POLITICAL NOTES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10587, 17 October 1910, Page 4

POLITICAL NOTES.

By Telegraph,

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

V,"' -"Wellington, October 17

—Mental Hospital Amendments The demands made upon the attendants in mental hospitals were condemned by ft sympathetic House on Saturday morning by a reduction or the Estimates alter much argument between the Minister and members. Mr Hogg .said that attendants' hours at Seaclin averaged 76 u week. They had to take their meals in a room lull oi unfortunates, whose pandemonium was noij conducive to good digestion. They had to be ready to leave the table to separato belligerents at table, and they had to forcibly feed relractory men. , , The Minister replied that the hours were the same as those ot hospital attendants, and a month's holiday was given every year as well.

—Exhibition History. — "It would be a jolly good thing if the money is not spent" declared tho Leader of the Opposition on Saturday morning when referring to an item on the Estimates of £7OO, the cost of preparing and printing an ofiicial history of the New Zealand International Exhibition. Mr Masscv added that the Exhibition had cost the country a large amount of money and he did not think that anything should be spent upon the publication of its history. The Hon. I). Bucido stated tli.it the i records had been taken at the time of the Exhibition, and now only had to be put together. The work Mas being done in the Government Printing Office. Mr G. J. Anderson moved a reduction of tho item by £1 as an indication of tho dissatisfaction of tho House at the great delay that had taken place in publishing the history, but tho motion was lost by 2'2 votes to 18. —Anti-Vaccination. — Whenever the word vacciuo is mentioned in the House conscientious objectors record their protest against the system. Tho item of £3OO on the Estimates for vaccine plant and the preparation of lymph drew an indignant protest from Mr E. H. Taylor against manufactured filth being forced into the arms of children. The Hon. D. Buddo replied that the plant was designed to meet the case of a threatened epidemic, and would be part of tho proposals ho intended to embody in a Bdl ; this session. Mr Buddo has given no indication of the direction in which the Bill will go, and it is generally thought that it will bo a concession to the objectors. —A Question of Tariff. — The Minister of Customs was assailed on Saturday morning during Estimates by Mr C. A. C. Hardy, who complained of tho power given under the Act to assess duty on the goods on their, actual value at the time of landing, although they might have been shipped, and invoiced at a time when their value was-much lower. Ho said that the Customs had caused some: complaint in the South, and argued tliat if goods receded in value deductions should be made. The Minister said that in the case of reduced values presumably the duty would be assessed on the lower value. It is understood thai efforts will be made to have.the practice modified. —New Lighthouses.—• In anticipation of tho Public Works Estimates, tho Minister of Marino gave an indication- of tho proposals for new lighthouses. He stated that the Department was investigating the. merits of a site at Castlepoint with tho object of installing a first-class light, as the first site proposed at Mat Point, oii tho East Coast, had been unfavorably reported on. I In reply to Mr Poole that Cape Farewell light was not powerful enough for vessels coming from Hobart, the Minister said that the light, which had a radius of 20 miles, was suitablo for, allround shipping, and even a first-class light woulcf not show through tho haze that frequently surrounded tho cape. —A' Tennis Tournament. — Members and the army of more or less privileged persons concerned in the sittings of Parliament met in non-party conflict on the tennis courts on Saturday, assisted by a due proportion of ladies to make the function possible. Tho weather was ideal and everybody did his or her best to survive the preliminary rounds. Tho ladies' doubles were concluded in the morning, but' tho combined doubles reached tho third round, and' were postponed until an-_ other day. Tho men's doubles were run Ejght through to the semi-finals, in which' tho survivors were, Gillon and Matthews-mid E. H. Clark (member for Chalmers) and J. Laurcnson (the youthful son of tho member for Lyttelton). The final, which will bo a contest between tho Civil Service and the House, will tako place on Monday.