Wellington Notes.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 48, 25 August 1896, Page 2

Wellington Notes.

(From oar own correspondent.) PRINTING THE BOLLS. Some very plain language was used about the spending of bei ween j£2ooo and £3000 in printing electoral rolls recently, which are now so much waste paper as the boundaries of the electorates are in most caaes altered. The excuse made by Mr Hall Jones was that there were no rolls available in some districts there were so many people who wanted to see their names in print. Bat if that were the reason the desire could hare been gratified by applying at the District Registrar's office. The Premier's excuse was that there was a constant iemand for old rolls, which is just about els thia. He would not state what prices were paid or who did the printing, but some of the members were posted up as to what happened in their own districts and it was shown that the political colour of a printer had a great deal to io with where the patronage went. For instance the rolls for Waikatoand Waipu were tendered for by anf Opposition jumal at 5s 3d per page, while the right colored paper put in at 7s. The low tender was rejected on the grounds that it was a "sweating" price, but the Government organ at Wanganui got .the job at 4s lOd. This statement was neither denied nor excised by Ministers. But the most heartless case was that of aMr Field, of Auckland. He tendered in 1893 at 7s per page, secured the contract, wbich was duly signed, and went on with the work. In the meantime women's suffrage came in and, although the contract was for a full year, the work was taken out of his bands and given to the Auckland Star, a rery highly colored journal, at 8s 6d. Mr Field applied for payment of work done, .£l2B, and was refused. He petitioned Parliament id 1894, and the Committee, after satisfying themselves that his contract was a proper one and that the work had been done, recommended that be be paid. Ministers took no notice of the Committee's recommendation except excusing themselves on the ground that no amount was specified in the report. Next year Mr Field, who was only in a small way of business, petitioned again. The Committee was again unanimous and stated that he was entitled to £94 13s. Still Government did not pay, and this time said that Mr Field must first bring an action in court and prove his claim and, if successful, they wonld then pay. At this point in the narrative a member showed how in several cases petitions had been thrown out because the applicants had taken legal action against Government prior to petitioning. Early in the present session Mr Field petitioned again and has since, died, bis death being caused it is believed by the worry he has bad over this claim. Let us hope be has gone where petitions and recommendations are not influenced by political color. The moral of this is that Parliamentary Committees, several of which sit every day and consider hundreds of petitions and other matters, wbich have all the paraphernalia of re* porters and typewriters, and cost a huge sum annually for printing, etc., are merely ornamental, and useful only for keeping the members from getting into mischief otherwise, and perhaps con- ! spiring against the Government. " Let them deliberate and bring up their reports," says the Premier, "if they suit my views and favor my followers, well and good, if not chuck 'em in the waste paper basket." That is the stage representative Government has arrived at, and tbe Ministry having now exhausted all its resources, thrown all the planks of its policy of 1893 to tbe winds, debauched the Civil Service, appointed its partisans to billets, and themselves to seats on directorates which want concessions from the State, now ask the electors to give them a further lease of power and patronage because they choose to call themselves Liberals, and cannot point to a single Liberal action anyone of them has ever been guilty of. And they have followers, but tbe followers are built on the same lines as themselves. They want their share of what is going.