CRIMINAL APPEAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 266, 4 August 1920, Page 8

CRIMINAL APPEAL

THE BILL PASSED. /The Crimes Mil, which gives convicted criminals the right to appeal against sentences on the ground of undue severity) was considered in Committee in the House of Representa,tive6 yesterday afternoon. Mr. B. M'Cailum (Wairau) objected in Judges being permitted, when dealing with an appeal, to increase the sentence. The Judges should either reduce the sentence or leave it alone. An amendment giving effect to this view was moved by Mr. M'Callum and carried. The Bill was read a third ttnio and passed.;

BACKBLOCKS TELEPHONES

THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENTION,

The extension of telephone facilities to tho backblooks is mentioned in the annual report of the Post and Telegraph Department; During the last financial year, slates the report, the Minister of Telegraphs approved of proposals whereby telephone facilities could be placed within the means of backblock settlers. To provide telephone services to entirely new settlements,' such as are now being cut up for soldier settlers, the Department proposes to work in conjunction with the Department of Lands and Survey, so that the cost of telephone communication may be added to the cost of land, survey, .toads, etc., . and • the charges included in the rental charged to tho settlers for the land. Spread over the cost' of the land, the cost of telephone communication would, in tho majority of cases, be infinitesimal, and the settlers going on. the land would be in the fortunate position that telephone communication preceded tu« m or followed very close upon their occupation of the land. The settlers would be required to pay only tho difference between the actual working expenses and the revenue derived from the line. As the revenue increased, the liabilities of the settlers would be reduced in proportion. In the case of established settlements, which in some cases have passed out of the hands of the Lands Department, it is proposed that legislation be provided whereby local bodies be empowered to levy a special rate to cover the loss when the revenue derived is less than than the actual working expenses. Special consideration was given to the cases of soldier, settlers, adds tho report. It was decided that returned soldiers should be •'required by the Department to pay only half the amount that civilian settlers would be asked for; or, in other words, the Department would bear half the loss involved 'in any case in which returned soldiers' farms are included in a telephone rating area. It was also decided that, in order to make it easy for any settler to connect himself by private wire with' the nearest telephone office, the Depdrtment should undertake' to sell to settlers at actual cost the necessary material on a deferred payment 6ystem, interest to be charged on unpaid moiiey at the rate of 6 per cent., reducible to 5 per cent, per annum on payment being made within twenty-oho days of the .date of demand; instalments to be paid half-yearly and to be of such nn amount as will Day off both principal and interest in ten years. The public announcement of tho scheme resulted in the receipt of a larae number of applications for material under the' time-payment system. The small supplies of insulators and wire were exhausted with the earliest applications, and the further operation of the scheme is now dependent upon sufficient quantities of material being recoived from abroad. Inquiries for supplies made by cablegram in England and elsewhere have so far been attended with little success, suitable material boing almost unprocurable at any price. When material are available all pc-jsiblo requirements will be satisfied.

REPATRIATION OF RUSSIANS ' ; Expatriation of Russian civilians now in New Zealand was the subject of a question which Mr. Holland (Buller) yesterday proposed to ask the Prime Minister without notice. Mr. Holland inquired whethtT ' tho Prime Minister was aware that under Article 2 of the agreement made between tho British Government and the Soviet •"Government of ltussia, and signed at Copenhagen t on February 12, 1920, provision ' was made for the repatriation of Eussian civilians from all territory under British rule. He wished to know whether the New Zealand Government would give effect to that agreement by repatriating all Eussians in 'the country who desired to return to their land. 'Mr. Massey required the question to bo put on the Order Paper for answer later THE TEACHERS' BONUS Mr. Luke (Wellington North) has given notice to ask the Prime Minister: (I) Whether the amount of the bonus to be paid' to secondary school teachers is to be the same as that paid to Civil Servants-namely. (2) .What is the sum to be paid to women teachers? (3) When is the bonus and the increases in salaries to be .paid to secondary school teachers? Mr. Luke mentioned that last year bonus and salary increases were not paid until the end of December, and the delay caused hardship to secondary school women teachers. SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND WAR MEMORIALS '

Replying to a question asked by Mr. T. K. Sidey (Duncdin South) tho Minister of Education (the. Hon. C. J. Parr) yesterday 6tatcd that although the Education Department had abandoned a practice which had grown up during tho war of subsidising £, for X moneys collected by school committees for war memorials, claims already mado to tho Department on the strength of that "rather indefinite arrangement" would be honoured, and any committee that could show it had raised monoy on the strength of the practice would havo its case brought before Cabinot with a favourable reoommendation.