The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1907. THE LOAVES AND FISHES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2140, 24 July 1907, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1907. THE LOAVES AND FISHES.

At last mooting of the Cook County I Ceil noil a member expressed the hope I that tli© Government would place on I the Estimates the comparatively modesc requirements which had been put I forward by the representaitye of this I district. To those unfamiliar with | Parliamentary methods, the reply of I the chairman, the Hon. Captain Tucker. should be illuminating. The I Captain said he would not take the I responsibility of guaranteeing that. If a member was too persistent he | might be dubbed an “infernal nui- I sauce,” and get very little. This is I precisely the position. Under' our | present system of allocating money for public works it is simply a scramble amongst the members for the loaves and fishes, and the member who is able to exercise the most influence with the Ministry meets with the greatest success. It matters not j how legitimate the claims of settlers in the baekblocks may be; unless they are backed up by political representations which appeal to the , Cabinet they are likely to receive scant consideration. Under the cir- | cumstances there are many very ne- 1 cessary works refused a on the Estimates whilst others, possibly necessary, but not nearly so urgent, are admitted and subsequently receive Parliamentary sanction. Once on the Estimates there is very little chance of members successfully challenging an item that the Government has decided to support. In the first place the works are usually of so essentially local a nature that as a rule only the member for the district I concerned has any knowledge thereof. Members take their seats in the House and see page after page of uninteresting items representing expenI diture of amounts from £5 to £SOOO and knowing nothing of the I merits of the case they pass the lot blindfolded. Particularly is this the case with regard to the SupplemcntI arv Estimates which are brought down at the close of the session frefquentlv at an all-night sitting when I members are wearied out, anxious to get to their homes, and in uo mood I to investigate a set of uninteresting figures. Even should an item be challenged, the Minister usually has I litth: difficulty in utilising the GoI veinment majority to rush it through. Thus it is that, as Captain I Tucker has discovered, a district can I only receive even a share of its legiI tin.ate requirements by the exercise I of the greatest diplomacy on the part of its Parliamentary representative. Why, as lie further states, a Legislati.’i Councillor as distinct from a j member of the House of Representatives should bo debarred from advocating the claims of a district, it is I hard to understand. It may he by reason of the fact that he has not^a I vote in the House of Representatives I which can stand as a quid pro quo I for services rendered nor a seat to be won or lost at the next general election The position as stated above I is not an indictment against the preI sent Government, which in this matI ter is simply acting as its predecessors have done, hut it represents a serious I fault in our public works policy. It I is manifestly absurd that the oxpenI dilure of large sums of money should I he sanctioned by members who have I absolutely no knowledge of the merits or demerits of the proposed works. I Too proper remedy lies in the extonI siou of the powers of local bodies, which should he entrusted with the I authorisation and construction of all purely local works, leaving ParliaI ment to deal with matters of colonial importance. This is a very large question—one of the most important that can engage the thought of our public men —yet it receives comparatively little attention. Every year a local government hill endeavoring to cope with tlio evils of the present system is promised in the Governor’s message, and every year the Government of the day shelves the question. Some day a set of legislators will arise who will find time to place this matter on a sound and proper basis, but in the meantime we must rest content with a system which is utterly unsatisfactory, and tends more than anything else to the corruption and narrowing of our public men.

Mails despatched from Wellington, via Naples, on June 14th, arrived in London on the afternoon of the 22nd inst. The Neiv Zealand police force was reinforced by 78 men last year. Of these 52 were New Zealand born, 8 Australians, 7 Irish, G English and 5 Scotch. Their respective religions were given as follows: Homan Catholics 32, Church of England 22, Presbyterian 19, Wesleyan 2, Methodist 2, Church of Christ 1.

Letters for the' following persons from places beyond the colony lie unclaimed at the local post office:—H. Baker, Queensland; Dr. and Mrs Bannerman, G. Donaldson, T. McEall, G. Moore, J. Murphy, United Kingdom; M. Mort, Tasmania ; Miss K Stewar.t, J. Tayior, New South Wales.

At tho Police Court yesterday merning, John Thomas King did not appear in answer to a charge of procuring liquor whilst under a prohibition order, and the Magistrate, Mr. Barton, issued a warrant for liis arrest. George Mnrkie was charged with procuring liquor for tho said Thomas King, and was lined Lo and cost-. 7s, or in default 80 flays’ imprisonment. His Worship allowed 7 days in which to pay the fine. Mr. T. A. Coleman appeared for the accused.

