POLITICAL POINTS

Evening Star, Issue 18101, 17 October 1922, Page 3

POLITICAL POINTS

'From Ocr Pahuamenxahy Ekpoh'ies.] WELLINGTON, October 16. CURE FOR DIABETES. The reported discovery of an almost certain curative serum for diabetes at the University of Toronto was referred to the Minister of Public Health this evening by. Mr Young, who stressed the importance of tbo news by stating that there were a lot of sufferers from this disease in the dominion with very little hope of recovery. The Hon. C. J. Parr replied that ho had communicated 1 with the Health Department, who informed him that it had no information with regard to the alleged cure, but inquiries wiuld be made. * * -it- * NOT RESPONSIBLE; RISKS OF THE ROAD. “We can’t impose penalties on _local bodies because of ruts in the road, replied the Minister of Internal Affairs when Dr Thacker, after drawing attention to the motor fatality at Eketahuna, requested that searching inquiries should be made into the local circumstances attending these accidents, which were almost an everyday occurrence. Dr Thacker suggested that inquiries should bo made to see if any responsibility was thrown on the local authorities. The Hon. Downie Stewart added 1 that ne did not think that there was any need for an amendment of the Act to impose penalties where accident was caused-, as specifically mentioned in this case, by a nit in the road. Previously the request of members had 'been to impose penalties for careless driving, but there was no suggestion of that in the present case. * * * * LIBRARY TRUSTEES; A MEMBER DISGRUNTLED. The Minister of Education was asked by Mr Witty to-night to amend the Libraries Act to niake provision for the compulsory retirement of trustees who were consistently absent from the district a-ndl who refused to resign. Ho had, he _ said, brought this matter under the Minister’s notice during the past two sessions. The Hon. Mr Parr declined to answer the question offhand, and invited the member to put it on the Order Paper. Mr Wittv, however, refused to let the matter drop at this, and later asked the Minister was it not a fact that he had brought it under his -notice before, and had obtained a reply that the Minister was looking 1 into it. If that were so, could ho not make a reply at once? There I was, he said, in a- certain district an officer who had been asked for the past two years to retire, and had refused. Mr Parr retorted that- the matter was one of importance, and he again invited Mr Witty to place it on the Order Paper. Mr Witty: I won’t do it. I have asked you three times before. Mr Parr: I can’t help it if you have asked it fifty times. * » * * RAILWAY LEGISLATION. A Government Railways Amendment Bill was introduced _in the House of Representatives last night. Most of the clauses are to give effect to the agreement made with the members of E.F.C.A. in connection with the {retrenchment proposals, hut one clause is of general interest. This provides that every person who makes any false statement in regard to any goods (whether in respect- to their nature, quantity, weight, measurement, value, or otherwise howsoever) delivered on the railway in any consignment note, waybill, or other document is to become liable to a fine not exceeding £SO. The Minister of Railways explained in answer to a question that the department was being “ got at” by some farmers, who were using the concession given them in the free carriage of lime for the benefit of agents in their districts. This clause will provide a penalty. Another clause wall make ineffective the protests of people who claim that. in the railway charges they have not secured the benefits of deviations which shorten mileage. The clause provides that where any scale of charges is fixed by reference to distance the distance between any two points shall, unless it is specially provided otherwise in the notice fixing the scale, bo deemed to be the distance as shown on the departmental record when the section of railway affected 1 was first opened for traffic, notwithstanding that such distances may have been increased or decreased by subsequent alterations of the railways. * * * * NEW ZEALAND WAR DEBT. The New Zealand war debt per head of population at the end of the last financial year was, according to a return tabled to-day, £62 15s 9j,d; the total debt was £81,6125,673, and the population [inclusive of Maoris) 1,300,967. * * * * THE PARLIAMENTARY BUILDINGS. The total cost of the Parliamentary Buildings up to August 31 last was £227,843, the contract for the buildings being £151,639. The cost of furnishing was £26,510. » * •» * PHOSPHATE PRICES: SOUTH ISLAND COMPLAINTS. The 1 difference between the landed price in New Zealand of Nauru Island phosphates and the price charged to the farmer at some of the South Island centres was again referred to _in the House tonight. This time the subject was introduced by Mr Forbes. He said that the Government was landing phosphates at Auckland at £2 10s, whereas the price asked from the farmers at South Island railway stations was £7 per ton. It therefore appeared to them in the South that the middlemen made a profit of £4 10s per ton, which was altogether too much. He asked whether farmers were going to get the benefit of the reduction recently made in the price of phosphates. It was clear that they were not reaping any benefit yet. The Minister of Agriculture (Hon. W. Nosworthy) stated that the first shipment of phosphates at the new price had only just come to hand;. The manufactured article would not yet be on the market. As to the prices before the reduction was made, Mr Forbes had apparently overlooked the cost of crushing and preparation, which was considerably over £4 per ton. However, if Mr Forbes would put his question on the Order Paper ho would be glad) to give a considered statement in reply-