POLITICAL NOTES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 154, 29 June 1912, Page 3

POLITICAL NOTES

• NEWS AND VIEWS PUBLIC DEBT EXTINCTION. The amount of the public debt of New Zealand, as denned in section 2 of the Public Debt Extinction Apt, was, on the 316t of March, 1912, ' £66,793,360. By section 9 of the Act, in making the calculation necessary for ascertaining the sums required to be invested annually to obtain a capital sum equal to the public debt in seventy-five years, the portion of one million poundc in excess of the last whole million of the public debt shall be reckoned as one million. The total public debt must, therefore, be considered as £67,000,000. The sum required to be invested each year at compound interest at £4 per cent, per , iinnum, which would in seventy-five years amount to £67,000,000, is £149,343. The amount of moneys paid over by the Treasury to the Public Debt Extinction; Board during the year wae £144,885. The securities held by the board for the moneys invested on the 31st March, 1912, were — (1) Mortgages of freehold and leasehold securities £61,410. ' (2) .Temporarily invested in Settlers' Branch under section 26, pending investment on mortgages, £83,475. The rate of interest earned was — (I) On £51,410, invested on mortgages, £4 10s per cent. (2) On £83,475, temporary investment, £4 5s per cent. Kb portion of the public debt was repaid during the year. The expense of administering the Act was niL TRAVELLING ALLOWANCES. Before the House rose last night the Prime Minister (the Hon. T. Mackenzie) laid on the table a return showing the travelling allowances and travelling expenses of Ministers from Bth to 14th December, 1911, as follows : Sir Joseph Ward, allowances £3, expenseß £2 Ze 6d; Sir J. Carroll, allowances £10 10s, expenses £3 ss ; Hon. B. M'Kenzie, allowances £10 10s, expenses £19 16s ; Hon. A. T. Ngata, allowances £10 10s, expenses £14 &. The figures from the period from the day Parliament adjourned, 28th October, 1911, until 7th December, were as under : — Sir Joseph Ward, allowances £30, expenses £47 3s ; Sir J. Carroll, allowances £45, expenses £12 13s; Hon. J. A. Miller, expenses £7 13s 6d; Sir J. G. Findlay, allowances, £4 10s, expenses £3 13s; Hon. R. M'Kenzie, allowances £10 10s, expenses £11 17s 6d; Hon. D. Buddo, expenses £10 13s; Hon. T. Mackenzie, expenses £8 14s; .Hon. A.. T. Ngata, allowances £39, expenses £39 15s 6d. Mr. Fisher congratulated the Minister on the promptitude with wMch the returns had been brought down. The Prime llinistei' t "I accept the congratulatione. We are only too desirous of showing we are going on such lines as will be to our credit if you give vs j the opportunity of displaying our merit." SUPERANNUATION FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE. The annual report of the Public Service Superannuation Fund shows that thore were 9140 contributors to the fund at the end of the year, and the annual contribution* to the fund amounted to £100,670. Pensions for £10,570 . Is per anuum were granted during the yeai, as follows : For age or length of service, £8631 8s per annum to 72 members (68 - male and 4 female members) ; for medical unfitness for duty, £1313 13s per annum to 19 members (all male) ; to widows and children of deceased members, £378 per annum to 21 widows, and £247 per annum to 19 children. ■ The largest retiring-allowance granted during the year to a contributor was £403 3s, and the smallest £8 8s per annum, while the average was £109 5s 9d. Those officers who retired during the year were entitled to receive the sum of £19,375 8s 4d accrued compensation under the Civil Service Act, 1866, .had they not become participants in the benefit^ of the Superannuation Fund. Thirty-two retiring-allowances wer» discontinued by death, and twelve f<n* other causes — viz., four widows remained, seven children reached age 14, and one allowance granted to an officer waß cancelled on his re-employment. The annual amount payable at the close of the year was £47,136 53 sd, as shown in the statement attached. „ ADDRESS-IN-REPLY. Just before the House rose last night, Mr. Massey asked if the Address-in-Eeply debate would be taken on Tuesday afternoon on evening. The Prime Minister said he was willing to meet Mr. Massey and the debate was fixed for the evening. SOUTH ISLAND WHIP. It is understood^ that Mr. G. W. Forbes (Hurunui) will act as Government Whip for the South Island. NATIVE LAND TRUSTEES A Maori Land Court case was heard at Wellington yesterday by Judge Gilfedder. The estate was that of Eremii Te Awe Awe, an Awapuni Native, 6ister of Peeti Te Awe Awe, a deceased friendly Native, who rendered valuable assistance to the Crown in the Native -wars. The laud in question is situated at Hukanui, near Pahiafcua. It wa* said that the Native woman owning the estate wa* unable, because of physical disabilities, to manage it, and the appointment of trustees was" the question at issue. Messrs. J. Herbert Hankine and Walter Rutherfurd, of Palnaereton North, were appointed. The solicitors engaged in the Case were Mr. C. H. Treadweli and Mr. J. H. Hankins for Erenui Te Awe Awe; Mr. Morieon and Mr. Blair for Emir Puke ; Mr. P. L. Baldwin ioi\ William Moffitt.