WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 December 1920, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

FREEZING TfP.RKS dispute.

A DEADLOCK. (Our Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON, December 12,

The freezing works dispute has reached a deadlock from which there appears to 'be no prospect of an early escape. The men have refused the offer of a 20 per cent ndvnce in wages to piece workers and 224 per cent to time workers, and diplomatic relations between the parties, so to speak, have been terminated for tlio time l>eing. The position is not so serious from the company’s point of view, as it would havo been had there been no Imperial meat to clear put of the stores, but many farmers have stock they would have liked to send in before Christmas which they now want to hold over for art indefinite period. The men hold that the companies by refusing to confer with the men in regard to '"ages have made themselves responsible for what is happening, but the companies retort that the Arbitration Court is always available and so the exchange of familiar recriminations proceeds. PUBLIC WORKS VOTES.

The HOll. J. G. Coates, who was away from Wellington when the local Progressive League roundly denoiilived his allocation of the public works expenditure, came forward this morning with a reply, which his critics Refuse to accept as convincing. He objects first of all to the analysis of liis expenditure being made on the basis of 11 ogressive league districts and not on land or provincial districts, which, he says, results in an unfair present,!-ion of the position. Then lie claims he allocated the money in tho iliest interests of tile districts as a whole, giving weight to the fact that the policy of the Government is to help those districts that are prepared to help themselves. Auckland had been particularly active in this' respect and consequently it had obtained by way of subsidies' what’ appeared to be a large share of the funds available. The Wellington Progressive League is now protesting that this method of distributing is utterly unfair. .CONAN DOYLE.

Sir Conan Doyle’s audience at his first lecture .here on Saturday night was limited only by tho holding capacity of the Town Hal). Of course the lecturer’s reputation as a writer of delightful fiction would have won him a kindly reception in any English speaking community, but a. large part of his big audience was attracted by curiosity in regard to his exposition of the mysteries of spiritualism. In this respect he was a little disappointing to the sceptical and even to those with the open mind that rather wanted to bo convinced. There was, however, a very general feeling that-/ Sir Conan Doyle himself was perfectly sincere in his beliefs, that he was attempting no disguise and Hat he was entirely free from the arts of tie charlatan. Orthodox people of course are both shocked and grieved that Ilio. famous novelist should lie devoting hi? talents to such a purpose, but even they are comforted by lxis reverent treatment of sacred subjects. THE DEFENCE STAFF.

Many members of the Defence Staff are very angry with the Government for having cut down the expenditure for the military establishment to n figure which, they say, can make only for hopeless inefficiency. “With every expert in the world saying that the next arena of war will lie in the Pacific,” one of them complains, “the Government has decided to cut down its military expenditure, because of the silly catch-cries of people who vapoured about tlie evils of the ini.it.uy caste when it was plain that such a caste could not exist in a democratic atmosphere‘such as we have in New 1 Zealand.” But the real 1 , trouble is not tlie fear of the rise of “military caste,’ but the exigencies of finance which do not permit tlie Government to accept in tlieir entirety any of Urn schemes of defence submitted by us military advisers*. It isimply lias to adjust its expenditure to the funds at its disposal.