WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, 3 April 1919, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

HAILW.-\Y \\'olj:l{_l~:l2s. ' II\II’RO\'.ED ([?Ol\fD.F'}‘l().\*S.. ..._..._.. 's} ‘ (Special "3'oh'respDnder.‘ta) . \VEI'.LI;\"G'I.‘ON, April 23'. Railway men all over the country’ are expmssing sa.tisfacti(m at the con<:c~.=ssiolls made to them. by the mana.~ge—mont. as the result. of the recent negofi:ltions. The president of the Railway Servants’ Exec-u,tivee says the men ‘nave not got :11] t‘ho3' a\xpC<th.*d. but-ad-mifs their position has been vastly im-pm:-vod. The war bonus of 3s per day has been made :1 pm-m-.ulellf. addition to their wages, with an S—hours day, and over-time payment at the rate of time a'lld -a—quarter between 10 p.lll. and were sanguine indeed. The c‘onces~ sions following ‘on the pronollncelnenf of the president of the Arbitration Court concernixlg the mlatiml between wages and the cost of living are thought to be the .t'orm-u.mler of a. general increase in the pay of civil sel'vants~. This may be the last big move of the I\'at.ional Government. THE JUDGE AND THE MINISTER.

It was put about some time ago, by the way, that the acting-Minister for Trade and Commerce was preparing a. statement in reply to Mr Justice Stringer ’s implication that the Government had done nothing to stay the advance in the cost of living. The task would have been an extremely eongenial one to the Board of Trade.’ But, if the Minister ever contemplated such an unusual proceeding, it is pretty safe to say that he has abandoned the idea of inviting a judge of the Supreme Court to a political controversy. Such a deVel‘oplnent would have been highly entertaining‘, no doubt, but it would have been irregul:u'_, and, in the eyes of the people, highly .repreh.en-sible. At the same time, if there is an answer‘ to Mr Justice Stringefls strictures, it} ought to be forthcoming in some -shape; V At ,fl)l'esent the Ypublile is ‘assuming there is 1:0 remedy for -high prices, and is accepting their continuance as in~ evitable. . ' _ . I’IUNICIPAL POLITICS. With a fourth. candidtie in the field, ‘the chances of the Labour nominee playing" '3 prominent part in the contest for the mayoralty are still further improved. Mr Barber will not poll 3. great number of votes, but those he does poll will be drawn from Mr Luke and Mr Weston, and not from Mr Read. Mr Read’s strong card, however, is the superior or_e;a.nisa.tion of the Labour Party. ’l‘o—day the supplorters of Mr Luke and Mr VVes-to1:« are rushing all over the city in a last effort to get names «on the roll. All‘ Mr Read’s friends were registered 011? month ago. If every qualified person , could be got to the poll orthecloxy would beat Labour by three or four to ore; but v;i.t.hout any inspiring leadel'-_ slip, and Without, any efi'ective orgar.- ‘ isation, even. a. {bigger majority on paper might be easily defeated by any iCllfll.'llS‘Tl{i‘SilC. and ‘\velll'~'diseiplined rr.in~ority. ‘THE DAY. 1 With little more than a. week to go before the poll, the parties in the liquor fight -are working with re-_ doubled energy. Both sides are pro-_ fessing confidence, and both are sparing no efiort in the struggle for victory. The l\lodel-ates are building their hopes largely upon the poll of‘ 1915:, when there was a. majority of some ten t-housand =od«l in favour of continuance against prohibition. This, they have persuaded themselves was’ the turn of;-the tide which marked the revulsion of feeling from the big prohibition In?.io:itv of three years before. But. the ':?boliil'>i~tioni-sus ?e'tort. the Vote of 1914 was a. war vote, timidof change and of e.\‘pe.v.'in2eilt, and did not represent the <.leliber.=:te conviction of p a majority of me people. Here again _ organisatior.- and enthusias-rn are going '” to be great factors in the dec.isiol:_. and in the and may r.'olm.t for even more than the big battalions.