The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY , OCT,1ST,1921. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 October 1921, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY , 0CT,15T,1921. THE WEEK.

I’a it i,ia 1 iUNI' lias been satisfied to go easy during the week. The sittings Imve been short ones, each evening in the House while the Council ran through its business on Wednesday sufficiently to allow it to adjourn for a week. The Address-in-Replv debate has followed the usual course, but se far there has been nothing of a specially stirring nature in it, if the reuiajrkabU- statement of finance ns submitted by Hon. Downio Stewart is omitted Tli°rb hnn been the uoinl

Hood of bills introduced, many of which will not see much daylight, in spite of their early introduction. Ihe lit. Han. the Premier arrived in Auckland yesterday is due Co take bis se.t next week. 'The apparent marking time will be continued until Mr Massev lias again picked up the reins ol bis manifold duties of office, and is prepared to carry on. In tile course of bis speech to the Address-iu-Reply debate Mr Wiltord Leader of the Opposition), analysed the figures of the voting at the last election and argued that the Massey Government was l epieseiitativ e ol only a minority, lie spoke strongly against v in uu.* Dolonco Department. Thousands of pounds and been spent, for instance, on tile Philo- ! mcl, which was now ot no use. lln ;e | was also waste in the Public Works Dei pnrunciil, especially ill regaid to tools .Ur Willord went on to deal with tile wjjsic in connexion with Koval OmuilMsiolis. The Stores Department of cverv tlepai tmeiil in the .state was ill a muddle, lee criticised' the Prime Minister's optimistic sjicecli ill March I Ltril, when lie said would be easier in a lew mouths, after the banks bad their annual balance. Now, local authorities were being permitted to

borrow at 7‘ per cent., and only the otaer day si, Francis Dell said the Treasury bad run dry. Five millions bad been beloved in Loudon and .Ml Mussev was now returning with tile receipt. Now the Kcsciwc Funds were being used for Consolidated Fund purposes. It was char that the Government was beside itsell and did not know where it was so iar as finance was concerned, and was Imping for something to turn up. The Government In its eontpul-ni'i loans policy had denuded the pockets ol the public to iced the ‘fat man." Mr Massey had said that they would provide for unemployment and they could not afford to have people going up and down the country looking for work, yet now the Government liad dismissed public servants who bad to go up and down the country looking lor work. The taxation of the-country needed revision, but the House should see i the Cabinet had iu> hand ill it; it should lx: done by a committee of experts. who should rcpoi t to the House. Mr Milford wound up bis speech with an attack on the oil trust ill New Zealand. The people were being exploited lie declared, and the Government did nothing. He then moved Ills want nf confidence amendment.

Till-: outbreak of bubonic plague ill Queensland is giving New Zealand an opportunity for remembering the necessity of having ifigular clean ups throughout the Dominion. The Hun. J. Farr (Minister of Health) stated recently that there were two aspects of the dreaded bubonic plague to be i MiisideHed. It was absolutely necessary for the cities to lie cleaned up simdarlv as was done in Dili and DM2, particularly at lintels and restaurants. The other was al the ship’s side. The Department was quite alive to the risk ol the plague coming from Australia, ami lie referred to the almost criminal neglect on the part of the health authorities in Brisbane in keeping back information when the first oiitliicak occurred. It was a difficult matter to keep it from coming to their shores.

and the Department had not yet considered Lhc advisability of preventing any ships coming from Australia to these shores. ’I hut was drastic act ion at the present time, 'Hie Department had inisted upon ships remaining out in the stream overnight (when there was a greater likelihood of rodents trying to get ashore), and working cargo during the day. ~Special precautions were being taken at the wharves and

ii very oarol'ul examination of vessels was made oil arrival. bubonic plague is not so easily spread as pneumonic placin'. The pneiiimmic type rail ho passed from person to person, but Ini- ' honie plague is rallied solely by lleas from rats. Klfort is being made to have a complete destruction of rats on .-hips every live months

