FIRST ITEM OF THE ESTIMATES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 17, 23 August 1913, Page 9

FIRST ITEM OF THE ESTIMATES

ALL-ROUND TALK." QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Following the usual custom, the House then entered into an all-round discussion on what is known as the "first item" of the Estimates. Mr. T. H. Davey urged on the Minister of Railways the necessity for sending the boys in the railway workshops, after their apprenticeship, to complete their trade education at a teohnical college. They should be fitted for. their various callings as lads in Melbourne, and this could be done by paying the sheer^ cost of their attendance at these finishing schools. Mr. G. W. Eussell wanted to know how it was that the Minister of Lands had not spent £100,221 of what had been granted for lands for settlement. The Government had declared for settlement, more settlement, and still more settlement, but instead of the comparative and the superlative, it showed no signs of this settlement, more settlement, and still more settlement. Figures were given comparing the increase of selectors and settlers under given periods for the Ward and the Massey Administrations. Under the former the number was 970, and under the Government, of settlement, more settlement, and still more settlement, the number was 1066. The member for Avon declared that while the Prime Minister spoke gleefully of the way the big estates were being broken up, it was really the fact that the credit wa3 due to the Ward Administration, What he (the speaker) wanted to know was how the Minister came to save over £100,000 on the lands vote. Mr. Russell was reiterating his tribute to the Ward Administration on its land settlement when, Mr. Forbes : No rtry rot about that. Mr. Russell : There are no blackberries on it either. The Minister observed that he could answer the member for Avon, but he . fjfo-49 amid, m. ttt&'aU&k. .itsw

not possible to satisfy him. If the Government spent more than the vote allowed it would be accused of extravagance, wasteful expenditure, and so forth. He would like to tell the mem 4 her for Avon that he (the Minister) esti- - mated the number of selectors and settlers placed on the land would be something like 2000 by the end of the year. And instead of increasing the apparent number of settlers by renewing leases that fell in, he, as Minister of Lands, refused to renew those leases, in view of the pending legislation. This would account for the difference (noted by Mr. Russell) in the area settled. And the vote had not all been spent, because there had come in an abnormal increase of rents. WORKERS* DWELLINGS. A lot of the timber being used for the erection of workers' dwellings, according to Mr. W. A. Veiteh, is of a very poor quality indeed. In that direction the workers' dwellings scheme was not very satisfactory. He suggested that the Minister should act in conjunction with the Minister of Railways and have sound timber brought from the Government sawmills. The Department should encourage the building of brick instead of wooden houses. The timber was not so good because the mills were now cutting young and small tun. ber, which produced wood of inferior quality. It was a serious problem for New Zealand to face if the wooden houses now being erected would have to be renewed every twenty-five years. The Minister of Railways said he thought that the apprentices could get as good training in the railway workshops of the Dominion as they could obtain in any technical schools. With regard to the comparisons made of the salaries of Magistrates and Native Land Court Judges, he quite admitted that if Magistrates were to have their salaries raised he should have to provide for thege Judges also. He hoped to do so on the Supplementary Estimates, but at the same time he would have first to find out the general effect of the new classification scheme. Though the Judges themselves were not under the classification scheme, their officials were. Native Land Court Judges, he would point out, drew large sums for travelling expenses — sums greatly in excess of other officers in the Civil Service, because they were always travelling about. Their salaries were thus considerably auemented. He would have to ascertain before doing anything what the Civil Service Commissioners were going to do with regard to travelling of the Native Land Court Judges. He hoped to be able, if finances permitted, to give the Judges some small increase, at least, on the Supplementary Estimates. The Hon. Mr. Ngata had charged the Government with not being quite open on the Native land question. He had met the hon. gentleman at a meeting of Natives at Gisborne, and perhaps he had said too much of what the Government's land policy was. Mr. Ngata had drawn up a very masterly reply, from his point of view, to what he (the Minister)^ had said at the meeting at Gisborne. Eight through the Dominion he had not concealed the policy of the Government on Native land. Rather had he been too open about it— more so than any Native Minister previously. The Native Land Bill would be much on the lines he had indicated in various places in the Dominion where he had met the Natives. Ho hoped to have the help of Native members in getting the Bill placed on the Statute Book. The first item was passed at 12.40 a.m., progress was reported, and the House rose.