THE PREMIER AT FOXTON.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 62, 14 March 1906, Page 2

THE PREMIER AT FOXTON.

SPEECH ON THE COLONY'S

AFFAIRS

THE SUPPLY OF NURSES

[PBESS ASSOCIATION.]

FOXTON, March 14. Mr Seddon attended a banquet to Mr John Stevens, member for Manawatu, last night. In the course of his speech, the Premier said that the debt of the Colony had increased by £35,000,000. He would allow that, but the public wealth had increased by £70,000,000. New Zealand was now per capita the wealthiest country in the world. The wealth was £305 per head, man, woman and child, while in the Mother Country it was only £300. The wealth of the Colony was put down at three hundred millions, and the Government railways, which had cost sixteen millions, would realise, if placed on the market to-morrow, more than half the national debt. The postal and telegraph services, gauged on the market value, were worth the whole of the i national debt. For the five millions lent under the Advances to Settlers Act the State had securities valued at nine millions.

Dealing with infant mortality, the Premier said the Government would not stop until they had put trained nurses within the reach ot every soul in New Zealand. There ought to be a thousand more nurses, and that would mean a thousand positions for deserving women; and the Government was going to dp it. He had already asked the hospitals how many probationers they could take in addition to their present number. He would consider the Colony was justified, if necessary, in advancing moneys to the hospitals to build nursing homes, so that a doctor "finding nurses were wanted anywhere could send a message to the home and get one. Every adult in the country was calculated to be worth between two and three hundred pounds. / Touching on the flax grading, Mr Seddon said those who in the past had injured and almost exterminated the business should be compelled to give a reasonable product. In fact, he, would go so far as to say that, in the interests of the industry, the Colony should prohibit the export of flax unless it was pf a given grade. It might be a drastic remedy, but a. necessary one.

Referring to education, Mr Seddon said that during the three years from December, 1902, to December, 1905, the number of public schools had increased from 1708 to 1857, or by 149; the average attendance from 112,232 to 117,831, or by 5599; the number of adult teachers from 2957 to 3136,.0r 178. The number of pupil teachers had decreased from 747 to 678. This latter satisfactory result had been brought about by the operation of the scale of staffs first- enacted in 1902. Under the scale provided by the Tekchers' Salaries Act, the amount paid this year be £491,506, an increase over 1902 of £72,941. In addition, the Teachers Superannuation Act would enable deserving teachers to retire at a salary of not less than a pound a week. 'During 1905 the sum of £1407 had been gaid as subsidies on voluntary contributions for secondary and district .highschools. District high schools had increased from 38 to 58. The National Scholarships were for children of parents whose income was not over £250 a year. There were now 84 current, as well as 33 Queen's, scholarships (so there were nearly 120 places open for boys and girls no matter what* ; the position of their parehts)! The number of school'*'cadets in 1905 was:;l4j--115, as against 4851 in 1902. ' Discussing the question of* the appointment of teachers, Mr Seddon said there was a conflict between the Boards and the committees, and he was not sure that in some instances there had not been technical breaches of the recent Act. The law said that when .there was a large number of applicants for a teacher's position, the Board' should send six in their respective order to the committee. If there was not a large number fbur should be sent. The Boards now said it was not compulsory to do this. He had nd hesitation in stating that he would refuse to pay the salaries of teachers who had been improperly appointed, and the Government would stand by the Committees and carry: out the law. as intended by Parliament.