POLITICAL NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXII, Issue 90, 25 April 1898, Page 3

POLITICAL NOTES.

Wellington Correspondent,) THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. . The member for Masterton is possessed ' of the most resonant voice in the House. It would compare witb that of the Hon. Tom Fergus, only that the latter' 3 was : mellifluous. In the House tho voice* of * . Masterton iB like one of the lions in -'Bombastes Enrioso,"—" and the roar echoed along the shore. The utility man of • the Seddon Comedy Company is always on hand for a stonewall, and never absent when a Minister wants encouraging with "Hear, hears," at frequent intervals. I ■ Out of session be is tbe settler's friend, and the white - headed boy of the cooperative roadmakers. He now and then - breaks out in fits of independence to such ' an extent as to describe the administration of the Lands Department as " rascally." Bnt as soon as the session is on be comes obediently to heel again. Just recently the spirit has moved him to • another fit of denunciation of tbe powers that be. He has interviewed the Premier and made.bis ears tingle about the callou3 indifference of the Government to tba wants of tbe settlers who patriotically returned bim (the member for Masterton as their representative.) The talos he told bis cbief were such that the good Premier owned that the position of matters was the reverse of satisfactory, and he regretted that owing to delays whioh might have boen easily surmounted the settlers bad been unable to seoure the benefit ofthe votes on the estimates. This acknowledgment by tie head of the Government drew an assurance ft om the faithful M.H.R. that if the Premier cou d see his nay to release local works from tho terrible Juggernaut of the Publio Works Office that was spoiling and blocking everything, he would earn tho thanks of thousands of country people. Hero then we bave from the Premier and his right hand supporter tbe confession that the principal spending depart ment of State is completely outof gear, What ia wanted has, often been pointed out in the Opposition press, and Ministerial'Bupporters are now realising the fact that country* roada and bridges could be constructed more cheaply and expeditiously by local bodies thah from tbe Juggernaut in Wellington. Three years ago the Liberal Governmenttbought so too, for a fee of J8250 was paid to a Wellington solicitor to draft a Local Government Bill wbich would have endowed the people of. New Zealand witb the privilege of spending their taxes when and bow tbey chose. The Opposition has endeavoured to have this bill brought up for discussion, but it has never got past tbe first reading. The reason why is obvious. Take away the patronage conferred by the Publio Works Department and votos would vanish by tho thousand. The extravagant: tomfoolery now going on at Parliament House would be impossible if the administration of the Public Works Office were otherwise than defective. The pretent stage of the building of tbe modern Tower of Babel is ludicrous. The wages expeoted by the men amount to £260 a week, but the Workß Department figured it up to £140 only. The difference arose through work which had to be done twice over, or which was not up to the required standard, or something of tbe sort. Sucb a muddle conld not possibly have happened if a contractor had the work in hand ; but as every bricklayer is a voter, and consequently a political lover in tho eyes of the working man's Government, he is aslo in his owu mind master as well as man. Seeing that '- the walls are only half way up to tho first floor yet, and tbe building is to be a three story one, and the Farliament meets on June 23rd, and that there iB a Btrike more or less on and off ; also that it is intended to work three shifts, two of which will give an average of 16s a man a day, two things are very manifest— tbe building will not be nearly completed when the session opens, and there wili have boen 60 per cent more paid for labour than there was any necessity for. Seeing tbat the front entrance is destroyed, members will have to flnd their way in by devious • paths, or what is more probable, passages will be improvised with a calico roof which will' enable the Premier to record the faot in tbe Governor's Speech tbat in ■ the early days of his residence in tbo ■ colony he was nofc ashamed to live in a 7. tent.

hardly likely the experiment will bo r< peafced, and as for Mr Seddon's boast c 8 wing a quavter of a million to tbe pr< ducers, it oau be added to .the scores c other similar facts, c Wellington, April 22. 5 I i