POLITICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8515, 21 August 1907, Page 5

POLITICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(From Our Parliamentary Correspondent.) A PRELIMINARY SURPRISE. WANTED—DETAILS OF EXPENDITURE. WELLINGTON, Tuesday. The call in the House at present, when discussing the Estimates, is for details of all public expendituie. This demand originated with the Opposition years ago, and year in and year out, despite its repetition, it has been ignored by the head of the Government. This session members have been more insistent than ever, many of the rank and file of the Government party joining with members on the Speaker's left in echoing the cry. The events of last Friday's discussion of the Estimates amply justified the requests which have been insisted upon. After the Railway Department vote had been taken with comparatively little discussion the vote for the Customs Department came forward, and the discussion on this brought forth a surprise, which showed the absolute necessity uf placing before the House all details of expenditure. As the telegrams have already indicated, an officer of the Customs was, after a period of over nineteen years, discovered to have been receiving, in addition to a salary of £BOO a year, a travelling allowance of thirty shillings a day, whether he travelled or remained at home. The gentleman in question is employed by the Government as soft goods expert, and his duty consists in being arbiter where any dispute arises or difficulty occurs i:-. connection with textile fabrics. How often he is called upon to perform these duties is a matter on which the public and Parliament appear to be in blissful ignorance. The explanations given by the Government were accepted by the Committee of Supply, and the vote was passe:!; but the matter is not to be ailowed to rest where it is.

Generally speaking the members on both sides of the House attach no blame to the recipient of the vote, but many of them consider that the Government are decidedly censurable, for ! -; ;it least were in a position to be seized with the facts of the case, and to have checked what is considered to be an unwarrantable expenditure. Rumours are afloat, too, of other anomalies of a similar nature, and though they may not be on so large a scale, still, that does not make their irregularity any more excusable. It is freely stated that an officer in the Auckland district has been receiving a horse allowance of £25 per annum for a considerable time, and that the gentleman in question besides never having kept such an animal, would not know how to ride it if he did. Members are waking up to the seriousness of the position, and it is quite within the bounds of probability that more such revelations will be made in the near future.

To return to the exposure in connection with the Customs vote, Mr W. F. Massey, the Leader of' the Opposition, informs me that he is determined, and that those with him are determined, that in future the Canadian system of presenting details of expenditure to Parliament shall be adopted here. In this effort Mr Massey expects that he will be supported by a considerable number of members on the Government side cf the H*. use. The Canadian system is very simple, but would doubtless involve considerably greater labour in its compilation than the present incomplete system of New Zealand; bu 1 ", in view ot the check it would place upon the public expenditure, and the enormous saving that would be likely to a :crue therefrom, it is considered that neither cost nor trouble should place a bar upor. its production. It would ensure to both Parliament and public a guarantee that the public funds were being properly disposed of. lam assured by the Leader of th§ Opposition that had the Railway Department vote been taken after, instead of before, the Customs Department vote, the Estimates for that Department would not have been allowed to go through until a complete detailed statement of expenditure had been produced. In discussing the Railway Estimates, Mr James Alien had drawn pointed attention to the fact that in the miscellaneous column no details were given of the amounts charged against certain votes last year. Mr VV. Fraser, who is one of the soundest financiers in Parliament also complained of the practice of the Government in refusing information regarding the public accounts. The Premier stated that it was not possible to give the information desired. There were 11,000 employees in the Department, and consequently it was impossible to comply with the request. In reference to this Mr Massey states that the Premier's contention is absurd. The Canadian details are much more extensive, but yet they find it possible to include every item of expenditure in their annual return.

As I have said, the \vh ,le matter will come up again, arc! there will be a good deal more said upon the subject.

GOVERNMENT HOSPITALITY. Government hospitality is a matter that involves a good deal more expenditure than the public—or Parliament for that matter—is aware of. Football teams, cricket teams, rifle teams returning from contests abroad, prominent public men visiting the colony and sometimes theatrical artists of note are "received" by Ministers on behalf of the colonists, and treated liberally to speeches and champagne. Bigger items are those which occasionally occur, such as the recent huge social in Parliament Buildings to the officers of the visiting Japanese Fleet (which must have involved a very large expenditure) ; the entertainment of Admiral Favvkes (for which a vote of £4OO

has iust been passed); and the entertainment of guests at the Exhibition (the amount for which is set down at £560). It cannot be accepted as a certainty that the amounts specified represent the sum total expended, as frequently where such items are specified one year it has been found that further sums have to be for in connection with the same matter, when Parliament meets tho succeeding year. At the Exhibition a "Bellamy's" was established with a full staff of waiters and attendants in costly and elaborate uniforms. As an instance of what I have said about votes asked for one session for special purposes being found to be inadequate in the long run, the vote for the Maori exhibit at the International Exhibition may be cited.. Last year £4,500 was asked for and granted; this year an additional £1,500 has been asked for and granted. LAND BILL. The latest regarding the Land Bill is that it will be reported from the Lands Committee on Thursday or Friday, in which case the serious business of the session may he expected to commence next week.