PARLIAMENT AT WORK

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 5, 30 September 1922, Page 6

PARLIAMENT AT WORK

AN APPEAL FOR ECONOMI • —.—- HOUSE DEALS WITH ESTIMATES EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS 1 An emphatic appeal for public economy by Sir Edwin Mitchelson in the Legislative Council was a feature of the proceedings in Parliament yesterday. The House of Representatives spent the day on the Estimates. Members talked of Samoan affairs, pensions, the censorship, the High Commissioner’s office, and many other matters. They were dealing with the Defence Estimates at midnight.

CENSORSHIP WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? MR. HOLLAND SEEKS FOR INFORMATION “We still have a censorship in this country,” said the Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. Holland) when the estimates of the Internal Affairs Depart-

ment were under consideration. The I member wanted information about tho operation of the censorship. Tho Chairman failed to find a vote on tho estimates to justiy tho question but Mr. Holland insisted that he had frequently corresponded with the Minister of Internal Affairs on -the subject. He suspected that the censorship vote was buried out of sight in the administrative section. Proceeding with his protest, Mr. Holland said that certain books that circulated freely among intelligent people in other countries were banned by tho censor in New Zealand. Some books printed in Australia were not permitted to enter this country. He had heard a rumour that some of the works of the late Henry Lawson were to be ;,h'_ banned because they had a revolutionary flavour. The censorship did not !" really prevent people from getting the books that they wished to read, in order that they might keep in touch with the thought of the world. But it made them get the books by devi- : t ous methods. ;;.'i Sir William Herries, who hadxharge of the Estimates, said that the Internal Affairs Department knew nothing about a censorship. He understood that the member had been <x mmunicating with the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, who might have answered in • the capacity of Minister of Customs. .Certainly the Internal Affairs Departj ment had no information on the point. Hon. E. P. Lee: Perhaps there is no 1 censorship. (Laughter from the Labour (benches.) Sir William Herries,: The honouraole gentleman says there is a censorship, and 1 must accept his word. ! - Mr. Holland: If the Minister will l ;"“ give us a guarantee that there will be no prosecutions we will be satisfied. t . Sir William Herries: . Prosecutions would come under the Minister of Jus- “ ties. A Labour member: Who is responi Bible? Sir William Herries: My impression is that it is between the Post Office and the Minister of Customs find the Attorney-General. COLLECTIoiToF STATISTICS THE COST-OF-LIVING L . FIGURES There was some talk about statistics in the House last night. Mr. W. A. Veitch (Wanganui) said that > lie -thought the present method, of obtaining the information on which tho : ■ - cost-of-living figures were based might easily be improved. He understood that circulars were sent to retail merchants, who were asked for a statement of their prices. The information was treated as confidential. Ali thqugh most traders . were honest, there was always the risk that some U; would be tempted to understate the figures. There was certainly no risk that any would overstate them. The J present system ought to be supplemented by the collection of housewives’ weekly or monthly budgets of housekeeping expenses. The trade unions, Mr. Veitch believed, would ' readily assist in the collection of the ! budgets. Mr. O. J. Ha when (Egmont) was i afraid that sometimes business people were put to unnecessary trouble by the Statistical Office in its anxiety to L obtain information. He would not vouch for the story, but he had heard that in order to. learn how much timber there was in a butter-box, the office had addressed inquiries to all !■ the dairy factories in the country, f" . “Mr. Malcolm Fraser is an excellent officer,” said Sir William Herries, who assured the House that the Govern- ■’ ment with confidence left the Statistician with a free hand to collect his statistics in' the way he thought best. ADVERTISING NEW ZEALAND i “1110 foundation has been laid of a regular system of publicity for Now Zealand,” said Sir William Herries in the House last night. “New Zealand is belter advertised abroad now than ever before.” ■ “The Government doesn’t know the first thing about advertising New ZeaI land,” was the opinion of Air. T. Al. Wilford, who added that the kinema I film was the best medium for adver- ; tising. Mr. Wilford. wished to. see much mrfre extensive advertising through the film, so that more tourists should be attracted. “We must have the pictures taken by tho best | artists with the best cameras,” he said. SOLDIERS’ FARMS The boards which aro to consider the revaluation of soldiers’ properties are not going to be hampered with restrictive instructions, according to the Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Minister of i Lands. The Minister was asked by Mr. G. Mitchell (Wellington South), m the House yesterday if he would give instructions that the board which was to make investigations in the Wairnrapa district should visit the Tirarrmea Estate amongst the first. 1.,.. , The Minister said that he would riot- hamper the boards in any wav, lint would leave them to carry out their investigations in the manner ’ which they thought best. They would be given their order of reference, and f would than commence their work in what seemed to them the most expeditious manner.

