COST OF WAITANGI

Wairarapa Daily Times, 3 March 1934, Page 5

COST OF WAITANGI

CRITICISM REPLIED TO. A statement made at a meeting of the Waikato branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union in reference to the cost of the Waitangi. celebrations was given an emphatic denial by the Minister of Finance, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, yesterday. At a meeting of the executive of the union at Hamilton on Thursday, the president, Mr J. H. Furniss, said he had learned from a reliable source that the ultimate cost of the celebrations would be in the vicinity of £IOO,OOO. Mr Coates said that Mr Furniss’s estimate of £IOO,OOO as the cost of the celebrations was absolutely unfounded. The tribes of the North Auckland district had acted as hosts to the visiting tribes, and had carried out all the work in connection with the camp, supplying the labour free. They had also attended to the cooking. In addition to that they had found 80 beef cattle, 50 pigs and 1000 poultry, while the Maoris from all over the North Island had contributed 200 tons of potatoes. The northern tribes had also found £7OO in cash by making a levy on their milk cheques. The Maoris had also been required to pay a portion of the transport charges. For instance, the Otaki Maoris had been required to find £2 each toward the cost of their trip. A special contract had been made with the Railways Department for the conveyance of the representatives of the different tribes to the scene of the celebrations. ‘ ‘ The actual cost to date, ’ ’ said Mr Coates, "is £8650. This does not take into consideration the cost of the Parliamentary party, but it has to be remembered also that certain amounts included in the £8650 are recoverable in various ways. This is likely to reduce this sum to the vicinity of £6OOO. It will thus be that Mr Furniss has been badly misinformed.”