CANTERBURY MATTERS IN PARLIAMENT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8061, 13 July 1904, Page 3

CANTERBURY MATTERS IN PARLIAMENT.

fFEOII OtJR CORfcESi>O*i>KNT."J WELLINGTON, July 13. •REPLIES TO QUESTIONS. . lit the House of Representatives to-day Mini«tew replied to questions by members, the. following being of special interest to Canterbury : — TECHNICAL EDUCATION. Mr Tavlor: What steps does "the Government propose to take. to provide for the effective equipment of the technical classes of the colony, particularly in Christchurch, where the 'accommodation is said to bo ridiculously inadequate, ior the eight or nine hundred students attending the various classes? The -Minister replied that' during the last thiree years no- well-grounded application had been refused. He recognised that 'i*tto€ technical classes had increased from Übout.2oo in lSGl.to'6oo in; 1904. The ex"penditure on buildings, >equipMent and' capitation ha4 xi*en ftbni £3500 to £12,700 during 'the sam'^'p^rtod/ In regard to the Christchui;cjL*tfchnicnl classes, grants havo from {ijffi&j&jfi^iifa? fr-crn rnade in aid of; manent building;-; a mutter of co-isiderabls' urgency, and ample provision had been made for the work. The matter had been in the hands of tim local authorities sines tyst March, and still awaits their action. RAPAKI SCHOOL. Mr Parata: Whether a master has vet been selected' for the Maori school at Ilar pr.ki, as tho Maoris' are- desirous that the said school be opened -without tklay? Th«s Minister replied that a master had been appointed, and will take up his duties at the beginning of nest month. In the meantime arrangements are being made to effect some necessary repairs to tha buildings. ( AKAROA RAILWAY. Mr Rhodes: : Whether the Premier has yet received 1 from the Minister of Public Works an estimate of the cost of extending the .Akol'oa, Railway to tlk. head of tiiß Little River Valley, in accordance with the terms of his promise to a deputation of the Akaroa Railway League on June 12, ISOS, that he (Mr Sedddn) would bring the master under the notice of ( tho Minister of Public Works, and ask him to get estimates of the cost of the extension asked for and of the line to the head of the: Little River Valley? ... The Premier replied that there is no proposal to extend the Akaroa railway to the. head. of Little River Yalley. To make such an extension would preclude the chance of the railway ever being continued to Akaroa, except by such a. very long tunnel that its is hardly likely the Government would ever find the money. In order to reach Akaroa at anything like a reasonable- cost, the line must take to the hills immediately on leaving the present Little River station. A line constructed by this hill route to Akaroa would cost about J3345.0C0 if constructed according to the present standards. If, however, a- light line: would sufiioe, this would be a very good country in which to construct &uqh a line, as being ■ hilly and difficult, a material saving would in this case be effected. A light line, with curves of say thirty _ chains' radius' and grades up to about 1 in 24 on the straights, and compensated, for curva*ture, would cost about £115,000. If the idea of talcing the railway to Akaroa is abandoned' in the extension to the' head of tho Little Rivef Valley, as suggested in the question, would not cost very much, as the distanc9 is only about two or three miles 2 and 1 the country easy-. Being so close to an existing railway, however, it is a- matter for consideration whether such an extension is worth constructing at all. It would be inadvisable to construct a ra.il- ' way to Akaroa until after some of the large estates have been purchased and closer settlement accomplished. TRAMWAY EMPLOYEES. Mr Arnold: Whether the Minister of Railways can see his way to grant to tramHvay employecs^he concession of travelling on the 1 railway's at half the usual rates during their yearly holiday, their employment bei'n-g such that they cannot get away during the holiday season wlieu ordinary concessilM|s are made to the public? ! Sir^oseph Ward replied that this was, iil effect, a request to give a. section of the connnunitv a concession to which- they were not entitled. There was no good and sufficient reason for treating the . -tramway employees any. more than, any other faction of the community exceptionally, and differentiation, in their favour cculd not be authorised. CABLED MARKET REPORTS. , Sir W. J. Steward : If the attention of the Colonial Secretary : hai3 been called to the fact that in his cabled reports of tho London market the Agent-General has recently frequently omitfted to give quotations for grain ; and, if so, will he call attenticjn to the circumstance, and direct thait market prices for wheat, "bats, barley, etc., bo regularly supplied 1 ? The Minister replied that there has been no omission in the Agent-General's cattle quotations for grain, as hitherto grain has not been in the list of quotations he was required to cable. However, as a good, purpose would he served by having any ri&e in the quotations supplied, the A.g'entGeneral would be instructed to--' include them from time to time in his Weekly cabled market report. COAL CREEK POST OFFICE. Sir W. J. Steward : Whether the Post-mariter-Goneral, as prayed in a memorial recently addressed to him, will establish a post office at Coal Creek, South Canterbury^ so as to* 'meet the requirements of a large , number .of the settlers at Rosewill and in the neighbourhood of Coal Creek? The Postmaster-General replied that ;■ there' seems? to bo difficulty , in obtaining a suitable person to act as postmaster at Coal Creek. It appears from the report of the chief- postmaster at Timaru that whab the petitioners really desire is that a railway Resident ganger should be appointed, the wife of the ganger to act / as postmistress. The. Postal* Departmenjb^as now in communication with the Railway Department on the matter, -