WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 November 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Slit JOSEPH WARD. I I!ETIRN TO XKW ZEAANO. Si’HOIAI, TO tIUAItPIAN. WEU-INGTON. Nov. ‘J'i. Sir .Joseph Ward, who returned to Now Zealand by Liu- Tahiti on Alonj day. is not disposed to talk for pubii- | cation c oncorninojiis future movements. Tim suooestion that there is room for him in the public life of the Dominion nt the present time brines no response. further than an expression of j sympathy with the politicians who have |ln handle the affairs of the country in j these difficult- days, lie is not snnoiline 'of a spicily return to normal conditions. The purchasing power of the Motherland and of all the European • States has been greatly reduced bv the ! lV :ir and it must take them seven' 1 ! veal's to recover. Dear money by the i iu- xora ,!o law of economics is making dear products and prices for New Zealand's exports cannot fully l-ccoc* till tlie world has re-established itself. Meanwhile all sections of the community will have to face the inevitable with as cheery a spirit as they may and the Government will have to see they are burdened only with absolutely necessary taxation. THE PRIME MINISTER'S TASK.

Mr Massey appeal's to lie a little less confident aiiont his economies to-day tlnin lie was a week ago. Tlie cut in salaries is the most difficult part ■ his task and it lias not yet keen seriously attacked. When speaking on the subject in the House on Friday night he did not know how the reduction would proceed whether they would be more or less than 10 per cent., whether they would he graduated or not, whether they would he effective forthwith (It- by and by. Today he seems more beset with doubts than ever. “J» tlio case of employees whose salaries have I cen increased by a bonus.” he explains. ‘,‘tlie reduction must correspond with the decrease in the cost of living. It may not lie even five per cent. Nobody can tell till tile opportunity arises of going into the qnost ion and making a calculation.'' It looks as if tile civil servant, after all. stood a very good chance of maintaining bis salary intact.. THK RAILWAYS. Mr McVilly. the general manager of the Railways has been taking the employees of tile department into his confidence during tile last, few days a<nd telling them of tlie extremely unsatisfactory returns obtained from the 1 iii,.s during the current financial year. The reduction of services, instead of arresting the downward slide, has much accelerated it. Th,, portion was, Mr McVillv said to one section of the men. that during the year the revenue had advanced by just- under 20 per cent while the expenditure had gone up 08 per cent, ‘ so that the expenditure was increasing at a. I'aatei rate than the revenue and they had come to the point where it was over-lapping.”’ The genera! manager’s talks to tb, men seem to be intended to inspire in them a spirit of loyalty that will induce them to accept reductions in wages without a murmur, and the workers are remaining quite firm in their deter- 1 initiation to hold on to what they have won. LICKXSTXG. The - Prim,, Minister professes himself as quite ready to set up the pro- ) mised committee for the consideration nf lit,, licensing question: but he is | not prepared to allow it to sit over the recess. He was perfectly frank in | his reply to a question in tli,. House on t this point the other day. He said he did not like 'committees sitting in the I recess and no one needed to ask his I reason why. But there is a feeling I l in the House at the present time that f licensing is not going to arouse a great deal of interest in the constituencies next year. The times are not propitious for the introduction of any system of State control that would " involve the payment of a large sum of * money by way .of compensation, and * prohibition, for the same reason is not ! gaining in favour just now. It is said ' the •’Trade” is so confident of success it ■ is not raising the huge fighting fund that has lain at the foundation of its organisation on former occasions.