THE ACCOUNTANTS' BILL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 18, 20 July 1907, Page 6

THE ACCOUNTANTS' BILL.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— When moving tho second reading of this » measure, Mr. Eraser stated that the majority of the members of Iho two accountants and Auditors' bodice 111 Noav Zealand avwo of ouo opinion as to th^ necessity of having legislation to embody all the men operating in thobi* x>rofea&ions into 011 c solid body. 1 can assure tho hon. msmber that on this point ho is absolutely and totally mistaken. If r_ volet Avore taken on the question, 1 am A'cry niuch inclined to think tho majority avouM ,bo rather against than for legislation, especially of tho farcical kind now lK'toro the House. Thi=; ktier body }: a vc two hour-./ to the dry discm-sion " Of the Musicians' Bill, and barely half mi hour to the Accountants Bill. Ono might have thought the subjoct Avarranteil more di&cu«sien 1 1;-' 1 it obtained. The composition of the j when looked into, i» simply absurd. mo?t any ordinary bookkeeper can p.-.co-I himself on the register' prorided for b> Iho Bill, and can \oto for.- tho ckclioK of members of council. Those latter roi quire special qualification^ whatever, and Avhen elected can turn round aud" ro ' fuse to admit as accountants tho=i> Avho t have just elect-ed them. Tho idea ol hay ing councils in the four oe^ilrcj, is crudp and umvorkable. It jpassrs my comprehen- | sion hoAV the prof nssion . is to be elovated by flooding the country Avith hundreds, of abi<ihi-tely., v unqualiiied men posing as r" 'itors anS " accountant*, u nd_ bearing I<J seal of Governmeiit""au.thority. Tliis . be a real public Clangor." ■* Then, again, under Iho heatling"'of olfenc^s, it is proposed to prohibit any person in reenipt ot a salary, no matter lioa-, highly qualified, ho may be, nor Avhat snare timo he may have, from auditing j the books of any public comcani. A more outrageous interference Avith tho liberty of ihc subjoot has rarely bei>n attomptccl, even under' 1 this free democracy. It him ply means that all auditing Avork Avill bo ihroAA-ii into tho ha~nds of a fow leading firms in the. chief control. Hundreds of competent men Avho, especially in tho country places, add to their income-j by doing the audits of small local companies, >A-ill henceforth bo debarred from so doing, and the aforesaid firms will b.'inply send their clorks to do the Arork, charging foi s same several limes, tho fees hitherto charged by the local men. As the Bill Avill not go into commiUce for nearlj four weeks, I atoulcl carnally urge on all interested to make a.determined stand againot this iniquitous moa. suro. If Bill thero must bo; let tho* <,rovernment take up the question, and draft a proper measure I Avould suggest a public meeting ol those coiicoriied, and tho preparation of a memorial to the members of tho Eouse pointing cfut tho dpfccls of tho Bill, und the utter impossibility of its oAcr bchi" a Avorkablo measure— l am, etc., ° AUDITOR Wellington, 19-.h July, 1907.

TO THIJ EDITOR. . S'r-— When -peaking lo Iho second reading of this Bill, Mr. Aitken is reported as sayine, inter alia, that "ho objected to tho clause providing thai no 0110 should bo permitted to audit the .accounts of companies unless h« Avas. a' public ac countant, as it would be embarrassing in country districts, Avhcro there Avero no public accountanto." So far as I can ascertain, thero is not v to . wn snip in New Zealand iv which tho head office of a company is located where there is, not somo person rowleut Avho is qualified to register under tho Act ; but even if thib Avero not so, none of theso towns' are .very far away from tho larger centra. Does Mr. Ailkon think that it Jl L b . 9t * cl " ' or , a company to put out inemcient work rather than incur tho expense of a railway fare?— l am, etc f( , „ , , , PISCATOR. Oimstehurch, 19th July, 1907.

'With the spread" of municipalism on evoi-y hand, who shall say where local control of public utilities shall stop'" asks the Town Clerk of Wellington in his annual report. -Mr. Palmer goes on to say : "Railways, telegraphs, postal and telephone communications, the erection of Avorkmen's homes, the provision 0/ village settlements, fire insurance, and life assurance, and the supply of coal from State coalmines direct to the consumer aro now undertaken by the State Probably several of the matters mentioned, particularly Avorkmen's homes should be dealt with by the municipality, hoAvever, in addition to the many items at present under its management there is no reason why a general market for all food ftuffs, including meat, fish, and vegetables,' with efficient inspection en Buring purity and soundness, should not be established in the near future. Even, as the large and co-operative societies of Great Britain, can and do supply all necessaries, and in fact many of the luxuries of life, Avhether it be in food, clothes, or iurniture, at leaser rates than private vendors to their shareholders ; so may the muitfcipality to its shareholders the citizens, and tlie time seems fast approaching wheu this will bt demanded and met/ The torpedo service of the German N.ivy, which i» extraordinarily proficient, h (ac carding to the Berlin conespondent of the Daily Mail) about to undergo an improvement which, experts believe, will make that arm the most po\\erlul in the world. By inciensing the &izo of both torpedoes and torpedo tubes the velocity of these projectiles will be increafced 'by fully live knots. All the now warships under cnn&tiurtion — including the ".Dreadnoughts," the giant cruisers, and tho turbine torpeduboats — will be fitted with the torpedoes and tubes, the diametor of Avhich will be raised from tho standard of 17J inches, noAv in use in most navies, to 19-J inches, and \a hinli- will be lengthened in proportion. The decision Avas taken at a secret meeting of the high officers in the Construction Division of tho Admiralty, recently held at Kiel under tho presidency of the Naval Secretary, Admiral yon Tirpitz. It Avas the opinion of tho majority of tho oxperts that increaso in speed of the German torpedoes, Avhich they regarded as necessary, could bo accomplished only by radical alterations in tho size of tho torpedo propeller and motive apparatus. As tho older German ships carry 13f-inch and the newer 17j}-inch torpedoes, it avos objected that the introduction of the 192-inch Avcapon AVould necessitate the fleet going into action Avith thre.c different bizes of torpedoes. But it Avas determined that the overwhelming superiority afforded by tho new type far outweighs tins disadvantage. • Miss Graco Aloxander, Avho announces in another column that shq is prepared to receive pupils for the violin, Avas a member oE tho New Zealand Exhibition Orchestra. Beforo coming to Now .Zealand Miss Alexander Avas ono of tho members in the Orchestral Society, Sidney, Avilh Signor Haton. A"~ ad\nrti-cd- in ntiollmr column. ''Beltor HcsHli for Women in N'aluro s* Own W*y" will bo the subject of d free health talk to bo given at tlie VifVyi AoQJUSj ou