WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 May 1917, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS

Military Matters. Thß Dunsdin Indictment. (Our Speoiel Correspondent.) Wellington, May 16 Sir Jam 93 Alan lost no time in replying to the sweeping ind'ctneot of the administration of tha Dffejca Da* partmeDt that came from Dunedin yesterday. Toe eminently respectable citizens who found in the Press Association a i-onpliant vehicle for the wide di.ktea i n of their startling accusations —doubtless with the best of inteati ns—simply repeated complaints which have become more or less fathil ar to the Minister by con- 1 ■ taut iteration since the beginning of the war. They had lent a-ready ear, if not an j pager one, to stories which bad bsen exploded a hundred times before and bad accepted as statements of fact j what really were nothing more than the expressions of biased opinions. Had they adopted the reasonable course of laying tteir complaints be- { fore the Minister and asking for an explanation they 1 would have obtained all the information they required towards a proper understanding of . the situation and would have done the people they wished to serve a much more useful service. WOLF ! The most unfortunate effect of these 1 hurried and ill-considered excursions i into print is that they divert public ■ attention from the real grievances 1 some of the po'diera and their depend- i ants are suffering. When the Minister has demolished a batch of extra- i vagaot or inaccurate stories by setting « ont the facts, more diffident people \ than tha members of the Dunedin j Patriotic Association hesitate to move even when there are neglect and in- < justice to be repaired-. i It is the old cry of “wolt" over 1 again. The Defence Department is ] very far from being infallible. The i best that can be saiu for it is that it ] is profiting by its experience and ( making fewer mistakes than it did in ■ the early stages.of the war. But it i ■till leaves room for plenty of honest, ] well-informed criticism and the more ( it gets of this the hotter it will be for the soldiers ajd their dependants and for the country as a whole. I MOKE wheat; | The allusion in the cablegrams to , the negotiations going on between Mr , W- D. S. MacDonald and the An*- , tralian Government for the purchase ; of a large parcel of wheat on account ■ of N§w Zealand has brongnt the food stuffs question again into prominence. ~/ Mr R K. Ireland, of (Jamarn, a miller of experience a id standing, haa written to the *‘ Dominion ” explaining bow all the wheat consumed in this country could be produced within its own borders and, of course,-his pre* misea are perfectly sound, bat the pressing problem is how to obtain a ■apply for our requirements in the near future. Food reformers are seizing upon the shiniog hour to tell us if we did not waste the most nutritious part of the wheat in making white flour the'ra would ba sufficient to Batisfy all our needs, end the free-, traders are calling out for a frank reliance upon Australia for our soppliss. From the multitude of counseijers wisdom may eventually evolve. STATE CONTROL. Mr Lloyd George’s advocacy of State Ujntrol of the liquor traffic with compensation, as they assume, doss not appear to be reconciling the local prohibitionists to the reform. They atill will be satisfied with nothing short of th 9 total abolition of the accursed traffic," lock, stock and barrel, and will listen to no suggestion of compromise. However, they are giving away their case to soma extent by urging Government to exercae the power it possesses under the War Regulations to close the publio bars at six o’clock and so put a stop to the promiscuous drinking that goes on far into the night. Quite probably this instalment of State Control would