PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18465, 28 January 1922, Page 14

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

NOTES FROST THE PRESS GALLERY, (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, January 27. PRINCESS MARY GIFT BOXES. Tlie Minister of Defence (Sir R. Heaton Rhodes) made a further statement in the House to-day regarding the Princess Mary gift boxes. Ho had ascertained that some boxes left over had teen burnt. These, however, were under the of the Imperial authorities, who had given instructions that the surplus Jboxes were to be destroyed in order that they should not fall into the hands of persons not entitled to them. The boxes had no intrinsic value, but they had some sentimental value. The same procedure waa being followed with silver war badges. The surplus would bo broken up and tho metal sold. ' MORE ABOUT IMMIGRATION. Several questions relating to immigration were put to the Minister in Charge of Immigration in the House to-day. _Mr H. E. Holland (Bullet) asked the Minister to inform him whether a statement published in the Aberdeen Weekly Free Press waa accurate. The newspaper reported that a Mr Gavin Wilson, a representative of the New Zealand Government, was in Aberdeen with ’ a view to obtaining tradesmen tor work on the New Zealand railways. A number of patternmakers, boilermakers, and blacksmiths were signed, on, and would bo sent to New Zealand. . Mr Holland wished to know whether the Government had a .representative going through Great Britain seeking men for work on the railways, and whether the Government was aware that there were boilermakers, patternmakers, and blacksmiths in New Zealand who could not obtain employment. ’ The Minister replied that he was not able lb give the information asked for. He had grave doubts about the accuracy of the quoted, but ho would be pleased to have inquiries made. The result of the inquiries he would communi'oate 'to the member. Mr Bartram (Grey Lynn) asked how many apprentices had bean brought to New Zealand under the 1920'amendment of the Masters and Apprentices’ Act, and the Minister replied that so far none had been brought. The Government had_ been confining itself to the “nominated immigrant” system. _ Mr W. T. Jennings (Woitomo) inquired whether tho Minister had seen some of the published' observations of. magistrates on tho class. ! on the class of persons found among new arrivals. He reminded the Minister that the Inspector-general of Mental Asylums, in a report a year or two ago, had drawn attention fa tho number of cases of mental deficiency among the arrivals from other countries. Was sufficient care being taken to ensure that the immigrants to New Zealand were of a desirable typo ? Tho Minister said that he bad seen the report of some magisterial comments. The immigrants in the case had come from Australia, and were in no way under tlfe jurisdiction of tho department of which he had control. PENSIONS OF EPIDEMIC WIDOWS. Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) to-day asked the Government whether it* was intended to abolish the allowance to “ epidemic” widows. Ho said that a woman in receipt of" tho allowance had gathered the impression during an interview with a departmental officer that there wag some such intention, lie could not believe it. The Minister-in-charge of the Pensions Department (the Hon. , 6. J. Anderson) said the suggestion was new to him. Mr Fraser: I am glad ©f it. Mr Anderson added that there had been no curtailment of the allowance to widows. He could not speak of what_might happen in the future,- but there was no curtailment at present. The Prime Minister said that there was no intention to interfere with the epidemic pension to widows at present. Ho hoped that it would not be necessary to interfete with it in the future. _ The pension was notstatutory, but was paid one year afttr another in accordance with a vote appearing on the Eetrmatee. A Member: Will they reduce it? Mr Massey; No. Certain widowers, he added, had teen claiming pension, and the Government thought it wag not advisable that they should be allowed to draw it. Apart from that, nothing had boon done. OTTRA TUNNEL. Th© Hon. J. G. Coates stated to-night that the electrification of the Otira tunnel wohld bo finished before _ tho end' of the year bar accidents. Owing to the , coal strike in England there had been delay in getting tho machinery. Some of tho machinery waa on tho water and the rest was now ready for shipment. By tho middle of next month all of it would be on the way to Now Zealand. Tho machinery sheds and power house were well under way. There had' been a slight delay in connection with tho cottages because now they had received better quotations than they had got before'. The tenders wore now in the hands of the department, but they had not yet been accented. There would bo a saving round Hnt £BOOO. INAnITAHUA LINE. Mr Coates to-night,stated that the Inango-hna-Westport Extension- was a matter that would bo; considered next session. It would depend upon the amount of money available. Owing to tho large expenditure on the Otira line nothing oould be done this year. Ho thought it was generally recognised that this was _ one" of tho lines that should b© gone on with once th ©-tunnel was finished. It was necessary to connect that ■ system, connected as it was with the ooal--1 mines, with tho trunk system of the South Island. REDUCTION OF SALARIES. Though tho Public Expenditure Adjustment Bill has been passed by the House, tho last has not been heard of it. Mr G. Mitoholl (Wellington South) asked th© Prime Minister to-day whether, if there wore any members of the public service who baa had no increase in salary since 1919, they would suffer! any reductions under tho retrenchment scheme? Mr Massey said that aib th© moment he know of no ) sdoh instance. As he would like to {rive a definite answer to the question, ho asked that it should go on tho Order Paper. SOLDIERS’ PENSIONS. The Prime Minister was asked 1 to-day by Mr T. D. Burnett (Tomuka) whether tho House would have an opportunity of discussing the ro-clossification of soldiers’ pensions. , Mr Massey said his opinion at the present moment was that there would be such an opportunity. He could not speak positive!v at that time, bin) ho thought there would be an opportunity early next week. COMING BAND CONTEST^. Facilities for the wives and families of bandsman visiting Wellington in connection with the, forthcoming hand contest to obtain train tickets at extension rates were asked from tho Minister of Railways in the House to-day by Sir John Luke (Wellington North). The Minister (the Hon. D. H. Guthrie) said that excursion fares would bo available for the competing bandsmen, but not for thoir wives and families. Tho department could not see its way to extend th© concession in tho meantime.