STRATFORD NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 18, 21 June 1913, Page 3

STRATFORD NEWS.

| MR. HINE'S ADDRESS A FUSILADE OF QUESTIONS. j There was no dearth of questions at: Mr. J. B. Hine'B address to the electors j on Wednesday night. 'flic following query hud been handed to the Mayor be-1 fore the meeting:—Do you think the j increase of expenditure in the Immigra-, tion Department from £505 in 1912 to I £1205 in 1013 is justified? In salaries J alone the expenditure has increased as follows: —In 1912 there was one officer at £405 per year, and in 11)13 there was one at £Cpft, one at £250, three clerks amounting to £ls Oeach, a typist,at£Bo ) and a matron at £IBO per year.—Mr. Hine said he was not conversant with these figures, but he believed expenditure was justified if it would tend to bring to New Zealand the class of immigrants .that the country needed. ' Mr. Iline favored giving the people the right to decide "the Bible-in-Schools question. , Mr.- CD. Sole:, Ab Mr. Hine has repeatedly stated from'the public 'platform that the surpluses of the Liberal Government were ljpgus ones, could, he tell us if the statement published by the Hon. James Allen in his recent loan prospectus, that all the surpluses of the late Government.were genuine cash ones, with nothing brought forward from previous years, and that they had been i spent in reproductive public works, is true, or did the Hon. Mr. Allen only use them to deceive the British moneylender?— Mr. Hine challenged his questioner to state when he had ever said the surpluses were bogus. Mr. King: You have a convenient memory. Mr. Sole' said that lie quite well re- J memhered that Mr. Hine had said the I surplus was not worth a snap of the j fingers. Mr. Hine admitted that the surpluses ' were genuine cash surpluses. His party had never doubted the genuineness of the surpluses. Mr. Sole: I'm glad to get that from you. Mr. Hine added that it was Sir Joseph > Ward's Budget that he had said was not I worth discussing. Mr. Sole: Do you consider it was right and proper for the Massey Government to appoint an officer as physical instructor to the Education Department at a salary of £OOO per year without advertising for applications?— Mr. Hine said the salary seemed large in proportion to the salaries paid to school teachers, who had far greater responsibility, in that they had largely to mould the character of the children. (Mr. Sole: But do you believe in the principle?) Probably it would have been better to hove called for applications, but possibly Mr. Gnrlick was the only or the best man available. Mr. King: Could you inform this meeting how it is that although the revenue of the Dominion has increased to a certain extent, the expenditure has increased in a greater proportion to that 'Of the increase in-revenue? Does not this fact prove conclusively that the administration of the various Departments is infinitely worst than that of .the Liberal Government?— Mr. Hine quoted from the Public Accounts to show that the question was wide of the mark. The questioner said it referred only to railways, when the member said railway expenditure must keep on increasing. Next query: Do you think that stricter dairy regulations are necessary, seeing .that the Hon. Allen and Mr." Ctiddie, Chief Dairy Commissioner, sav that the quality of the butter and cheese, sent Home is deteriorating?—(Cries of ''The dairv. regulations! They're a sore point). —Mr. Hine said he remembered the old dairy regulations all right. He believed there was ground for enquiry, and if the conditions were found to be bad the producer must be made to face the music. He could not say if he were opposed to a Police Officers' Association until he knew what the association was for. What remedy would you suggest for unemployment? was the next question Mr. Hine said it was the State's dutv tn provide work for the workless, lut tVy need not worry about unemployment in New Zealand with the Pieform Paity in power. Question: Do you consider it a sound policv for a Government to adopt, seeing that at the present time- there is a financial stringency throughout New Zealand, to buy up large estates for settlement purposes, when Mr. Massey says there are millions of acres of Crown and native lands lying idle, especially seeing that Mr. Fraser says he cannot get any money for the roads and bridges of the Dominion?-Mr. Hine did not think the purchase of lands for settlement was hampering the development of the country. If it ever did so. then,it should be discontinued temporarily. Ho always had approved of the lands for settlement scheme, for it was not everyone who wanted to tafte.iip bush land and pioneer it. Mr. J. MoCluggagc: Taking the Ministerial statement as correct, that the underwriters of the recent loan have made a good profit out of it by soiling the debentures at £99 os per £IOO within two months of taking up the' loan by paying £9B per £IOO debentures to the Government, do vou think the latter price was a coup for the Government or a satisfactory financial transaction for the country?— Not being on the spot. Mr. Hine could not say. but Mr. Allan had done his best. (An argument ensued between the questioner and Mr. Hine regarding the various loans recently raised in London). Question: When the venort of the Commission on the work of the Public Trust Office comes before the House, will you vote for the adoption of the report, a copy of which- was published in the papers last month?—He would not give an opinion until he had carefully perused the report. Question: Can you suggest a moasir.< that would prevent persons who originally received money from that good Lib- { eral measure, the "Advances to Settlers. at 4% per cent., from now charging 13 per cent, and a bonus?— No. The persons who had borrowed money from the Department were entitled to' use it till the end of the loan term, but it was tha duty of the State to enter itno competii. tion with the moneylenders to keep down the rate of interest. Mr. Osmond reminded Air. TTine that [ he had said on the Stratford platform ■ that when the Reform Party got into . power and had a chanoe to' look into j the pigeon-holes thev would make such revelations as would electrify the country: and asked if anything of the kind I 1 had been found.—Mr. Iline'donied having' . made the statement. Had he made it \ the papers would have gofTit; and had the papers got it the Liberals would r not have been prepared to bring it forf ward at this meeting. , r Members of the nndieir.-' reiterated! that the statement had been made. Further questioned by Mr. Osmond.) • Mr. (line said the Ward Administration j had been guilty of Tamnianyism, and he himself had proved it in open court. It I was proved in the word? *f the recommendation to the House.

