THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1785, 11 September 1884, Page 2

THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

(From the Wellington Evening Press,) The cost to the Government for its printing and stationery comes to a very large sum.. Prom the annual report on the Government Printing Office presented to Parliament, it appears that for the year ending 31st December, 1883, the amount of wages paid to the permanent printing staff was £5557 9s 7d. while the sripernumenry hands received £5977 6s 9d. In the binding branch the wages paid amounted to £2970 14b Bd. Add to these the other items of additions to stock, working expenses, fuel, gas, and ground rent, and a total annual expenditure is shown 0f£20,3911851d. Of course there is a per contra to this in the shape of the "value of printing and binding work done by the department, advertisements, ' Gazette' subscriptions, sale of official publications, &<•.," which the ' Government Printer sets down at £26,433 9s. Bd. This gives what that officer calls " a satisfactory balance to credit of £6041 lis 7d." In other words, for an expenditure of £20,391 the Government Printer can show value received te the extent of £26,433, Amongst the items in the detailed account of printing and binding work, the Government " Gazette" figures at a total yearly cost of £3462 12s 3d. Parliament is very extravagant in the matter of the amount of printing it has executed for it. These are the figures: The House of Representatives had printing done last year to the extent of £4799 9s; the Legislative Council had a printing bill of only £329. Then thore were the following other, printing items connected with both Houses of Parliament, viz.: -Joint account, £296 16s 9d; printing Bills,' £I2OB 8s 7d.j printing "Hansard," £2647 8s Bdj printing Statutes, £Bl5 2s 3d, It appears to us that there is a terrible amount of entirely unnecessary printing executed by the order ot Parliament, Scores of utterly useless returns are moved for bymembeisand are afterwards printed, which serve no good purpose, and are only lit to be thrown into the waste-paper basket. This question of the amount of Government printing done alike for Parliament and the various Government departments needs looking into, The amount of printing could be greatly cut down, and a considerable saving thus effected in the Government expenditure. It is, for instance, absurd that each member of the House should be entitled to obtain twenty copies of each number of "Hansard." Members ought to get ono copy each, and if they desire more ' should be compelled to pay for them. : We notice that "Hansard" is now to : be supplied to the public at a very ' cheap rate. The report on which we have been commenting states that, the ' plans for the new Government Printing Office have, been prepared.- The site is ;| opposite the present office, and on the ! reclaimed land. The fiuildln'f ii to ''

consist of three stories, to be built of brick and heated with steam pipes. We do not in the least know when the erection of the building will be commenced.