WELLINGTON NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 273, 28 April 1915, Page 3

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent). STATUES. Wellington, April 24. The steamer Turakina, which arrived litre to-day from London, had on board a statue of the late Mr. Seddon, for I erection in the grounds of the Parliamentary Buildings, immediately in front of the new structure now under construction. The money for the purchase and -erection of this memorial statue was collected in 11108 and 1909,' and it is not easy to understand why' there has bueif so much delay in completing the work. Indeed, many people had forgotten all about the proposed' memorial, and there was quite a lot of speculation as to the purpose of the stone base when : a few men began to lay it the other week. One will wait ■ with some anxiety for an opportunity to ' inspect the new statue. New Zealand has not been over fortunate in the past in its efforts to commemorate its great men in marble or 'bronze, and probably the worst of all the Dominion's statues is the figure of John Ballance standing in the Parliamentary grounds not very far from the site of the Seddon memorial. The friends and followers of Ballance remember him as a big man, physically as well as mentally, as impressive a figure in his way as his colleagues, Richard John Seddon and John Mc'Kenzie. The Ballance who is displayed to people visiting the Parliamen- ( tary Buildings does not impress the eye. The statue, in fact, is an eye-sore to < many of those who knew and venaratqd the man himself. I

SHIPPING DEVELOPMENTS. The appearance of Messrs Burns, rhilp and Co. in the New Zealand shippingtrade is expected to produce important developments in several directions. Thc- ( additional competition in the shipping trade will affect business interests, while the general public will be interested in thp application of progressive methods !to the tourist traffic. Messrs Burns, Philp and Co. have made a special feature of tourist traffic wherever their - branches extend, and" that is all over the Pacific and Far East. Their per-sonally-conducted tours are an institution known to most Australians. The | New Zealand Tourist Department, which | is supposed to undertake the work that : the firm is going to perform in the Doi minion, will have to wake up. It is ! no secret that the Tourist Department is not extending its usefulness, or even . holding its own ground, at the present ! time. An impression prevails that the. : fault lies with the present Government, i which has pot shown much sympathy i for that particular brunch of. State en- | terprise. The Department lost ail .energetic head wh.cn Mr. T. E. Donne | went to London, and naturally tourist traffic has been diminished severely by the war. Whatever the reason may I be, the Tourist Department is languish-, I tog, and an active competitor may deprive it of a great deal of the business it still retains.

OFFICIAL RED TAPE. Mention of the Tourist Department calls to mind a rather curious illustration of official red-tape methods. There 13 a tourist office in a commanding position opposite the tntrar.ee to the wharves in Wellington, and pari; of the vork of this office is to issue tickets to intending travellers of one sort and an- i oilier. The staff has no appearance of being overworked, and would not he inconvenienced at all by an increased de- ' rnnnd, for tickets. A short distance away, at the corner of Willis street, the. Railway Department has a rented office for. the' sale of tickets. Tlie staff there appears to have plenty of leisure time on its hands. Tlie work of the two offices could he combined without any loss of efficiency, and the result would In a saving of salaries and rent amounting to many hundreds of pounds yearly. Why are two separate offices maintained in the heart of Wellington, at tlie pub--lic expense, to do the same work? Simply because the Railway Department and tlie Tourist Department are strangers to one another, in an official sense. The Railways Department is managed by a Railway Commissioner. Tlie Tourist Department is one of the .services' I controlled by the Public Service Commissioners. The two bodies may not maintain a common tourist and ticket office in the capital city, because to do bo would hamper someone's authority, or damage somebody's dignity. It would • be interesting to know just what this I official foolishness costs the country.