QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1920, Page 5

QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

ex-soldiers in railway service MATERIAL FOR COUNTRY 'PHONES. By Telesraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. In the House of Representatives this afternoon, replying to questions, Ministers gave the following amongst other answers:—

Tiia; the Railway Department lias already giveu the fullest effect to .the promise made to railwaymen who joined the Expeditionary Force, and as far as possible the men have been suitably placed in each case. The men are in receipt of the classification rate of pay for the positions they hold. Arrangements have been made to have them re-examined by the railway medical officer with a view of seeing whether they have yet recovered sufficiently to make it Bafe to place them in other positions in the service.

That the proposed increased railway charges are being made to cover the additional expenditure due t&' the increases in pay granted to the employees of the Railway Department.. In framing the charges due consideration Is givc-n by the Department to the representations that are made by commercial and other sections of the community. That the matter of -the prior claim of local tanners to hides over exporters has received careful consideration, and the Government hopes soon to be; in a position to modify the existing arrange-, ment. That the. revision of the Customs tariff next session will give Parliament an opportunity of encouraging New Zealand, industries, and it is hoped that by taking advantage of opportunities that may offer much of our wool will be exported as manufactured goods, rather than as raw material. Thalt the compilation i,a comprehensive work on New Zealand farming would entail a great deal of careful and exact work, and those, officers of the Department qualified fo undertake it have their time so fully occupied by their regular duties that more could not be asked of them. Efforts . are being made to secure additional flrst-clase men in order to bring this branteh of the department's service up to the requirements, and by doing so the pQihj; brought up by the honorable member will be borne in mind, as its value is fully realised! ~j-, That the progpecta qf jafcuring material for the construction party : of telephone lines in' count* j", districts are now improving, and construction work will be accelerated in every possible way as material comes to hans. That so far as the Post Office is concerned the reduction of newspaper postage from Id to W - cannot be recQinmended. It is not found practicable to exempt newspapers from the general increase in postage charges.

That experts who accompanied the Parliamentary party to Samoa were instructed to submit their reports for the confidential information of the Government, and it is not intended to lay these reports on the table of the House. That the propriety of local bodies making contributions in money, land, or buildings for purposes of technical education is established by legislative authority in the provisions of the Education Act, and though the proportions of contributions, taken in the aggregate, is small compared with the whole cost, as is just shown, the department will continue .jo welcome the practical support of local bodies for what are, after all, largely local institutions catering for local needs. In the light of the common practice in Great Britain and other countries, in which local bodies hear a large proportion of the cost of technical education, it cannot- he agreed that such an ofiject lies necessarily outside the normal functions of such boch'es,