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I Mr. Osmond: Which member of the: I Ministry was. guilty?— Mr. Hino declinI od to enter into personalities, but r«I peated that the Ward Government had j "been guilty of practices which would not [hear the light of day." The previous (iovernments had been guilty of gross I mismanagement, showing that they were not lit to be entrusted with the administration of the affairs of the Dominion, so these had been entrusted to a fresh set of men. , , Mr. Osmond said Mr. Hine had promised information regarding "pickings" made by members of previous Governments out of loans.—Mr. Hine denied this, and said something about Mr, Osmond's imagination.—Mr; King: You have a very convenient memory! Mr. P. Davis: Are you in favor of a State bank ?—Mr. Hine said that he believed that something should be done whereby the huge profits of the banking institutions might be diverted for the good of t\\e State, and he was not sure! that a State bank would not be a good tiling to introduce into New Zealand, lie, was prepared to consider it. In answer id Mr. King, the speaker said he had Mr. Massey's word that nothing would be done jn the matter of Hie Opuiiake railway until the whole question of routes had been considered, and nothing had been done as yet. Replying to Mr. Sole, he said he did not know that "a working survey" was being made of the Te Roti route. Mr. McCluggage: Can you tell us why! the Massey Government made it impos- ', eible for a poor man with a family to, get on the land?— Mr. Hine denied "this. Mr. McCluggage said it was the result) of the regulations made under the Massey regime.—Mr. Hine wa,s doubtful, but promised to co-operate "with Mr. McCluggage in investigating and endeavoring to rectify any unjust regulation. j Mr. Sole wanted to know why the Government had made it impossible for fanners' single sons to take up Crown lands.—Mn Hine: That's not in the Act. —Mr.-Sole: But it's in your regulations. STRAY PARAGRAPHS , Stratford is to have a Parliamentary Union in place of the Literary and Delating Club that has done such good service in the past. At a meeting on Thursday night immediately after this decision was arrived at, the "House", met and debated a Bill submitted by a the Premier (Mr. C. D. Sole) providing for the abolition of military training. Mr. J. J. Staples led the Opposition, who proved too strong for the Government, and had the i measure rejected. There were between twenty and thirty members present, and good speeches for and against the measure were made. The next matter for debate is the reform of the Upper House. A quiet wedding was solemnised at Holy Trinity (Church ; ou Wednesday, when Miss Ada Rose Smith, daughter , of Mrs> E. Smith, of Stratford, was married to' Mr. George Wells, of Pending, the Rev. W. A. Butler officiating. The bride was given away by her brother, Mr. Walter Smith. Mr. Charles Smith was best man; and the duties of bridesmaid were carried out by the bride's sister, M>ss Florrie Smith. After partaking of a wedding breakfast at, the residence of the bride's mother, the happy couple motored to Tlawera en ■ route to their home in Feilding. New telephone posts are being put in in Broadway to shorten the spans of wire, and the Department is now busy with the. work. The question of Tilacing the telephone wires underground still awaits decision. Whangamomoiffi is to' have.a medical man, a member of the profession having taken up, .his residence there pe'rnratiently. Xn connection with this matter and the question of medical attention in the baekblocks, Mr. F. W. Court, chairman of the local medical association, will proceed to Wellington on Tuesday and interview the Minister of Public Health. Only two judgments bv default we're jriven at the Court on Thursday. Thomas Carson v. Albert A. Xelson, '£(!,. costs £1 4s 6d. and Manpy and Hassal v. P. Benneir, £3, costs 10s. I At the last meeting of the Borough ' Council it was decided to instruct the Inspector to rigidly enforce the bv-laws regarding the carrying of lights on vehicles. On Tlmrsdav a number .of prosecutions were iheafd at 'the Magistrates Court. A lad named Pascoe was convicted and discharged for Tidin" .'a bicycle 'on a footpath; Vernon Cra.wshaw, for riding a, hicvrlc without lights was convicted and fined fa with 7s costs; ; Erie Robertson, for riding a motor evele without lights was fined 10s and 7s costs; R. Wilson, V driving a. trap without sufficient lights was convicted and discharged. The particular-men are the men whom we like They appreciate-our clean and cosv saloon, the absolute clcanlhvss everywhere, promptness and excellent and lmirdressing. Tobaccos oiwrs. cigarettes,, and all smokers' sun-' <lnm are f»]\ y st .ocked-At Sharp'*. . The King's Birthday does not cause anv wont excitement when it ! falls in «j"'«™tor-as does the- present Sove" ! !ms . J»rth«lnv. It is not much of a aro olothed m warm underwear, a eood /ah" 1 " 1 t J n ""° at frora "The Kash" (Mulden and Marshall, proprietors)