PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12931, 29 July 1905, Page 6

PARLIAMENT.

[by TELEGRAPH! association.] LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Friday. The Council met at half-past two p.m. BILLS PASSED. The Egmont National Park Bill and the Jubilee Institute for the Blind (Auckland) Bill were read a third time and passed. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills from the other House were read a second time without debate: — Mutual Fire Insurance Bill (Mr. Camcross), Motor Registration Bill (Mr. Wigram), Public Works Act Amendment Bill (Mr. Fold wick). ADJOURNMENT. It was ordered that the Council, on its rising, adjourn until August 15, the At-torney-General explaining that the Financial debate in the House would occupy some time. The Council at ten minutes to three p.m. adjourned until nine p.m. for an Imprest Supply Bill. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Friday. . The House met at half-past two p.m. LOCAL BILLS. The following local Bills were read a first time: —Hokitika Harbour . (Mr. Scddon), Wellington Hospital Contributors, and Society for Relief of the Aged Needy (Mr. Aitken). TEACHERS' SUPERANNUATION. ( Mr. SEDDON moved that the' Teachers' Superannuation Bill be referred to the Education Committee, as several persons connected with the Educational Institute were at present in Wellington, and desired to give evidence on the Bill. Mr. MASSEY wanted to know what had caused .this change; of-front on .part of the Premier. Was it because the teachers were dissatisfied with the Government proposals, and were beginning to see that so far its the old'teachers were concerned the scheme was practically of no value? Mr. SIDEY said the Premier had determined to send the Bill to the Education Committte before ho met the deputation of teachers yesterday afternoon. Mr. Jas, ALLEN twitted the Premier with sheltering himself behind the Education Committee, tow that lie saw his scheme was not ■ generous enough to the old teachers. Mr. TAYLOR thought the Premier was to be commended for having decided to send the Bill to the Education Committee. A Bill of this kind should certainly be thrashed out by that committee. Mr. SEDDON said he had good reasons for not sending the Bill to the committee immediately after the second reading. 'He was not actuated by the telegrams he had received, but by the wishes of members. He had only one desire, to give the teachers a scheme which would be safe, and to which they would bo able to subscribe. The reduction of the age of retirement of femaleteachers broke down the South' Australian scheme, and evidence on that point would be given before the committee. Further, to increase the amount of pension would necessitate an .increase of -the capital account by £233,000. The fixing of the minimum of £52 a year was done in the interests of the female teachers, whose. salaries were low, and who might otherwise be reduced to a pension of in some ca'ses £10 a year. The teachers did not understand that the proposal was for the colony to make a contribution to the funds of £26,000 a year, while tlio contributions of the teachers themselves only totalled £30,000. Mr. Seddon's motion was agreed to on the voices.

On the motion of Mr. Baume permission was given to the Education Committee to sit in the afternoon during the sitting of the House, ill order to take evidence on the Teachers' Superannuation' Bill from witnesses who. were in attendance from distant parts of the colony.

IMPREST SUPPLY BILL. Aii -Imprest Supply Bill was brought down and made an order, of the day for halfpast seven p.m. ' ' - ji ~

. FIRST READINGS. < ; The Egmont National Park Bill and the Jubilee Institute for the Blind Bill were received from the Legislative Council and read a first time.

FINANCIAL DEBATE.

Mr. Seddon announced that after - consultation with the Leader of the Opposition it had been agreed to postpone the commencement of the Financial debate until Tuesday evening. SHIPPING AND SEAMEN ■ BILL. The i Shipping and Seamen Bill passed through committee with verbal amendments. ' COAL MINES BILL. The Coal Mines Act Amendment Bill was read a second time pro forma, and referred to the Mines and Goldficlds Committee. FIRE BRIGADES BILL. ,- The adjourned debate on the motion for .the second reading of the Fire Brigades Bill was resumed, and several members having spoken the second reading was carried by 37 votes to 18. » The House rose at half-past five p.m. IMPREST SUPPLY BILL. The House ' resumed at half-past seven p.m., and entered upon the consideration of the Imprest Supply' Bill. _ Mr. MASSEY, referring to the travelling _ expenses of .Ministers,, said they had received during the year ending March 31, 1904, £1158 for travelling allowances, and £1305 for expenses'. That was equal to 772 days' absence from Wellington at 30s a day and £3 3s lOd for expenses, but did not include the £75 drawn by the Minister who went,on the Mapourika trip, nor the cost of' the special trains and telegrams and expenses of secretaries. On the whole he believed that every day a Minister was away : from -Wellington cost about £10. As to the. Land Commission, lie estimated that it had cost about £100 a day. He complained also that information was continually being refused to' members, and said the House was just about tired of that sort of thing. ' "7

