WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 July 1921, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

POSTAL REFORM

BY SM ALL DEGREES

(Our Special Correspondent;

WELLINGTON, July 1

When the ‘ Wellington Chamber of Commerce a week or two ago took the Post Office authorities to task for the irregularity'of the oversea mails and the unnecessarily early closing of . the interprovincial mails, the local papers had never a word to say in support of the business man’s protest. Such is the way of the Press of the capital city. The politician is legitimate game tor poignant criticism, hut the public servant in, his thousafiils must, not be touched fiy sacrilegious hands. But really, individually and collectively, the public servant is quite amenable to the reason of plain facts. The Chamber of Commerce overlooked the most flagrant of all the incongruities in the service, the closing of the southern mail at 6.15 p.m. to catch a boat leaving the Ferry wharf. 300 or 400 yards from the Post Office, an hour and a half later, hut the association in these columns of this long-standing grievance with the complaints of the Chamber, has led to the extension of the closing hour to 6.45 p.m. and to much consequent rejoicing among Hit users of this particular mail. SAVING THE RATES.

It looked for a time as if no one would raise a voice against the “Saving the Rates” policy propounded hv the new Mayor in his dolorous statement concerning the financial straits of the city. Mr Wright had gloried in being f the old school which required every man to f)av for his own recreation, and every municipal service to be conducted on a strictly commercial basis. Rut at last the “Dominion,” having taken thought, rallies Mr Wright upon his antiquated notions of civic government and its responsibilities. “In a modern city,” it says “areas devoted to open air sport and recreation are just as necessary as streets, and the ruling aim ought to l>c to make them available on as liberal a scale and on as liberal terms as resources will permit.” And tlion, unkindest out of all, tliis champion of the newer school suggests to the adherent of the old that what Wellington needs is not cheese-paring' economies, but. closer and more intelligent attention to the management of its various trading enterprises. UNEMPLOYMENT. In a statement issued this morning the Minister ol Labour remains optimistic in-regard to the unemployment question. The position is not growing worse, the Labour Department reports, and Mr Anderson accepts this as .an indication that the steps taken by the Government are sufficient to meet all the immediate necessities of the men out of regular work. Rut the Labour organisations are taking smieely the same view of the situation. They allege, rather vaguely it must he confess.(l. that there are hundreds of men out of employment who will accept the lower pay offered by the Government only as a last resort and -who in tho Meantime are rapidly exhausting their 'ittle savings. If this is really the case r.he needs of these idle hundreds are not being brought under the notice ol orivate employers. - That there are men out of work and that their number t ikely to increase during the next nontli or two is obvious to everyone, but >t is incorrect to say tho city is crowded with willing workers unable to find employment. Statements to tliis effort are quite unjustified. SOLDIER SETTLERS. The Government, and the Land Hoards still are Doing deluged with apulieations from soldier settlers for reductions in rent and in the capital valuation of their sections. The Minister of Lands is meeting these applicalions in a. generous spirit, w-herevor good cause for consideration can he shown, hut lie has no authority to make permanent reductions either in rent or in capital valuation and the most ho has been able to do so far is to authorise the Land Hoards to postpone the payment of-rent up to two years without charging interest. Rut while this gives the men temporary relief, and to this extent is very acceptable to many a struggling settler, it does not lessen their ultimate obligation, and there now is a growing agitation for the revaluation of all soldier settlement land. This aims at an amendment of th£ law which would shift the loss entailed by the decline in values from the shoulders of the settler to the shoulders of the State and there is a pretty general feeling in political circles here that the agitation will succeed.