WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 29 January 1917, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MEAT .SHOPS. THE AUCKLAND EXPERIMENT. (Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON, Jan. 26. The confident message addressed by the secretary of the Board of Trade to the Acting Minister of Industries and Commerce, though it docs not assure the success of the State meat shops just opened in Auckland, suggests that the housewives of the northern city are looking favourably upon Mr MacDonald's experiment. The only criticism offered here so far is that the Minister i s taking no steps to initiate a similar experiment in the other centres, and the answer to that is that in none of the other centres have meat prices ever soared to the level they have rached in Auckland. Mr MacDonald, whatever his sympathy with the State enterprise may be, does not wish to interfere with the private butchers so long as their charges bear a reasonable relation to the cost of stock. He has taken action in Auckland because the Board of Trade has satisfied him that the retailers there are not observing this con dition. THE GAMBLING EVIL. It is understood that the action taker?- against certain bookmakers in Auckland is the first fruits of the recent instructions issued by the AttorneyGeneral for the strictest enforcement of the provisions of the Gaming Act. There is no suspicion that the police, speaking generally, have been neglecting their duties, but the hundreds of ■bookmakers now infesting toe country have so cleverly and cunningly got round the law that the Minister is determined to ascertain if further legislation Is necessary to defeat their machinations. If it is, Parliament probably will be asked to deal with the -matter in a separate measure, altogether apart from the Gaming Act, and to make betting of any kind an offence punishable by imprisonment, without the option of a fine. Perhaps it may be permissible here to advise the patrons of the bookmakers to move very warily while this investigation is in progress. FIXING PRICES. Wellington is in trouble with its milk again, but happily the trouble this time is one of price and not of quality. During the last four or five years, the war appearing to make little difference, the dairymen have been supplying the retailers at from 7}d to Sid a gallon, but at the beginning of this summer they fixed the price at 101 d, and a few weeks ago announced their intention to raise it to Hid. The Board of Trade .just tolerated th e 10kl, but when the was announced it stepped in and advised the Acting Minister of Industries and Commerce to veto the rise. This Mr MacDonald did by proclamation the other day, and now the dairymen have extorted from him a promise to have a public enquiry held into their prices. -In the meantime the proclamation holds good, and consumers are looking forward to learning all about the milk trade-