POLITICAL NEWS. [BY TELEGRAPH.— SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1902, 13 September 1884, Page 2

POLITICAL NEWS. [BY TELEGRAPH.— SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

The Trunk Railway. Wellington, Friday Night. A Considerable portion ot this afternoon's sitting was taken up in discussing the much-vexed question of the appointment of the Noi th Island Trunk Railway committee. Mr Lake, the member for Waipa, in moving his amendment placing the Middle Island members only on the committee, said it was in no spirit of antagonism to the Government that he proposed the amend ment. He said there was unfortunately a giea.t diversity of opinion among 1 the Noith Inland membei.s on the .subject of the mute, and he thought his amendment would have the effect of obtaining the best loute from membeis who were altogether disinterested. Sir Julius Vogel, on behalf of the Government, agreed to the amendment, although he 'aid it was a most unusual course for the North Island members to adopt, and aftrr a lenrthy discussion the amendment was cairied. Mr Richardson at to-night's sit ting moved that the committee consist of Messrs Feigns, Larnach, Montg miery, Gore, Fulton, White and the mover.

The Brunner Contract. The Brunner conti act question has now assumed another phase. Mr Holmes this afternoon gave notice for the appointment of a select committee to onquue into the whole ciicumstanoes attending the acceptance by the Atkinson-Wakeheld Government of the Brunner creek and CUthn's River lailway.

The Position of the Government. According to lobby gossip the reason why the Government bo ro.idily accepted MiLake's amendment on the motion in leference to the Noith I&land Railway Committee u-as because they were desiious of avei ting another defeat. It appeared to be pietty generally known that the motion as it stood would have been lost by a respectable majority, owing to the strength of feeling in the House that Mmisteis should ha\e taken the responsibility of the project on themselves, and not relegated it to a committee at all.

The Cost of Education. An interesting return has been laid on the table of the House to the ordoi of Mr Montgomery, showing the coinparatne cost of pumaiy education in tins, colony and other countiies. It shows that mtheyc.ii 1883 the expense per scholar m New Zealand, calculated on the mean of the 1 oil nunibeis at the end of the foiu quaiteib was £3 4s sd, exclusive of the cost of school buildings ; or, inclusive of this, £4 3b 2jd pci head. The animal expenses of fiee tnining institutions aie included in this, as- is nUo the amount voted by the Ceneial Assembly foi scholarships, although that should scaicely be charged against piimaiy education. In England, in 1882-83, the cost per scholar was, for maintenance, £2 3-. ( ,Hd, while the New Zealand cost for the same piuposc was £3 11s !)j'd, or m excess of the English cost by £1 lls> Ojd. A note points out that it is paitly caused by the maintenance of schools in spaisely populated distiict 6 :, but which must be maintained in order to bring education within the reach of the settlers generally. In Queensland the yeaily cost per scholar it> £4 3b O^'d, or with building £5 7s S|d ; in New South Wales it ih£lss, oi with buildings £0 15s 9^d per head ; m Victoria. £4 8s lOcl and £5 3s 2d respectively, and in South Australia £1 4s 4,' d, or£4 I!)b3id. In New Zealand for pieci->oly the same lesults the figmes are £4 3s Old, or £~) 5s 3d. In New Yoik State the cost of instructing is £3 18s per head ; in Massachusetts £4 Gs 2d, and in Calif oi nia £5 os 3d.