EXPENSES OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER SOME MEMBERS CRITICAL l . NO ORIENTAL SPLENDOUR,’ SAYS MR. MASSEY The increasing cost of the High Commissioner’s office was discussed briefly yesterday. Mr. R. Masters (Straff ford), who raised the question, said that the salaries paid to the High

Commissioner’s staff- ’had increased from £10,360 in 1916 to £28,331 in. 1921. The staff had grown greatly, and there was an additional item of £5OO in the Estimates for temporary assistance. There was also a sum of £5OO set down to cover the cost of “official entertainment.” He would bo glad to know the explanation of that. He wondered what tlm Punlie Accounts Committee was doing. It seemed very ready to cut i* cational and other grants.. Why did it not devote some attention to keeping down the expenditure of the High Commissioner’s Office?

“Our High Commissioner is an expensive nlan,” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. T. M. Wilford). “He costs this country a great deal of money.” Mr. Wilford drew attention to the fact that since the beginning of the war the expenditure of the office had increased from £14,909 to about £32,000 a year. The Prime Minister said, that in justice to the High Commissioner ho must offer an explanation. The increase in the expenditure of the High Commissioner’s Office could be very simply accounted for. The work of the office had greatly increased during the war period, and the employment of more officers had been necessary. Salaries had had to be increased because the. cost of living was very much higher in Jiomlou man n* any part of New Zealand. Some allowance had liad to be made on account of the income tax paid by, officers to the British Government. | In Britain the tax was payable on much lower salaries than in New Zealand. Tliere was no unnecessary expenditure. An allowance for official entertainment was absolutely necessary. Sir James Allen would bo fortunate indeed if the actual expense of necessary entertainment during a whole year was as little as £ooo. i Sir James Allen was not extravagant. In New Zealand lie had shown himself inclined lather to cheese-paring than to extravagance. Cheese-paring would “never do” in London. If New Zealand’s representative attempted, anything of the sort it would be a bad thing for the reputation of the country Members should disabuse then Sis of any idea that there “Oriental extravagance ’ m the High Commissioner’s office. Gome member had used the phrase. Mr. Holland: I I * ald “Oriental splendour.”

THE PENSIONS SYSTEM A REVIEW IS BEING UNDERTAKEN The pensions system was briefly discussed in the House yesterday while the Estimates of the Pensions Department were under consideration. Tho Leader of. tho Opposition (Air. T. Al. Wilford) said that, the whole of the pensions scheme called for revision. Distinctions were actually made at present between one class of widow and another. He contrasted t'he payment to an “epidemic” widow with the payment to another widow with dependants, and he said that the lower pension should bo made up to the amount of the higher. Air. AV. E. Parry moved that the vote for the Department should be reduced by £1 as an indication that the House was dissatisfied with the failure of the Government to provide pensions for the blind. . The amendment was rejected by votes to 14. , The Alinister in charge of the Department stated that the Commissioner of Pensions had been instructed to review the present system. There was no prospect, however, of an addition to the total amount of money paid out in pensions. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. yesterday. , , The Local Bills Committee reported regarding tho Hauraki Plains Amendment Bill that the Standing Orders had not been complied with. Lhe same applied to the Canterbury College Amendment Bill, which the committee recommended to bo allowed to proceed. Tho Leader. Sir William Iraser, moved that the Standing Orders be suspended and the second reading oi the bills be set down for the next sitting day. He said there appeared to be "a. difference in Standing Orders affooting local bills in tho two Chambers. The motion was agreed to. The Auckland City and Auckland Hospital Empowering Bill, the Petone and Lower Hutt GaMighting Bill, and the Invercargill Corporation Empowering Bill were received from the Lower House and read a first time. PALTRIER AND PALTRIER Members are used to talking in large figures. Mr. Potter, of Auckland, last night condemned the Government for paying the widow of a gallant soldier “the paltry sum of £250,000.” On second thoughts he reduced the sum by £249,750.