LOAVES AND FISHES.

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 July 1907, Page 4

LOAVES AND FISHES.

ANOTHER PROTEST FROM THE PREMIER.

THE DEMAND FOR PUBLIC MONEY

(Our Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, This Day. A custom has arisen recently of petitioning Parliament in connection with various works, upon which the Government is not willing to spend public money. In the House this afternoon the Premier protested against such endeavours to bring undue pressure on Ministers, The Govern' ment cannot cary out more than n certain number of works every year, be said When a refusal lifts bran given ih regard to a partiisulap work bernnsa the money ie unit Htvulmmcj it peidtnu to (tm Hihibb, rolit ft ?QP»,©w«wm{on Rom q po.ip

niittce. will not do any good. The whom tendency is to press matters on the Government in a manner that is not fair or reasonable. Ministers should not ho ;e----qnired to stand up day after day- and icsist from all sides of the House applications for extraordinary expenditure en tiroly beyond the capacity of the country., and members should recognise that only a reasonable amount of work can he <'o>ic in any one year. The colony could ~-.l meet anythh ; like the number of applications that are marie for public works. We have as many railways on hand at present as tho Government can undertake, and wo arc not going to put any new railways upon the estimates this session. Everyone of these new works means reducing the expenditure on tho lines at present in hand. We have seventeen or eighteen lines in hand, and there is a cry for early completion in connection with every one of them, yet from all sides of the House there come demands for new rail wavs. The perm'e who are making these demands are blocking the completion of existing railways. The Government is prepared to consider every reasonable plication, but this system of bringing pressure on the Ministers and creating wrong impressions should cease. Members of this House should join with the Government in stopping the demand for public works that the colony simply cannot afford to prosecute at the present time,

Some members of the Opposition pro reeded at once to accuse Sir Joseph Ward of attempting to deprive the public of its inalienable right to petition Parliament, but the discussion indicated that many members recognise the evil of tho present system.