IMPREST SUPPLY

Evening Star, Issue 18031, 27 July 1922, Page 2

IMPREST SUPPLY

GffIEVASCES VENTILATED. MAINLY CONCERNING RAILWAYS. The House of Representatives, at the : Prime Minister’s instance, went into Supply yesterday afternoon for the purpose of passing an Imprest Supply Bill for .£3.099,456.

I Mr Wilford, Liberal leader, said lie .thought the time had arrived when the House should he told whether the railways were still losing money; if so, how much, and if in. the loss the cost of imported coal 'had been taken into consideration. So far the allegations of -Mr Vcitch had not been convincingly replied- to. , He criticised’ the proposed Board of Advice. .It was always : supposed; that the heads of departments had been in consultation with the General Manager,, and it came as a. shock to the ! public when it found it was not so. He i wanted' to know why no one had been ' appointed to till the position of commercial agent, rendered vacant by the retirement of the previous holder of the office. Why, : also, was there no- inspecting engineer in connection with the railways’.' There was discontent' from one end of the country to the other with the management of the railways, and, everywhere motor traflic was being supported'by the public against the railways. The Board of Advice was simply an attempt by the politically impotent to stem the rising tide of discontent, ihe thing was farcical. He did not a i reflection on the capacity of Hie Railway ! Pcrvico, but he did not’believe that the .policy of the department was laid down by the Minister with sufficient clarity to ; enable them to know the road on which they were {ravelling. The Minister of Lands, Hie Hon. i). 11. Guthrie, said the loss on the railways was ■about £3,C00 per day. It was not due to the expensive running of the railways, but to the serious drop in business offering. This drop, he hoped, however, would soon disappear, and the railways would 1 again ■ begin' to pay. Every, effort was. being made to catch up the leeway_ in connection with the maintenance ot the lines, which, lie admitted, had suffered somewhat through inability to get material during the year. So far as the Board of Advice was I concerned, it was being appointed simply i because Mr M'Villy could not carry on the whole of the administration without killing himself. Further, such sharing of responsibility would' enable the General Manager to get into touch with the public, which was most advantageous (o the busii ness of tho department. Ho contended that I they had inspectors enough without an 1 inspecting engineer, for there was one in I each department. So far as motor competition was concerned, the leader of the Opposition would aaou find that most I drastic measures were being taken with, tins ' trouble. The policy of the department was always firmly and clearly laid l down as 1 necessity arose, for doing so. Mr Forbes criticised the working of tho railways, which he declared was completely out of touch with the country i settlers. Air Holland dealt with the lade ni accommodation for shearers, particularly in I the Gisborne district, where it was find I Hurt there were only four sheds winch would come within the requirements of the Shearers' Accommodation Act. Dr Newman said that while proper accommodation fur shearers anti other workers was) necessary, he hoped the Government would not insist on large expenditure in this direction if it could be avoided, because sheep farmers were never in such a precarious position since tho foundation of tho dominion. He foresaw that if local bodies were allowed to mop up money for hydro-electric' schemes, then when Hie moratorium expired the farmers were going to have the greatest difficulty in finding money to renew mortgages, and this was the cause of the greatest anxiety amongst settler.-;. . . . Mr Lysnar (Gisborne) denied the truth of tho allegation that there was a. lack of proper accommodation for shearers in ihe Gisborne district. There was not a scintilla,, of truth in that statement, there was no better accommodation anywhere 1 than in the Gisborne and Bay of Plenty ! districts. ... ■ The Horn .1. A. Hawaii criticised administration of the. Public Service Com-mis.-iioner. There were different measures of punishments meted out under Commissioner control. There was a, feeling that no one employed l outside Wellington had a chance of promotion. There was waste in the management of Stale enterprises, because there was no proper control. It was anomalous that the Commissioner should retire public servants on account of ago. when ha liimseH was past the retiring age. Another man had been made Assistant Commissioner who had ■ escaped coiiig to the war. Public Service control /'liould he restored- to .Ministers and to parliament. Tho Prime Minister’reminded) the House Hint in 1912’ Sir Joseph Ward suggested a Board of Advice for the railways such as the Government now proposed to set uii), and he (Mr Massey) quite agreed with the suggestion. New Zealand was not tho I only country ’where the railways were working'.at a. loss. Every other country was in the same position, only worse. The Bill was put through the committee stage without amendment, read a third time, and passed.