WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 January 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MINISTERS RETURNING TO TOWN

PRFPARATORY TO EXTENDED TOURS.

(Our Special Correspondent)

WELLINGTON. Jan. 7

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works were the first members of the Cabinet to return to town after the holidays, mainly, it would*seem, to make preparations for extensive tours of the Dominion during the next five or six weeks. Mr M assev will he detained here for some days by departmental business and by several public functions claiming his attendance, but Mr Coates left this morning for tin* Waitomo and Taranaki electorates, as the newspapers put it, to look into several matters requiring his attention there. The Prime Minister’s programme includes an early return visit to Auckland to welcome the officers and men of the warship Chatham and a trip to Otago and the West Coast of the South Island which may occupy him till well on to the end of next month. PUBLIC WORKS.

At the end of the present month Air Coates will commence a comprehensive tour of the South Island, beginning at .Marlborough and including an inspection of the various sites proposed for hydro-electric and irrigation works in Central Otago. The routes for the completion of the South Island Trunk Railw.iv will receive his special attention and in coming to a decision of this niattei he uiii lie proffered the assistance of the Al.ailboroiig.h Progress League, a body which has succeeded in directing a good deal of Wellington attention to tlu* needs of the districts it serves. When Cheviot was the objective of the Trunk line Wellington displayed little concern in the work, but since the spanning of the gap between Parnassus and Ward became the question at issue its interest in the undertaking has considerably quickened. THE TEACHERS’ PARLIAMENT. The conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute which is being held in Wellington just now has discussed a number of matters of vital importance to the community at large, but, as on former occasions, it has devoted a large part of its time and attention to the reiteration of teachers’ grievances. That members of the teaching profession have grievances of a more or less serious character every one admits, but some of the critics in no-

ticing the proceedings of the present conference declare that the quality of the teaching in the primary schools, speaking generally and admitting many exceptions, does not justify an all round increase in salaries. They argue, in effect, that nine-tenths of the teachers are paid as much as they are worth, and that the real reform required is the raising of the whole profession to the standard of the remaining onetenth. CITY TR AMS. The raising of the fares on the city trains continues to he a matter ol animated discussion. Critics ol the City Council’s management are insisting that while Wellington of the tour big cities, has the largest tram-riding public in proportion to its population, it obtains the return from its service. Whether this is a fact or not is a point on which the authorities disagree, quoting many factors which, they say, govern the- different cases, but it appears to be fairly certain that access to the suburbs is more costly in Wellington than in any ol the other centres. In any ease there is very widespread dissatisfaction with the management and if it is made a test question at the next municipal election many new faces may appear at the Council table.