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Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 14 September 1917, Page 4

The Gazette notifies that every person carrying on business as a farmer, grain merchant, or grain miller, or any other person holding stock, wheat, flour, or orchard, shall, on request, within such time or times as he may be required by the statistician so to do, furnish particulars a* to stocks of wheat, flour, and oats held by him on a date or dates specified by the statistician. In the House of Representatives Sir Joseph Ward said he had promised to make a statement regarding the increases in old age pensions suggested by members daring the debate on the Finance Bill. He regretted after looking into the requests he wa3 unable to agree to any of the proposals. The exemption of*. homes as suggested would, mean an increase from £25,000 to £50,000, and the exemption of capital up to £340 per annum would mean an increase of £50,000. The extension of the income of a pensioner from £34 to £52 would also mean an increase of £50,000 while if pensions were paid ,on the cessation of employment it would mean £2OOO additional. These increases would mean an annual cost of £152,000, and as ba was proposing to make increases totalling £250,000 in the Finance Bill, it was not possible to grant the requests made by members unless other taxes were considerably increased.

In replying to Mr Nosworthy in the House of Representatives on the 7th inst, the Hon. Mr Macdonald said the prices of wheat and the regulations under which next season's wheat would be purchased would be gazetted that afternoon.

It is understood that the remaining names on the roll of the First Division reservists, numbering about 7000, will be called up en bloc. Present legislation gives no power to do thiß, but an amendment to the Expeditionary Force Act will be introduced giving the necessary authorityIt is probable, also, that members of the Second Division? will be similarly called up without a ballot in classes where there are only sufficient men for one draft. Thus, if a draft balloted from one class leaves only sufficient j for ons more draft, it will be unncesi sary to apply the ballot to the remainder.

The census figures are to hand (remarks the Ensign), and show a remarkftbl* exolua from t':e South to the North 'lsla-.d. This will i ave a very material up .n the representation of the two islands in Parliament. It is most likely that there will lie a reduction of tnree members in the Souch Island It is interesting to note that the onl> electorates in Oiago and Southland that have shown an increase in population are Mataura (12,304 in 1911 and I 12,375 in 1916), Invercargill (14,645 16.262), Duneain South (15,110 —16,j 927), C aimers (13.226—13,510), and [ Oamaru 13,39£ —13,759). If three I electorates gj to the North, tme of | them will almost certainly go ou l . o. i Otago, another out of Canterbury, and | the other out of the West Coast. The | electorate from Otago may be either • Wbkatip, Central Otago. or Chalmers, I for it is unlikely that any in Southland | would go. It is most likely that Wal- | lace will talce in a portion of the 1 Waimea Valley; that Awarua will afrt sorb portion of the eastern side of the | Mataura electorate; and that Mataura [ will again take in the Fortrose cis--1 triet, and may uven go as far north as j Riversdale and Waibafca. | It is not often that a member jokes : against his own profession, bat Mr 1 "Wilford made a gooi joke in the House ! the other nignt. The Minister for j Defence was stating former occupaj tions of members of the New Zealand | Staff who are being retained in the ' Dominion. "We have a bayonet inf structor who was a lawyer," he said. "He ought to be able to charge.' 1 remarked Mr Wilford. The House laughed heartily.