PARLIAMENTARY. (From "Star" Reporter.)

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 277, 30 June 1888, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY. (From "Star" Reporter.)

Wkllimjton, .lune 27. 1 hap a chat with the Minister of Public Works i o-duy relative to the North Island Trunk Railway rou/e. The position is an alarming one from an Auckland point of view. It transpire!? that the " l'o.M/' is right in its-, contention I hat, the present million loan can only be spent on the cential louto. The work will bo hung up for a > ear, but when it ib proceeded with again' the term- of the Act will be complied with, and the lino pushed on by the central route The Cabinet had not had the question ot the alteration of route under their consideration yet, aud the only way by which an alteration could be clleeted would be by special Act overriding the other, and Mr Mitchelson says.' the bondholders might object. Mr Mitohelson holds thaL the report of the Wellington membcis who went os'er the central route was in ils favour, aud that they only thought its construction should be dtlayod for the present Mr Mitchelson albo holds that the weight of settlement in the North Island will be between Mattel ton and Napier, and from Napiei to the t entral line, where it corner out in the open. It is now no secret in Wellington that the (Jo\ eminent do not propose to complete the North bland Trunk Railway bb t > the ecntr.il route. The cost would exceed two millions, and this fact alone renders it necessary to rc\ert to the Stratfoid or some other cheaper route Your readers are already aware that surveyor aie ab work and have discovered an ollocthc connecting route which can be made at a reasonable cost aud which is probably the line Auckland wants.. Wellington has diseo\ered that the central route, after being condemned by Wellington membois, ib shelved, but they do not throw up the *pou<>c *>o easily. The "Post" allects to ha\e discovered that the loan ib eai marked for the central route, and for the central route alone, and rings, the changes on the subject night after night. The following is. an extract trom an article published last evening, and will gne a tail idea of the Wellington view's on the .subject :— "' The Minister ol Public Works will have to be especially careful in preparing his estimates for submission for "His Excellency's* recommendation to the House of Representatives that he does not advise His Excellency to make any leeommendation in contravention ot the provisions of the law which Parliament has expressly stipulated it shall not be lawful for him to make. To do so would be to commit a breach of otlicial trust which would almost compel Hi* Excellency to seek other advisers-. We cannot foi a moment suppose that members will attempt to disregard the provision* of the Act oi 1886, but if they do, then most undoubtedly they will be picked up \eiy smaitly, if not by the Audit and Control Depaitment or in Parliament, by the intervention ot the Supreme Court. They can be compelled to respect the earmark which Sir .luliu* Yogel induced the Legislature in ISB6 to place so unmistakably on this loan. 01 cotu-e, in ability to charge to the North Island Trunk Kail way loan large sums already advanced from the General Public Works Fund, under pretence that they would be so chargeable, will considerably embarrass the .Minister ot Public Works by seriously diminishing the amount of balance to credit aud available for other works. We do not know whether, under the peculiar wording of clause 3 of the Xoith Island Main Trunk Railway Loan Application Act, 1886, it will be possible for the General Public Works Fund to borrow temporality from the North Island Trunk loan. If X), no difficulty will probably arise, as if the North Island railway is not to be furthei proceeded with at present, the money might, perhaps, as. well be lent to the Gencial Fund a» remain in the bank at interest. "Hut whether temporarily or not, good care lmist l>e taken to guard against a single penny of it being diverted permanently to any other purpose than that for which it has been specifically borrowed--the construction of the North Island Main Trunk Railway from Mar ton to Te Awamutu, via Murimutu, Taumarnni, and the Ongaruhe River Valley." Vlk\ great interest attaches to the labours of the Committee which is engaged day after day revising the estimates with the object of deciding upon reductions that may still be made in salaries and administrative expenditure, They sat for nearly tin cc hours yesterday and were hard at it again j this morning. I understand it will take them the whole of this week to accomplish their self-imposed task. They j haAe now, I believe, tini&hed class 10, but have still gome information to obtain before they fix definitely the amount of savings that could be ettected up to this point. ' From what; I can gather it totals up to forty thousand odd pounds. They have i no doubt that the amount required for local subsidies can be obtained without imposing the duty on tea. Mr Goldie says that, so far as he is concerned, he will be j no party to the imposition of such a duty, ! in the face of the fact that the amount required to be raised by it can be easily raised by reductions upon the Estimates submitted The Committee propose that the native schools should be taken from under the General Government confcrol,and, jif tun upon the same lines ab our | public schools, can be worked at a saving of about one-half the present expenditure, and thus make a saving of some C 7,000. They al&o believe it would be possible for the Boards ot Education to pay the inspectors out of the present capitation, and thus save another £4,000. The Boards will no doubt object, but the Committee think reductions must be made if we are to save our national system. A very great i saving could be effected it the Government would fcake the advice oi the members for Napier and Auckland West, and not only classify or grade the teachers, I but do the same throughout the whole colony. There are loud complaints from the Civil servants upon this question. The whole estimates teem with anamolies — for instance, in the Collector of Customs' Department. In Auckland the chief or Ist clerk has been receiving £300; the 2nd, £250 j the 3rd, £210 ; 4tb, £150 ; sth, £130. In W ellington the chief or Ist clerk, £290 ; 2nd, £170; 3rd, £125; 4th, £120; sth, £110, or a difference in this, case of £225 on the iive clerks in favour of Auckland ; and so it runs, I am informed, throughout the whole thing, the salaries apparently being determined by the respective heads of departments. If he has been of an economical turn of mind, his departmental oiftcei'B have suffered in comparison with others. The Civil servants feel somewhat uneasy about the result of the efforts of the Committee, and it is said that some talk of retiring upon their pension rather than submit, because their pension will be lixed upon the average of salary paid during the last two years before their retirement ; but ib is thought that they cannot do aa they like in this matter, for the Act under which they get their pensions also provides ■ that the Governor-in-Council may nevertheless re-

quiro any oih'eer wlio would otherwise retire as aforesaid, notwithstanding his ago, to continue to perform his duties. Possibly the repeal of that Act may, whilst conserving their rights to pensions, allow them to escape this provision, but that retrains to be scon. The public must not bo boo sanguine upon the result of the (.'omnrittoe'H labouis. They themselves foci that (-hey have an uphill struggle before them, and if previous attempt,, are to bo any criterion they cannot do much. The counfciy i 1i 1 - not smih'eiently aroused upon the question, but they seem determined to fight it out. Jn a few days they will have {.rot through the estimates, and then, with "the ad \ ice and abfi^tancr of »Sir (leorge (Jrey, will mature tlieir plan.*) for giving c licet to Iho retrench* ment they think rij»lit to bo effected.