WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, 27 November 1917, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE.

ALLEGED EXTRAVAGANCE.

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON Nov 26.

Perhaps it is only one of the can* ards that find circulation in Wellington during every recess, but there is persistent talk in the city of plain, speaking in the Cabinet concerning waste and extravagance in the ex* penditure of the Defence Department,. It is admitted that the lack of system, and lack of supervision, wki«h ran up> the cost of the camp at Trent-hani. during the early stages of the war tq half as much again as it should havebeen, have been repaired. Good food is no longer thrown to the pigs, and clothing is not issued .and destroyed. Without regard to the taxpayers' interests. But a more insidious evil &ag arisen. It is alleged that the numerous branches of the Department are being stuffed with favoured individuals at salaries far above their value in the open market to do work which 7 is either wholly superfluous or not worth half the expenditure it entails. Scores of instances of this sort 6J thing are quoted with more or less authority and it is stated that some" of these have been investigated „witK anything but reassuring, results. 1 It is known that representations have' been made to the Government on the subject and it is understood £hat a searching review of the situation is now being made by the Minister him* self. i

SOLDIERS' SETTLEMENT. Soldiers' settlement is another mat* ter that is not running quite sq smoothly as the soldiers themselves! and the country hoped it would after? the fair promises made by the Government again and again since the commencement of the war Tie' Prime Minister himself admitted as much as this when addressing a deputation representing returned soldiers at Auckland the other day. Meii who have been back from the front for more than a year are still looking for land and some of them are natm rally growing a little impatient. One of them, after many disappointments was allotted a block of seventy acres in tie Mowahaki Block near Feild« ing, but soon found himself as far away from his heart's desire as ever. "I went up to take possession" he states, "accompanied by my cousin, who was bom on a farm, andltffer looking over the block and the price (£46 Is an acre), with fifty chains of boundary fencing to do, no build-« ings of any sort and very little water, though it could be obtained by sinkn my cousin recommended me to have nothing to do with the land, as it would cost £6O an acre and he would not give £2O an acre for it.'** This has been the experience of many other home seekers who are now being buoyed up by further promises from the Government. PRICES AND PROSPERITY

In an article appearing in the "Evening Post" of Saturday, the writer makes a gallant parochial effort to excuse or at any rate to palliate the high cost of living in Wellington. "Without commenting upon the figures," he says, after commenting upon them in an ambiguous fashion to the length of a column and a-half, "it may be observed that high prices are generally regarded as an indication of prosperity, and no one would suggest that Wellington at the present time is not prosperous." Judged by this standard certainly no one would. Bread has advanced 2d per two-pound loaf in Wellington, according to this authority, as against Id in Auckland, l£d in Dunedin and no Canterbury; flour has advanced 3d per 251 b bag more than in any others city, sugar lid per 561 b bag more and potatoes to a greater extent than in; Auckland or Christchurch though slightly less in Dunedin. The only comfort offered to the Wellington housewife is that she does not pay so much for her groceries as she would in "some smaller towns." The smaller towns that are indicated to save Wellington's face are Rotorua, Dannevirke, Alexandra and Napier. In Taihape, Blenheim, Palmerston North, Greymouth, Hamilton, InvercargilL Oamaru, Wanganui, Timaru, New Plymouth and a dozen other representative towns she would fare substantially better In New Plymouth groceries are some 10 or 12 per cent cheaper than they are in the capital city.

THE SECOND DIVISION. The second ballot of Second Divfsion men in Class A is being drawn to-day, but probably the results will not be published before the middle off next week. This draft islt© be mobilised early in April and in the meantime the reservists the class, some 5000, will be called' up en' bloc as was the case with the residue of the First Division. The. Director of Recruiting has received appeals from about 25 per. cent of .the 5000

men drawn in the first Second Division ballot, a rat-her smaller proportion than was, expected and the medical examinations are proceeding satisfactorily. The Second Division League is not ceasing its activities on accotmt of the married Reservists or of the soldiers generally and it is largely due to its efforts that the National Efficiency Board is taking an active interest on more extended lines in the welfare of the men. The League was somewhat severely criticised in various quarters over its insistence upon better provision being made for dependants, but apart from such success as it achieved in t;j direction it may now congratulate itself upon having awakened the Government to a fuller sense of its obligations to the men, married and unmarried, who are going forth to fight the Empire's battles^