WELLINGTON NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1924, Page 1

WELLINGTON NOTES

SOLDIER SETTLERS

GROWING DISSATISFACTION.

(Special to “Guardian”.)

WELLINGTON, March 24 An;, •one who watched the progress of the legislation which passed through Parliament last session for the relief of soldier settlers, who had found themselves unable to carry on under their existing conditions, very well might have assumed that the members of both Houses were prepared to place the whole of the resources of the country at the disposal of the Government, if this were necessary, in order that Justice might he done. There were suggestions that the two millions mentioned by the Prime Minister would have to he doubled and trebled and even quadrupled before Now Zealand could claim to hade done its full duty towards the men who went forth in its name to fight the battles of the Empire. But there was never a hint that the Dominion should hold its hand while there was a single mail ttnsuecoured among the hundreds of returned soldiers who had been induced to enter upon enterprises in which they were foredoomed to failure. But now it

.seems that there was a flaw in the honelieient legislation placed on the Statute Rook, with the hearty approval of the public, and that no relict can he given to many of the most urgent and deserving cases till Parliament lias repaired its error. THE GOVERNMENT'S PART. No one doubts the Government's good intentions in this matter, but. many people are denouncing its reticence concerning the position. The “Post” which has been championing the cause of the soldiers limbs its patience well nigh exhausted. "There were complaints against the administration,” it says, “and also allegations that the legislation failed to authorise the relief essential to many of the settlers. We stated at the time that these complaints should not. he accepted until tile Goveniment’.s reply was heard. So far there has been no reply. AA'e cannot believe that this is because the -Minister of Lands and his Department plead guilty to the charges levelled against them ; hut there is grave danger of the public coming to this conclusion. A correspondent boldly asserts that the Government has no reply. If this is incorrect, why does the Government keep silence- failure to disprove the charges or to remove the causes of complaint v.ill not allay unrest. Rather it will increase dissatisfaction and seri-ou-lv weaken faith in the .sincerity of

the Government's professed concern for the soldiers.’ If the law is defective, the delay, of course, is inevitable, anc! the Government should confess it* fault and give assurances for the future. MENTAL HOSPITALS. A good deal of alarm, and, probably, more curiosity, were aroused here by tile Press Association message attributing to Sir Maui Pomare. the Minister of Health, a statement to the effect that the Westland Mental Hospital was “nothing better than lied-

lam.” Bedlam by tho evolution of the language lias become a synonym for everything thaL i> disorderly and inhuman in the management ol such an institution and there were people ready enough to assume that Sir Maui had discovered in Westland a state of affairs as had as that exposed in the Old Country at tho middle oi' last century. Happily ii. turns out now that the .Minister was “liiisreported” as

members of i lio Cabinet, it appears, so frequently are. On Itis arrival in Wellington at the week oml Sir .Maui was interviewed and denied having made Ihe statement attributed to him. "No reflection was meant, either on the present or former administrative staffs of the hospital,” he said. ‘Those who were formerly responsible lor the administration there wore loreed to use the old gaol building to meet a oonlingvnev that arose, and 1 only meant that that. I alibiing was unsuitable.” There the incident nitty he allowed to close, but it is Lo lie hoped the Minister's contradiction will he given as

wide publicity as was liis alleged re lleetion upon the administration. NEW ZEALAND CHICKKT.

Speaking at the conclusion of the National ]{ilie Association’s meeting at Trent ham on Saturday the lion Heaton Rhodes, the Minister of Defence, touched lightly upon New Zealand s recent performances in the cricket field. He referred first to the “splendid reputation” tiie Dominion had won in the world of sport. “In ‘every .sport,” lie said. “New Zealand has proved her worth, and in most sports she has held her own well, hut I won't say very much about cricket,” 01 course the Minister’s concluding observation was received with derisive laughter by a crowd of excellent rillemen who probably knew no more about the finer points of cricket than they did about the nicer tactics of the classical game of croquet. When the laughter had subsided Sir Heaton went on to say that even in cricket we would “get there yet-.” What the Dominion wanted was more practice, more experience and greater enthusiasm, the awakening of these latent forces would mean an awakening for some of the Dominion’s rivals in a short time. -Sir Heaton himself knows something about cricket and had he been discussing the game seriously- he doubtless would hate explained that the words "practice and “experience” meant rather more than the ideas they would have conveved to the crowd.