PARLIAMENT

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 211, 20 August 1927, Page 8

PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. Wellington, Aug. 19. The House ot .Representatives went into Committee of Supply this afternoon to consider the first item on the estimates of £79,993 for the Legislature Department. Mr. A. 1/ee (Auckland East) attacked the Government for lending £15,000 to the Broadcasting Com pany. He hoped that this would not mean that special privileges for broadcasting would be given to the Reform party which were denied to other political parties. Mr. W. A. Veitch (Wanganui) said the alarming features about this grant was that all might not have been discovered: there might be other transactions. The Hon. W. Nosworthy: This is a nasty insinuation. Mr. Veitch said that it was the only logical conclusion he could come to in view of the Minister’s silence on the subject. (The Minister’s explanation and further criticism is reported in another column). When the House resumed at 7.30 p.m., the discussion on the estimates was continued bv Mr. W. S. Glenn (Rangitikei). who advocated more mobile self-contained trains in order more efficiently to compete with motor traffic. Mr. M. J Savage (Auckland West) asked the Government to make a declaration of its policy on the question of wireless censorship. Was the wireless system of broadcasting to be as open to one political party as to another party? He urged that broadcasting should be made a State monopoly. Mr R. McKeen South) complained that the “Radio Record.’’ issued by the Broadcasting Company, was using its coliimns to promote political propaganda in the interests of the Government that had been very good to them, VOTE FOR CHIEF LIBRARIAN. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central) drew attention to the vote tor the chief librarian lor the General Assembly Library. He said the position was advertised at £5OO, but the gentleman whom ike Government wanted to appoint, au editor of a Reform paper, demanded a salary of £750, and said he would not come ur less, The vote on last year s estimates showed the salary at £5OO, but now they saw that gentleman was co get £2OO as controller of the Dominion archives and £5O, as director of the lurnbuli Library exactly the £750 he had demanded, which was io say the least, a back door method of giving one applicant trie salary .ie insisted on getting. The Hon. I). -Nosworthy said tne present occupant of the position was appointed at £5OO per year. The decision to set up the Archives De partment was made subsequently and it had nothing to do with the original appointment. Mr H, T. Armstrong (Christchurch East) said it w'as quite clear that the qualifications of the other applicants were higher. This man had to be appointed because he was the right colour, and it was quite evident that the appointee knew before his appointment that he was going to receive £750. which, to say tbe least, was not cricket. Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Avon) said it was becoming a general impression that advertisements tor public positions were merely so much camouflage. and the case of the librarian seemed to be a case i<. punu. ill's instance was so serious tliat. as the Minister in charge of the. department admitted, he knew nothing about it, Iw thought the House was entitled to a statement of the subject from the Prime Minister. The Hon. W. Nosworthy reiterated his denial that he knew anything of the creation of the office of controller of the archives when the present librarian was appointed. So far as he was aware the appointment was for £5OO per year. The Cabinet made the additional appointment, and any statement to the contrary was not in accordance with fact.

Mr. I’. Fraser (Wellington Central) declared that there had been a lack of candour about this appointment. It was quite clear that Dr. Scholefield was to be appointed to the position irrespective of the superior librarian claims of other applicants, because tie had been a friend of the Reform leaders and party. The House resumed at 10 o’clock after the supper adjournment, and within a few minutes the first item on the estimates was agreed to.