WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 January 1917, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

The Holiday Season.

A Gay Christmas. (Our Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Jan 3 The holiday season ended as it began with records in every directionrecord receipts On trams and trains, tecord attendances at race meetings, record' investments on the totalieator, record crowds iD tearooms, record audiences at places of entertainment — and so far as Wellington people are concerned there Is no occasion for them to shout to the Gorman Emperor and to ihe world at large they are not down-hearted. They never have seemed in gayer mood.

But perhaps in this respect the capital city has some excuse for appearing less sedate and subdued ia war time than do the other big centres of population. It always has a largo number of soldiers on its hands, and though many of the men got away to their own homes at Christmas time a large number remained behind to become the guests of the city and of private hands. The soldier cannot take his pleasures alone and many a khaki-clad lad found himself the centre of a whole family group in the pursuit of amusement on his account. The spirit of true hospitality was abroad and for its sake the rest may be forgiven. THE WHEAT PROBLEM. The proverbial little bird has whispered that there is a difference of opinion among the members of the Board of Trade in regard to the price to be guaranteed by the Government for wheat and that a majority and a minority report will be presented to the Acting Minister of Industries and Commerce in the course of a few days.

If this is really the case it ia tolerably safe to predict that the majority report will recommend a figure slightly below 5/ a bushel and the minority report one substantially higher. The Minister was not inclined to give any further information on the subject when seen this afternoon, but in discussing tho general outlook he conveyed the impression of having thoroughly digested the various representations that have been made to him on the essential point in dispute. Ha believes that plenty of farmers would be prepared to grow wheat at 5/ or even a shade les3 and that if Canterbury were not satisfied with this price under a State guarantee some of the other provinces would think seriously of taking up the industry cn a larger scale than they have done in the past. It is understood the Board of Agriculture has askod to be allowed a word on the subject and probobly it will confer with the Minister and the Board of Trade early next week. RECRUITING. A big tax is to be placed upon the military organisations at Trentham and Featherston during the next ten or twelve days, when some 5,000 recruits will enter upon their trainiag and the Twenty-fourths will ehange camp in order to make room for the Twenty-fifth Reinforcements. An enormous amount of work will fall upoq the staff iu clothing, equipping,

accommodation and allotting to units the new drafts, but the Minister has no doubt of it being performed satisfactorily.

Mr Alien’s optimism, which is, by the way, a growth of recent years, is infections and the officers at Treutham and Featherston are awaitiog the test of their arrangements as confidently as the civil head of their department is doing. The delay in mobilising the Twenty* fourth gave many people the impression that the Minister was skipping one of the monthly Reinforcements, but the arrival of Twenty-fifths only a week later will practically make up the lost time and fulfill the letter as well as the spirit of the Dominion’s undertaking. THE BALLOTED RESERVISTS Both the Twenty-fonrth and the Twenty.fifth Reinforsemenfs will include a certain number of balloted Reservists and it is pleasant to hear of the readiness of the men already in camp to welcome these recruits as cordially aa they have their other comrades.

Thanks largely to the Minister’s insistence upon the true military spirit being observed, the men who waited for the call and respondsd promptly will be treated no differently from those who anticipated i f , There are still a few reservists who have not reported themselves to the authorities, but probably some of these have not been reached by the notices dispatohed to them when their names were drawn in the ballot. If there aie others anxious to test the reality of the compulsion which Mr Allen has wished to keep in the background, they will be discovered when iheir draft is mobi’ised and will be relieved of any doubts they may have on the subjeot. The Minister has been very patient and considerate in introducing the Dew system, but he has no intention of allowing any Reservist to escape biß obligation by simply ignoring them,