The secretary of tho Wharf Laborers Union (Mr. G. E. Diirton) wrote to tho Harbor Board yesterday, asking. that a shelter shed he provided for the use of tho men working at the wharf. At' present they made use of the waiting room. Mr. Lysnar considered the request a reasonable one, adding that the cost of providing suitable accommodation should not be excess-.ive. On his motion it was decided to obtain a report on the matter.

An English mail via. Vancouver will arrive to-day by the Mokoia. The Motu mail is delayed between Waihuka and Poututu owing to slips on the road. The Waimata mails were received in Gisborne last night.

The Post Office reports that a telephone bureau opened on the premises of Mr. J.' T. Cassidy at To Kara ka, separate from the telegraph office. Tho hours of attendance are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. To get the bureau two rings will be necessary.

The Harbormaster (Captain Cumming) reported to the Board yesterday that there had been several freshes during the month, and each time big lots of silt had come down and settled in the channel and along the wharves. Soundings taken that day with tJie new tidp gauge at zero are «. follows? End of breakwater 13ft Gin, ih:rcl to eighth Lollard from end t ft, Snanv- landing 7ft- Gin,'big crane Bft, Waikanae 7ft 6in, new wharf sft to oft, along town wharf 6ft to 7ft, along Ivam, wharf 4ft to Bft. Shipping since' last meeting:—Arrivals: Steamers 32, departures 32; sailing ships, 14 arrivals and 13 departures. Tonnages collected esttra days at rvhari »*/, 7s Id. : _____ ; |

A smoker at Fielding found within a tin of tobacco ho had purchased.i 1 coupon entitling him to Llo Uoin t o Tobacco Company, whoso biand ho 1 was using. I The diseases that caused the most deaths in the tour citios of tlio col I onv last month, were pneumonia (which accounted for 2.J), cancel (18), and consjtmption (to). I A letter has been received from London by the manager of a well- I k own cheese factory m Taranaki, I Know n cji tlio recovery T* long-lot scrubbing-brush. It was founcf embedded in the substance I I of a prime Cheddar. The death is reported for Dunedin lof Mr H. B. Smith, of the firm of sbjs wtnssr.-v {lT 'the'firffi?S in'London after an I operation a cduplo ot weeks ago.

A re-union took placo in the class I room at St. Andrews Chinch last evening when the members ot tho 'wr piayod, 1 " if younf if p| Mrs Lewis contributed a iof.r ml Mr Tattorsfield a humor- | g ,., citation in tho Yorkshire diaoim iccita je supper, which was prodded by the men. was thoroughly •el,i Kv nil At tho close of the* enjoyed • Adair announced tZT if was the intention of the to join forces and start a I tennis club, which anyone connected with the church could join. A court could be made in the church grounds, anil ill would bo open to members at any time. The gent emen were accorded » hearty vote of thanks by the ladies for tho enjoyable ei en--1 ing ‘

Stroll" efforts are being made by tho Wellington Acclimatisation bocietv to extend tho domicile or the red deer in New Zealand (says the “Post”). At present there arelieids in tho Wellington distinct, at Stewart Island, and in the Urewora Country round Lake Wnikaremoana In order to start herds in other districts it has hitherto been necessary tor a ranger and a party of men to go out into tho wilderness and capture tho young deer. These are weaned off, and transferred wherever needed. Now', however, it is proposed to start a breeding park on tho game farm at. Parparannui. Fifteen acres have been enclosed, and four calves (three hinds and one stag) have been placed there, together with a wold hind with calf at foot, which lias joined the nucleus of the herd. From this source it is hoped that herds may ho started in other parts of the country.

Mr. Matthewson submitted to the Harbor Board yesterday a very comprehensive and carefully compiled financial statement dealing with the outer harbor scheme. The ( figures were very favorablo to the project. Mr Matthewson pointed out that if the Bill passed the work could not very well be commenced before the end of 1908, and it would take live years to complete. His statement detailed the revenue that could reasonably be expected year by year, and th 3 expenditure, including interest on old loan. Providing for all contingencies, interest on old and new loan his figures summarised the Bi ai d’s position thus : —Revenue to e.ul of 1915, £247,000; expenditure, £218,250; surplus, £29,250. It was picbable, he said, that during the last two or three years extra expenditure would bo required for running trams to town, ' and the surplus would provide for this. Tho statement based the rent for the Tauwhareparae leases at 2s 31 d per acre but considering that 28,000 of the 44,000 acres was improved land, he held that the actual receipts would bo much greater than set down. As the hour w r as late the Board did not go into tho figures, hut laid them on tho table for reference.