WELLINGTON NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1918, Page 1

WELLINGTON NOTES

THE' WAR. HISTORY AND PAINTING. (Our Special Correspondent) WELLINGTON, June 19. Tt seems that the Dominion is to have official war paintings as well as an official war history. The Minister of Defence has the latter undertaking in hand and already lias invited relatives and friends of soldiers to for,ward to the Base llecords'Offiec letters and and any other material they have in their possession likely to be useful in carrying out the work. Now the Alinister of Internal Affairs is giving interviews to the newspapers from which it may he assured his department will have charge of the artistic side of tlio enterprise. INTr Russell lias a nice tliscrirmnation in both literature and art, nnct if history is to he written and pictures painted under ministerial supervision he would bear Die responsibility ns cheerfully as would any of liis colleagues but with a lively recollection of the works of New Zealand sculptors standing in various public places supercritical people are not joining heartily .in the Minister’s proposal that the official war pictures should he entrusted to local painters. PILLAGING.

Thefts from ships and from the wharves, mainly of small articles of no great value in themselves, have become so common in Wellington l'“ J the authorities arc at last taking drastic

action to lesson their frequency. A year or so ago they appointed special detectives, amateurs with a good knowledge

of shipping and waterside work, in fclic liope I hat they would bt» able to lay their bauds upon the offenders with more certainly than the ordinary police had done; but the result was not very satisfactory and the petty pilfering went on. Another remedy is now heind tried Tito authorities instead of asking for leniency in sudi*eases as are brought before the .Stipendiary Magistrate are pressing for exemplary punishments, and yesterday a waterside worker with a good record of thirteen years was sent to gaol for stealing four small packages of dried peaches.. This is the sort <:!' treatment pilferers may expect in i’lN ture.

HELPFUL CRITICISM

The lead given to the dissatisfied members of the community bv the Trade and Labour Council in protesting against the administration oi' the National Government has opened the floodgates to many pent up complaints. It is not only in Labour circles that “helpful criticism” of the candid friend ries-’ eription is being heard to-day. Business men, who have growing grievances against the Railway Department, and. in a less degree against lie Post and Telegraph Department are voicing them quite freely and even newspapers Glare all for the suspension of the party light till after the war are deploring the absence of an official opposition to re view the policy and administration ol the Government. With the war still in the critical stage and with the meeting of Parliament four months away talk of this sort will break no political bones, but .it may be some indication of what will happen when the Germans are beaten.

SUPPLANTING THE COW

A gentleman with large interests in the Pacific Islands passing through Wei-' lington this morning on his way to the National Dairy Show at Palmerston North had a good deal to say about the impending substitution of the coeonmH for the cow. He had not read Mr Singleton's remarks on the subject at the recent meeting of the South Island Dairy Association but he had travelled much and enjoyed the special- opportunit" for observation mid was satisfied that within n decade more butter would be produced from vegetable oil than, from cream. The story ot course, is several decades old, and there still are many practical and scientific people who believe that the cow will survive, hut if this traveller's information is correct it will not he many years before margarine, if that is name of the future, to the palaf-* will he indistinguishable from the product of butter-fat..