WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 July 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

ARMOUR AGAIN

THE AMERICAN PROTEST

(Our Special Correspondent;

WELLINGTON, July 15

The United States Government is showing no disposition to allow the Armour incident to rest where it stands at present. 'Through the Consul-General in Auckland it is protesting against the action of the New Zealand Government in refusing to issue a meat export license to • 1 -1 - . American firm. The effect of this refusal is to leave the firm with some 300,000 carcases of mutton on its hands, running up a big account j for storage and not improving in qua.l- { ity. The Americans, with redoubled j zeal since the war for the well are ol j their oversea trade, are not going to , submit to this kind of thing in silence. They have told the New Zealand Gov- , era meat as much in so many words, and Sir Francis Bell, remembering 1 a constitutional usage, lias referred them to the Foreign Office in London. Previously be had mentioned to tiie ConsulGeneral. almost flippantly, that commercial methods which could not be tolerated in the United States would not be endured ill this country. flic truth of the matter is that America's persistence has carried the incident beyond the range of colonial diplomacy and given it the significance of an international problem. THE PREMIER AND THE SESSION. Tf Mr Massey is to be back in the Dominion at the beginning of October, as indicated by a cable message yesterday, lie will have to leave London not later than five weeks lienee. W lien he left New Zealand he expected to he oil his way home at the I,('ginning of August; but the Imperial Conference, while demanding his close attendance, has not made very rapid progress witli its programme and the other important matters requiring his attention appear [o he in much the same ease. According to the arrangement sketched out by the Prime Ministei himself. Parliament was to he called together two or three weeks before his arrival, so that the pre- ! liminarv work ol the session, including i the Address-in-Reply. might he got out j of the way before he toek his seat. But i in political circles it is thought his colleagues will he anxious to cut down this ‘marking time" period to the smallest j possible dimensions. Sir Francis Bell’s tactful guidance will not lie available in the House and without this little useful business could be done. Parliament almost certainly will have to remain in

session over the Christmas holidays and this being the ease there would he little advantage in saving a day or two.

BUTTER. The removal of the prohibition from the export of butler means that tin* local demand has not been sufficient, to absorb the whole ot the output from the factories since the termination of the contract with the Imperial authorities. Xow the consumers, as well as the tanners. are spec ulating as to what will happen when the Government subsidy terminates at the end of next month. In the ordinary course the* price should be the London parity and at t’ e moment, there seems no likelihood o! the natural operation of the law of supply and demand being disturbed. The recent advance in the prices at Home, however, has inspired many ot the producers with the hope that the rate here will he Is 9d or Is 10(1 at the beginning of next season with an upward tendency. Locally the farmers would not he grudged their good fort tine, lot the public, while -till iesent ing the inequitable operation of the last butter subsidy, have conic' to realise during recent months that the urospeiity of the man on tlm land is essential to the prosperity of the' rest of the community. IMMIGRANTS.

Notwithstanding the speeitms ell or Is that arc being made by the Ollicial Labour Party to depress and discourage' the immigrants landing in the Dominion i'oui the Mol her Country just now. the

majority of the new arrivals appear to le fairly well satisfied with their outlook. The Wellington and southern contingents brought out bv the Runtime reached here from Auckland yesterday.

They include a number of Welsh miners

under contract to tho Westport Coal Company at 26s a day and 10 or 50 domestic helps under arrangement with

tiie Government. These, ol course, arc' relieved of any anxiety concerning the immediate future, hut like the rest ol the new arrivals they have been subject to the pressing atleiitions ol the* ropro-

sentativc's of the extremists. For the

present, however, 1 Ik* reply ol the miners to all the invitations to join in making trouble is that the outlook here is very much brighter than the reality at Home, and that they will ascertain the facts before committing themselves to any political action. On the whole, these mc'ii arc* of a very good type, both physically and intellectually tin* equal ol the average New Zealand minor, and the domestic helps, though very English

in some instances, are hound to settle down comfortably as useful members ol the community.