NEW ZEALAND AND THE CORONATION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10629, 5 December 1910, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND AND THE CORONATION.

(Special ro the Pr<«.) "-. ' \Vcimi<j!<,n. I).■< ember 3. .Referring i<- i»n iti n.s mi Hie Supplementary I'Vinntc-, (L* 1 51)0 lor the Prime MiniMi >'s c\|-eii-.es in connection with the Impel ial Conference and the Corona*, inn. and L'V'D lor olfici.il entcrtainniiiir- -n London during , the Coronation). S:r .10-cob \\ nrd .said that wn the occasion <<* previous visits to the , Mother Countr;, ~nd to the Postal Conference at Roum . in- had always -had to pay more- lh.ni P.irliaiiient had been asked to .■'mho M'— in connection with , had'asked the House to provide .-£BOO, rind-bis actual e\pon<.e.s and payment to secretaries amounted to £1644 10s. In connection with the Postal Conference he had spent n< arly C9OO more than was voted hv Parliament. Mr Davov: Was that never returned? Sir Joseph "Ward: I never asked for Sir Joseph "Ward added that .in his position lie could not avoid taking at least one member of his family with'him in addition to his wife, whom" under ofdinarv eirr umstanccs he could j not leave behind. Under these cirenm•St'ances he fell that a portion of: the expenses- should be borne by hinjself.On' more than one occasion lie had to spend nearlv £3OO for an ordinary entertainment: this was unavoidable. Though on the. last occasion-on which he visited England the British Government- had asked to pay the expenses of everybody with him, he had declined their offer. By doing so he was put in £' stronger position. His predecessor also "had had to pay more than he received in connection with such visits. There had been no invitations asking any "members of the House to proceed to England. He was not at liberty to speak on this matter, as it had come before him in quite a confidential .way. It- might be that after the coining general-election, in. "England an invitation would be received; if it did, he would communicate with members and inform them of the offer. He was un'rfble to say'anything more, as the communications were strictly confidential. They were not from the Home Government, he might say. Those who were arranging it were now before the electors, and some of them might be left tkit-'at the general election. '■-':''' TYfQ IMPORTANT CASES. " ,*Sih Joseph "Ward went on to sav that he wished to take the opportunity of saying 'that the Attorney-General would proceed to England also. He would go Home chiefly in' connection with two -important cases that required to have -the best legal representative that we could send from this country. One was the-Te Akau appeal case, which was before the Privv Council, and involved epme £-30,000! It was in connection .with land acquired from the natives, on which had been placed European settiers and their families. The case involved not onlv £50,000, but also the homes erected by the settlers. It was arbbablv- the most important case that had ever come before the Home authorities The English lawyers had written 'to the Crown lawyers in New Zealand stating that they felt they could not 'deal: with the matter .competently because "a. special knowledge was waiiU-U of native law and history, going back ito/the Treaty of Waitangi. Mr C. J . Skerrett, K.C., had been retained by *b>,".other side, and if lii England at the tiin'e he would act. In addition t.v Wi Te Akau block case there was tiie cage-of the "Webster claims. In connection/with these claims there was « -'. tribunal to be set up by Great Britain -smd> America.: The amount involved in *so--far l as New Zealand was concerned, *as-about half a million sterling, 'iair aerdman: Is not the Webster *aielthe" one in connection with which tfr^Eit'chetfewent,Home? Is it not between:! the,-British and the American Governments"*'.and not New. Zealand.-* Sir Joseph Ward: We maintain that position, but the British Government 'wanfetlie.responsibility kept quite open "dv? the tribunal: "' '"'.-■" SESSION. .'Taylor.: Is there any foun-'■."difipn'-i'ot-tne'. riimor that the session wfllihe;delayed next year? it r Sir.J;p^eph : Ward said it was proposed the 31st July, t^afe&ailor.: '. There is> no proposal to W^endVine.'fife iof the ..Parliament.-' :ma' Joseph: Ward: No, no proposa 6f%at kind at:all. He added that had #--hiln < possible -for the. Leader of. the mwisition"t6'haye gone to the Coro--1 'na& s he would have been prepared to as£?fcKe~House to extend the lite of the .present:. Parliament until the second. £elt in"."February. As the deader oi Ine-Wposition. could not see his way to SbVdte.did not propose to do. thai;. Had. fLit'DeeA possible, it would have en-ableH-Members, of the House who deSirecTto have gone to the Uironation lo%ave done-so, and to have been bacK m-ftme for. the general election. ; "lii answer to another question, toir Joseph "W*ird, said New Zealand was not sending any troops to the Coronation, but" he understood that a number of men were prepared to go on their - own account., """ . '