NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2142, 7 May 1914, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The difficulty of arriving at a permanent satisfactory settlement ■of tho Wellitigtoa Waterside labour problem is shown by tho letter of Mb, W. G. Fost&r,. ohaii'iiaaii of the Citizens' Defence Committee,''and the statement, by the employers of waterside labour which ar© • in another column of this .issue. The pcresa-l of these documents in a fair and opqn-mhufed spirit establishes the conviction that the Defence Committee, in spite of many traubie-soriie and discouraging circumstances, have done their best to see that effest is given to the promise of iriioritf of engagement to those Hiemfciefs $1 the Wharf Labourers' Union ' who joiged on or -befare December 8. .The ecmiimttee's- task' has beeti a 'vfery trying one. They have hatt to "conitot the open hostility of a large section of those who took an active part in tlic strike, and they do not seem to have received as full a measure of support-and co-operatjori horn the preference men a* ■%y liave a right to expect. The difficulty of .carrying out the priority pledge, without' lowering the standard of efficiency or hampering the voi'k of the' port, has been very-great; bi-it-thcy have all, along recognised, a-mV still admit, the responsibility of doin? their utmost to give efafc to the pledge given to the men who rendered valuable service in a groat emergency. No one pretends that tW eommitteo's e.ffo>-ts in this direction have been completely suocoasful: l>ut they deserve the best thanks of tho community for the time and thought they have given to Sikh' somewhat thankless task, and it is to bo hoped that the men who are entitled to priority of Rngapefflcfit will do theivpart in making the work of ■the committee as. effectual as possible. The employers ftoatend that they sternly desire to adhere to their promise niadp in Dece-mber last. ! and they have a.right to -expect that the n«?ti concerned wil] assist their efforts, in every reasonable way. The Mayor of the- City, .In. J. P. - Luke, is naturally of «i cheerful, disposition, and his advice to councillors yesterday to sneak well of their ', rifcv , and help it along !;he up-grade ■ of prosperity oji which if is moving was seasonable. Business and trade ■ in Wellington just- mvi, are progress* ing very satisfactorily; there are signs of activity in various directions where, until recently, it- was lacking, and no one can doubt that the future hokls great possibilities for this, the capital city of the Dominion.' It is no -doubt be&uise of the inci'oasect buoyancy in tho affairs of the community that- tho Mayor has come forward, in conjunction with tho _ City Engineer, \vith tho lengthy- list of important proposals for extending the city's conveniences and adding ta_ its attractiveness as a, plnca of residence The average ratepayer on picking up his nmvspnper and noting the fatal amount of expenditure involved in ' the schemes under considor.ation-*-some-£3^o,ooo—will probably experience something of a shock at the magnitude of the coat to wljich lie is liable to stand committed. It is true that certain of th? expenditure may'be c-laasini as if ' not pvufit-oaviiiiijj, l.ut a part at Jeasl is in the lirtl.iiw of lusni'ii'S—very t!<>sirabli! nil-doubt, imt still hixu'rirM. At, til.' proper tinif a\tM of t.h n v«ri-. ous proposals will require to be con - sklercd sepfivfttely on.its merits, and before the ratepayers are railed vipon for n fiiwl decision a great-(teal moro information fban.is at present availabln wjlJ venuire to be lurtiishad. It is pvopesed, lei'" insfeeace, that tb as-

paiuhture shall b<? spread over a is- period of years, and ratepayers will ie want to know exactly what this i- means, and what aro the particular t- undertakings to receive first eona sideration, and the estimated returns so or prospective benefits to be derived ,'- therefrom. Unless we greatly misn ;iiK(ge tho temper of the average rateit, payer, to-day he will require to l)c n very fully persuaded respecting the ii : necessity for some of the proposed Lt nnd-ertakings before they find enr dorsejuent at his hands. At the same rs time, the spirit of progress is afoot, :- and the time is rine for a reasonable r forward movement. >f . ' . ,A ccbious situation arose in conneetion with the election of the !' chairman of the Wellington Harbour ■■ Board yesterday. Mr. ft. Fujtcher, I r?? 1 *? thc - facfc that he had alreadv " held the oitiec for four y«ars in buc- -■ cession,'again sought to secure it. , ! but on this occasion another candi- '" date was nominated. The outcome was that half the members of the ;> board voted for Mb. SaUksess and • the other half for .Mfli Fi,elc«ek. It " is pijovitloa that in the event of a . p f ft nature the fiftal decision shall be- trusted to chance by means of the- drawing of lots. In "the cijp cumstanccs, and especially i» view of " the equality of opinion on the board > it would have bcßft-a graceful act on L . the part of the diking eliairmau siMiiig thai he had .already held the . office continuously for sevei\il years ' to now make way ivt a colleaguo 'l who had Uever cnj&yed that privilege. Ma. Fietghek, however, way far too keenly nttxious 'to retain fiis hold on the'.position, and c i un . g t 0 " the CflaiKC of tho luck of the draw being in his favour. As it happened \ foj'tiuift favoured him, and he re- \ tains, ■the ehairmanship for another yea? .ifftder eircumstanees whieb he ; must; fed are far from fettering to , his self-nsteem, and which are hai'dly ; .likely to chock the very' mafked dfi'x -"liae in Ins personal,pop»iari'ty;