I{ailw‘ai maunnmcnt formed tile subjrrl, of an address by Mr MeVillv (General Manager) at Wellington on Tuesday, who said that the management at the present time seemed to begetting more inieks than bouquets thrown at it, and the railways were now fare to face with thd most dillleult period in their history, in consequence of live, or six years of heavy expenditure. a,ml the curtailment of the spending power of the public. When they reached a situation like that, people at once commenced to abuse the management, and this was the experience everywhere. When rates and farts were reduced to less than they should liavi been, the management is given no credit. What would the country have been if it had not been for the railways, and to whom was the credit due for the achievements that had been brought about i It was due to the men who carried on the railways. When Mr lliley had been appointed General Manager, he had expected that the railways in Now Zealand would he a sort of glorified tram wav; Imt he had found at big railway system, well organised and) maintained, and Mr lliley had placed the fact on mioid. The management had boen trying to carry on in accordance with tiro tra*> ilition? of fho past; lnit what erodit

had they g,ot for it? Did they get any credit for obtaining coal supplies "hen no one cist* was abio to got doal, and without which the railways would have been brought to a standstill? When the railways were short of coal thonianagement were blamed, and now it was being said that they had too big a supply. It was not anything new foi him to be abused, he bad lived long enough, and bad been long enough in the Railway Service to take hard knocks —and to give them back. He bad partly learned to do that when ho was generally secretary lof the Railways Officers’ Institute. At tee rresent time the railway expenditure' ox (■coded the revenue, and this was the first time that the New Zealand railways had had to dip into the Consolidated Fund. Mr MeVilly said that In was not optimistic, and when thev hn< reached a stage such as lie; had or. plained, the aspect was serious. nn< tlx- question was how long it could con tin up. There were clouds in tne-sl> and very serious diilicultics wor ahead. The management always trie to meet the railway societies in th spirit that Mr Young had referred to hut they were on one side of the fene and lie was on the other, and he ha' got to do what was best for the, conn try. Therefore, they could realise tin bis difficulties were ns great, as) thus of the gentlemen tbo societies ser along to interview him from time 1 time? He was sorry when he had 1 say “no,” and it was a pleasure t him to lie able to say “ves” but 1 did not shirk, saving “no” wh?n 1 thought it was bis duly to do so. Till-: public, will bo glad to know th: the question of providing pensions fi the blind is receiving the serious, coi side-ration of the Government. It estimated that tbo cost of pensioi would be some £d(),(DO per ansui though on wlint basis this is worki out is not Stated. Money is hard 1 get nowadays, ol course, but that not a reason lor refusing such oxpitu ture as this. A person is sufficient a 111 icted if bo or she be blind vitito having to sillier the additional pan of poverty, and our opinion is that tl State ought to make al reasonable; pi vision for all such unfortunate eilio xvL may be in need of assistance. New Zealand has for years prided herself upon her humanitarian laws and institutions, not without justice, hut it seems that there still remains to U> added to present provisions ai measure of relict for blind people. We are sure that nobody in New Zealand would mind paying his share ol the cost.

I in*, ivport nf the CV.ui! Control Depatt--1,10111. shows Unit the output of the' Dominion mines for the rear was 1,81-V 70,') tons, a decrease of 41-13 tons. The inij'orts worn 047,583 tons. Dio ti-lal k*oal available last' year from all sour-

~.. ■_). tpu.7B2 tons, an im I ’ase ot 187,-!-10 tons. From Hil l to 1.118, inclusive. the New /ealand eoal output, amounted toi over two million tons a year. In 1910 and 1020 it fell to slightly over 1,810,000 tons. The figures of the New Zealand output of ■ituniinous eoal fell from 1 ,4‘22,0i 1 tons in 191(1 to 023,575' tons in l ( >20. There has been it substantial increase in the production of lignite coals, chiefly in Otago and Southland. The point ! is stressed that the la rye' eoal importations hv the Railway Departrnenti permitted of larger allocation to industries and other public services than ' would otherwise have been the ease. With tile decline of production tm the i West Coast, household supplies had to ■he restricted from time to time. The 1 remarkably fine weather this winter has eased the demand for domestic use.

Thi> figures for the first seven months of 1921 show an increase in the Dominion output of 4881 tons, and in importations of 254.910 tons, hut there is a decrease of 10,433 tolls in the production of bituminous and semi-biiiimin-oils eoal, as compared with the same period for 1920. The report statesi that the loss of output in the principal mines on the West Const! is surprising. In view of the fact that additional miners have l>ccn employed for yiine ! time .past, a substantial increase was, under the circumstances, expected. Recently there was some slight impiove--1 lient in one or two of the mines, and it was hoped that this would continue. —mm— I —a