SESSIONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5669, 17 August 1905, Page 7

SESSIONAL NOTES.

Tim TUNE OK PA IiLI .1M KN'l. ■1 say that. Ihe tunc of our I’arha-m-Mt and public Ilf- is l.mug mw-red. an I .0 a great extent lieg.id.d by Dm bringing up of the-- |mr,-uiial martens, denial ill Dm I‘ritn -r yest.-reliy ait.Ttmoii, when ii-IV-i 1 ing 10 a di-mumioii tlial had taken piano on Minister,, Iracolf.ng allowance,. ''And ih.s sno", ||)C tinii ii will go from bad to worse until -I- have a eiiM'l.lioii of th.ngs obtaining in I hi-- coiintiy that lias oll- ’ j„ mimn countries wiDi disastrous ivaili.. ll you iamb Imd soniimore than llmsi.; paltry poisonal c'j„ n ,; if you -an’t assail Alin (iters oa largo pokey question,, acts ol admin astral ion, acts worthy 01 discussion, ir, were ffuitur that members n-rna.mx. silent. It can’t appeal to our bettor nature; it will not exult, but must lower the tone of our public litn, and the b-st men in the colony will hesitate to come to Pari,ament. I would not like Parliament brought to the standard that some members are setting as a guidance to the House.”

TIIAVELLIN (i EXI’ENS ES

The .Minister of Customs does not intend to refund miv portion of the iho received by him as t ravelling allowances while on tho Mapouriku Island trip, so he informed Mr Moss yesterday afternoon. Mr Mills said it was ridiculous to say that no personal expenses were incurred by him in preparing for tho journey anil in connection wdth the visits to the different islands. On thoir return his private secretary made tho usual claim for the allowance which he was entitled to under the Ministers Salaries and Allowances Act, but which was, with other items of expend.tore, paid out of tho special vote taken to cover tho expenses of the trip. Inc £75 was not paid twice, as he had seen it stated in certain newspaper reports of some hon membors’_ ungenerous speeches. Hut even if £)5 had been granted for expenses, it would have been less than some firms allow their travellers for expenses in the same time; and, compared with what was charged by Ministers when travelling on behalf ol tho colonv to and from and in Australia and in other countries years before the present Government came into olllco, it sank into insignificance. Messrs Massey, Herdman, Moss, and Taylor criticised tho action of tho -Minister in drawing the allowance.

The Premier said tho point was that the £75 should never have been charged to tho Mapouriko. trip at all. _ The mistake made was in charging it to that trip. It was an ordinary travelling allowance payable by law. The Minister at the time was on a public service. Members of Parliament had not hesitated to accept a free trip in the Mapouriko, but they were on public duty, just as the Minister was, and he failed to see that any objection could be made to tho payment. AMERICAN VISITORS.

The Premier informed Mr Aitken yesterday that Mr W. B. Lcffingwell is the accredited representative of some forty influential American newspapers, and is not in receipt of any payment, directly or indirectly, from the Government. There is no intention on the part of the Government to employ him, directly or indirectly, to write a book or articles for magazines or papers in advertisement of Now Zealand. Mr Leffiingwoll is visiting New Zealand at the instance of Mr Donne, with whom he was in close contact during the St. Louis .Exposition. Since the hon member’s question appeared on the order paper, Mr Leffingwell had written him that he has never asked the Government for payment or compensation for his work, and does not intend to do so. As an advertising medium his communications to the leading newspapers which he represent will, the Premier thinks, be of the greatest advantage to New Zealand, and to secure this amount of advertisement otherwise would cost the colony many thousands of pounds. Mr Donne was advised at St. Louis that if he could induce this gentleman, whose credentials are beyond all question, to visit New Zealand, the courtesy of a railway i pass would be extended to himself, his wife, and secretary. No other services of the colony have been placed at his disposal free. RURAL EDUCATION.

