WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 19 April 1927, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

DAIRY CONTROL. PRIME MINISTER AND MR GROUNDS. Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON. April 11. In liis reply to the Prime Minister -> mild rebuke of a lew days ago the chairman of the Dairy Hoard again asks the public to take lor granted a good deal he has not yet proved. “This cablegram." he says, referring to the stirring message Mr Stronaeh Paterson sent to the Dairy Hoard, "was despatched when Mr Coates had been in London just one week, during which he was naturally preoccupied with the Imperial Conference, which had commenced its sittings. He received the first trade deputation on the morning of October third, and on that afternoon Mr Paterson dispatched his cablegram. Up to that paint Mi Contes had not seen either Messrs Motion, Wright, or myself. Pacts are eliiols that winna’ ding.’ Did these not justify the conclusion stated in my review, that, ‘ having accepted Mr Paterson's guidance without any proper investigation, it was readily foreseen that he could not jettison his guide. - ” If Mr Grounds and Ills allies did not see Mr Coates during tin- first week he was in London then they have only themselves to blame for the misconceptions they are attrinm. ting to the Prime .Minister. The fact that Mr Coates was cognisant of the dispatch of Mr Paterson’s telegram certainly did not involve him in responsibility for its contents. THE OTTCOME. Events have shown, however, that Mr Paterson was fully justified in informing the Dairy Hoard of the gravity of the position, as it seemed i . him, and in telling the Prime Minister of the step he had taken. A week would have been <|iiitr time enough for Mr Coates to obtain a good working knowledge of the market and its prospects, and naturally he would he anxious for the members of the hoard to he in possession ot the facts that had been communicated to him. It was not for him. as lie has reiterated again and again, to shape the policy o! I Inboard. lie had handed over to the producers’ representatives authority, which it seems now never should hav • been relegated to an irresponsible body and for that perilous innovation lit bad to bear a leader’s share ol the blame: hut lie could not have done more than he did. with any decency, to induce Mr Grounds ami his tofIcagues to retrace their steps. The hoard, at any rate, tonic that view Indemanding the withdrawal of Mr Paterson and flouting his advice till the condition of the market, and the prospect of a heavy “carry over.” brought its saner members to an aderpiate realisation of the hard facts ot the situation. ADVICE IN SEASON. The Prime Minister wandered over a wide field of topics in bis address t > the 'Wellington Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening, but sought chiefly to emphasise the need for economy, industrial effort and co-operation notween town and country in overcoming the difficulties conlronting tieDominion. The “ Post ” take.- up the burden of the address with a practical illustration. “ One section ol ticcommunity, the dairy iudiistty. ’ it says, “ is learning to its sorrow that overseas markets are beyond New Zealand control. The Prime Minister can no more command an extra penny i pound for butter-fat than lie can add an inch to his stature. lie must realise that no amount of legislation passed—even unanimously—by any Dominion Parliament can compel overseas'buyers in nay more than they will or c-an for a given commodity which any other country sells them. Bus - ness men in this Dominion emphasised this elementary fact long be lore out own controls became operative. Ha I they and the nrimarv producers ’ ecu in close enntirt, as Mr Coates said lr.' would endeavour to bring them, Gen much good money lost might have been saved, and goodwill now jeopardised might have been preserved intact. ’ Just mow any stick seems good enough to belabour “control ” and “pi i c fixing ”. EASTER HOLIDAYS. Notwithstanding the adverse lml uu-c of trade, the discouraging character ot the hanking returns, the “ tightness of the money market and the Prime Minister’s fervid appeals for economy, both public and private, the capital city is laying itself out for the enjoyment of the approaching Easter holidays with more zest than has been the ease since the piping days of to? war boom. The shipping companies are reporting record bookings lor all the holiday resorts lying along the routes of their boats ; tho railway department has been kept busy selling tickets ever since the holiday lares were available; motor excursionists everywhere sallied forth in their hundreds days ago and the “ idle rich ” were crossing to Sydney before the week began. Wellington itself is oevoted exclusively to polities and commerce. but its people really constitute the gayest eoininunitv in the Dominion. only the sunshine of Auckland and the bustle ami fashion of Queen Street giving the “ Queen City ” the air of supremacy in this respect, iust as its flatness wins for Christchurch the reputation of propriety and dullness secures for Dunedin the credit of solidity. Wellington may not show it in its water-front, nor in its style of architecture, nor even in its drapery displays, but that it Is the huh of this little corner of the universe goes with- 1 out saying among all its travelled | citizens. I