Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 8th., 1921. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 January 1921, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY Bth., 1921. THE WEEK.

Thk holidays and the attendant events have been the all engrossing business of the past few days. Except for a. decidedly wet day on Boxing Day, regal weather has prevailed, and those following the outdoor sports have had a record season for enjoyment. The racing and trotting carnival has been a marked success. For the ten days’ sport provided at Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika quite a record period has been established. In the ten days the sporting clubs -.distributed £8,720 in stakes, and all the meetings Svere a. remarkable success. Judged by the totalisator turn-over, the returns were indicative of a period of marked prosperity. In the course of the ten days the totalisator figures ran to £l2B, made up as follows: £ Westport Trots 20,333 Greymouth Daces - 40,313 Greymouth Trots 32,516 Hokitika Races 24,441 Hokitika Trots 10,458

Total 128,061 The average investments per race on flic above turnover worked out as follows at tho respective, meetings. Greymouth' trots, £2,003; Hokitika races, £1,746; Greymouth races, £1,679; Hokitika trots £1,494; Westport trots, £1,271. All tho Clubs will show substantial returns, and it is expected the trotting meeting at Greymouth will yield a profit of over two thousand pounds. The racing carnival will not conclude till Monday, but the figures already indicate it has been put on a very thriving footing, and tho Clubs will need to cater for both larger fields, and larger attendances of the public. Locally, tbe experiment of a reduced uniform charge for admission to all parts of the course proved successful, and given a favourable day next Boxing Day, there seems to he no reason why Hokitika should not put up its best record yet on the local racecourse. The reputation of the Clubs was enhanced certainly by the marked success of the recent race and trot meetings.

Some suggestions have been offered through the press these past few days to make this year a year of special effort in local development and progress. A great deal can he done by united action if the people would but organise. The .present time is peculiarly opportune. First and foremost there is work to do. The town as well as the district at large has requirements of an urgent nature which should he attended to. It

is a case of the people largely helping themselves. There is certainly the op-

portunity to do so if the folk would cooperate. There is a large amount of money voted for Westland ior expenditure, yet how much work is actually in 1 hand ? Several large works are provided j for on the Estimates, but the money ' awaits the effort of expenditure. What seems to be everybody’s business is no--1 body’s business in the end, and so the l weeks go and large grants remain unexpended. In a brief three months

, tho financial year will be at an end, ! and then the unexpended balances will be carried forward. The money will not be lost in the sense that these votes will disappear, but in carrying forward j the amounts, it will mean that so much I less new money will be denied the dis--1 triot next allocation, and to that extent 1 a loss will be experienced. Such being tho cafte it is for the local bodies and the other associated institutions to cooperate unitedly in demanding that the works should proceed as quickly as posj sible. It is a case of the people helping themselves by seizing resources at hand ' to carry out large developmental works which accomplished would assist materially to help the district ahead. Nor need the effort rost at that point. There ? is room for self-help in our own town by brightening and cleaning it up, and making it a place where visitors could remark upon in a complimentary strain, and so advertise the town as a t suitable residential quarter. 'Hie prospects for work of this nature are very promising at this juncture for the reason that we have entered now upon a year of special promise,, and tho many m opportunities open should not be lost nor valuable time wasted.

Thu probable settlement of the Irish impasse Ims taken a more favourable turn during the week, and the hopeful outlook will be generally appreciated. As a contemporary says: The more or less ,‘sensational circumstances of Do Valera’s rctujn to Ireland are overshadowed in interest by the possibility that the event may portend serious negotiations aiming at the re-establish-ment of peace and order. It is suggested in a message from New York that the so-called President of the Irish Republic lias returned to open up negotiations. and this seems the more likely since ho was under little temptation to return for any other purpose. Apart from tho risk he runs of being apprehended in Ireland (unless lie is granted safe conduct with a view to the discussion of settlement terms) lie would probably find it much less easy to get. safely away than he did to enter tho country. It if anything adds to the significance of De \ alera s return and Hie prospect*? thus raised that he is alleged to have lost all influence over the inner circle of the Sinn Item extremists. One condition of the re-estab-lishment of peace in Ireland is the emancipation of the mass of the people from tbe influence of irreconcilable .extremists. Hopeful progress in this dir-, ection is implied by the report that De Valera is now repudiated by those who wish to carry the campaign of murder and violence to the bitter end. If the extremists themselves are splitting, an additional hope is raised that factors making for a settlement-may be destined to prevail.

A Sydney correspondent writing in the middle of the Christmas holidays said that for about the eighth time in three years the shipping services between New Zealand and Australia are disorganised and New Zealanders, who in many cases are suffering considerable monetary loss and the maximum of inconvenience ,are probably asking what it i.s all about. One may say at once, that the genesis of the trouble lies in tlie mutual hatred between tho shipowners and the powerful unions ol their employees, which are more or less dominated by extremists. The owners have had their businesses disorganised again and again by strikes, and —naturally enough perhaps—are in a resentful, intolerant temper that does not make for peaceful negotiations over industrial troubles. The employees seek deliberately to hanass and upset industry at every opportunity. These are the contending forces behind tho stewards’ dispute, which is nothing in itself, and only a cloak to the greater struggle. The stewards sought an eight hours’ day, with a bigger pay and a definitely higher overtime rate. They we.ro given certain concessions, but were dissatisfied, and while engaged in further negotiations with the owners began to talk strike. Tlwj owners promptly called their bluff. The stewards then had either to go on with tho strike, or surrender. They have gone on with the strike, and the employers now are simply tying up their ships as they are thrown idle, paying off the crews, and grimly waiting. The stewards, they say must go back before they will even talk to them. Meantime they are carefully doing nothing to give offence to the other steamer employees, who are part of the powerful Transport Workers’ Federation. In the attitude of tho latter lies the owners’ main hope.' The fact is that the other maritime unions are very angry indeed with the stewards for •precipitating the strike. Although they are bitterly hostile to tbe owners, they were not at present prepared for a strike. They have no money at all, and their organisation is not good. They can see that all the strategic advantages are with the owners—that if they are manoeuvred into a big strike, they will he weakened greatly for some time to come. They have already ordered the stewards hack to work, but the stewards will not obey. Meanwhile there are about 25,000 men already thrown idle in Australia, and the coastal passenger .service is completely idle.