WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 17 August 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE RAILWAYS. REDUCED SERVICES. (Our Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON, August U. The railway “cut”, which is now in I operation, affects chiefly the South Is- j land, where tho Christchurch-1 nvercar- ] gill express is running only three days ■■ " week and the services on many of the , branch lines are much reduced. The , Christchurch-Invercargill senvee, it is said, has been costing £3.000 a week' , and ’it is expected to save £70,000 a ; year hv halving the number of trains. , This of course, is only a- paper estimate and the authorities, though they admit no doubt of the accuracy ot their figures do not facilitate any close examination of them by outsiders. Ihe material for comparison is not easily available, but there is a very widespread opinion here that the hist increase in fares and freights has rather lessened than increased the net returns. The reductions in suburban and branch line services are certain to divert a good deal of traffic from the ratlwnys to the roads and this will not he a development welcbmed h:y the meal bodies concerned. A more important matter is that a-very large nninbe" of country children will he cut off from 11, ie schools they have been ajttenrtini’;. THE PERTH OF APATHY. The Welfare League, which has been striving for months past to arouse great er interest in national affairs, continues i to deplore the suicidal apathy of the great mass of the people. It admits the justice of Lord Bryce’s conclusion that the public men of the Dominion speak incr generally, are mediocre in intellect, lacking in vision and devoid of enterprise, hut it is less concerned by the limitations of the avejra-ge politician than it is by the indifference and eomplacenev of his constituents. “A people who are apathetic and indolent. or wholly engrossed in money-making mr pleasure,” it says, “cannot expect to have representatives of great abili v and high ideals. The representatives will bo like those they represent. ' ' lns of course, is an old axiom of popular government, expressed in a hundred different ways, but losing neither in point nor in Force hv the passage of the years. A constituency guts just the representation it deserves in Parliament. and if the Welfare League is to he accepted as an authority the deserts of tlm Dominion, as a whole, at the last general election were not- high. TARDY RETRENCHMENT. Sir Francis Bell, the Acting AT mister of Finance, has not vet had anything verv illuminative to sav in regard to the attacks that have been made driving the last week- or two upon his administration of ,tho Treasury. He has been taken to task strongly, not only by his political opponents, but also by his political friends, for having allowed the. departmental expenditure to mount np front month to month without making any serious attempt to cheek the increase. Apparently ho cannot effect any ronsideral# savings without reducing staffs or reducing salaries and he hesitates to do either on account of the danger of accentuating the unemployment difficulty. The simplest way to reduce expenditure would he to amalgamate a number of the existing departments, such os the Tourist Department and the Railway Department. hut as this would involve the retirement of n number of officers the Government probably will east the onus of making any movement of the kind upon Parliament. Tn the circumstances it is not surprising people are recalling Air Mnsjfly’s declaration in the House that, if rfcrcnehment became necessary ATinistors’ and members' sal aries would have to he fevievod. THE ABSENT PRTATE AITNTSTER• When both Houses of parliament expressed approval of Air ATassey going Home to attend the Imperial Conference, they doubtless expected the proceedings of the great gathering in London to he of far more importance than the passing affairs of New Zealand would he during his absence. Ret ns things were turned out. the Prime Minister has been sadly missed in the Dominion during the last few months. A one man Government may be quite unobjectionable so long as the one man remains at his post, but when the one man goes abroad the disadvantages of having all the authority and initiative of the Cabinet under one hat becomes painfully apparent. There have been scores of things in the Dominion requiring Mr Alassey personal attention during the last three or fiv " months and the inconvenience and loss occasioned by his absence well may set people asking if representation at the Conference under existing conditions is worth while.. The Dominion desires to be associated with the other parts of the Empire in this family gathering, hut it does not wish to have its internal affairs disorganised every second venr.