WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, 26 February 1919, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

PUBLIC WORKS. SUPPLY OF LABOUR. (Special Corr^KUident.) WELLINGTON, February 24. The Minister of Public Works has been excusing, himself for, not pushj ing 'on ’h.ydroWdbctric schemes and other development (works authorised by Parliament with HiV plea that he is unable t-o ’ obtain the necessary labour foh these undertakings. He has plenty of ■money, he has told several impatient deputations from the i distrihlp affected by the , delay, but he cannot obtain the men. Mr J. A. Nash, the Mayor of Pax merston North, however, is not accepting this explanation in the case of the Mfengahao hydro-electric scheme. He has made a definite offer to find the men required to undertake the initial work in connvfcion with this’ scheme, end has suggested that the '.New Zetland Tunnelling Corps, whbh did sr.ch splendid work . during ,;fh&' suould be induced to remain in the scr-'.cos of the Stste for undertaking of tois description. A SEASONABLE SUGGESTION. Mr Nash, who in addi '-m to bo : ng Mayor of Palm ■; ?:on North is member for the thri-'lng district* in which the borough stands, is ready to make his word good at once,' and no doubt Sir William Fraser will be glad enough to have his assistance in obtaining the men he requires. Labour has been his difficulty since the very beginning of the war, and though he acefentuiated it to feorao extent by fixing a too-low maximum wage he has since repented of that mistake and is now offering a rate that should attract suitable labour. The suggestion that the members of the Tunnelling Corps should be employed upon hydro-electric works follows upon ; the admission of the Chief Electrical Engineer that _ the scarcity of skilled tunnollers was the chief obstacle to the speedy prosecution, of his proposals. - A • NON-.POLITICAL BOARD. The formation of “ progress leagues” and “development leagues” in various parts of the South Island, largely, it would seem, for the purpose of bringing pressure upon the Government ip, the expenditure of public money, has revived the proposal for the establishment 6? 'a nonpolitical board to determine the allocation of public works expenditure.. It is maintained that such a board, while listening to any representations that might be made to it from any particular district, would not be subject to the “squeezing” that it always applied to Ministers by members iof iPakFam'ent 'and their constituents when the Public Works Estimates are being prepared.’ The Board, it is contended, would be table to put a stop to the shockingly wasteful practice of keeping a dozen scraps of railways progressing at the rate of a mile or two a year -and eating their heads off in. the way of interest before they are completed. PARTY POLITICS The announcement ,telegraphed from Auckland, that the Prime Minister is likely to be opposed by the organising secretary of the Franklin' branch of the Farmers’ Union at the next general election has not occasioned much perturbation in official Reform circles here. As a matter of fact the Reformers, taking a somewhat less quixotic view of the party truce than Sir Joseph Ward and his (Liberal colleagues in the National Cabinet do, are much better organised’ than the Liberals are, and they have no fear of Mr Massey being disturbed in his representation of Franklin, if he should choose to seek re-election for that constituency. The “if,” they explain, is used in deference to the stories that are flying about, not on account of any hint they have received from the Prime Minister himself.