DOMINION MUSEUM

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 41, 12 November 1920, Page 8

DOMINION MUSEUM

• ; IMPORTANT WORK MUST WAIT ~'■■■ AUCKLAND'S £25,000 GRANT ■■- •.'"."■ A vote of £25,000 on the Supplementary ! Estimates -for the Auckland . Museum gave rise to debate in the House of Ee- . presentatives yesterday. Mr. Veiteh. (Wa~ ' \ : nganui) objected to the grant on ',the ground that when he has asked" for i money for the Wnnganui Museum he ' . had been told by the Minister of Inter- ', nal_ Affairs that the Government had decided., not to spend .any money on museums this year. ; The Prime Minister explained that the : Auckland people were arranging to spend \ £200,000 on the'erection of a museum ~'. .as' a war memorial. They had raised ..over £100,000 themselves, and he had no !'.doubt that they.iwould got.tho rest of the money required. They might not ; be- able to complete the buildinpr for several years. The Government had promised some timo ago to assist to the ex- , tent of .£25,000. • ' The Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. , Anderson) enid that the : promise had been made before he took office. The promise was being kept, but.he was set-» . ting his face against any other grants to museums until the financial situation mproved. He believed that the most im-,-portent museum as far as the Dominion was concerned was the Dominion Museum in 'Wellington, but that work could not proceed at present. '.; After further discussion' Mr. Veiteh moved to reduce the vote of £25,000 by £15,000, as an indication that the payment was grossly unfair to the,rest of the.? Dominion. . .The;' Prime Minister remarked thai) the Government would have to face later the erection of a museum in Wellington. He would be tprepared to propose u' grant of £25,000 to Wellington at once if-.the Wellington people would under- -■•-,' take to erect a £100,000 building and not come back for any more 'money. The promise to Auckland had ante-dated th'o , neciision not to spend any more money on the erection ot museums at present. Mr. Anderson said that he believed it would ; be unsound' policy to spend public money on museums at Wellington. _ The most urgent museuin was tho ■ Dominion Museum, in the capital, city. It was, not a parochial institution, and it contained collections of the utmost na- ' ttonatt "importance. He hoped to be nble to propose a substantial vote for the Dominion Museum next year, though •'he could) not promise it. N :-Mr..,W. H.. Field (Otaki) said the Government could not afford to build a DoimAnSfen . Jhteeum a fc present. But could not the more valuable parts of the national collection be housed in fireproof ojiafrtersP He feared that ho would wake some morning to find that .' the national collection had gone up in smoke. ' •'.■_■ . Mr. Massey Raftd' that Cabinet had given' instructions on thi3 point already. : Somo of the most. valuable exhibits were to be moved 'to the Turn!>ulL;Library. It hod been suggested that bthertj should go to thio brick- • 'building at Mount Cook: He wished to *ee a suitable building provided for the Dominion Museum. He hoped to -be able to propose a substantial vote for the purpose next year. Mr. Veitch's motion was defeated on ♦he voices. PRINCE OF WALES'S VISIT STATEMENTS IN THE HOUSE. • An item of £100,000, covering the ex'penditure upon the visit of vho Prince of Wales to New Zealand was included in the Supplementary Estimntes. It • formed the subject of two brief Ministerial statements, the first by uho Minister of Internal Affairs and tho second ' by the Native Minister. The Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) said he wag sure that no loyal New Zealander would ques- '. tion l!he expenditure upon tho Prince's visit. The visit of the present King, which lasted 18 days, cost about £89,000, while the Prince's visit, though it lasted 28 days, cost only £100,000.* ' Sir William. Hemes (Native Minister) .. said he had been given a free hand in connection with the Rotorua reception. The Maoris demanded that tho reception should bo given "in style" (Members: Hear, hear!) and he also had considered that the ceremony should be on a scale worthy of tho traditions of the race. It had been a loyal welcome and a royal welcome. It had brought all She Natives tcgeUior. At the same timo, duo regard had been paid to economy, and tnero had been no waste. Tho Natives deserved the highest praise for tlio way in which they.formed the camp and organised it, and for the way in which they entertained the Prince. The railway strike kopt .tho Natives in camp a,week longer than ■had been expocted, and special arrangements for their removal had been neces-, • eaVy. ■ Mr. T. K. Sidey (Duncdln South) read to the House a letter from the Hon. A. T. Ngata, who had left .Wellington. Mr. iNgato wrote that in case thgee should be any opposition to tho item on tho Estimates, he wished to express tho opinion 4 that the expenditure on the Maori camp •was entirely justified. BOGUS PARTNERSHIPS , EVASION OF ARBITRATION ACT. • Mr. P. Eraser (Wellington Central) yesterday asked if tho Minister of Labour had considered allegationß made by ' the representatives of the painters to tho effect that tho Arbitration Act was being ovadwl by bogus registration of partnerships. Sir William Hemes said that inquiries . were being made in order to ascertain tho extent of the praotico in the Dominion. As far as he know, it existed only in Cliristchurch and Wellington. Tho Department was endeavouring to find out , if it was so extensive ns to require legislation. If the practice was found - to be extensive it would probably havo •to be dealt with next session .- The Legislative Council yesterday passed the Taieri River Improvement Bill • and tho Nelson Harbour Amendment 4UU. ' ,