HOUSE AND LOBBY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXX, Issue 3862, 4 October 1899, Page 3

HOUSE AND LOBBY.

VICTORIA COLLEGE. ’The Premier yesterday gave notice to introduce tho Victoria College Act imondniout Bill, which he said was designed to enable the Governors of the Wellington College and.’tho Council o; the Victoria University College to arrange for a. piece of land on the College Governors’ Reserve for the purposes oi the Victoria College. Mr Pirani: A place where nobody can got at it. Mi riogg; Utterly unsuitable. MAHANGA BAi EXPLOSION. The Premier informed Mr Fisher yesterday that- two of tlie widows of tlie men killed at the Malianga Bay explosion would receive 15s a week and one would be granted an extra 10s for tier two children. The third would, at her request, receive a sum of £3OO. ' TEACHERS’ SALARIES. Tlie necessity of introducing legislation to provide for the classification of school teachers’ salaries was urged by Mr Guinness in the House yesterday afternoon. In support of his contention, he cited tho fact that the head teacher of the Greymouth School, where there is an average attendance of 440 pupils, receives £240 a year, while the head teacher of tho Eaiapoi School, wherc’there are 445 pupils, receives £335. In Wellington they found that at the Terrace School, where the attendance is 497, tho head teacher receives . £3®o; at another city school, where there- are 318 pupils, the salary of the headmaster is £316, and at the Mount Cook Boys’ School, the attendance at which is 492; the salary paid is £oio. These figures, ho said, were sufficient indication that it was time the Government seriously looked into this question, with a view to bringing down a Bill to classify teachers, so as to pay them fair salaries for the work performed, in Mead of leaving the various education Boards to pay salaries according to the means at their .disposal. Mr Hall-Jones, in reply, said the recent Education Conference passed a resolution in favour of a uniform scale of teachers’ salaried, and he himself thought it was desirable that the teachers should be classified. It must he apparent, however, that there were very great difficulties in the way. If salaries were equalised it would not be right to make the salaries paid at Wellington the same as those paid at Greyraoutli. The proper plan would be to increase the salaries at Greymouth to something like the salaries paid at other schools, but "that would mean that the finances of : the Greymouth Education Board would bo entire.y disorganised. The whole question was one of great importance, and his colleague, the Minister of Education, would go carefully into it during the recess along with the other recommendations made by the conference. Mr Fisher: Tell him there is a Bill ready made for the purpose. The Minister: The Public Schools 8.,i, I will remind him of it. NEW ZEALAND AND FEDERATION. The question of federation was again brought before the House yesterday afternoon, when Mi - Fiat-man asked the Premier if the Government would, as soon after the elections as- possible, endeavour to establish a Parliamentary Conference, to bp held in Australia, with the object of obtaining full information, and reporting same to the Government, as .to the manner. New- Zealand would be affected generally in the event of federation takiug’placo with the adjacent colonies? If the Government consider it inadvisable to establish a conference, will it send a Parliamentary' Committee to collect full information on the subject of federation? Mr Seddon, in reply, asked why me conference suggested should be held in Australia? It would be much better to hold it. in Now Zealand. (Hear, hear.) It would give representatives from Australia an idea of the country which they did not at present possess. As to setting up a Parliamentary Committee, he thought that- would be the worst thing they could possibly do. In i his matter they wanted to keep as clear as possible of politics, and it would be impossible to do that with a Parliamentary Committee. The fullest information should be obtained, and after they had that information they should deal with the matter calmly and judicially. It was a matter which would affect them for all time, and it should not be dealt with at all lightly. That was one reason why ha held back. They were,,, now in session, and it was almost impossible to keep clear of party politics in respect to it. Then, again, tho general elections would begin shortly, and federation was certainly not a matter which should disturb the elections or be a factor introduced into those elections. After that, it would be for the leading minds of the country to take the matter into consideration and give a decision upon it. He did not think that time would endanger the prospects, of New Zealand at all. There was plepty of time, and his own opinion was that the other colonies were very anxip us indeed, that Nfew Zealand should join tlie - Commonwealth: This colony must,: however, see that uie terms were such that their descendants would not curse them for what they had done. ‘

,PUBLIC INFORMATION BuREAU. The Government was asked by Mr Hogg yesterday to consider the expediency of establishing in connection with the Post and Telegraph Department a Public Information Bureau, through which newspaper proprietors and others would bo able to obtain reliable information concerning the state of the markets and leading events in Great Britain and her dependencies. Such a bureau would, Mr Hogg believed, be of great value, and it need not be very costly. The prosperity of New Zealand, he went on to say, largely depends on the condition of the markets abroad, and our producers, in order to carry.out their operations successfully, required to have - information respecting those markets at as early a date as possible. That information should bo of, a thoroughly reliable description. The idea of having a bureau of. this kind, established had been suggested to him by some producers. It was also very, desirable tnat in the selection of cablegrams matters affecting New Zealand should have primary consideration. He did not intend to attack the Press Association, which had done its best, but there was considerable room for improvement. The worst feature of the Press Association was .that it imposed huge fetters on the press of the colony; and was a huge monopoly. The Premier said the actual scope of the question was nob indicated in the question itself, and was not even now made quite clear. If it was intended that the information should be collected and distributed by the Post Office ho did not think it would be agreed to, because it would n v Government officers open to the same "barges that had been, laid against the Press Association. If. however, the information was to be collected by some other branch of the Government service merely for the purpose of being distributed for public information, there would be no objection to the Post Office being made use of for the purpose. Information received by the Government could be sent to the post offices, and, the newspaper people could gather information-

