WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 27 November 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

HUTT BY-ELECTION, BETIBEMENTa^INDEPENDENT cipptos. (SpeciaT^Corrcspondont.) WELLINGTON, November 25.

The retirement of Mr H. D. Bennett, from the by-election in the Hutt constituency will not materially affect the result of the contest for the Hon. T. M. Wilford’s vacant seat. Though perhaps the • most - capable and expel icnced of the four‘original-aspirants for the seat, Mr Bennett, lias .-not the insinuating . way of the, jn;actiscd politician and in the role "of ‘‘ Independent,” with the set purpose of, demolishing Labour, would have cut but'a’poor figure in the contest. The' few ' hundred votes he probably woukU’haVe picked up would have been talifen’ 'from Mr Kerr, the United candidate,"and Mi' Johnston, the Reform candidate, and so gone towards improving the already rosy chances of Mr Nash, the Labour candidate, whose knowledge of affairs and platform facility gita hiin a distinct advantage over fJ his , remaining opponents. These two gentlemen have done very well in their Addresses to “friends and hut it remains to be seen h.o ; w, they''will, shape when they face critical and hostile audiences,

, TRAVEL RISK, Mr jH. H,. Sterling,, the General -Manager of. the Dominion’s railways, in an article .contributed, to the current number, of, the “ Railway Magazine, stresses, with, special allusion to the approaching ,holiday season, fhe safety of the ,railways and the perils of. the motor nap/ “In New Zealand, during the last three years,” he says, after referring tc^.the,, good work done in .the Motliep.Country jjn the same direction, “we hav,e put up rather a remarkable record in the safe conveyance of passengers. In examining the Department’s Annual Statements for these years, I find that during rjbhe period referred to, some seventy-seyien million passengeis were carried by rail. The same statements contain'^ablgs., indicating that no passengers 'Wiere killed in train accidents in the three -years ended 31st March', 1929. .! Through the current year to date alsoythe same record holds of no train accident fatalities amongst railway’ pas'SdhgJisJ’-This, of 'CPiirse, is all Very satisfactory and 'reassuring, hut Mf Sterling’s' criticism of his rivals is scarcely’sb admirable.'

•* A COMPARISON, lb “ As a set off agaihst ‘the railways’ immunity from- 11 ifivtat < accidents 1 Mr Sterling eihpbasizei the'perils I ' of the' motor 1 cdV" '“’During 'the ■ last three years,” : he’ sayfe^ ?: '“ deaths from motor vehicle accidents in'Nbtv Zealand have t0ta11ed,,463, the, over-turning and collision of cars and'sbfch like accidents accounting for the"'bminous total of 176 deaths during '1928, iior one year alone. Road fatalities’ iii Great Britain last year totalled's4Bl','or at about the same proportioii to population as in New Zealand, namely, one in ' every 8000. ; That'-is iDvbfcy hi-h annual; ue cident fftte’Tfomf'oiie cb Jib alone, :It means that in a life prospect of siict.v years in ieVefy 133 ’will he killed in a motor- vehicle- accident. -Upon the railways 'it is/ hf 1 ’ ’Course, our job to carry passengers safely.”' No doubt his figures are correct, but Mr Sterling sh'diikD have made his comparison •with service ears and hot with the thousands of private cars that are responsible, for ninety per cent of the accidents that occur.

SALARIES OF PUBLIC SERVANTS. The speech delivered by Mr H. E. Holland, at Westport, during the week end has good deal of attention here. Its moderation, compared with his utterances of a few years ago, is a matter of general comment. An old member of the House of Representatives speaking to this effect this afternoon ' 'said/ 1 “ Harry Holland has come to really Jielieve that flie Treasury Benches are within his reach and he is putting on the airs appropriate to the prospects him.” Mr Holland certainly Lore ; )iimself with more dignity during the recent session of Parliament fie ever did before and undoubtedly with .more effect. The resuscitation of the Liberal Party under the new title .of ft ‘,‘ United ” must have been a grievous blow to him at the last general election and yet he displayed neither surprise nor resentment when the “impossible” happened. He reaped his due reward for his diplomacy during the session and secured an influence he never had exercised in the House before,' 1 ffot even when he was leading His Majesty’s Opposition. j». .