Mr. McGOWAN defended the action of Ministers -in travelling all' over the colony. The public wanted to see Ministers, and he was satisfied that it was one of the best things that«could happen-to the country, that Ministers' had personally seen for themselves the requirements of the various districts.' The Government itself did not yet know the cost of the Land Commission. He complained that the Opposition had endeavoured, to prevent useful work being done under the guise of criticism. Mr. FISHER said he was going bo mate several specific charges against the Government, and. asked the Government if it would set up a committee of inquiry into those charges. If. the charges were wrong, the Government had nothing to fear from instituting the inquiry asked for. lie wait on. to complain of political patroivje in making appointments to the Civil Service, and asserted that absolute fraud, was being, practised in some cases. He dealt at some length with what he characterised lis the misuse of the Telegraph Department ly Ministers and their families, by what is known as the "memo." system, and declared that me telegraph regulations had been so cunningly devised that no record was kept of these, things. He challenged the Government to set up a Committee of Inquiry into these charges. Mr. JONES referred to the time when Mr. Fisher was in the Lands' Department, and pointed out that, according to his own contention, he had no right to be there. The Minister replied in detail to Mr. Fisher's charges, and said, in regard to the Telegraph Department, that Ministers had to use the' vice at all times in order to keep the machinery of the State moving freely, and denied that there had been any abuse by members of the Government. He strongly resented the "trumped up, foolish, and stupid charges" Mr. Fisher had made. Mr. HERD MAN deprecated the treatment of Mr. Fisher's charges in the milk and

water style adopted by the Minister for Public Works. He ventured to think that when the Premier went around the country he devoted himself to electioneering, and not to public business. A record of his movements showed that during the recess lie had only been, on an. average, three days a week in Wellington, and presumably the other four days a week had' been spent in electioneering. . . . Mr. MAJOR considered there were too many men in the House who might be termed sensation-mongers. This discussion had 'I»6H characterised by personal spleen, and was not fair Parliamentary comment. Mr. BEDFORD pointed to the tremendous opportunities for abuse the " memo." system opened up, and urged that the system should be abolished. All telegrams should be paid for, and the cost debited to the cost of administration.. In one year a million words went through tlio Wellington telegraph . office by memo.," and lie knew for a fact that 50 per cent, of the memos, were on domestic and private business. If they were granted an inquiry they would prove that the telegraph wires were being • used i by, Ministers as if they were owned by the Government and not by the people. Mr. LAWRY said lie had been 17 years in the House, and lie had never heard such political garbage as had been . given expression to by certain, members that evening. Mr. DUTHIE complained that the Premier rode so high over the House that lie could suppress Government despatches. 'I hey had a right to much information that had been refused, and they should refuse to grant Supply until full information was forthcoming. Mr. LAURENSON emphasised the necessity for inquiry into the charges that had been made that evening, particularly into the charge that the Telegraph Department was being misused in a mast gross and scandalous fashion. Hp also wanted the Premier to reply to this charge, that from May 7, 1904, to June 21, 1904, the Hinemoa was used by the PrSlier for his own pleasure sake, and he drew (£69) 30s a day for allowances during his absence. The Premier's power in the colony was weakening, and he himself was responsible for it. Mr. TAYLOR referred to a certain case that was reported on by the Police Commission, and charged the Premier with allowing personal friendships and considerations to interfere with the discharge of his duty to the colony. He dwelt at length with the manner in which Ministers made use of the Telegraph Department, and charged the Premier with having sent long reports of his speeches to certain party papers, as memos. This, lie contended, amounted to defrauding the public revenue of the colony. Sir J. WARD said he intended to show that Mr. Fisher's charges wero untrue. The lion, member could only have obtained his information about a certain member of the Civil Service from some skunking cur in the Department, yuid the head of the Department had insisted that there had been no infringement of the Civil Service regulations. Sir Josoph went on to say that lie had always been against the Departmental " franking " system, but it was not easy to effect a change. Tho "memo." system had not been originated by the present Government, but by Sir John Hall, and under that system the original copy of a "memo." was always .returned to the Minister who had lodged it. It was returned for the purposes of record, and not because there was any desire or intention to destroy all trace of it. Ministers had always had the right to send domestic telegrams, but private and business telegrams (apart from domestic messages) had always been paid for. If Ministers should not have this right, by all means let the House remove it. Be had always imagined that the . inviolability of the telegraph service had been beyond question, but it was not so now, unci it was a matter of great regret to him. : Mr. Rutherford also spoke. Mr. SEDDON then replied, denying the charges that had f been made during the debate. His speech will be found in-iuiother column.

(Left sitting.)