from that source. He thought the Press Association ought to meet the wishes of the people, and not maintain its monopoly by charging high prices for newspapers wishing to join. Mr Pirani; Will the Premier deal with hotels owned by brewers in the same way ? Tho Premier: Yes; I am against all monopolies—cold water or whisky. THE POMAHAKA PURCHASE.' Some time ago an application was made for a reduction of the capital value of the Pomahaku Estate, and to have the cost of reading, surveying and reserves • dispensed with. The Waste Lauds Committee of the House now recommends that a special board, consisting of two members of the Otago Land Board and one gentleman representing tlie Crown, bo appointed to report fully upon tho estate and of the settlors thereon. LABOUR LEGISLATION. The Labour Bills Committee lias been considering the Factories Act Amendment Bill, introduced by tho Hon \V. G. Walker in tho Upper House. It recommend;’ that the Bill bo amended by the following addition to clause 2 : —“Provided that uo person shall employ in a woollen mill''any female or young person for more than , fortyeight hours in. any week, nor between tho hours of 6 p.m. and 7.30 a.m.” The committee also recommends that the Labour Day Bill be allowed to proceed without amendment. The Hill provides that Labour Day shall be tho second Wednesday in October. HYDROLOGY. The Agent-General has reported on his visit to Liege, where ho attended the Congress on Hydrology, Climatology and Geology. He states that on the uholo the papers read were not of a character likely to be of muchpractical value in .the matters they-’ treat of hi Now Zealand. Ho sends a resume of two papers. One of these is on “Legal .measures for safeguarding the working of mineral springs,” and (he other deals, with .“The Working of Mines in Belgium, considered with respect to the health and safety of the workers therein employed.” -

A RUMOUR DENIED. There is, said Mr ■ Piraui in the House yesterday afternoon, a rumour current that the Government lias only purchased that part of Mr Joseph Saunders’s estate, which is liable to flood from tlie Oroua liver, and tad allowed the owner to retain .‘SOO acres of the best part of the estate, with the result that the colony , would have to Construct, extensive protection- works to prevent the encroachment of the river. The Acting-Minister of Lands (Mr Hal'lJoues) said the rumour was not correct. The 300 acres referred to were native leasehold,, which Mr Saunders ’•as not in a position to sell. He ~as advised that the part purchased by the Goyormnciit was free from floods, and that no protective works would bo required. INSPECTION OF FRUIT. A strong indictment of the manner in which the officials in Wellington carry out the duty of inspecting fruit on its arrival in tha colony was made by Mr B, Thompson yesterday afternoon. So lax was tlio inspection here, lie al ogod, that the whole of the condemned fruit in Sydney was consigned .specially to Wellington* Fruit that would not be permitted to be ■ sold or. offered for sale - on the other side was bought up by a certain class' of brokers, uho evidently mad© money out of that class of trade, and they wcl'e able to send the fruit hero : and 'djSfupit down in Wellington. By sonic torious means it was passed ,hy the officials hero and allowed to be sold. Those interested in the fruit trade in W ellington were not- at all desirous that that state of things should bo allowed to continue, as it had lately, paralysed the trade. He was inclined to think no one here was competent to undertake the duty of, inspection, and unless the' Government took active steps to put some' person in charge ‘ who had some knowledge of the trade, thp who e of the citrus fruit growing industry in the North would be ruined.- He was advised that the'proposed system of fumigation was hot effective. Iho Acting-Minister of) Agriculture (Mr HallJones) was of opinion that every precaution sh mid bo taken to prevent scalc-iufectedi fruit from being imported. The instructions were that fruit bearing a certificate from a Government dfficer in Australia that it had been properly fumigated should bo passed provided the cases bore the official mark, subject, however, to examination, if the official here deemed it necessary. He (the Minister) did not for one moment believe that the state of things described by Mr Thompson was going on—that people in Australia were buying up diseased fruit and sending it here. Mr Thompson : I have seen it exposed for sale. The Minister went on to say that the'.fruit was mostly examined by Mr Kirk, As soon as Mr Thompson’s question was put on the order paper he had! a fresh inspection made of several cases of fruit in the auctioneers’ rooms in Wellington, and in every instance the scale on the' fruit' was dead. On the other side fruit was allowed to be sent from New, South Wales to Victoria ami the other colonies on a certificate that .Lb had been, fumigated, but in New? Koaland they w r ent further than that, and officials were instructed, to make an examination if they thought it necessary. notwithstanding that there was a certificate. MOMOHAKI. The amount expended:' in buildings on the Mouiohaki Experimental Station is £157. Cultivation cost ' £llO3, stock £415, and other'" expenses amount to £164. The station is situated on the west coast of the North Island, and has been used for investigating diseases in stock and testing seeds, grasses and root crops. Tire curator gets £l4O per annum and the overseer £l3O. The,receipts for Ihe year were £771. RAKA Id RAILWAY ACCIDENT. The Railway Coijmiit.teo has no. recommendation to make regarding the petition of Charles Carter, engine- driver, who nra.ved for compensation for-expenses which he was put to in defending himself against charges made against him arising out of the Rakaia railway accident.

