PARLIAMENT IN SESSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 1915, 3 August 1888, Page 17

PARLIAMENT IN SESSION.

Wednesday, August 1. THE OTAGO CENTRAL.

Although Mr Pyke's bill is killed, the member for Dunstan can take credit for being instrumental in getting tho construction of the line pushed on with greater speed than would have been the case had the subject not been ventilated. One of the most determined opponents of the measure is also entitled to considerable kudos for his indefatigable efforts to get the work proceeded with. I refer to Mr Fish, who for the past twe days 'has bsen urging the Ministry to expediate the construction of the railway line. In response to tho representations made, tho Government this afternoon issued instructions to call for tenders for the construction of the nine iron bridges required to cemplete the lino to Middlemarch. I have reason for stating that apart from the bridges it will only cost £12,000 to complete the earthworks from Suttori to Middlemarch.

THE MEMBER FOR DUNSTAN.

After the treatment received by Mr Pyke from the Government, it was only to be expected that the member for Dunstan should throw off his allegiance to the present occupants of the {Treasury benches. This morning when Mr Pyke entered the Government whips' room, he noticed a placard stuck up on the wall by some wag, on which was written the following words : " Fish shop. Pyke sold here." The ready-witted member for Dunstan immediately wrote as follows over the scroll : "Atkinson and Co., unlimited lie-ability." On mentioning the joke to the Hon. Mr Shrimski, that gentlemau remarked : " Oh, the Government have caught one fish and have lost another." The ban mot hadreference, it will be observed, to the members for Dunedin South and Dunstan.

TUH SHEEP DEPARTMENT,

The report of the joint committee of both Houses was laid on the table of the House today, and ordered to be printed. I could have sent you the gist of the report jesterday, but the matter is of such great importance to tbe pastoral settlers of the colony that I deemed it advisable to wait until the corrected report was ready. A good deal of space is devoted to the outbreak of scab in the Marlborougb. province, but as this is of little interest to the people of Otago, I have deleted it, and append that portion of the report which is of general interest. It reads as follows: —

The existence of scab at the present time is an absolute disgrace to all concerned in the administration of the law, and your committee recommends that tho Government should either take the charge of the infected flocks or send the most capable inspectors in the service to reside in the different infected localities, with instructions that they are not to leave until the disease is stamped out. Your committee are perfectly confident that thiß can be done in a reasonable time by constant and, unremitting attention, and are also certain that means such as these are in the true interests of the sheepowners themselves, especially the owners q£ infected sheep, as the past history ot scab in the colony abundantly proves. Your committee are of opinion that these three outbreaks of scab in different partß of tho colony two years after every flockowaer in it had been granted a clean 'certificate afford unmistakable grounds for concluding that the department has failed in its most irnpoptant functions, and that a change is. absolutely essential. T^ie question is in what direction shall' tjhe change ije made ? It has been siigested to remove tt\e control of the depar,tmcn,t from the Government and transfer it (jo the gountjy councils or road boards. Others again th.i.nk a better plan would be to have a special boa,rd elected fqr tho purpose, similar to f^he pasture boards of New South Wales, who themselves, elect a central board, always sitting in Sydney, of which a Minister is always a member, this central board beingthechannelot communication between the outlying districts and the Government. The committee do not think tbnt either of these plans is suited to the circumstances of this colony. The local bodies as at present constituted are not fit to deal with the question, and when we recoUeet the strong feeling that existed iv Nehon and Marlborough against enforcing of the penal clauses, oi the act, the committee think it would not be wise to risk a similar result; while, as r^jards the New South Wales system of pa§tyird boards, it has not been an unmixed, succe'ns, and in our smaller area the committee are afraid that local influence might be too powerful. Taking into consideration the con figuration of the colony and the broken naturejof the interior where an inspector's dutits chiefly lie, it setras evident that a. different Bystem is required to that in operation in the nipre compact Australian colonies. A modiljcnMoa of our present system will best suit; oui; r,eqmreinoutß, anij therefore the committee re(>pmnvnd,Uiafc the oflioe of superintending inspector, with his headquarters in Wellington, bef abolished, believiDg that no permanent improvement will ha efjeoted so long as a superintending inspector is kept in his present posivion. \n tho place of a superintending inspector the committee recommend that New Zealand be divided into six sheep distriotn, with an inspector over each. These inspectors to be in direct communication with the Mini=ter, who, of course, would have his depart mental office. They would furnißh quarterly jlucl annual returns, from which the annual rowA $or the colony would be compiled. Whenever v a ctas!irv (possibly during the session of Pariiam,enj) they could meet together iv Wellington && consider any matter put before them ; alao discuss departmental matters generally. UnUoMdifcyof aofcion, of which there is none at uresyie; would thu3 be Becured, and this alone wou!& frfgely tend towards efficiency and economy. With regard to the appointment of swbin^wjtQW, the committee consider that no anpolni', mend to the department should be made in Suture without the approval of the inspector oi tfeeajsirict who must be held responsible fo* §i 8i 8 own district, and each must be allowed to 'appoint or discharge his own «vji>ordjnat3s." The ' weakness of the deponent so far as the avis ordinates are concerned, has been, brought about mainly by tha lftfile 'discretion exercised in makimr appoijtraenta. The committee believo ft t6 be an esaentlhlof efficiency that every oscero£ the.departrtufat in eVery grade should be known to possess a considerable experience \n siock, which qualification has very frequently been', losb signt of in the past. The six districts shoull be as follow* :.-{l) Otago and. Southland"; (2) Canterbury, Amuri," and E?& U !S *■ (i 9 Marlborou P h . Nehon, a;id, Wetland ; (4X Wellingtjop and Taranaki,-^ (^ llawko's Bay, and Cook county ; (0), Aupkla/iO. "#ti.o committee oon. siaer that such a plan sa is p.roppseJ w.ou,ld be B»ifcabl£ to. our clrcivKstapcea, and a «reat dsal of the fr,iption that now exjsts would be removfjl. The inspectorgujfouja be in direct communication with the Minister, who should not injierjere with the details ftf th,eir w.orks ; a,nd, their subordinates', again, would lag in. direct coHjnmntcatJon with themselves, and this is absolutely necessary, for a sub-inspector should at all times be able to consult personally with an inspector, who should possess as intimate a knowledge of the country and the people as hinvelf The diversity of condition that has tc be dealt with' together with the fact that very few sub-inspectora are content to conduct their co«rt cases and work ud the evidence required, renders this necessary The Qommittee believe tfcat qoaaifcwus auofc as &ep afe

