How the Money Goes.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8068, 19 August 1905, Page 5

How the Money Goes.

The Mapourikji Trin,

a " Cfsrfca&ly not," was'the answer given by the-Hon, C, H. Mills to Mr Moss, v/ho wanted to- know if the Minister would refvnd* any portion of the £76 he receivedWtrayelling allowance on the Mapourikaj trip-to the Islands. The amount, said the Minister, was paid out of the special vote; taken to cover the expenses of the tripy and it was. ridiculous to say that no-personal expenses were incurred by himon- that trip. Also he sail that his charge sank' into insignificance when compared! with,what Ministers had"charged years before the present Government came into office.

" There is something more in this than a mere rapnetary.niatter," saict Mr Moss in speaking on thesubjecfc. - r The question was, what control had the House over the expenditure of the country's money ? and he went on to point out that the vote for the Mapourika trip was passed in the dying hours of the session in one lump sum, and that it was only quite recently that details were available- The Minister, he continued, had all his expenses paid by the country, everything was found, his salary was paid as usual, and yet he charged travelling allowance at 30s a day for fifty days, including the day he left Wellington in the morning and the day he returned at 7 a.m. Mr Moss also repeated his previous argument that the charge was hot wholly legal, as during a large portion of the trip the vessel was outside the limits of the colony. If, he asked, the Minister could pass through an illegal payment without the House knowing anything about it, what was the use of an Audit Department 2

- The Hon. C. H. Mills, who was evidently somewhat incensed, entered into a long explanation of how the trip had been.brought about;; " Never mind about that," interjected Mr Taylor ; "what about the £75.?" The Minister (heartily): I have got the floor. .

" And the £75," was the retort of Mr Hawkins.

The Minister, after the House had done laughing, went on to speak of the interest which the late Governor, Lord Eanfurly, took in the trip.. : " The Governor has no right to interfere in our politics," was Mr Taylor's comment. .

Mr Mills went on to remark that the trip was a " special official" trip, and he contended,that all the details of tile cost would have been given if members had only troubled to ask for them. He also quoted the large travelling allowances paid to such ex-Ministers as Sir Win. Fitzherbert," Dr Featkerston, Sir Dillon Bell, and others many years ago on their trips to Australia and England, and wanted to know why members had not unearthed those details.

" We were not here then," remarked Mr Hawkins, and again the House laughed.

The- Leader of the Opposition also commented on the fact that a Minister travelling on a Government steamer in his capacity as Minister took advantage of his position to the extent of charging 30s. a. day travelling allowance. That charge was, he declared, illegal, and would never have been passed by the Auditor-General but for the Public Revenue Act. Mr Massey proceeded to read the details of the cost of the trip, which totalled £4565. There was, ke.said, albums £150—(A voice l Where are they ?)—boatmen £5 2s, camera case, etc. £2, flags £4 2s 6d, grapkophone £19 2s 3d—(Mr Taylor : Where is it now ?) —gratuities £43 2s 4d, hire o£ piano £7 10s, labour £2 4s, medicine £10 2s 3d (he believed there was a medical man on board), outfit allowances— *—private secretaries £20, musical conductor £10, photographer £6, messen.ger £6, picture.frames £9, fugs, etc., £6 18s 6d, provisions £15 9s, salary musical conductor £22 10s, services of Mapourika £4005, shorthand and typing £10 16s, sundries £12 16s 3d, travelling allowances—flon. C. H. Mills £75, private secretaries £53 10s, photographer £18 10s, messenger £18 10s, travelling expenses £31175. The items, said Mr Massey, showed a scandalous waste of public money. " There is a general impression that the money was paid illegally," said Mr Herdnian, and he added that the delay in furnishing the details was an excellent illustration of the policy of the Government in concealing the details of public expenditure. Mr ( Taylor referred to the Hon. Mr Mills's " childish apology" for an action " which ke knows perfectly well 99 people out of every 100 in New Zealand will condemn." There had, he continued, been a stretching of the law, an undue exhibition of Ministerial greed in getting hold of these travelling allowances. This matter was going to be criticised in every electorate of the colony before the general election. The final word on the subject was spoken by the Premier. The £75, he said, should never have been charged to the cost of the Mapourika trip. It should have been charged to the ordinary vote for Ministers' travelling allowances. The divergence to Tahiti and Samoa did not affect the legality, of the payment. In the past Ministers had taken long voyages, and their allowances were paid, although they, did not go to any part of New Zealand.

Mr Taylor : You are defending your own actions.

The Premier went ,pn to say that an expense was entailed on Mr Mills, and he was entitled to be paid by the colony.