PARLIAMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1855, 8 September 1906, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

PRESS ASSOCIATION Wellington, Inst night. The Houso met at 2 80 p.m. The Apiaries Bill, Slaughtering Inspeo ~ lion Amendment Bill, Waimate Agrioul tural Reserves Bill were road a first time. WOOL AND FIRES’ COMMISSION. Mr Gray road the Lyttelton Times' repot! of an editors! oomuient on a recent meeting of the Commission, and drew tho attention of the House to tho painful scene.

The Minister regrotted that a report and oommonl whioh might not bo oorroct bad been plaood on tho loeordi of ihe Houso. Ho would mako inquiries into that question.

LAND BILL.

The Premier, for the Minister of Lands, gave notice of the introduction of the Land Bill at the next sitting. THE TOTALISATOE

Mr Tanner gave notice of a Bill for reiuoiog tho totalisatcr pormi s. SUPPLY.

The House went into Oommiltso of Bnpply, and took np the Estimates. Class I—Legislative Counoil and House of Representatives, general expenses. The first item, Legislative Council .£2OO, was passed on Wednesday night. On tbo present occasion tho Honso passed tho House of Representative s nod other ohs.rges, £5720 I salaries and e ther charges, £7886. Tho total cf Class 1 was piss d uoaliored, being £25 889. O'ass 2—Treasury salaries, £9706; Friendly Scc’eties registry, £2600; Land and Inoomo Tax Department, £22,033 ; rates on Crown land. £800; miscellaneous, £11,461; tola 1 , £46,605. Passed unaltered, 0 ass 3—Post and Telegraph Departmoot, salaries ,£875,050; conveyanoa cf mails by soo, £56,420 ; conveyance of inland mails. Tho House rose at 5 30. EVENING SITTING. The House resumed at 7.30. B fore tho item (£56,240) passed thore was a discussion on the 'Frbco service, on the vote proposed of £20,000. On the Minister’s explanation that the whole question would be gone into when the proposals for the service are brought dawn later on tho disoussion dropped, and the item was pasaid unaltered. On the ilem conveyance of inland m rils, £55.910, Mr Allan complained of the absence of detailed information. The Minister said the information cou'd not bo piaasd upon the Estima'es. Thore were 27 psgss of i», olosely piintEd fools* cap, and it had been published in the newspapers, aod Mr Barclay drew attention to the fact that all the ntcsssarv is in the report of the Pjstil D. partment. The item was passed without altera* tion.

Tho item carriage of mails by sea, £33,954, passed without alteration.

pufirg a dheussion on the ilem main of telegraph and telephone lines, -JJSE’BS,SOO, it was objeotsd that with tho Iris, repairing steamer, in New Zia'and waters, tho Tutouekai was unnecessary and should be sold.

The Minister explains that the colony had nothing to do with the Iris ; that the Tutanekai was specially built for cable repairing; that she does that work well, and must be on hand for sudden emergency. The Minister further stated that .the whole of the maintenance cost is in this vote, nothing .coming from tho public works fund. ' The item was passed unaltered.

In regard to the item miscellaneous servioas, L 58.215. Mr Aitken objaeted to the LB3OO paid for overtime as excessive, urging mat it might be better to employ more people. The Minister pointed out that as there are 4929 employees the amount is not exoeasivp, and that tho work is too uncertain to depend on oasual labor, The Depart meat did not like to overwork its men.

Thtritem was passed unaltered. That fioisbed the class postal and tele graph, L 614.891. In Clata 4, Tourist and Health, the i'em cffioe of industries and commeroe, L 7393, tbe Mioisler explained, in answer to a questioo, that tbe vote for LIOO for lbs abate industry was an old standing vo'e ; that tbe expenditure on various exhibitions in London had been profitable from tbe advertising point of view, and there had been L4OO of recoveries,

Mr Allen objeoted to tbe large amount for advertising as too lai ge, The Premier pointed oot the competition agaioet this country. Canada was spending £185,000 in Eoglaod alone on advertising. The whole ooat of tbe Department of Industries and Comm roe of New Zealand was under £9OOO, a-d the advertisement ocsts'bnly a few hundred '* pounds. The expenditure of the ne;ghbor- ■ ‘ iog colonies in adverting was far more, ---incidentally he mentioned that to-day bef tween 80 aDd 100 enquiries were made in Sydney from people anxious for information about this oouutry. He pointed cut ■■y ‘hat the advertising on the Estimates n«»iiJounted to £SOO, not £BOOO.

SjiL- reply to Mr Wilford and Mr Allen ,s T iruoe), the Minister said there was do vote on the Estimates for the K'Dg newspapers. Two years ago a large distribution of tbe King had baeD paid for to advertise tbe ooloDy. Mr T. Mackenzie said that more ought io be spent on advertising, but he thought tbe oolony’d trade in Britain ought to bo bandied better.

The Premier agreed, but be had made inquiries about the charge mentioned, and had found it would oost £SOCO a year. The Department was doing its bast on a very small expenditure. Certainly if looations oould be obtained in Leaden hall, Sirand, Trafalgar Square, it would be profitable at tbe icc eased cost. After some farther discussion the item passed without a'fceratioD. Tourist aDd Health Departments, £81,892 —During tbe disoussion on tbia item, Mr W. Fraser suggested that Go vernment should take up all the neoessary lioenses, and the Premier said the question was under consideration. The item passed without alteration O'd Age Pensions, £s2ls.—ltem passed unaltered. The Committee reported at 10 40, and the House adjourned at 10 45 p.m.