PATENTS AND TRADE MARKSThe tenth annual report of the Registrar of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks was laid on the table of the House yesterday. The total number of applications received during the year was 1021. as against 1093 in the preceding year. The decrease is partly attributable to the falling-off of applications in respect of cvclcs", only 84 having been'lodged during 1898 r There was a rapid growth' in this class of application during the years 1896 and 1897—130 in 1896, and 161 in 1897—and the sudden drop seems to indicate that the activity of inventors in this industry has reached its highest point, and may now be expected to decline. Passing events seem to have an influence on the course of invention. As an illustration, the Registrar quotes the increase in the applications in respect of fire-escapes since the disastrous fire in Wellington in December, 1898. In 1896 there were no aphlications in this class: in 1897. 1: in 1898. 3; while for the first six months of 1899 there have been 1 no less than 10. As. usual, the larger proportion of applications came from inventors resident‘ in New Zealand,

of whom there were 616. The United Km b ~om contributed 131; Victoria, 85; New South Wales, 65; and the United States, 58. No othei country has contributed as many as 20. Thirty applications from women inventors were lodged during the year. Five of these had reference to articles connected with dress, ine first petition for an extension of the term of letters patent ever presented in this colony was received during tho year. It was drily referred to the Supreme Court, which reported that the patentees had heen inadequately remunerated by their invention, and that- the term o their patent should be extended for further term of seven years. His Excellency the Governor was thereunci. pleased to extend tlie term for a fuvthcperiod of seven years. Ton applicrticnr for registration .of designs, and 343 apolications for registration of trade marks, were lodged during the year. The fees under these heads amounted respectively to £5 and £385 14s. POULTRY FARMING. “ What shall we do with the poultry expert?” asked a member early last evening when the House went into Supply. He hardly foresaw, however the flood of talk mat would follow his query. Member after member got up, and rambled away with more or less coherency about the great fowl-raising question—tho cost of tho experimental farms, tin’number of chickens that have been hatched, the cost of eggs, and the result of the whole enterprise. It' was alleged on more or less reliable authority that eacli fowl bred by the department had cost, a pound, and that each egg produced had run into half a guinea. Mr Lewis looked upon this branoa of Government effort.as a ridiculous farce. Mr Monk tnought that private fanciers were doing far better work; and Mr Duthie was of opinion that any old woman in the country could show better results for such a large expenditure. Mr Seddon enlivened tne discussion by reading from an official return a statement to the effect that at the Momohaki farm there were “ 140 hens and 90 cockerels.” Tho remainder of the Premier’s' remarks were drowned in the laughter which followed, when somebody remarked on the relative disproportion shown by'these figures. JOTTINGS. The average number of persons employed in the different Government departments for the year ended the 31st March, 1898, was 11,351. The Railway Department employed 5730 persons, ami the Post and Telegraph Department, 1657. Mrs Fairchild,. wife ‘of the late Captain Fairchild, recently petitioned tlie.House for further compensation for the death of her husband. Tho Petitions Committee now recommends, that tho petition be referred to the Government for favourable consideration.

Tlie petitions received from ex-Neav Zealanders in Rarotonga, praying for redress of certain grievances, have been considered by the- Petitions Committee, ■which, recommends that they bo referred 1 -> fhn Government, with the view of an inquiry being made into the circumstances of the cases. _ Tho Waste Laiids Committee has referred to the Government the petition of James Walsh, or Tira-tu, near Dannevirke, praying for compensation towards defraying expenses incurred at law in connection with his land. , Tho Labour Bills Committee has referred to the Government a petition praying for an amendment of the law so as to protect an employer from tho consequences' of an employee’s own fault' in not finishing his work within the time fixed by law.

“ The ’following.; retiring allowances.- are proposed to be granted to Oivil Servants —Mr P. Teesdale, Post ;and Telegraph 7.th October, 1899 ; Mr G. 8.-Davy.,...Jus-tice Department, £400,. commencing Ist Api-P, 1960. , " ' ' r ' n LabOiir" Bills Committee; has no recommendation to make regarding: the petition of journeymen- inil’-ers asking for a weekly half-holiday and for the application ‘of the eight-hours’ system to their employment, as tho prayer of the petitioners is already receiving the attention of the Legislature. The Petitions Committee recommends the application of tho Marlborough Education Board for a. grant of '£looo for “.i High School at Blenheim to the favourable consideration of the Government. V’; ' To facilitate business, and. as he said, to enable members to get home;'before Christmas, the Premier yesterday gave notice to move the suspension of standing orders so as to allow fresh business to’be taken after midnight on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays,