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Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 59, 11 March 1939, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FROM "THE POST"

STATE FINANCES

"We do not of course wish to imply; that the Treasury has stopped payment, but it is, we believe, an undoubted fact that there is a considerable disclination to pass vouchers for larga sums this month," wrote "The Post* editorially on this date fifty years ago* "March is the last month of the financial year, and as it is in most wellinformed circles considered almost, a certainty that there will exist a very considerable gap between revenue and expenditure, the Colonial Treasurer, following the example of many of his predecessors, is no doubt anxious to make the deficiency appear as small as possible by throwing on the next, year as many liabilities of the present one as he can. It is a time-honoured practice, but one which admirers of honest finance would consider more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The hint which the Premier gave at Hawera as to the necessity for treating primage duty as ordinary Customs revenue, instead of applying it to the purpose for which it was specifically imposed—the repay* ment of unfunded debt—will, we fear, have to be acted upon, and the duty, instead of being a temporary one, will become part of the ordinary taxation, while the deficit of the past years, swelled by that of the present one, will probably, after all, have to be added to the funded debt of the colony. The object of the Government, there-: fore, in seeking to make the deficit this year as little as possible is sufficiently apparent, and accounts for the unwillingness of the Treasury to make payments of large sums until the 31st of March is past." ..; '■ . TE KOOTI'S PLEDGE. . "If Te Kooti keeps the pledge he , has taken, and continues to wear the blue ribbon, the Ladies' Union of Auckland, will have to be congratulated on having obtained a much greater victory by moral suasion than the Premier was able to achieve with his force of horse, foot, and artillery. We sincerely hope, both for his own sake and for that of the colony, that he will continue to keep the pledge, and to lead a sober life. He has, it is well known, been sadly devoted to intemperance for several years past; and there is of course always some danger that in one of his drunken bouts he might commit some act of violence which he would never dream of when sober. We are not very well informed as to whether Tawhiao has remained faithful to his pledge, but certainly he has, not, recently given way to the wild excess he was addicted to prior to hjs, visit to England. Te Kooti's recent expert ences may, and we hope will, have a similar reformatory effect on .him. The Auckland Ladies' Union may certainly be congratulated on their latest convert." ■ ■ - . COST OF A LUNCHEON/ Steps were taken at a meeting of citizens held on March 6, 1889, to ten- ; der a farewell luncheon to the retiring ./ Governor, Sir William Jervois. • Extracts from the report of the. meeting make interesting readings "Mr, Gillon^ ~; suggested thai .-in ..order to ensure a large attendanc'ae the;: price, ;'of/ the-"'-tickets should be as low as possible,'C Mr. J. C. Harris, in order to, test the feeling of the meeting, moved that "the luncheon should" b'e s of' an elaborate character, and that' the price of ;each ; ticket should not be less than £1 Is. ; The motion was hot seconded and con- ■"■ sequently it lapsed. Mr. Nathan proposed, and Councillor Brown, seconded, that the price" of each ticket should be ss. An amendment by Mr. piimmer that the price of a lady's ticket should be 5s and of a. gentleman's 103 was not agreed to. The motion was - also lost, and an amendment by Councillor Chapman, seconded by Councillor Harris, that it be a suggestion to a sub-committee to be appointed that the price of a lady's ticket be 5s and of a gentleman's 7s 6d, was carried. It was resolved to suggest- to the subcommittee (1) that the sale of tickets should cease a few days before the luncheon in order that proper arrangements might be made for seating everyone; and (2) that two men should be allowed to dispose of tickets. The question of establishing a guarantee fund was broached, and some discussion ensued. The Mayor (Mr. J, Duthie) said he was satisfied there would be no deficiency, but if there was he would be responsible for it, feeling satisfied that he would only have to go to half a dozen people to make it up." MAYOR'S SALARY. "It is to be regretted that Mr. Duthie refuses to accept any. salary as Mayor of the city, and we are at a loss to understand how he could, when elected, have been under the impression that the office was a purely honorary one. We thought every ratepayer knew that the council, most unwisely we think, reduced the salary to £100 for the present year. Such an amount is ridiculously inadequate, and we can well understand Mr. Duthie protesting against it, but the amount was not determined on with any reference to him, and he should, we hold, accept it, small as it is, as a matter of principle and precedent. Undoubtedly, the Mayor of a city like this should receive a salary, in some degree commensurate to the official expenditure entailed upon him. There are many, constant, and considerable claims on a Mayor's purse, and it is. by no means' desirable that the selection of a chief magistrate should be confined to those citizens whose private purse would enable them to meet those claims without drawing on the city funds. We have no great moneyed and leisured class who would deem the honour of the position recompense j for its cost."

RIVALS OF THE TIJRF. "The victory of Carbine in the Chan> f pion Stakes was only what was expected after his splendid performance in running Lochiel to half a length in the Australian Gup, at a difference of only one pound. It is evident that both Carbine and Lochiel are brilliant horses, both over long and short courses, and their deeds will add, to the reputation of this colony for producing first-class thoroughbred stock. The struggle for supremacy between the Chesters and the Muskets in Australia is being well maintained, and it is probable that no contest between the scions of these two distinguished; sires was watched with more interest than the race between Carbine and Abercorn." . ' ' .^- ~^