POLITICAL NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 583, 9 July 1913, Page 7

POLITICAL NOTES.

NATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. At the first meeting of the newlyapoointed Native Affairs Committee, Mr J. A. Young was re-elected chairman on the motion of the Minister for Native Affairs, seconded by Mr W. D. S. Macdonald. Both mover and seconder spoke very highly of the manner in which Mr Young discharged the duties of chairman last year. Sir Jas. Carroll, owing to his illness, was unable to be present. Mr C. A. Wilkinson is a new member of the committee.

The committee has already 59 petitions before it, including 36 which were held over from last year. LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM. A matter which is engaging the serious attention of members of Parliament, particularly country members, at the present time is that of local government reform. The general opinion sems to be that the Bill cuntaining the first instalment of the Government's policy in this department will apply only to rural district?. It is expected to provide for the abolition of the Echeme of Parliamentary grants and the substitution therefor of a system under which local bodies will be classified and assisted in lump sum grants in proportion to the amount of development work they have to do. Another related question which is also engaging considerable attention is that of the system of employing labour in carrying out public works. The Government members, at any rate, seem to be agreed that the co-opera-tive system badly needs revising. Some country members state that they would be satisfied with a piece-work system, under which men and gangs of men would always know how much they were earning, and would be free to make as much as they could out of the rates agreed upon. The need for systematic inspection of work of this kind is also emphasised and much criticism of the co-opera-tive system seems to be directed rathtr at faulty administration in the past than at the system itself. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMIS-

SIONER'S LABOUR. Classification of the Civil Service is admittedly a big problem, but the Public Service Commissioners have tackled it in a spirit indicating a desire to make their work complete. The list will appear at the end of this month. Its preparation has entailed an enormous amount of investigation of Civil Servants' duties, responsibilities and pay. "Hansard" reporters and other shorthand writeis have been busy for months assisting the Commissioners in the work. Every interview with departmental on the cla*sifieati )n question ha<* been reported verbatim, and hundreds of other interviews with men in subordinate positions have also been recorded. It is safe to say that the Commissioners have accumulated a pile of evidence regarding Civil Service conditions never previously equalled in the Dominion. Their first report to Parliament is, it is said, going to be voluminous and highly informative.