necessary fco the efficient working of the ae'fc, and the question is— Can they be carried out with the present system of dual government under a superintending inspector? They, consider it to be impossible, no matter who might be the person to fill such a situation ; and they therefore recommend that that office be abolished.— Hobert Pharazyn, chairman, lat August 1888.

THE RABBIT COMMITTEE. I learn that the report of the Rabbit Committee will be presented in a few days. The evidence so far has this peculiar feature, that it is condemnatory of the rabbit turning industry as tending to the farming of rabbits, al&o a-. t-hov\ - ing that the use of steel traps Mid the lik-.: is as fatal to the imported enetuj of the rabbits as to those little pests themselves. As a result, a recommendation ot the committee will be—" That the rabbit tinning industry is not conducive to the extermination of the rabbit, and that the use of steel traps, &c. should be confined to the country into which the • natural enemy' has not been imported." In connection with this it will be remembered that the argument has repeatedly been put forward that the exterminator of the rabbit will not be an unmixed blessing for this country.

THE SEACLIFF INQUIRY. The Seacliff inquiry has cost the colony a pretty penny, being no less than £776 irrcKpective of the expense of priutiug the report, which amounted to £126. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE OTAGO

CENTRAL.

The local press is very severe on the Ministry for their treatment of Mr Pyke's bill. The Post sayu:-" The record of Ministerial action in regard to the Otago Central Railway Bill is» shameful one, and should destroy any vestige o? respect the House or the country may have up. to the present time entertained toy thr* Government." The New Zealand Times remarks: — "We cannot admire or approve tbe> lino of conduct pursued by Ministers in this matter. It appears to us alike itnpolitio, mischievous, and inconsistent. If there is auy ju.«* tification for going on at all with the Otags> Central railway, then it ought to be carried into the country which alone can yield traffic for thft line. If the extension advocated by Mr Pyke ia inadvisable, then not another penny ought to be expended on the portion under construction by the Government, because that can only pay. The Government, by shirking their responsibility for leading the House on so important a question, are accountable for the waste of time which has taken place over a measure whioh after all has been shelved."