WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 December 1927, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE HOLIDAYS. DELIGHTFUL WEATHER AND BIG CROWDS. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, Dec. 29. Delightful weather, with abundance of sunshine and without wind and rain, prevailed in Wellington throughout the Christmas holidays, and appaiently similar conditions wero experienced in most other parts of the North island. The business quarters of the city were practically deserted on Monday and Tuesday, the duplicated Boxing Day. even tbe visible parts of tbe hotels and the one or two open tea rooms finding their occupation gone, and tbe bored policemen here and there on nominal duty carrying their explorations no further than the friendly shade of the nearby verandah post. Wellington, for once, was at rest. The city had had a good shopping week, satisfactory both to sellers and buyers, ami its people in their thousands had hied away to the races, to the sports gatherings, to the holiday-beaten roads, to the delightful shores of Port Nicholson or to the Hampers’ Jiilis across the harbour. Wellington had not enjoyed such a Christmas holiday for many a long year, its recollection being of wot and windy days, and of all the disappointment following in their trail, hut this week the sun shone and the wind held its pence and the atmosphere of the great festival, as it is interpreted at this end of the world has been enjoyed to tbe full. MONEY TO SPEND.

If successive Ministers of Finance have been right ill regarding the money invested in the totalisntor as an indication of the spending power of the people of the Dominion, the Hon. AY. Downie Stewart has reason to rejoice over the business so far done by the machine at the Christmas holiday race meetings, up and down the North Island. At the Auckland Racing Club’s meeting on Monday the investments went up bv £ 1 Ii.S.V) and on Wednesday by L'(i,S:SB, compared with the investments on the corresponding days last year, an increase of £23,692, with two days to come. In this case it has to he mentioned that last year there were only seven events on the programme while this year there were eight. The effect of this on the total is a moot question, hut experience suggests that the multiplication of the number of races does not increase in the same ratio to the-volume of the investments. At the Manawatu Club’s meeting, with two days gone and one in progress at the time of writing, the increase is £9,072, at the Auckland Trotting Club’s meeting for one day £12,288. and for tbe modest AVaipukurau one day meeting £6.266. It looks indeed as if there were more loose money lying about tbe country to-day than there was a year ago. A BARREN SEASON.

Air ri. E. Holland, the leader of the Labour Opposition, does not always say tbe right thing at the right time nor in Hie right way; hut there is a good deal of truth in what lie said tj bis coiistituants at Blackball on Christmas Eve concerning the recent session of Parliament. There can be no doubt in the mind of any reasonable observer that there was a great deal of unnecessary talking during tbe session and that ATr Holla mid and tbe members of bis party were not principally responsible for this waste of time. The Prime Minister and bis colleagues appeared at times to be encouraging superfluous speech in order that they might produce their more important proposals when tbe rank and file of the House were weaiy ol talking and anxious to get away to their homes. But if this really were so. the device failed. The members of tbe Labour Party remained alert to the last ami were mainly responsible tor staying tbe progress of several measures tbe Government would have liked to place on tbe Statute Book. Air Holland’s tiemaud that both Parliament and people should know all about -Mr Amery’s communications to the Prime Minister was more than a little unreasonable. LICENSING REFORM.

'The most important ieature ol Mr Holland’s speech was the announcement that during the next session of Parliament the Labour Party would introduce a Bill providing for preferential voting in connection with licensing polls. This is a reform which would take the licensing question out of the hands of the professional advocates, who are busying themselves with ‘‘Corporate Control ” and the “ Two-issue ” ballot paper, and place it in the hands of the people, who would he only anxious to see it settled in the best interests of the whole community. Preferential voting, wliiclf Air Alassey at one time proposed to apply to Parliamentary elections, would provide the easiest possible way for each voter to express his views. With “ Continuance,” “No License,” and “ State Purchase and Control ” on the ballot paper, the voter would put the figures

.. “ o ” and “ 3 ” opposite those issues in the order of his preference and the returning officer would do the rest. Each issue would he pitted against each other issue and if “ State Control ” proved to he the lowest on the list its second preferences would he transferred to the remaining issues. This would give one or another of the remaining issues a majority, and the whole controversy over “Corporate Control ’’ and “ Two-issue ballot ” papers would cease.