WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 28 June 1932, Page 8

WELLINGTON TOPICS

Ottawa conference. MR COATES LEADS DELEGATION (From a Correspouuent). WELLINGTON, June 23. Neither, of the local daily papers appears to be overpleased _ by Mr Coates’ tardy acceptance of the leadership of New delegation lo the Ottawa Conference. “We cannot say we view with equanimity the absence of Mr Coates from this country during the difficult months which lie immediately ahead, ’ the •Dominion” proclaims. “Mr Cones is in charge of a portfolio which calls for qualities and experience such as no member of the Government possesses in the same degree as bin seif. It is, in the circumstances widen prevail today, the most important ministerial office, and we view with home n ixgivings its transfer, own temporal<ly, to less experienced ha mis.” This is a compliment, which wil 1 appear a little more than meivlv extravagant when the burdens ul the Pi hue .Minister and r a M:• 11 - 1 -? i I' lance are taken into a ant; hi;' Mr •vi :e Stewart will be glad enough to associated with the colleagues who will relieve aim of so> ■ 1 < him il lis a.ad afford him cordial assistance in other directions.

PRULONCED CONSIDERATION 'Hie “Evening Post” devote, B a column •ind a half to a review of the I. nil io\ ment situation and finally leaches the conclusion that “a delegation composed of Mr Coates and Mr SU-warfc may be relied upon to play the game both to the Dominion and to the Empire.” its passage to this goal however, is somewhat circuitous. “The bad blunder made by the Cabinet when it decided to send its three strongest men to the Ottawa Conference,” it says, “was in large measure retrieved when, with the candour and the chivalry that we have learnt, to expect of him the Prime Minister announced his withdrawal from the delegation.” The world at large is told that a similar decision was confident-

ly expected from Mr Coates, “who as ‘the second in command w;au less urgently needed at Ottawa than was his chief;” but by and by it came a. 1 tout that the work of the Employment Board was so far advanced that its creator could be spared lor eight or nine weeks. THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.

That Mr Coates anti Mr Stewart will discharge creditably to the Dominion and to themselves the commissions with which they have been entrusted goes without saying. Too little, however has yet been heard as to the nature of the undertakings of the industrial experts who are accompanying at their own expense, the two Ministers and their secretaries. Mr D. Jones, Mr W. Goodfellow, Mr li. N. Napier, Mr G. W. lleid, Mr F. 0. Hamilton and Sir Francis Boy 6 all are business men of high repute; but their missions on the present occasion

appear to he generally cl a sectional character. One of the-e gentlemen ii S looking after the meat trade, another after the dairy industry, a third after the fruit trade, a fourth after tiie interests of the manufacturers, a fifth after the Farmer’s Union and a sixth after hop and tobacco growers’ interests. All this may be good for trade, bat ,-o far iti; advantage to the consumer is not made obvious. PERILS OF NUMBERS As an instance of embarrassments that may arise out of the eagernesis of producers to be represented in some form or another at the approaching conference a paragraph from the report of a farmers’ meeting at Palmerston North the other day may be quoted. “It seemed,” the paragraph ran, “as if there were a battle between the commercial interests and the primary producers. The commercial interests could not get the representation they wanted, and so they tried to get the producers’ representatives withdrawn from the delegation.” Later on it was announced at this meeting that the Minister of Finance was looked upon rather as a representative of the commercial interests than of the primary producers interests. Presumably the “advisers” representing the interests of New Zealand indiustries will have no opportunity to adili s the Conference; and in any case before they reach Ottawa they will Icive realised that Air Coates and Mr Stewart represent the Dominion, not mivelv its industries.