WELLINGTON NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 257, 9 April 1915, Page 2

WELLINGTON NOTES.

CIVILIANS AND COMMISSIONS. Inquiries have reached the Defence authorities as to whether civilians a.'e eligible for commission:; in the reinforcement draft of the expeditionary force. The reply is not encouraging from the point of view of persons who want to reacli commissioned rank by a short cut, and indeed the question betrays a rather curious misconception of the conditions under which the great war is being fought. The fighting in Europe is making unexampled demands upon the training and technical knowledge of the officers, who must possess a sound knowledge of the science, of modern war if they are to be efficient. How far the commissioned ranks of the New Zealand territorial force are able to supply the right kind of officer is not a question for the layman to discuss. The Minister of Defence states that up to the present time the supply of suitable officers lias not caused him serious anxiety, and New Zealand certainly has no cause to be ashamed of the men who are commanding the troops already at the front. But the schooling that is being given successive drafts of officers at Trentham indicates plainly that the authorities arc watching this matter carefully. The officers go into camp a-month ahead of the men they aye to command, and they spend that month working very hard indeed, much of the time under" the direction of experienced sergeants. - major. They brush up their scientific knowledge, they attack knotty problems of tactics, and they learn to give orders. . It is one of the strangest sights at the camp to sea a squad of lieutenants being taught how to shout an order in the sure decisive tone of the man accustomed to command. Some startling noises are heard before the most nervous of the young men has 'earned to pitch his voice to the satisfaction of the peremptory sergeantmajor.

THE PUJBLTC ACCOUNTS. * The Minister of Finance is reported to liave stilted tliat tlie public accounts for the twelve months ended on March :il show an even balance, there being neither a surplus nor a deficiency. This result at a time of extraordinary financial difficulty is very satisfactory anJ confirms the impression that New Zealand is suffering very slightly compared with some other portions of the Empire. The. severe conditions prevailing on the other side of the world have had. their reflection here, but the buoyancy of the export trade has saved the Dominion from serious trouble. The Customs revenue is known to have declined considerably and it will be interesting to learn from the Minister of Finance where the corresponding savings, have been effected. One gathers that the public works expenditure, will show a falling off. The recruiting for the expeditionary force has kept unemployment down and the demands made upon the Public Works Department in this connection have been much smaller that was generally expected. But obviously there has been careful management in all the Departments and Mr Allen will be congratulated very heartily on his success in averting the threatened deficiency. The satisfactory conditions of the. 'public accounts does not mean that increased taxation will not be necessary. The current year will he a much more trying one from the Treasurer's point of view than the year just closed, and the Government will have to find sources of additional revenue.

THE ELECTION PETITIONS.

Willi'tlio closing of the Easter holidays tlie Supreme Court will Login to think of resuming its labors, and the next week tlio hearing of the legal points raised in connection with the election petitions will be begun. The. average politician seems to regard these petitions as a comfortable excuse for leaving politics alone rather .than as a serious threat to either party, and it is not easy to see how the, ultimate decision of the court can affect the present position materially. The unseating of the present member for Taumarunui, Hawke's Bay, or Bay of Islands electorate would result merely in a fresh election, and all the indications go to show that the voters would confirm their original decision. The charges that are being levelled against Mr Vernon Reed in the Bay of Islands constituency might possibly involve his disqualification, but it is generally assumed that in that event the floverryent party would win the seat with another candidate. Tlio Liberals probably would not be represented again by T)r Buck. Several names have been mentioned in this connection, but no Opposition candidate will be selected before the result of the election petition is known. A lot of interest attached to the attitude of Mr Wilkinson, who stood as an Independent Reformer at the general election. Mr Wilkinson, who was set aside by his party in favor of Mr Reed, after that gentleman had changed sides, has voiced his grievance loudly, but he seems likely to remain a follower of Mr Massey. Tn the Taumarunui and Hawke's Bay electorates no disqualification is probable and the sitting members do not appear to have lost any ground since the general election.

THE PRICE OF BREAD.

"Is the price of bread going to fall before the end of the war?" was the question put to a prominent dealer in wheat by your correspondent. The answer was indefinite, as it might have been expected to be, but it emphasised one feature of the situation that has not received much general attention. "In normal years," said the merchant, "more than one-third of the wheat consumed by the. United Kingdom comes through the Mediterranean, and a very large proportion of that quantity passes through tlio ] Dardanelles on its way from the gran- \ aries of Russia and Roumania. Since the outbreak of war the Dardanelles have been closed to traffic and the' wheat that should have, moved out in British; ships has accumulated at the Black Sea ports. We are told in a cablegram the other day that so many million bushels of grain were awaiting there for export.) Well, what, is going to happen when the' Dardanelles are opened by the warships of the Allies? I believe'that we shall see a veVy marked drop .in the price of wheat on the Home markets, and when the price falls there we shall discover! that wheat is not quite so scarce, in | New Zealand as we have been led to believe. Remember, the duty is off wheat! now, and there is nothing to stop local! people from importing a shipload or two ! of Russian wheat if needs be. The only ! factor that is not receiving enough at- j tention is the probable 'demand for' wheat from countries fliat ordinarily arel not large importers. How much wheat will Germany buy when the war ends j and how much will France want this j year? We ought to plant enough wheat j this year to keep ns self-supporting." It has been rumored that the Government | is considering the desirableness of special attempts to encourage wheat grow- ! crs. by moans of a bonus or a giiaran- ; teed price. But one gathers that no- ! thing will bo done unless the need for ■ State action becomes more imperative I than it is at the present time. ;