WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 April 1926, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE AY H EAT MUDDLE

ANOTHER DEPUTATION TO MINISTER.

(Special to “ Guardian.”)

WELLINGTON. April 22.

The aniiouncoinent that another Canterbury deputation is coming to AVellingtou to urge the Government to increa.se the duty on imported Hour in order that the millers may he able to pay the farmers a still higher price ior their wheat has provoked some caustic observations from both merchants and consumers. It would he a. mistake to assume that the North Island is adverse to reasonable encouragement lieiug given to the South Island to grow sufficient wheat each year for all the requirements of the Dominion. That is not the case at all. The North concedes readily that the principles urged by the Canterbury A. and R. Association and the Canterbury ('handier of Commerce that the duty on the manufactured article should be' greater than the duty on the equivalent raw material used in its manufacture is sound. It is axiomatic in all countries that seek to protect their local industiies through their Customs tariff. Hut it is a common belief in the North that the millers already are enjoying this advantage and that a higher duty on imported flour wouhl mean simply an additional subsidy to the producers and the manufacturers and a further tax upon tin' consumers. Iligherto successive .Ministers of Agriculture have accepted without any sufficient investigation an arbitrary computation of the quantity of wheat required to make a ton of flour and it is more than merely suggested that lliev already have all the protection to which they are entitled in the Ids per ton added to the duty on flour a year or so ago. PUUDKNCK AND TOP-DRESSING.

In addressing the Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday the Hon W. Nosworthy. the retiring .Minister of Finance, struck a more optimistic note than he has allowed himself for many a long day. He Look the million odd surplus for the year inst closed as an indication not only of the prudence ol the Government, but also of the prosperity of the country. It is true he deplored so large a proportion of the surplus was derived from increased Customs revenue, which meant, he feared, the public was not concerning itself sufficiently over the maintenance of the balance of trade. But this was only a passing warning that the value of the imports of the Dominion was showing a disposition to creep up to the value of its exports. This naturally is a symptom that disturbs every Minister of Finance, whether he is at the beginning or at the end of his term of office. Afr Nosworthy pins his hope for the future upon top-dressing. ‘‘We must remember," lie told the gathering of business men. “ that for sixty years we have been taking the good out of the land all the time and putting nothing back. I believe that by general top-dressing we could double the production of this country in a. few years.” This is another tribute to. the gospel of intensive farming which the Hon AY. Comber Beeves, with his knowledge of what other countries aredoing. revived during his recent tour of the Dominion.

NON-PAYING RAILAYAYS. The “ Dominion " this morning is at some pains to explain to its readers Unit the policy of the Prime Minister in charging the loss on 11011-paying lines to the Consolidated I l hind and not to the Railway Account is in keeping with the principle laid down by Sir Henrv Thornton in dealing with a similar problem in Canada. In the sister Dominion the annual loss on 11011-pay-ing lilies amounts to rather more than ten millions. 1 11 New Zealand it is still well under half a million, hut it. is showing no tendency to decline. No one acquainted with all the circumstances ever lias thought it utilair or impolitic to charge the losses on nonpaying lines to the Consolidated Fund. A generation long past is responsible for the construction of the great majority of these lines and it obviously would he inequitable to specially tax the users of the lines to-day for the blunders of a former age. Air Coates is facing the position philosophically. “ A close study of the question.” he says, "shows that it is practically impossible for the railways to materially increase the volume of traffic from agricultural or pastoral country. Any addition to the tariff rates or reduction in the 'services would drive a considerable amount of business on to the roads. The only alternative is to endeavour to reduce operating expenditure.” Probably tlm Arinister will come to realise bv and by that the substitution of good roads for the nonpaying railways is the only satisfactory solution of the problem. THE LESSON OF EDEN.

| Dr W. A. Chappie, who I'or ninny years lias advocated a reform in the electoral systems that would avert llio worst coils of vote-splitting. wants the Prime Minister to explain what lesson he wishes the people of the Dominion to learn from the Eden byeleetion. “Is it."., lie asks, “ that a party caucus should deprive a constituency of a free and a wide choice of sending a member to Parliament? Is it that a woman must he boycotted and picketed and dragooned if she dares to offer her services? Is it that all publicminded citizens, who think they could serve the general wood by being in the Parliament of their country, must he ignoniinibusly branded as "vote-split-ters,’’ and he deterred by a party caucus boldine them up to public- odium ?” Dr Chappie answers his own question, lie maintains that it is none of these and proceeds that the " alternative vote ” system would have prevented all the difficulties that arose- during the Eden campaign and would have given the c-andidate towards which the preferences of a majority of the voters tended, the seat. Dr Chappie very rightly dec-lares that the present system of voting is a negation of liberty and democracy, alike, hut by insisting upon the voting attaching a preference number to all the names on the ballot | paper, •• however numerous." he keeps I on perpetuating an objection to pile system which has done much to retard its adoption in this country. Surely with a dozen candidates offering selves for election it- would he unnecessary for a voter to give preferences to all his political opponents as well as to all his political friends.