FIJI NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 264, 6 November 1919, Page 8

FIJI NEWS.

■ _c 1 CIVIL SERVICE REORGAXISATIOX. II - m; ' (Rpecin* Correspondent} R a .SUVA, October .10. Nl Tbe Legislative Council is now sitting a und has passed an Appropriation Bill for v _4-3,GOS for services for 1!)20. Some time when the Government proposed j granting war bonuses to the Civil servants for the past war years, the elected . members unanimously opposed the proposal. However, yesterday the proposal totalling ._l."i,000 was passed unani- : mously. In includes all temporary or casual hands who have 2_ years or more - service. The Governor announced that - ' a special commissioner was coming out . to thoroughly overhaul and reorganise of the service. It is believed that this will 11 end in a general raising of salaries and **". ' the cutting down of the service numeri- o - cally—fewer members with more ofli- SI * ciency. '-' The council adopted the special committee's report advocating the raising fn t of a works loan of a million pounds, to m d be restricted to £200,000 annually. It "] P is proposed to spend this subject to the .Ii ~ approval of the Secretary of State, on a Ti v main road through Viti Levu (the main ]', c island). Colonial Hospital in Suva, two 0 inter-island steamers. road through m n Vavua Levu, new wharves for Lcvuka, ''* etc. All the works are very greatly y „ needed. The roads will open up a large Oi j, area of beautiful country-, and promote c more settlement, and so give ua increased M r production. At present thousands of \ acres of splendid land are locked up, 'I ,f being inaccessible. * c The council also carried a motion favj. ouring reforms in our electoral system I' M and the abolition of "plumping," which *;' t . you will be surprised to learn still exists n oin this far-away corner of the Empire. ri p The prospects of the cane crops were . looking bleak owin. to the dry weather, 5; _ but a welcome fail of three inches all n 1 round Ba-Latitnka side has saved the n T situation. A week ago we had 11_| 4: l r inches of rain in the 24 hours, and 13$ ! r t inches the same day at Xausori on the C ' Rewa River, and yet Suva suffered in S no way from overflow of water. d The regular running of the steamers ' ' has caused a great revival of business. t. >f i