WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 January 1922, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE MEAT POOL.

COMMITTM At Work

SPECIAL 10 GUARDIAN

WELLINGTON, Jan. 13

< The Committee appointed by the producers’, conference on Tuesday to prepare the way fbr the establishment of like proposed meat pool is now face to .face with the intricacies of its task. At -.its Meeting with the representatives of .the freezing companies yesterday it was - arranged that meanwhile there should •. be no interference with current busijiiesS, and that the companies should i carry .on art if ho pool were in contem- : plalion. .It is too early yet.to forecast the developments of the next few weeks, . but’there; is a growing feeling among , the frjenfis of the scheme that i.t enniiiot possibly be, brought into full operation during the,current season. It is ! recognised. on all, bands thgt the London Board will he the most important part of the whole organisation, and it i$ unlikely this will be appointed yithin the next twp or three months. In the meantime there will be ,a great deal to •do at thin end,, and a, large number of .details to ,fie,arranged f j , .SURPLUS WOOL PROFITS. .

i Mr W., Milne, of Oamaru, has been •striving for jioine time, past to induce i Ne\y Zealand growers to assert tlieir • rights in connection with surplus wool profits,, alleged t« be . in the hands of the Ji n peri a 1 authorities, and seems at last to have satisfied a section of thy Farmers’ Union that an enquiry into tfie facts i f s desirable. At . a meeting of the Executive of the Union • lipid here on Wednesday a , letter ri’om , Mr Milne suggesting that ai friendly gotion should he instituted against the Imperial Government in order to sol tie , the rights ajid wrongs of the matter Yva,s read. During the discussion which followed, allusion as made to the iViine *lf 11: r.'A *<l !‘I »• • I u M mister s significant silence on tine subject since, his return from England, blit a majority of members of the Executive we ye disinclined to garry the, dispute into the law courts. Finally it was decided that the President should look into the position and report to the next meeting,the Executive. „ THE SESSION. , Judging from the 6rder Paper alone one might easily suppose the session would run on for another two or throe months. But so far. members have . shown none of the disposition to prolong the proceedings that was expected from them after their return from the holidays, and, of course, if they choose to let the Government have its way they will not be kept ih Wellington an unnecessary hour. The appearance of the “ Washing-Up ” Bill psually is a signal of the approach of the very near end, bqi its production on Wednesday probably was a bit of Ministerial bluff. It is a record measure in length, contains a number of controversial clauses which in the old days of party activity would have kept the House sitting through many long nights. But 'all that sort of thing is changed iu these days, for better or for worse, and at the moment it looks as if the end of the session might be readied within three weeks. , THE RAILWAYS. In his review of finance accompanying the Railway Statement, laid on the table of the House yesterday, the General Manager is at great pains to show that the lines of many other countries have suffered much more than those of New Zealand from the conditions following upon the war. Mr McVilly has presented his case very adroitly, and no one denies that during the last few years he has been working the railways of the Dominion under great diffculties; but there is a growing feeling in the House that a wrong policy is being pursued by attempting to make good the decline in earnings by simply raising freights and fares. Up to a certain point, members admit, this policy may be effective, but beyond that point, they contend, the inevitable result is a still further decline. Quito a number of them profess to feel strongly on this question, but apparently none of them is sufficiently in earnest to insist upon its discussion during the present session.