after the original grading. He said that the post-, ponement would inflict hardship on i great many public servants. Sir Joseph Ward said that the post" ponement had beeji made neceesnr? bv the war. Tho re-grnding tonld not ba undertaken while many hundreds of Civil Servants were at the front. , Tho clause was approved on a division the Bill wn, T ed after n,idnighL_ suggested that the- third readme ing debate should not be reportedHe said the Hansard reporters had been at work for fifteen hours, and were ■•"ffl.tfmemben. objected and on their undertaking not to make long speeches Mr. Mnesey withdrew his pro. P The Labour members briefly expressed rant that the House should be risiilß Xut dealing with the cost of living P Thlfßill was read a- third time and P X d Houle"rned until 10.30 a.nv to-day. _____——

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Bibliographic details
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 32, 1 November 1917, Page 6

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3,619

SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES DISCUSSED Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 32, 1 November 1917, Page 6

SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES DISCUSSED Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 32, 1 November 1917, Page 6

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