POSTAL CHARGES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 275, 14 August 1920, Page 8

POSTAL CHARGES

SOME " POLITICAL CAPITAL "

AN AMENDMENT REJECTED

When 1 the Post and Telegraph estimates were beforo tho House, Mr. Holland (Buller) moved a reduction of £1 "as an indication that the House does not approve of the action of tho Government in increasing the post and tele graph charges." ' '

The' Prime Minister 6aid if Mr. Hoi land did not understand tho reasons for the increased Tates he was the only member in the House so ignorant. The increase of the salaries of post and telegraph officers and other public servan's had been necessary, at a cost of nearly .62,000,000 a year. This extra money had to be found. If the charges of the rev-enue-earning Departments had not been raised, the general taxation would have had to be increased. The Governmen 1 had decided that the fair thing was to make the Post and Telegraph Department and the Railway Department cover their own increased expenditure. The users of the Departments understood tho position perfectly well, and l had made no protest. Now the member for Buller was trying to make'some political capital out of the payment of the increased wages to the public servants.

Mr. Holland said the extra money could have been found by other forms of taxation, especially the land tax and the income tax.

Mr. Massey' remarked that the extra Tevcmie' of the Postal Department would be .£40,000 short of the increased expenditure.

"Absurdly captious criticism" was Mr. Isitt's description of Mr. Holland's arguments. The business people, not the working men, would pay the great bulk of the post and telegraph charges.

Mr. D. Jones (Kainpoi) was surprised to find the Labour members blaming the Government for requiring a socialistic institution to pay its own way. The Postal Department had no capital account. Its capital had all been sunk, ■ami its customers were required merely to pay the cost of the services they used. Yet the LaboiiN members wanted tins socialistic concern to draw part of its revenue from outside sources.

Other members reproved Mr. Holland for an obvious attempt to make a little party capital out of necessary increases in -Civil salaries.

Mr. Nosworthy was one of those, who objected to Mr. Holland's proposal. Tho leader of'the , Labour Party had gone, about saying that public servants' salnries should be raised, but Mr. Holland objected to any Department making any charges'to meet the situation. "Evidently," said Mr. Nosworthy, "there is in the honourable gentleman's mind an ide«i, that a few people should nay the whole of the taxation, while the honourable member and his friends who sit behind him should walk about this country um. pay nothing towards tho maintenance of the State in the way of railways, postal services, or anything else. Tliey want to put the whole load on the shoulders of a few, while they want to walk about nnd be agitators. I am glad we have had such an illuminating speech from tho honourable gentlemen, which lias let us see what he is'driving at." ; .Labour members and others argued the matter at length. Mr. M'Nicol (Pahiatua) pointed nut that tho men on the land, whom Mr. Holland proposed to load with tho Increased. postal burden, 'had often to pay 'subsidies in order to get any mails at all.

•The Postmaster-General (Mr. Cnates), ■replying nfler nearly two hours' discussion, said that the simple position was that the increased salaries would have put the Post Office expenditure about J/iiO.WIO ahead of the' revenue without allowing for-increased cost of materials mid Naturally he proposed to provide additional revenue in the ohvious wiy. The charges wnu!d still ho lower than the British and Australian charges. The increased burden would fall most.heavily on large users of tho post and telegraph services. Mr. Holland's amendment was refected by 51 votes to (i. the minority consisting of Labour members.

ANTI-PMJTEEMG TMMAIS

PUBLICITY SUGGESTED

A suggestion mis made to the President of tho Beard of Trade in the House yesterday that the proceedings More profiteering tribunals should be open to the public. Mr. Hanan (Invercargill) eaid that these proceedings wero at prosent in camera, and that tho public had no idea what sort of evidence was boing offered. Ho had no thought that the tribunals were not doing their work faithfully, but ho suggested that if the proceedings were, open to the Press the pu'blicr would know something about tho items in tho cost of commodities sold to them, and the proceedings would have an important educativo influence. He mentioned that in Australia tho evidence was takon in open court. -

■ Mr. Lee said that no doubt the honourable member luul noticed that a few days- ago the traders o£ Wellington had waited on him to make a protest against the sort of investigations tho tribunals and tho Board of Trade word making. They had complained bitterly against the present legislation, and usked for tho repeal of it. That was their fiido of the story. The honourablo member had asked for tho publication of these investigatvms. Ho was making inquiry into the method of procedure in Australia, and when he had Hut information ho would give tho matter very careful consideration.

THE ESTIMATES

'A long sitting on liho 'Estimates was expected last night, but tho House roso after all at 11.30 p.m. The votes for the Post and Telegraph DepartrnenO occupied tho House for six hours. Then members put through tho votes for pnlv lio buildings, domains, and maintcnanco of toads in a few minutes. Tho estimates of tho Na.livo Dopartmont wcro next on the list. They woro put through at high speed, and tho Prime Minister then took the. adjournment.

TUB LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

A formal mooting of tho Legislative Council was held last night. Tho only ! liusinesa takon was tho second reading of i the Tfawk'e's Bay Rivers Amendment Bill. This was taken without doliale. Tlie Council, having met at 8 p.m., ioso ; a fow minutes lator.