WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 December 1924, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

JANUARY WOOL SALES. (Special to “Guardian”.) WELLINGTON, December 29. After a long silence the Wool Committee has conic to light and lias fixed tig; limits for the January sales. At the outset it would he interesting to know who constitutes the Wool t'oniinittece. The Committee that functioned last year was requested to continue in office, but the Minister for Agrietulturc promised that a new* committee would bn appointed and that the Government nominees would lie withdrawn, there being no need now for the Government to he represented on the committee. Apparently that promise has not been kept and if it has been kept there has been ■no public 'intimation of who constitutes the Coininfttcee. The probability is that the old Committee is still acting and that the Govcdmiienl still has a linger in the pie, and both the Agricultural Department and Meat Control Hoard appear to have a big voice in the Committee. However, the Committee, whether old or new, has fixed the limits lor the Janiuiiy sales, and apparently in justification of its work it is stated on hehall of the Committee that "to those who have had no opporunity of closely observing the trend of the sales as they progressed, it was evident that the quantities olfercd were proving to he too great, and that in consequence competition latterly was restricted ami lacked the eagerness of the carlic.‘ sales.” At the November sales when very little wool was available prices were high, hut in December when about 110.090 hales were offered the market eased. The setback began at Napier which was the second sale in December and continued right up to the sale at Dunedin when there was a slight recovery. It with only live ,sales raid an offering of 110,000 hales in December, ‘The quantities offered were proving to be too great,” what is likely to he the position in January when there are to he seven sales and an offering ol

1 12,000 hales? There is lo he an increased offering of over 01,000 hales in January, and iT we are to accept the argument of the Committee this should stimulate competition. . It would have been hotter if the Committee had said nothing than indulge in such silly sentiments. Prices wore easier at the December sales because buyers’ lentils were reduced in some eases, and in others had been exhausted. Ravers on American nccount bought very little wool in December and the absence of their competition was felt. It is doubtful whether the quantity olfercd m December had any real inllueiiee on the

market. COM MERCIA USED 1 JOSl’l I AL. A eorresponednt who considers that the private hospital is becoming a seriously ei\minerc(aliseil institution, maintains that in the public interest, the medical profession should he nationalised on very much the same lines as the educational profession.” In support of his views he says:— “ Very few of our salaried men with small‘families can afford (under the existing conditions in this Dominion) to pay from CIO to C2O a year for medical services, and to avail themselves of the doubtful luxury of a private hospital means, as a rule, a year nr two of financial embarrassment.. A fow months ago a parent, a salaried man with a large family, called in a doctor to his son. who was ill. I lie trouble was diagnosed as appendicitis. The parents were reassuringly informed that appendicitis in these ‘lays in-

volved no more serious an operation than having a tooth out. The hoy was within a few hours spirited off to the doctor's private hospital. 'I he operation took under an hour. The hoy was i’i hospital for fifteen days, apart 1 1 mu the natural operation. nm Mom- did all that was required, for the doctor never saw the wound alter the operation. The account for medi,a I and hospital services amounted to nearly CTO. Recently the wife of a personal friend was confined in one of th(‘ dingiest maternity hospitals in the Dominion. She was in hospital foi just a fortnight. Hospital lees ‘medical fee not included) CT9.” On these grounds he wants medical services lia-

Initialised. HOLIDAY ACCIDENTS. Accidents, that is street accidents, on holidays are not inirequeiil. and vet it is just when such accidents occur that there is no ambulance availtihle. An accident necessitating the service of an ambulance occurred in Wellington on Boxing Day and it was an hour before stirb a vehicle* was procurable*. There is one ambulance at the hospital, hut that is nearly always busy removing sick patients either to the public* hospital or to one or the other of the new numerous private hospitals. The Wellington Harbour Board maintains an ambulance for wharf accidents, and oil holidays if is not needed. The city Council has no such machine, and yet it is in the city streets that most accidents occur.