The Minister of Education, replying in tho House yesterday to a question whether he would provide for the education of children in country schools in subjects affecting farming pursuits, said:—Up to the present the subjects of instruction in connection with train-ing-classes have not included, except in a few isolated instances, any that have any bearing on rural science, and it is a question whether the time has not arrived for controlling authorities to apply a part, if not all, of the special grants to the establishment and maintenance of classes for instruction in rural science. The regulations for training colleges provide for the inclusion in the curriculum of special courses in naturestudy and elementary agriculture. As soon, therefore, as arrangements with regard to the training colleges at the four largo centres have progressed so far as to allow of the intention of the regulations being carried out in full, the necessary training in rural science—of training college students, at all events —will bo fully provided for. Tho act and regulations provide for the necessary payments in respect of recognised classes in country schools for instruction in subjects appertaining to rural pursuits, and it is difficult to see what more the Government could do under existing conditions. It now remains for contTbttfng authorities, with the assistance, it is to be hoped, of local bodies interested in the matter, to take the necessary steps to establish such classes. NATIONALITY OF TEACHERS.

Tho nationality of school teachers cropped up in a question put to tho Minister of Education by Mr Symes, who asked if tho Minister is aware of tho fact that an uimaturalised foreigner has been appointed a teacher in one of ouy State schools. Mr Seddon said appointments in public schools are made by tho Education Boards, and the department is not, generally speaking, in a position to know the nationality of persons appointed as teachers. There does not appear to be anything in the Education Act to prevent a Board from appointing a foreigner with suitable qualifications as a teacher in a public school; and it is quite possible that for some positions—as for teaching a foreign language in a district high school or a secondary school—it might bo thought expedient to appoint a foreigner. A QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE.

In tlio House yesterday afternoon Mr Herdman raised a question of privilege. On ijie 28th July, in the debate on the Imprest Supply K'H- he had, he said, made uso of tiiesc words. • referring to the Premier: “Is ho pronarod to assert on oath (hat never in the whole course of his experience has he as Prime Minister over made uso of the public money foe the purpose of furthering his political ends? AVould ho be prepared on

.alii to ‘.ay before a Court of justice h.i". ho never put bis h;ind into ine :i-1.1 j i- t.II wilfully end Used the public ,1 , i. ( - v s for ’■ he purpo.-e of keeping h m- \ in olJici-:'” Mr I lord man -aid a c-iiieuce oi bis .speech had been cut in An' l’i miner pm "ut.o •• Uau-.ird.” >1- j iviehed if* make it, cieur to hi* cuuGU’i- j ■ms r} 1:1 1 Ihe Premier never uttered ibi-o v.-ords wiiiob hnd been . n-urU'i.l n.h .in inlerjert ion: " Tho Ke.;ht JLou Mr Se(hif*n: Would you dare a.->k mu tluit r jiiu*iio/i outsiflu Uif Chamber, or stale it, unless proieetcd by privilege.'' f h ;v(‘ never aulhoi i-ed spending public iik m.'V to keep my-elf in office*: nml in. respect to public expenditure I hnve been guided by vrhnt was in tho pnbl-c .ntoresu of personal or political consuluences, ami have ha<l to veto importunities for moneys puf forward to keep you in your position. Mr Seddon said that in the Hansard” proof in tho part referring the mferi/cTiott there was the word inaudible, ■’ ami }jo Idled in, M-> far as his recollection served h : m. his ronly. As a rule, he did not wish to out more into ‘ H-*n-savd ” limn what he -aid. The words lie had put in conveyed tho spirit of tho imovjectiou. He had thought the remarks of tho member for Mount loa won, rather stronn at tho time, and so he ft lie Premier) had interjected rather ron<j:lv. jorrixos. Mi- Fis-hiu- v-stoi-.lav giivc notice to move, “ Til l 'there be laid befnre this House a reliint -h iv.'ii g—{H The P” 1 - lifiilnrs of all payments mode by the Imperial Government through the New Zealand Government for services of colonial officers rendered in Now Zealand between the Ist June, 1899, and the Ist Juno, 1905; (.2) the names of tho porsonfi to whom any payment oi payments have been made: (3) the nature of tho services rendered; and i-V) whether these payments were duly audited by tho Controller and AuditorGeneral.” . f ri The Minister in Charge or the Government Valuation Dcp-artment last niuht intimated that ho purposed introducing a bill this session to enable local bodies to make their own valuations. There wore a certain number who considered that it, was unfair to have valuations made by tho Government for their (tho local bodies) own rating purposes. The Premier intimated yesterday artomoon that he would afford the House an opportunity of discussing tho Lands Report next week.