POLITICAL NOTES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2391, 27 August 1892, Page 2

POLITICAL NOTES.

Mr Hales, Engineer-in-Chief, has addressed a memo, to the Minister for Public Works on the subject of cooperative works, and which the Minister laid on the table, by permission of the House. It is as follows : " Having personally inspected most of the railway construction works now being carried out under the co-operative contract system, and made carefnl examination from time to time of the various schedules of qualities and prices of the works contracted for, as well as of charges plant, material, and incidental expenses of management, I find that very satisfactory results are in all cases being obtained from the introduction of this system of contracting for large railways works. The works already completed have been executed in a superior manner, and those in progress have so far been carried on upon systematic lines so as to insure their satisfactory completion at a moderate cost. As the prices fixed are estimated at ordinary fair contract works, are undertaking the duties of contractors and their staffs, the saving in management alone will be a considerable item in the cost of the works." The memo, is dated August 5, 1892. This speaks for itself. The co-operative principle as applied to public works has proved a success in every way. The men get all they earn, the work is better done, at a cheaper rate, and the onlydrawback to it is that no middle man makes a fortune out of it.

Mr Rhodes intends to ask the Minister for Marine whether he will grant permission to the Geraldine County Acclimatisation Society to net the lakes within its district for trout, under the existing Government regulations.

Mr Lawry has given notice to ask the Minister for Defence if lie will remove that relic of barbarism in the Police Regulations requiring, in case a police constable wants to marry, that the character and antecedents of the young woman should be rigidly inquired into, the reports thereon be put ini-Q writing and become part of the public Fiords of the colony ? The House was unfeeling enough to laugh at Mr Lawry's lugubrious appeal on behalf of the man in blue. There is no dxm))t that Mr Lawry is right. It is barbarous s.at policemen should not be allowed to *ei«4 their own wives without any inquiry being wade as to ifceir character.

The followiag interesting particulars regarding income* m New Zealand are supplied in a return, called for by Mr Wright:—4sl persons have returned their incomes for the purpose of income tax a/j being over £IOOO a year, the total amount of such incomes being £876,758. There Md 2829 persons in the colony who return their i»Gftitf** <w over £3OO and under £IOOO, the total m&mtid ot such incomes being £1,38(),-t7B,

Mr Meredith has given notice to ««fe 'he Minister for Justice if his attention has* fcejj» directed to a telegram in this day's New -J&.ajand Times from Christchurch in referent pf) a decision of Mr Beethani. K.M., cm %i)4*y liquor selling, and, if so, will he inquire into thfe of the case with the view of seeing that the terms of the Licensing Act are fully enforced in reference to Sunday liqiuA #<sing.

Mr Meredith intends asking the Minister for Lands, considering the heavy demand at present made on the revenue of the .colony to maintain education, to set apart durmg the the current year a larger area of the Crown lands as a permanent endowment for primary education than he has set apart for this object during the part year. Mr M'Guire has renewed his motion on the subject of applying secondary and university reserves and endowments to the purposes of primary education. We are indebted to the Wellington correspondent of the

Lyttelton Times for this information. With regard to education, we have always advocated handing over the endowments for higher education, to the use of primary education, but it does not appear that there is much prospect of doing it. In former days the wealthy classes set apart large areas of land for the purposes of the higher, but left the primary education dependent on the whims and fancies of Parliament. This is a crying injustice. It was a monstrous thing to give State endowments for educating the children of wealthy parents, while the children of the poor have no provision made for them. This ought to be looked to, and the educational system unified, so that all should get a share of what the State has set apart for educational purposes.