ESTIMATES DEDATE.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1922, Page 5

ESTIMATES DEDATE.

CIVIL SERVICE DISMISSALS. . MEMBERS NOT SATISFIED. GRAVE CHARGES MADE. 1 ALLEGED PERSECUTION. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The House to-day went into committee of supply to further consider the Estimates, the first item • taken being the Tensions Department ( £138,002). Mr. T. M. Wilford (Leader of the Opposition) put in a plea for further assistance for pensioners. jao thought pensions should be based on some more elastic scheme, under whiejj, everyone in. need could be helped by the State, which should be in a position to act unhampered by rigid statutes. He thought .the State should act the part of a great parent. Be recognised that everyone had a right to live. Mr. W. E. Parry (Auckland Central) moved a reduction of £5 on the first item of the vote (the salary of the Commissioner), as an indication that the Government should provide adequate pensions for the blind.

The Hon. G. J. Anderson said as soon as the Government could provide for the blind they would do so. He was going into the wlrole matter during the recess. Mr. Massey was proceeding to show how the Government had increased pensions, and what they proposed to do, when he was ruled out of order by the chairman, who explained that members were only entitled to discuss matters of administration, and not matters of polt icy. On a division the amendment was lost k by 32 votes to 28. * The pensions vote and the Mines Department vote ( £54.783) were passed. The next vote was the Department of Internal Affairs (£416,738). TOTALISATOR PERMITS. Mr. Wilford protested against the duplication of the management of the fishing industry in New Zealand. At present three Ministers had control of. different phases of the industry, which was absurd, and he urged consolidation of authority. Mr. F. F. Hockly (Rqtorua) urged that when the Minister was allocating totalisator permits he should do so on the basis of tae report of the racing commission, so that certain small clubmight have justice done them. Mr. Parry asked the Minister to put into force those portions of the report dealing with the precautions recommended to preserve the lives and limbs of jockeys. Mr. Wilford asked if the Government had decided to abandon the proposed national war memorial hr only £lf<*3 was voted this year, or was this one of the reported economies made_by the Government.

Mr. Massey said it was. In reply, the Hon. W. D. Stewart sa.-d certain .proposals were being made which he hoped would put the control of fishing on a more satisfactory footing. With regard to the national war memorial it was, of course, impossible to go on with it at present, and that was the reason for the small vote this year. With regard to racing permits, he did not think he could give effect to the recommendations of the racing (Commission without flying in the face of the House, but he 'would look into the whole position and see what could be done. __ . In reply to Mr. R. McCallum (WUirail), Mr. Massey said he could not at present disclose ‘ the retrenchment proposals of the Government. THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

Mr. W. A. Veitch (Wanganui) criticised the public service commissioners, who he said were not doing the work they should be doing, via., co-ordinat-ing departments, which at present were wastefully duplicated, Mr. G. Mitchell (Wellington South) criticised the manner in which retrenchment was being carried out. Old public servants with large families, who were good public servants, but unfit for anything else, were being discharged, while young men and girls without responsibilitv were being retained. He did not think the eommiesionere had the least consideration for returned soldiers. Messis. Wilford and Wright mentioned several cases in which they claimed hardship had been imposed by the public service commissioners. The Hon. W. D. Stewart defended the public service commissioners. He said they were all men of long experience and if they did not know how to secure efficiencv in the public service then no one could, and when Mr. Mitchell said they had no sympathy with returned soldiers he was stating what was not shared by the Returned Soldiers Association. He was looking into cases of hardship with a view to making dismissal from the public service as little harmful as possible. Retrenchment was an extremely difficult task and there was always room for a difference of opinion as to who should go out, but they did not want to go back to the old' days of political patronage. Mr. G. Witty (Riecarton): It is worse A. K. Newman (Wellington East) said it was all very well for the Minister to defend the public service commissioners, but the fact remained that there was a great deal of inhumanity in the way the commissioners bad carried out the retrenchment scheme. Sir John Luke said he was pledged to support the public service commis‘ronert"but after’ what he had seen : might be necessary for him to revise hi MS e Diekson (Chalmers) Sullivam Witty. Field and Bartram all deprecated the manner in which the retrenchment of the public service was being carr out by the public service commissioners. A MEMBER’S CHARGES. During the discussion Mr. Wright, in discussing certain dismissals from the public service, stated that those dis missals were due to the religious opinions held by these public spr rants. This statement was stronlg common - ed on by Mr. Fraser and Mr. who declared the charges should either be proved or withdrawn.Mr. Wright gave no indication of his intention of withdrawing the charges, and later Mr. Massey paid no one in the public service in New Zealand would be persecuted Ixwaiiae of their religious viev S and if Mr. W right would supply him with the. names of the pwple. <■■»- cerned and particulars of the dismissals he would nave a proper inquiry- made Ijßlo the whole matter. E«s opinion

was that Mr. Wright would not make any statement he did not believe to be true, but he (Mr. Massey) thought Mr. Wright had been misled. In any caae ( if the information was given to hhn an inquiry would be held. Mr. Wright: I will give you the names. Mr. Holland: Will you set up a Parliamentary committee to hold an inquiry ? . Mr. Massey: No, we do not want politics to come into a question like thin. Mr. Holland: Will you set up a royal commission ? Mr. Massey: I will not be croon* questioned by the hon. gentleman. Continuing, Mr. Massey said an inquiry. would be held by a man in whom everyone would have confidence, but before he could go that far he mist have the facta on which Mr. Wright made the charges and the matter would hav< to be considered by Cabinet. Discussing retrenchment generally, Mr. Massey said a considerable number of public servants had been dismissed and more would have to go, becauM during the war the departments became over staffed, under cinuxustancen for which no one was to blame. In such cases it was impossible to avoid hardship. If they were to attempt to avoid that hardship by keeping pubhe servants on then it would mean salaries would have to be reduced all round by one-third. Mr. Mitchell spoke in support of his views previously expressed, and moved that the vote be reduced by £5 as an indication that the administration of the public service commissioners is unsatisfactory. On a division it was l«t by 34 votes to 19. OTHER VOTES PASSED. The Mental Hospitals and Health Department ( £469,660) was the next vote taken. The vote was passed after a brief discussion. The following small items were pasaed: Nauru and Ocean Islands ( £136,<4)0); land for settlement accounts (£11,351); Native land settlement accounts ( £3350); housing ( £251,855); discharged soldiers’ settlers accounts ( £40,000); fishing industries ( £lO,000); Westport harbor account ( £62,120); war expenses account ( £1,830,-. 888) ; Public Trustee account (£307,362) ; Native Trustee account ( £6886); Government Insurance account ( £102.846) ■ Government accident insurance account ( £9200); State Fire Insurance account ( £80,959); advances to settlers £370,566); advances lo workers ( 600); advances to local authorities £104.806); scenery preservation accouift (£1'5.641).