OUR POLITICAL SPECIAL.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9821, 21 July 1900, Page 5

OUR POLITICAL SPECIAL.

-o- "- IFEOM OUR PA RIIA SfSN TJ £ T REPORTER.) [by telegraph.] Wellington, Last night. SPOILS TO THE VICTORS. The subject of " spoils to the victors " came before the House thin afternoon, being introduced by Mr Fisher, who asked the Premier whether he would inform the House of the date of the next Teeun ent period for the distribution of Government pd-ouage. They heard (said Mr Fidier) a great deal about -"spoils to the victors." None, he thought, would deny his claim to be ranked among victors. He would be glad if the Premi-r would inform him whether he might be able to get some of the spoils. The burden of Mr Fisher's complaint, in fact, was that he had received no response to his application for employment for his constituents from Ministers, while the members of the Opposition had been far more fortunate in that respect.

The Premier said it was quite true there were v number of people in Wellington "spoiling" for billets, but if -they all got positions there would be very few ieft for people in other parts of the colony. He knew that Mr Fi3het -was hampered with applications.

A voice : He has them all now. Mr Fisher: I get none. A voice: What about the Harbor Board ?

'lhe Premier said Mr Hutcheson must not say that Mr Fisher had them all, because he knew of some that Mr Hutchison had been applying for. Mr Hutcheson (hotly): Some of mine ? The Premier : Yes; do you want me ■to name tln-m ?

Mr Hutcheson : Do you say I have been applying for some ? The Premier : Yes-, there's the case of a man you have been recommending for employment in the Permanent Artillery. Mr Hutcheson : I challenge the Premier to read it. He can read all I ever wrote in two minutes.

The Premier said there was in the list the ca=e of a man recommended by Mr John Hutcheson. Mr Pirani : That is not applying for an appointment. The Premier : I said they had applied Jtohim, and he had recommended them. Mr Seddon went on to contend that a member had a perfect right to recommend people for employment, and if members refused to send on applications they would not get elected. A Voice : Yes they do. The Premier: What's the use of talking to me ? You all do it. Mr Pirani: You don't recognise the difference between a testimonial and a recommendation.

The Premier said if he was to understand that members, simply to curry favor, sent on applications, and did not iold thems.lves responsible in attaching their names to a recommendation, he would take very good care that such applications got very short shrift. Mr Pirani : They get that now. The Premier urged that members had been treated fairly, and he thought that with respect to positions outside the Civil Service the recommendations should come from members and be taken in rotation.

OUR CONTINGENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA. A question of some interest was put to the Government to-day by Mr Massey, ■who asked —Whe*her it is a fact that a number of men have left our contingents in South Africa and joined the South African police or other forces, and whether anything is being done to keep our coetirigt-nts up to the strength they were when they left this colony ? The member f->r Franklin pointed out that our contingents had been reduced in strength by sickness and death, and it had aho been stated that some of the men had joined the S 'Uth African police force. The First Contingent was reported to be only h-df its original strength, .and he would like to know what was being 'I<ti« to keep the contingents up to their full strength. The Hon. Mr Carroll said the Governmenf had tiad notorm.il in formation of any ©f the men hiving joined the police force as stated, though they had heard privately that such was the case. Some eighty men had been sent from the colony to replace the men who had from various reasons fallen out, but most of them had gone to Beira. There was no official communication, however, upon the point. Mr Massey said the matter was one of importance, and asked if it wasnotpos sib.c to get information ? Mr Carroll said he would enquire. APPOINTMENTS IN THE DEFENCE FORCE. Country youths and young men who may desife to join the permanent defence forces are placed at a great disadvantage by the fact that applicants must hwe served in a volunteer corps. In pointing this out to the Government Mr R. Thompson also drew their attention to the fact that in many country districts there are no volunteer corps, and therefore he asked that the prohibitive regution should be repealed. The Hon. J. Carroll promised that the matter would receive the attention of -the Government. THE TRUANCY TROUBLE. Mr Fraser's question on the subject of people being summoned at Napier lor Bending their children to the Catholic .school without havicg obtained the sanction of the public school committee was, in Mr Fraser's absence, put by Mr Field this afternoon. The Minister for Public Worlds said the Minister of Education was not aware of these proceedings, nor had he any power to interfere. It did appear on the face of it to be an extraordinary thing that these people should be brought before the Court when their children were attending school. He believed that at the meeting of the Hawke's Bay Education Board this week the truant officer, who be understood initiated the proceedings, had been retired. He doubted very much whether there was another Board of Education in the colony that would take such proceedings.