POLITICAL GOSSIP

Evening Star, Issue 14229, 1 December 1909, Page 5

POLITICAL GOSSIP

[Fkom Ocr Parliamentary Espomeii.]' WELLINGTON, December 1. TIMBER COMMISSION. ' Th^ o to ,^, Cost , of Timber Commission was t,A,ini and the amounts received bv each member of the Commission were as follow:-J. F. Arnold £79 5s 6d, W. H £ sar5 ar T er v 4s lld - »• J- Clarke £2OB vnl i}\2 mcaa £B2 2s 3d - "• «• M £75 9s 6d, W. H. Hughes £62 5s 6d. J. A Hanan £76 0s 6d, W. T. Jennings £B2 i * 5 ; Le . vlan{ l £2OB 4s lid. F ManSH.| £Bs n 4B -Z- Mor ™ £2 20 12s Id, J. btallworthy £B2 lis. mm PLUMBEKK ' REGISTRATION. Ihe troubles from which plumbers suffer tnt ?» ' H i°"- , D ' - IJuddQ) fa y il deputation from the local union last evening. Their grievance .s that after passing an examination ot nnalifiaitions, and being registered m one place and paying the necessary fee, L„-Vr l ° t an ° ther P lace l 0 work'they have at least to pay another registration foe, and in some cases have to pass an examination which may not be held for some month,. J„ ono case it wag Btated that provision is made for the stranger plumber to pass a provisional examination pending the h„ldmg of the usual examination, but the benefit of that provision was somewhat discounted by the fact that the candidate had to pay a fee of £s—The Minister in replying, said it did not seem reasonable that a man should be required to pass two examinations Jl e had practically promised to introduce a Plumbers' Registration Bill, and he would carry out that promise as soon as the business of Par lament permitted. There was no doubt that the plumbers were suffering a certain measure of injustice, but at the -same lime he was not hopeful that they would be freed from the payment of fees in the various places in which thev worked. 1 lumbers, he went on to say, did not stand exactly m the same position as bricklayers and carpenters They worked independently, frequently doing work which was of an important nature without any super: vision and one could not help recognising that the local authority was justined in feeling sure that the man engaged in the work was a thoroughly qualified work man. In regard to examinations, once a plumber had satisfied the test in one of the larger towns, it seemed to him that no further examination ought to be required [„ arl y Bin brou * ht , down th would have to provide a standard and an examining authority, and he thought he could see Ins way to make a suggestion that would get over the difficulty in that connection.