NOTES BY THE WAY

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 31 August 1916, Page 2

NOTES BY THE WAY

A correspondent signing himself •'Kiwi" in. our issue of 10th inst., makes many inquiries as to who pays for certain apparent extravagant expenditures during this enormously expensive war-time, and as to who pays for Parliamentary trips Home. That is easy, and is summed up in a few words—the Taxpayer every time, and whose money is mado to fly in all'directions.

As before, when Sir Joseph Ward, the late Hon. R. J. Seddon, and others have made trips Home to the Old Country, so will appropriations be made for the contemplated jaunt of the heads of the National Government, whose political eloquence and as leaders of men, are supposed to tend to cement the Empire closer and work in harmony as a great union. True, tho time is coining when the inner workings will be managed by purely New Zealanders, bat that does not say that there will then be no extravagance pprpetrated as now. And one may well refer to extravagance now, wheu there is scarcely any money to continue the Public Works policy, and the prosecution of railways has to cease for a time. Instance some of the Parliamentary votes on the Supple-. mentary Estimates as passed last week : ~

£1,000 for Foxton Wharves Commission. £5,000 for installation of wireless system at Rarotonga. £900 for refund of annual licence fees overpaid by the Kauri Timber Company. £500 for cost connected with the censorship of cinema films. £3000 for administration of the Military Service Act. £200 grant to widow of the late Hon. Nikora, £1000 grant to widow of the late J. A, Miller, £-400 grant to the widow of the late G. Laurenson, £100 additional gaant to Mr F. Lawry, £115 payment to Oapt. Algie as retiring allowance while serving with the Forces at Samoa. £800 for exyerin-ents in planting fruit trees on worked gum lands, £5000 for improvement of the HauraKi pastoral areas. £500 towards cost of preparing 500 acres in the Laurenson kauri gum reserve for fruit trees.

Many of these votes could have waited or been struck off altogether, and so helped along our public works.

" Kiwi" asks—" Would it be a blessing or otherwise if the Germans collared the lot?" Of course, we cannot .take ■'*• Kiwi " seriously in this question, and therefore we can con* ssientiously assert it would be a curse to us all were the Germans to lay a hand on our finances.