The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1908. SWEETENING THE CONSTITUENCIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13647, 15 July 1908, Page 4

The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1908. SWEETENING THE CONSTITUENCIES.

Mr Masspy seized the opportunity afforded by the opening «f t.h„ <t e > "" Ul ° Financial Statement hint evening to make a strenuous though, wo fear, useless, protest, against, the way in which tho Public Works Fund, is manipulated every year in ' which 'a general election occurs. . Before, coirar.lenting particularly upon this

portion of his speech, we may bo allowed to emphasise the disadvantage under which ho laboured in being obliged in criticise tho- Einanoial Statement in the absence of several of iho mniU important Parliamentary documents affecting llio revenue and expenditure of the, colony. There aw limits, of course, to the amount, of work ihal. can. be. .got. through by Iho (iovernment Printing Office, hut, as the financial year ends on .March 31st, it. should not. bo an impossible task for Ministers and departmental heads to have I hese documents prepared and printed in time for presentation to 'the House before the middle of duly, and unlcn the financial, -debate is io bo robbed of more, than half its value, they .should certainly be available to members who have, the desire and the ability t<> make an intelligent, study of the various accounts that are gathered up in the, Budget-. We also feel bound to say, before passing <iu Io our main theme, that it, is difficult. Io believe Mr Massey has been correctly understood in his remarkis relating Io the accountancy of the Post and Telegraph

Department. lie is reported to hav objected to the practice of charging addi lions in this department Io capital, bu where the addition is a genuine exlen.sioi of the department's plant, and not. mereb a. replacement that has been worn out, il is manifestly a legitimate charge againsl capital. VVe are. anxious, however, 01 1 his occasion to <lirect .special attention to the assertion jnade by the Leader ol the Opposition last night in regard to (In! bribery of (he coiislituencies with public mloney on (.he eve of a general election. Probably no useful purpose will be served by ko doing, because the average elector, while he may lie fully cognisant of the vicioilsness of I he system, is only too ready io lake advantage of it, and regards (he advent of Die triennial poll as a, favourable, opportunity for squeezing his representative. We hail an illuetvation of this in our own columns this week in a, suggestion by a correspondent that, the electors of Tiinaru should let Mr Hall-Jones know that, if he wants to retain his seat, he will have to be mora liberal in I he expenditure of public money in his own district. Of course if there are legitimate objects upon which the ("Government can with advantage make appropriations in thifi electorate, by all means let, them be made, but it. is ieally a shortsighted policy to clamour for .he expenditure of loan money unless iL will pay for itself-cither directly or indirectly. The (iovernnie.nl, do not draw numey from an inexhaustible stocking; it, is tin; people's own money, either drawn from them by "laxalinn or bonowed upon the security of their properly, and as Mr Massey pointed out, last night, ihe, mure there is borrowed, the greater is the inherent debt, and the higher .must land valuations go in order lo meet that, obligation • ■veil though the ,-n1.,. „f direoi taxation. should appear Io remain mm altered. ]!ii! still we doubt, uo|. that, the public in every locality will bo insistent in their demands lor doles from, the Stale chest, and the < .'overmnenl, will be. given every excuse for disregarding the dictates of caution in Ihe maimer which heroines so evident every Ibree years. The device

is so Irun.spurenf, 111 at it can deceive nobody. During the financial year precedexpcudiluro from llm I'nlilic Works I''iiikl. was £1,208,933. That, uas a. fairly' substantial sli.inl, lull. Ilit> Public Works Ks: i.nialex passed on llm evil of llm ornertl. clcclinn itself uciii mi a, iiuirli grander iic-al.i, totalling no less lliau £tf,2H6,'. li. Tin votes I'm- rnad.s and bridges \\v o morn than doubled, tin! amount spent for 1904 5 being £226,462, and I lie estimate* lor 1905 6 being £513,969. Kxaelly dm same, dudg.t is being worked again for lliis rleelion. The e\ print Hiiro i.nl, nf Hi, Public Works h'lind fur I In; lai.l linalicial year was £1,hWi.591, while lliis year, willi all election in front of ns, il, is inlvlll.-ll In pri.viilo no Vss ii Mini lliau £2,4-11,f-00 for distribution by llie Public Work.; Jmparlmenl. .ludiriolisly allocated, ||i:if. amount, .should jk.i, |i„ without i(s inllu-ime, upon Hie election as well as 11)1,111 Urn progress and prosperity ~[ ||„. ~( , |( „ ,v , and llm public ~,„ |, u depended upon i.oL to realise, thai, ; ,f|er all the, , nnil ey h their own, and „oi. t,lm (iowrnmenl. s, ••'•"J <»'»l< Hioy themselves will he responsible lor il s charges.