COST OF WAITANGI.

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXII, Issue 62, 9 February 1934, Page 2

COST OF WAITANGI.

i * ( Notwithstanding the denial of the Prime Minister, the Kt. Hon. G. W. I Forbes, that there has been unneccsI sary extravagance in the preparations | for the Waitangi celegrations, we i doubt not that the matter will be the | subject of considerable comment, not i only in the Press but during the next ; session of Parliament. The function ; appears tc have been one of those which gather strength, and expense,

with the advance of time. It was fitting, of course, that the formal handing over of the gift of the GovernorGeneral should have been the central feature of the gathering of natives and Europeans, but the authorities in charge of the arrangements appear to have spread themselves without stint. It will, naturally, be impossible to ascertain the total cost to the country, because no doubt a considerable portion will be clouded in departmental expenses. The most striking commentary on the lavishness of the preparations is that of a settler at Waitangi, who states that while the settlers have for years been trying to obtain an inexpensive bridge to give access to their properties, a much more expensive structure has been erected at the mouth of the river for this auspicious occasion, in a position in which it will he of no use to the settlers. It would seem that the lesson of economy has not even yet soaked into the heads of some of those responsible for departmental administration.