POLITICAL JOTTINGS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 January 1922, Page 1

POLITICAL JOTTINGS.

AUSTRALIA AND TARIFF

The Prime Minister was asked on Wednesday "by Mr Jennings if lie could inform the House how far the negotiations with the Commonwealth Government regarding trade relations with New Zealand had progressed. He had seen it stated that a statement was to be made in regard to this matter. Mr Massey said that the matter was in the hands of the Hon. W. Downie Stewart. During the Christmas holidays it had been possible to make much progress. Negotiations were still in progress, anu he hoped that before very long it would be possible to announce that they had reached a successful conclusion.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT LYTTELTON.

Dr Thacker drew the attention of the Minister of Railways to the recent accident at Lyttelton, when one ,of the railway carriages turned over with passengers in it. Could the Minister tell the House what was tlhe cause of the accident? The Hon D. H. Guthrie said the matter was being thoroughly investigated and later on he hoped to be able to answer the question. ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS. Mr Kellett, referring to Tuesday’s accident to me South express, when a motor car hit the Governor-General’s carriage, drew attention to the fact that stretchers were hot carried on the train. There were, he said, the hooks for the stretchers in the van, but there had been no stretchers for some years. The man, who was seriously injured had to be canned some distance to the guard’s van and for the purpose a surfaceman’s bed had to be used. But for that fact, the man would have had to li# on the floor of the van while he wns being conveyed to Christchurch.

The Minister said he would make enquiries.

A CHRISTCHURCH PETITION

Reporting on the petition of W. L. Chrystal, of Christchurch, formerly of the Detective Force, who asked that his superannuation allowance be increased to £IBO from the day of his discharge in September, 1908, the Petitions Committee to-day recommended that it be referred to the Superannuation Board for consideration under the provisions of section 29 of tire Public Service Classification Amendment Act, 1909. . ;

Dr Thacker said that this good old public servant should receive superannuation. There was no doubt that he would have gone up severad grades in his position but for the disability from which lie was suffering.

Mr Sullivan said there was no doubt that the disabilities under which lie was suffering were the result of his public services

The report of the committee was referred to the Government for consideration.

A UNIQUE DIVORCE Dr Thacker presented a petition from Henrietta Winifred Mason, wife of Andrew James Mason, telegraph linesman, Christchurch. She states that she believes she is the only woman against whom her husband has, against her will and in the face of her defence, obtained a divorce on the ground that she had obtained a separation order against him under the Destitute Persons’ Act, which means that she is the only woman innocent of any matrimonial offence, against whom her husband, who has been declared by a Stipendiary Magistrate guilty of a matrimonial offence, has obtained a decree of divorce, and her health has been affected. She asks in the event of a- suggested amendment of the law in this respect, that the decree be not made absolute in her case, and that the decree nisi already made be quashed.

TRAIN TRAVEL BY HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS. A rumour was prevalent in many places, said Mr Jennings in the House on Wednesday that pupils passing the examination entitling them to free tuition at Technical and High Schools were in future to he deprived of the privilege of free travelling by railway to the nearest school. He ashed the Minister of Education (the Hon 0. J. Pan-) if this were true. Mr Parr said that this was the first that he had Heard of the prevalence of any such report. All that he could say was that he was not aware of any curtailment of the privileges of pupils attending Technical and High Schools. EXPLOSIVES FOR MINERS. Mr H. E. 'Holland, ashed without notice, a question regarding the increased prices for caps and explosives charged to miners. Caps, he said, had gone up in price from a penny to fourpence each, and explosives from Is 4d to 2s. per lb. This meant a reduction in the miners’ wages of. 2s 8d to 3s a day at least. The Hon. E. P. Lee said he had not been given notice of the question, but he would look into the matter. PRICE CONTROL. It is mentioned in the Board of Trade report on the operations of the Canterbury Price Investigation Tribunal that it revised coal prices, and it is estimated that by this revision the : saving to the consumers of Christchurch amounted to £6750. Reductions in meat prices, boot repair charges and many other lines were also effected. Another branch of the tribunal’s activities were results are more masurable and apparent were those savings effected by agreements made between organised sections of trade and the tribunal as to the regulation of prices of particular commodities. In this connection milk prices, meat prices, boot repairers’ charges, chemists’ supplies, coal supplies and other prices were dealt with. This tribunal dealt with 260 cases.

fruit kx port guarantee. The Minister of Agriculture announces that the Government will renew its guarantee on fruit exported from New Zealand to approved markets this season to the extent of a penny per lb on a maximum of'loo,ooo cases. I lie Minister imposes a number of conditions rife anting grinding insurance, and other matter's, among the conditions being that all fruit must lie forwarded to agents approved by the Department of Agriculture, and be shipped on consignment on account of bona fide fruitgrowers or co-operative societies, through the New Zealand Fruitgrowers’ Federation. The Government reserves the right to limit the quantity of fruit shipped to any particular market or locality should shipping accommodation or freight rates or market conditions be deemed unsatisfactory. COMBATTNG UNEMPLOYMENT. “The Government has the matter in hand at present, nd I think the hon member will find that adequate provision is being made when it is made public,” replied the Prime Minister when Mr Fraser raised the question of unemployment. Mr Fraser had asked for the appointment of a special committee to make provision for those outof work’ and had stressed 1 the fact that the approach of winter would intensify the situation.