WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 September 1916, Page 8

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

thl social habit. > t 'kxt and population. _ (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, September 4. Tlio liotel-keepcra' concern over the effect of tlie "anti-shouting" regulation continues and, apparently, with ample reason. It is in Jew eases the bar trade lias declined by as much as 50 per cent, since thi! regulation came into force, but tlie licensee of one of the most popular houses in the city, which bears a high character with the police, declares that last week his bar takings were less than half his takings for the preceding week. Against this there was an appreciable improvement in the bottle trade, perhaps as much as 111 or 15 per cent., and it was noticeable that towards the end of the week business was better than at the beginning. The licensee attributes this to more of his regular customers having reconciled themselves to the passage of sixpences before they enter the bar and to others under the stress of circumstances 'having overcome their repugnance to "solitary drinking 4 ' These are not desirable developments, hut to an extent they are inevitable, and if the "anti-shouting - ' regulation decreases the amount of promiscuous drinking during the war period by even 10 per cent, it will have more than justified the expectations of its most ardent advocates.

DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW. The hotels that have suffered a decline of as much as 50 per cent, in their bar trade as a consequence of the abolition of the "social ha-bit" of shouting are probably few and far between. But a great inaV>' are taking 20 or 2:1 per 'cent, less than they did before the regulation came into force, and naturally the licensees are looking around for some relief. The position Is to be considered by the "trade" in conference as soon as the actual results are definitely ascertained, and it is expected the brewers Mid landlords will be requested to shoulder a share of the loss. In the meantime the prohibitionists are viewing the postion with mixed feelings. TliostTwho have scoffed at regulating the liquor traffic as impossible in fact, and undesirable if it were possible, are predicting that the proverbial coach and four uL timatcly will be driven through this restriction as, they allege, it has been driven through every other restriction. But those who are frank enough to recognise the truth admit that in this case regulation has proved effective, and has inclined them to look more tavorably than they did before upon the bigger experiment of State control. In this way the legislation of last session mar point the way to a bigger reform than its promoters ever contemplated.

CITY POPULATION. Though the. Registrar-General has been showing the people of Wellington for months past that the population of their city is not increasing in proportion with its business activity, and its opportunities for employment, it has' been left to the Dominion to tell them bluntly, in an article on house-room and house-rent, that the number of souls within their borders are fewer to-day than they were six years ago. The local paper obtains its figure:; from Mr. Malcolm Eraser, and they show that between 1010 awl 1010 the population of the eity itself declined from 71,533 to 07.230, and of Greater Wellington from 70,390 to 75,085. The tendency now attracting the attention of the people of Wellington was emphasised in this column some months ago in an analysis- of the electoral rolls of the city constituencies for 1011 and 1014. which showed a decline of 3703 in the six city constituencies. Mr. Frascr makes the decline for that period 4057. so that the results, probably reached by quite different methods, approximate very closely. In the same analysis the population of the Auckland six- city contituencies showed an increase of 17,577 during the three years, that of the Christehurch six constituencies an increase of 5700, and that of the Dnncdin five constituencies a decline of OSS. Doubtless poor home accommodation and high rent are at the root of Wellington's trouble. RECRUITING. The Minister of Defence was not unprepared for a mild slump in voluntary enlistment as a result of the passage of the Military Service Act, which provides for the compulsory registration of men of military age. Married men, who were impelled by a strong sense of duty to join the reinforcements while the monthly quota depended entirely upon voluntaryism, now the Government has power to bring' the single laggards in may wry properly delay lheir sacrifice till it is really required. Then there are numbers of men ready to go into camp, but not anxious to leave their civil employment, who will be content to wait their turn in the ordinary course. The Minister believes that the reinforcements stil! will be filled mainly by volunteers, and that the men waiting for the ballot, perhaps for good reasons of their own, when they realise what they have been missing all this time will make as good soldiers as any that have been sent away. The physical standard lias been wonderfully well maintained in the later reinforcement and experience has enabled the training staff to produce better and bettei results till the Camp Commandant's eulogies which at one time seemed a little ellusive in pronouncing each succeeding -raft the best on record, appear to be well deserved. One indication of the good spirit prevailing among the men is the fact that while there are still hardships to be endured at all the camps, grumbling is much less prevalent than it was in the early days of our soldier making. HEALTH OF THE TROOPS. "The health of the troops generally is very good," said General Henderson to your correspondent to-day. "The warm weather ha s made, a rapid improvement in camp conditions, and the amount of sickness is declining. Many of the 'measles patients at Featherston are. returning to duty. I have not yet got details of the new case of cerebrospinal meningitis at Featherston." Trentham camp is gradually filling again, and a visit to it at the present time might give a stranger an impression that nobody could ever be unwell in such a sunny, well tended place. The huts have been fumigated so assiduously that the air in them is slightly stinging to the eyes, and the roadways, alleys, cook-houses and Jatriiies are models of cleanliness. The medical officers who have been making an examination of Trentham, at the direction of the Health Department, have not yet completed their work, and it is not certain that they will find it necessary to make any formal report.