NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2411, 17 March 1915, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

Despite the fact that Australia is one of i the principal wheat-growing countries of the world, the bread problem is as acute in most of the States as in New Zealand. Victoria has already been obliged to import, and the Government has secured cargoes from America aggregating 1,300,000 bushels. # Mr. Masse? imported his Canadian _ wheat at 6s. 3d., but' the price paid by Victoria will be about Ss. 2d. The wheat imported by the Victorian Government will be sold to the millers at 7s. Bd., a loss of sixpence per bushel. It was worked out that the price would mean a reduction of the price of flour from £16 15s, to £17 per ton, and it is stipulated that the price of bread shall not exceed ninepenco for the four-pound loaf. The figures show that our own Government has made a better bargain with tho Canadians than the Government of Victoria has done. The public is still somewhat in the dark as to the outcome of the recent conference aiming at tho co-ordin«i-tion of effort in the raising and disposal of the various patriotic funds. Are the series of resolutions adopted to be acted upon, or do they merely represent a pious expression of opinion.by the delegates? One proposal was that the. Government should make a definite grant .of £5000 per molith to the Belgian Fund, and subsidise voluntary subscriptions on a pound for pound basis to the extent of another £5000 per month. It is not easy to reconcile this request with the principle set out in Mr. Lewis Harcourt's telegram on tho subject. Mr. Harcourt stated that the Imperial Government, while generally favourable to the Belgian' Commission's work, could not subsidise it while the German Government continued its pecuniary exactions in Belgium. "The a,ppeal issued by the Commission in Australia," added the Secretary of State, "is presumably not an appeal for Government subsidy, but for private subscriptions similar to the appeal issued throughout the world." It is not apparent whether the conditions have changed since this message was received or whether tho suggestion of the conference is that the Government shall test the strength of tho Imperial Government's objection to a- State subsidy to the Belgians—an objection' implied but not explicitly stated in tin terms of the published message. Whatever the position in this regard the most necessary step at the present moment is that tho gross total of the amount raised in the Dominion should be available, say, week by week. Only by somo such means will it be possible to know whether or not further effort is needed to ensure the dispatch of our quota to the fund each month. Much as The Dominion differs from Mr. Fletcher on many ques-' tions of public policy it has no desire to do him an injustice. In a comparison of the wharfage charges in Wellington with those of Auckland and Lyttclton made in a paragraph in yesterday's issue we find on closer examination that the position was not stated accurately. In Wellington the wharfage, of course, includes labour, while in Auckland and Lyttelton it does not, and before a contrast oan be drawn allowance must be made accordingly. This, however, does not obviate the fact that the Harbour Board's expenditure has shown a marked tendency of recent ..years to increase at. a greater rate than the revenue, and that tho cost per ton of handling cargo has grown as tho volume of traffic has increased, and this despite the installation of costly plant for working the wharves economically. Harbour Board affairs have shown a steady drift, and not in the direction of increased efficiency, if by that term one understands the rendering of a maximum of service at a minimum of cost. (