POLITICAL NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 95, 7 September 1912, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES.

BACKBLOCX.S HARDSHIP. Bv Telegraph—Own Correspondent. Wellington, Last Night. In the House this afternoon, Mr. C. K. Wilson (Taumarunui) read a letter that he had received, dealing with a case of hardship on the Mangatu Road in his district. A woman taken suddenly ill had to be carried thirteen miles along the road, and it took twenty-seven settlers 18% hours to cover the distance. More than once they were completely bogged, and had to he dug out by other settlers. The Minister for Public Works (Hon. W. Frasey) said that he had no knowledge of the facts, but he would give special consideration to the roftfi in framing the Public Works Estimates. NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL JOURNAL. Mr. G. W. Russell pointed out that in the current number of the School Journal_ there was a photograph of, and an article on, the new Ministry. He urged that current politics should be excluded from the Journal. When the next change of Government took place, which might not be very long, .he hoped that such a. reference would be excluded. The Minister of Education {tSie Hon. J. Allen) said that the editor of the Journal was perfectly at liberty to do what he liked. If he wanted to put in a picture of the Opposition, he could do so. THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE. According to a return presented t<? Parliament to-day on the motion of Mr Okey, of Taranaki, the staff of the High' Commissioner's Office consists of 48 persons, as follows:—Audit officer, trades and immigration representatives, produce commissioner, assistant produce commissioner, veterinary surgeon, inspector of warlike stores, accountant, chief clerk, inspector of dairy produce, library ian, record clerk, ten clerks in the accountant's department, ten' in the shipping department, and thirteen in the general department, and three messengers. The cost of these officers last year was £0251. CIVIL SERVICE' REFORM: '• " There was published in the Civil Service Commissioner's report a statement that "an officer in the Defence Department apears to have been sending misleading information as to the nature of certain expenditure to the Treasury and Audit Departments, and inviting these Departments to object to the expendi--1 turp." The Comptroller and Auditor-Gen-eral (Mr R. J. Collins) yesterday wrote as follows to the Minister of Finance:' "I consider it is my duty to statd that no information of a misleading character; in respect of expenditure has been given to the Audit Department by any officer of the Defence Department." The lettfer was read in the House of Representatives together with the following ■ from the Secretary of the Treasury (Mr J. W, Voynton): "The Public Service Commission's report contains the following statement : 'Tn,B|e!\,d of working _in harmony with the head of tfte ; Defence Department,' etc. (as quoted above), these statements are entirely wrong. No misleading information lias ever at any time been given to the Treasury. Everything was correct in every detail, and instead of inviting the Treasury to object to the expenditure the communications appear to have been with the object of ex* pediting fine payments. Had the information of irregularities in the expenditure not been supplied it would have meant returning the vouchers for explanations, and further details. It id due to the persons who have been £0 unjustly censured in this report, that, atf the earliest possible moment, you should be made acquainted with the true position. It is most surprising that suchi statements should be made without any endeavor on the part of the Commissioner to ascertain the truth, a«d inquiry at the Treasury would at once have shown that these grave charges were baseless." MR. VAILE AGAIN. Mr. Samuel Vaile, of Auckland, "i 8 again petitioning the House in reference to the suggested adoption of the stage system on the railways. In concluding he remarks: "Your petitioner's experience seems to show that petitioning Parliament is merely wasting time. Some time ago one of our ablest officers wrote and published two articles showing the immense saving that would be made by the adoption of the stage system in the matter of ticket manufacturing and issue alone, and he committed an unpardonable sin. He was shortly afterwards said to be promoted, removed to! the South Island, compelled to sell a' beautiful 'home he had created, and a' few months later was dismissed from the services. Filially, Mr. Yaile says that, he has no intention of deserting his worle so long as he can work, but lie intends this to be his last Parliamentary petition. He once more asks for a trial of his system on a portion of the Auckland lines.