PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume XLIV, Issue 9, 11 July 1892, Page 3

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

HAWKKRS AND PKDLARR. Tho Hon. Mr. Seddon's Hawkers and Pedlars Bill provides that all hawkers must bo liconsod, and a hawker, before obtaining his first license from any local body, must produco a certificate of character from four householders of hix months' Btanding. A minimum penalty of _2, with a maximum of .£lO, is provided for Helling without a license. Four varieties of licenses are created, viz., a district license, at an annual foo of £.'1 for tho hawking of goods on any animal or movablo convey unco ; a district license of V)-i for goods carried on tho person ; a general license of £5 for the whole colony for hawking by means of any animal or convoysince ; and a colonial licenso of .£2 for personal carriage. All fpos aro to go to the local bodic.i by which the licenses are iasued. Tho exemptions to tho Bill include tho sale of newspapers, water, fuel, fish, fruit, milk, or vegetables, for which no licenso will be required. THE HOSIMTAL AND CHARITABLE AID REPORT. Dr. MacGregor's annual report was laid on the table on Friday. In it he condemned the Stato subsidy on subscriptions. Tho number of local bodies had extended to an extent which almost paralynod tho working of the Act, and facility in tho distribution of subsidies was secured at tho cost of almost entirely stopping voluntary subscriptions. In ISB4, tho year before tho Act was passed, Otago raised _3242 by subscriptions, and Canterbury .£llOO, while in 1892 Otago had fullon to _203, and Canterbury to .£29. Dnty had become bankrupt, and there was a world-wide movement in favour of compulsion. Tho Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act of 1835 had (fixed in the popular mind, and especially in tho mind 3of the least solf-l'eliant of tho peoplej tho belief that they had a right to a living whether they worked or not. Tho law could not bo loft whoro it was. Tho local bodies must bo consolidated into about 20 strong Boards for the wholo colony. It was not possible to effect any real reform of the abuses of our charitable aid and hospital system except as part of a comprehenbivo Local Government Act, in which tho wliola system of subsidies in aid of local government must be recast. It was clear, for iustanco, that as long as administrators of outdoor relief wore able to get half its cost from the consolidated rovenuo, idlers nnd drunkards would absorb a very largo proportion of what was intended for the victims of weakness and calamity, and respectable mon and women, worn out with toil and old ago, wonld bo thrust aside by impudent beggars, and doserted wives and families would abound. As a remedy, Dr. MacGregor suggests the virtues of direct taxation, but to secure agreement to this reform tho State might tako over the wholo cost of children now boarded out by tho Boards and partly paid for out of rates. Ho is satisfied that children must not bo entrusted to persons who aro themselves in recoiptof aid, that thoy must bo boarded in the country, and that thoro must bo systematic visitation. After referring to tho formation of tho Labour Bureau, tho roport concludes by trusting that our charities shall not bo abused in the interests of labour or capital, by making oxistoncc possible for tho loafer who will not work, or subsidising the sundowner to await tho intermittent needs of his employor, who would thus be absolved from taking any human interest in his men. JOTTINGS. Strongly-worded letters of protost against tho proposed closing of tho northorn oyster beds havo been received by tho Minister for Marine from Aucklandcrs interested in tho trade. Tho Promior states that the question of re-opening tho Whyto-Baggott cases has not been considered by tho Cabinot.