ROYAL RECEPTION ITEMS.

Evening Post, Volume LXII, Issue 77, 27 September 1901, Page 4

ROYAL RECEPTION ITEMS.

The Premier is no doubt congratulating himself upon the comparatively easy way in which he has got the House to agree to the various votes connected with the Royal visit, and minor matters grouped under Class 11. Among 'the lesser items was another of those objec> tionablo instances of personal advertisement in tho shape of £161 for photographs of Mr. Seddou's South Sea Islands trip, while, with regard to tho Royal visit, there has undoubtedly beon gross extravagance in detail. The occa-' sion, however, was such that members naturally felt compelled to refrain from all except absolutely necessary criticism, and in all probability the Premier reckoned'upon thiq when he prodigally committed the colony to liabilities for which there was no justification. Paying £100 a month to an Executive Commissioner who proved worse than useless in several places was, as the senior member for Christchurch said, a "wicked extravagance," and we have no doubt whatever that a full, accurate and detailed ac-. count of the moneys expended would prove that "silk hats and frock coats" were not the worst Of the petty extravagances indulged in. It is a great pity that the Royal visit should have been used, as nearly everything of the kind is now used in this colony, as a means of political aggrandisement, of rewarding ana punishing, and of Ministerial advertisement. Had this not been so, it is probable that the expemes would have

beau loss without impairing in the least the buccoss of the visit. Tho incident, however, is over, and Parliament has voted tho money, but in days to come, if thero should bo hard times, tho Premier's extravagance will bo remembered with no little bitterness. We can, howover, commend tho Premier for making a separate Bill of the, sum voted to the Govornor. About the payment of that sum there could not in tho circumstances, as wo have said before, be two opinions, and to avoid any risk of ondangering the Appropriation Dill it was prudent to separate this item from tho others. Apart from legnl considerations, we can quite understand also that the natural delicacy of a scrupulously honourable man would muke his Excellency himself prefer to have this special grant reserved for tho Royal Assent.