THE MAPOURIKA TRIP.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 13

THE MAPOURIKA TRIP.

(Fbok Ora Own Coreespondent.)

"'' WELLINGTON, August 16. j _ To-day Mr Moss asked the Minister _of Customs if he intends to refund any portion J of the £75 received by him as travelling I allowance while on the Mapourika islands trip, and, if not, why not? The Hon. Mr Mills replied as follows: — "Certainly not. The trip was specially arranged at tho request of hon. members to enable them to visit the Cook and other islands, which •had recently been annexed to the colony, and it was deemed advisable by the Government that a, visit should a'so be paid to Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji, so that members might gain from perzonal observation information as to the trade of these islands, the.'r capabilities of production, and methods of development, that would be of service in dealing with out own islands. As Minister in charge of the islands administration, I tvae authorised by the Cabinet to arrange for a suitable steamer and to accompany members. It was throughout an ofnci&l trip of a very special nature, and ' an itinerary was prepared by his Excellency the Governor, Lord Ranfurly, who took a great interest in the matter. It is ridiculous to say that no personal expenses we^e incurred by me in preparing for the journey and in connection with the visits to the different islands. On our return my private secretary made tb.3 usual claim for tho allowance which I was entitled to under the Ministers' Salaries and Allowances Act, but which was, with other items of expenditure, paid out of the special vote taken to cover the expenses of the trip. The £75 was not paid twice, as I have seen it stated in certain newspaper reports of some hon. members' ungenerous speeches: but even if £75 had been granted for expenses it would have been less than 6ome firms allow their travellers for expenses in the same time, and, compared with what was charged by Ministers when travelling on behalf of the colony to and from and in Australia and. in other countries years before the present Government came into office, it sinks into insignificance. Mr Moss, in commenting on the Minister's • uswer, said the whole cost of the trip had been passed through in on« iump sum. Mr Flatman: Were your cocoanuts included in it?— (Laughter.) Ms. Moss : Your brains were not. Mr Moss, continuing, said that the details of the vote were not made available! until February of this year, or nearly two years after the date of the trip. The payment of £75 was, ihe said, clearly illegal in so far as it related to that portion' of the trip outside of the colony, and the Minister, in order to make up 50 days, had actually included the day on which he returned to Wellington at 7 o'clock in the morning. If illegal payments could be made in this way. what was the use of the Audit Department? Mr Mills said he was pleased that Mr Moss had put the question on the order paper, as it gave him an opportunity of explaining the matter. Mr Hawkins : "Sou do not look very pleased, though. — (Laughter.) Mr Mills wept into the history of the origin of the trip, and read a list cf thei member's who arwoted the Premier's invitation to go to the islands. ".Mr Tavlcr : Never mind that. What about th<» £75? >-_ Mr Mills : T have got the floor. Mr Hawkins : Yes, and you have got the £75.— (Laughter.) Mr Mills spoke of the interest taken by the late Governor (Lord Ranfurly) in the tz-ip. Mr Taylor: He had no right to interfere ivith our roli tics. Mr Mills said the trip was of a "special official" nature, and he deprec2ted the action of»members in goiiisr about the country criticising the cost. If the details had boon asked for before they would have been given. Mr Masrssy: I aflked for them. v Mr Mills said everything was straightforward about the trip. There was no attempt to hides anything. He quoted the large sums drawn by members of previous Ministries as travelling expenses, and asked ■why these had not been brought up. He sleo referred to another previous Minister, who, he said, went to see the races at Sydney or Melbourne, and drew travelling expenses. " Name, name," was the cry of several members, but the Minister did not satisfy their curiosity. Mr Taylor: What was the number of the Toucher ? — (Laughter.) . Mr M'Lschlan: Who went to the races?— (Renewed laughter.) Mr Mills again said that members should not have waited two years before asking for the information. Mr James Allen: You kept the account back two years. Mr Mills said -the member for Ohrainmri was foolish to worry and fret " about a ■hhing like this." Tf ho kept on worrying like "that he would soon not have a hair left on his head — (Laughter.) Mr Massey said that ths payment was not m accordance with law, and it could never have been passed but for that wi-etohed Public Revenues Act, of 1900. When the r&turn was first asked for it was not com■plied with, but in the dying hours of the session ■& lump sum to cover the whole amount was placed on the Estimates and a-ushed through. He dealt in detail with the various items of the return, and characterised the expenditure as " a scandalous waste of public money." " Oh. well, there were «me of your friends in it." was the weak r&joinder of the Minister, who seemed to be having a very uncomfortable time during this outspoken criticism of his action. _ The Premier, who felt that it was necessary to come, to the relief of his colleague, admitted that the £75 should never have been charged to the cost of the trip. It should, he sa.id, have besn charged to th& ordinary vote for Ministers travelling allowances. He contended that the divergence to Tahiti and Samoa did not affect the legality of the payment. He said that in the past when Ministers had travelled outside the colony there had been no objection to the payment of travelling allowances. Mr Taylor: Oh, you are defending your own actions. The Premier added that he could see no objection to the charge made, which was for a legitimate allowance. He thought that the tone of our Parliament and of our public life was being degraded by the bringing up of these personal matter?. If they could not find anyihins more than

these paltry personal questions, and if they could not assail Ministers on largo policy questions, then it were b&itcr that members should remain silent.