POLITICAL GOSSIP.

Evening Star, Issue 14636, 4 August 1911, Page 4

POLITICAL GOSSIP.

[Faosi Our. Special ConMsroNDE>rr.J WELLINGTON, August 4. OLD AGE PENSIONS. The annual report presented to Parliament yesterday slates that the number of pension claims lodged since, the Act canw mto operation on January 1, 1899, is 42,721, and the number of pensions granted 32,453. The number of pensioners at present in receipt of tho full pension of £26 wa-s 13,936, or 87 per cent, of the total pensioners. During the year ended March 31 List £383,393 was paid in pensions, equal to a tost per head of 7s 7d of the European population. The total amount paid in pensions to Europeans and Maoris since the Art caruo into force was £3.150.404. Inquiries made by the head office during the yeaT showed that 114 of the applicants were short of tho pension age. UNAUTHORISED KXPEN DITURE. ! Included in the unauthorised oxpeudij ttire account are the following items :-- Purchase, freight, insurance, etc., of •• Hon. i Roddy " nugget to London. £4lB : payment j to Messrs Adanu; Bros., Dunedin. __ for ; services in drafting Licensing Bill. £"69: I donation to Bolton colliery disaster. £ooo ; I bonus to Captain Soddon as Ad jut-ant- ! General, M:tv 23 to December 20. 1910. £100; W. H. .Field, compensation Jor interest in land on Ka-piti Island, £272. THE PATI"XT LAWS. The Patents. Designs and Trade Marks Bill (Hon. J. A. Millar) consolidates and amends tho law, and introduces i< number jof provisions from recent English kti.v j lat'.on. A clause provides for the re;;i.s----i tration of designs used wholly or mainly I abroad. j JOTTINGS. j The object of the Land Act Arncndmt r.i '.Bill (Mr"hi. Newman) is to increase tho ; representation of Crown tenants on the j Land Boards from one member to tw„ members. | With it view to economy, Mr Huston has I given notice to move for the substitution of I quinquennial for triennial Parliaments. i The Tiie.mbev for Mat aura wants the ! Minister of Agriculture to take into coni sideration the advisability of establishing jari agricultural college in Southland. j Mr Wright is asking for an explanation j of the action of tho Railway Department in withdrawing the free railway passes hitherto granted to shooting teams com- i ( posed of volunteers or Territorials. !