WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, 21 May 1918, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MARRIED SOLDIERS. PAY AND ALLOWANCES. WELLINGTON, May 20. Mr. R. A. Armstrong, the president of the Second Division League, is t>7 no means disposed to accept Sir James Allen's comparison of the .pay and allowances of New Zealand soldiers with those of the other Dominiens and the Mother Country at its face value. The Minister of Defence maintains that the New Zealand married soldiers are better treated than the fighting men of any other part of the Empire in respect to pay for themselves and allowances for their dependents and he supports his contention with figures which so far as they go are irrefutable. Neither the Canadian nor the Australian rates are as high as the New Zealand and the Imperial rates, of course, are substantially lower. The figures set out In tabulated form suggest that this country is by comparison treating its soldiers very well indeed.

DIFFERENT CONDITIONS.. But Mr. Armstrong shows there is ?. good deal to say on the other side. He stated last night that Canada had not yet made any demand upon married men. Married men had volunteered and gone to the front, but presumably they were able to make shift with the pay and allowances provided for single men. Australia had no compulsory service and it was for tne volunteer to say whether he would accept the conditions offered by the Government or not. In Great Britain the Government had nationalised industries or placed them under State Control and in this way had stopped profiteering and brought about at least some measure of equality of sacrifice. No fair comparison, he insisted, could be made between these countries and New Zealand. Canada and Australia had not yet tackled the married man problem and the Mother Country had taken some practical steps for the protection of the men's dependents. THE GREY ELECTORATE.

Private letters from Greymouth and other parts of the West Coast state that the electors of Grey who do" not sympathise with Mr. H. E.. Holland's view on the military service, question ! are very hopeful of returning Mr. T. E. Coates as the representative 6f the constituency in Parliament. .•>> •' ''Mr* Coates, it is reported, -is contesting the seat very much against his, own. personal inclination, with the .sole purpose of giving the electors an;,opportunity express their dissent from Mr. Holland's war views. <f.'He .will .not tie himself to either the Liberals or the Reformers and. will not forego his right to criticise, the" administration of the National Government, but he will give his hearty support to every sane measure designed to bring about a satisfactory peace as speedily as possible. With a- platform of this character he is, of course, receiving the warm good wishes of progressive electors in this, part of the country. THE LIQUOR TRADE. The recent cablegram from London referring to the effects of the drastic restrictions placed upon the liquor trade at Home since the beginning of the war has inspired the local advocates of State control with some hope of Parliament being induced in the near, future to accept their panacea for the evils of the drink traffic. The cost of such ?. reform Zealand would be immeasurably less' than the four hundred millions mentioned as the purchase price in Great Britain, and on the financial side the scheme would be quite feasible, but the Pro-

hibitionists are even more strongly opposed to State control than the licensed victuallers are and the two bodies in combination would make an insurmountable obstacle in the way of reform. There are, however, enthusiasts here who believe a large section of the Prohibitionists would welcome State control as a step towards their ultimate goal and numbers of licensed victuallers who would be glad to accept reasonable compensation and be free from the constant menace of extinction.