WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 January 1920, Page 1

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(Our Special Correspondent),

COAL SHORTAGE,

APPROACHING FAMINE,

WELLINGTON, Jaiiuaiy 7. The coal shortage in Wellington has reached an extremely acute stage, the stage of famine indeed, and there is no prospect of relief in view. Supplies are being doled out to dealers in live, ten and fifteen ton.lots, at long and irregular intervals, and those, again, are distributed as.far as they will go, in quarter bag and half bag parcels, tho carttage in many cases costing as much as the coal itself. It is safe to say that

not half the homos in the city at the present time have a week’s supply of

fuel on hand, aud that many of,the other half arc little better off. So far the gas-cooker, has saved the situation in many households, but the GasiCompany has let it be known that the supply may bo reduced at any . time, and if this should occur the house-wives’ troubles will be greatly aggravated. GOING SLOW AND GOING SHORT. The main cause of the trouble is, of course, the limited supply coming from the West Coast, and tho cause of the 'limited supplies is the “go-slow” policy 'adopted by the miners there. This, at 'ally rate, is the opinion of ninety-nine 'out of every hundred people in Wellington, and the feeling of resentment 'against the men is becoming very strong. The public understands pretty 'well the nature of the quarrel bc--1 tween the miners and their employers and its disposition is to sympathise with the men,, whose work is known to be arduous and perilous and entitled !to very generous remuneration. But the public realises there are constitutional methods of settling the differnnciis between the.,parties,,and contends ’there is no legitimate excuse for making it a chopping block, so to speak, in this wrangle between, Capital and Labour. ..., ,!I I • ’ , i . - » LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL REFORM.

The Gazette notice, that . the Legis’a live Council Act suspended during the “party trqce” , ss jipd , the existence •of the Cabinet, is to be wrought into force fit' the expiration of the prcs'cri'bod period, so far has attracted little attention. The effect of the Act as it stands would be to make the Ilegislative Council gradually elective under the present franchise and by a system of proportional representation. When it was passed through Parliament in 1914, its nature was not fully understood by the Reform majority, nor, it would seem, liy the Ministers that promoted it, and Mr Massey already has indicated there will he material alterations in its character before it comes into actual operation. The-most important of those, it is said, will he a simpler method of dealing with the transferable votes and betjter provision for settling dead-locks between the two branches of the Legislature.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM. Tlio housing problem ol which there war. much talk on'all sides of politics during the recent election campaign, is ■threatening to require much more money for its solution than was expected to 'he the case when the legislation of last session bearing on the subject was placed on the Statute Book. This legislation provides that 'the Government may spend £1,000,000 on its own housing schemes, may advance up to £250,000, a year to employers for a similar purpose and £1,000,000 a yeai to local bodies. The Government already is practically committed to the expenditure of the sum it will control it s elf and the local bodies have applied for amounts which taken together would absorb another million several times over. The Christchurch City Council, to take one instance of local enterprise, wants £200,000, and several other bodies are eager to operate on the same scale. ■