HOUSE AND LOBBY PARLIAMENT IN PARAGRAPHS

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12200, 27 July 1925, Page 6

HOUSE AND LOBBY PARLIAMENT IN PARAGRAPHS

When the House' meets to-morrow afternoon it will proceed with ordinary business, but at 7.30 in the evening the financial debate will be commenced. How long the debate will last turns largely on the extent to which members on the Opposition benches feel disposed to enter the field of discussion. So Bar this session one section of the Opposition has been exceedingly quiet, but, for tactical reasons, this section might now think it wise to put its members up- to speak ,a little oftener.. If an Opposition remains too silent it is liable to have it said against it that it is failing to function as an Opposition. .** * •

SApE DEPOSIT SYSTEM, One of the little-known activities of Rfew Zealand’s* postal service is its safe-deposit system. Sealed packets containing securities, insurance policies, deeds, Wills, or other paper or parchment documents are accepted for custody at all money order offices, in charge of permanent officers. “The service, for which only a nominal charge is made, is exactly suited to the host, of people whose circumstances do not justify the employment pf other means to safeguard their valuable papers against loss by fire or burglary’(say* the annual report of Sir James Parr). “Notwithstanding the facilities provided by the department, -there is ample evidence that people still resort to all sorts of unsuitable methods of protecting their valuables. It is by no means uncommon to have submitted the charred remains of documents which hive been stored in tins or cashboxes, or, again, pulped paper, the remains, of documents that have been buried in a back garden for safety.” - • * ■ » * »

REDUCED CABLE RATES . During the year a considerable reduction was'made in the rate for cable messages exchanged with Canada and Europe. The ordinary rate to Great Britain and Ireland was reduced by fid per ‘ word. The rates to Belgium, Prance, Germany, Holland, and Switzerland were reduced by fid per word by both the Pacific and the Eastern routes, and to other places' in Europe the reduction per Word was fid via Pacific and .fid via Eastern. The charge ,on full-rate messages to Canada whs lowered by 3d per word. In all cases a proportionate reduction was made on British Government and deferred messages. The concessions represent a reduction of between 16 and 18 per cent., and should have the effect of appreciably stimulating cable traffic. The rates for daily letter and week-end messages were not, however, altered in any. way.

SUBSIDY TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES The sum of £3OOO. was distributed last year by. the Education Department to public libraries in country districts on the basis of subsidy, on moneys raised , locally by ■ voluntary contribution. , Some .three .hundred, libraries participated in the grant, receiving' amounts varying from £7 to £14., Th e subsidy is not paid to libraries situated in towns or boroughs ?-PSPP- ati on’ exceeding-.' fifteen hundred. Parliament will be asked to appropriate a further sum of £3OOO this .year tq enable the payment of subsidy to beVeohtimied. ..

... .!'*■/ *> • . • • REDUCING SCHOOL CLASSES The following is from the Educo. tion report for the year:—“Special effort, j wish very successful results, has -been made during the past two years towards the reduction of all primary school, classes containing more than sixty pupils. The preliminary survey was systematically, made, and as a result some three hundred additional assistants have beep appointed, and nearly all classes with over sixty pupils have disappeared. Where classes exceeding this number still exist the

lifficulty is generally not that of insufficient teachers but of unusual complications in the organisation of the school. This difficulty of organisation is usually the result of the existence of some old buildings which it is almost impossible to remodel. In consequence of the increase in the number of teachers there has had to be an increase in the number of class-rooms. This has been provided partly by the addition of new rooms, but very largely through the remodelling of old buildings. This has frequently taken the form of the subdivision of two overlarge rooms into three rooms of standard size, or the lengthening of a long room and its subdivision into two rooms. Connected- with this remodelling there have been numerous improvements made in the buildings concerned by the addition of teachers’ rooms and the general improvement of lighting and ventilation. It will thus be seen that the reduction of large classes involves a considerable outlay apart from the cost of the salaries of additional teachers. As to the educational advantages of the new pohey there can be no doubt. Every pupil is entitled to individual attention from tlie class teacher, aud this Is only possible in a class of reasonable size.’’

• * * • #,/ BENEFICENT INFLUENCE

_ Possibly,” says the animal report Post and Telegraph Department, . it is- not generally known that the beneficent influence , of the Post Office ?arings Bank is in full operation both >n Samoa and in the Cook Islands. In each case the New Zealand Government lends its organisation, even to the extent of sharing with the Island Administration , some , gilt-edged investments for the surplus funds. The actual wort, however, ie conducted by officers under. th° control of the respective Administrations. In order to provide the maximum of benefits to the clients,of the bank, a measure of decentralisation was introduced in the case of Samoa about five years ago, W A e ? a Savings Bank ledger offioe was established at Apia. This enabled depositors to-obtain repayment of their deposits without reference to the Central office in New Zealand, r - inn, vation proved a great success, xai accordingly a, similar arrangement was i made last year in the case of the lower Cook Group, with effect from May oth, 1924. Depositors at Rarotonga are now Able to withdraw on domand, -and those on the adjacent islands ca®, obtain repayment-upon war-: rants issued: at Rarotonga. The facilities provided... are much appreciated, and already htbits of thrift are being inculcated and fostered, to the ultimate benefit of the- natives.” * ’• OCEAN MAILS

During the stay in London of the Secretary to the Post Office, he raised, With the Secretary, General Post Office, London, the. question of using the Vancouver and San Francisco routes 1 for the dispatch, of mailß to New Zealand in preference to the Suesroute. The London: office agreed to utilise the. Vancouver and San -Francisco routes for all correspondence, except that spe-' tially addressed via"-Suez ‘arid that which would reach New Zealand sooner ' by -being dispatched by way of Panama. In ;February, 1925, however, the London office wrote explaining that owtng to a rearrangement of the services via Suez, enabling a regular fortnightly dispatch -to -he made, the number of Occasions on,, which there would he' demy on malls, Would be few, that such delays would be slight; and. that in tile circumstances the -Suez route worild be used for other than specially addressed correspondence... . .In addition it waspointed out that the extra expense involved, in divertirig mails for New Zealand via North America was not warranted, as the British Post Office had entered into a contract for the. carriage of all mails fortnightly via Suez. ‘ „.