PARLIAMENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, 18 December 1909, Page 2

PARLIAMENT.

[United Pbess Association.]

YESTERDAY'S DAY SITTING.

THE OCEAN MAIL SERVICES.

> WELLINGTON, Friday. In the House to-day, in committee of supply, when, considering, the ocean mail services, Mr Glover moved to reduce the item £3500,- the cost of the Island service from Wellington to'Raratonga. by £1000, as an indication that it was desirable to discontinue this service, owing to its excessive cost. He-' said that a service could be maintained from Auckland at a cost of £1250, as against £7000, th e cost of the WeUington-rTahiti .-service.. - - . V

Mr Herdman asked if it was a fact ; that ther© was no Union Company's ■• steamer ready to convey mails from Adelaide direct to New Zealand If 'so, this should be, remedied. In regard to the - port of call for the mail service, -this ' must be regarded from a national, and not a local point of view. " Mr Massey expressed doubts as to the possibility of a subsidy on the San Francisco servic© being renewed. Ho -'• quite agreed with the Premier's angges-" tion. that the Dominion ' should arrange for a direct service via Suez. The mail services oughtto he. brought pp~to vdate and rendered more satisfactory than they had- been .for some time past. V ...,..'.. Sir 'Joseph Ward, in replying to Mr* .Herdmah,;6aid that it would be impossible to alt^r. th e running of the mail. . boats from, Australia, as to do so would mean ap outlay, of £15,000 a year. Fot £8000 a'year it would be possible to hava • a combined service connecting with Wel. ■ Hngton ; and Auckland from Fiji, Auckland would., get the benefit of the- Vancouver way.7 lii this wiy a better service would be obtained by degrees.; The Government proposals were" sound and businesslike. He believed ia an All-Red service, hut considered that there should be an alternate "service.- He had formerly ' arranged for "the, Vancouver- service 'to call at Wellington, but this had been opposed by Wellington merchants, with the result that the benefits of the service had been lost, y- y .. y . ■ Considerable discussion followed, chiefly centred ro,und the statement of Sir Jo-, seph Ward. that in 1895 he had as -Post-master-General proposed an agreement : for' .the Vancouver steamers calling at Wellington, but that this proposal was . defeated owing to Wellington mercantile opposition, and the service had been availed of by.QueenslandV ..." ; ; ' : "' ; -..Mr Taylor Tead correspondence bearing, out the statements of the Premiers to whom he paid a tribute! for his good work as Postmaster-General. : Had the proposals in connection with the 'Vancouver boats been carried out, said Mr Taylor ,our mail service to-day would^have been a Canadian one, and the All-Red route would have been giveh effect to. Mr Taylor added that the .Union Com- ..' pany.was becoming a taxing machine on - the Dominion, and he hoped thatits ino-. " nopoly would be larjgely reduced in 'the, near future, by State enterprise, 'espeV. cially .by. completing the Tailway^ syiten^ with -a State ferry between "'Wellmeton • and Eyttelton. yV • - 6 .-*'. A motion by Mr GloVer to reduce the Post and Mail Services, £67,000, bv £1 was defeated by 48 to 9, and the House" rose. .-,/".'.-.•''. ..-•*..■. „ AfterVinfidnight, th e Pnblic" Health. Jistimatesygaye' ri«e to/a discussion, theitem -questioned being .£750 consultingmedical .officer in7London. Mr. Mai.eolm, moved to rednc*. 'the! vote bv £X as indicating dissa'i'-fac.ion with"- -the- V appointment of Dr. Mason, but th.s waaj defeated by 29 to 17