WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 September 1916, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

DR. A. A. MARTIN,i

A GREAT KXAMPLH

(From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, September 22. The death of Dr. Martin, reported yesterday from the 'New Zealand Stationary Hospital in France, lias brought*to .hundreds of people here a, keen sense of personal loss and to .the whole community a profound feeling of regret. The doctor was due of those sensitive, courageous souls to whom sacrifice was "the first element of religion," so ordered that it fulfilled all the law and the commandments. Standing at the very head of his profession with a career awaiting him that might have led to the highest distinction and even to opulence, he renounced the ambitions that would have inspired smaller men and devoted himself and his splendid gifts unstintingly to the service of humanity. Fresh from college, where lie had won everything brilliant scholarship and conscientious performance could achieve, he donned khaki to play a man's part in the Boer war. It was his experience and observation in South Africa, followed by years of exceptionally successful private practice, that left him in no doubt as to the direction in which his duty lay when the present war broke out. .Xot content to rest on the magnificent services he rendered at Marne and Aisne, La Basse and Ypres, he returned to the front after a brief furlough spent in strenuous work here with the hope of illustrating afresh to his professional brethren and the military authorities the enormous advantage to the wounded of saving them from delay and suffering by performing major operations within the firing line. Dou'btless it was in his devotion to -this mission, which counted his own safety as naught, that he gave his life cheerfully and ungrudgingly for his follows. He, indeed,'bequeathed to his country "the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."

STATE ENTERPRISE. Socialists, communists and the friends of "State interference" generally—those, that is, who would be satisfied to move along the safe constitutional lines'laid down by the Minister of Mines—ought to take heart of grace and rejoice at a statement made the other day by Mr. Mac Donald to a deputation from the Miners' Federatiqji that waited upon him to discuss conditions of labor and other matters. There is a feeling abroad in many quarters that the State coal mines are a constant drain upon the Dominion's exchequer, and that the supply of cheap coal to a few favored individuals is costing the country a good many thousand pounds every year, This impression was assiduously cultivated (luring the time of party strife by a certain set of politicians, and even last session Mr. G. J. Anderson, the member for 'Mataura, who in the days of long ago was a Knight of Labor and several other things which are anathema to las present associates, protested against the unhappy taxpayer being compelled to pay for the socialistic experiments of defunct '.Governments. Rut Mr. MacDonald told the deputation from the Miners' Federation that "up to the present the State coal-mines had not cost the general taxpayer a single penny." It was true there was a deficiency upon the working of the mines, as was only to lie expected at the beginning of such an enterprise, but this would be paid off •'in a few years," and then a reasonable trade profit, consistent with the purpose of the undertaking, would 'he made. This looks as. if even the more conservative element in the National Cabinet had reconciled itself to- the development of "State interference'-' along strictly business lines.

THE LABOR .MOVEMENT. The new Labor Party which announced its birth with some flourish of trumpets a couple of months or so ago seems to be coiifuiiing its activities for the tiresent to Auckland, where the old Labor Party has been seriously shaken by internal dissensions. A Wellington worker, who disclaims any authority to speak on behalf of the local unions, but who exercises a good deal of influence among his fellows here, thinks the new movement will make little progress till it definitely disassociates itself from the "Red Fed" element that lias so often led it into trouble. He does not expect to see any really effective unity among the workers for political purposes till they provide themselves with a platform which will attract a large contingent of dissatisfied Liberals to their ranks and give them a fair fighting chance at the polls. Many of the workers who have little love for the official Liberals and less, of course, for the official Reformers, are weary of playing the part of vote-splitters election after decion, and would rather defer the fight for some of their own ideals than have fliem all hopelessly rejected.. Proportional representation, to take one plank in the Labor platform, is now n-ell within'the reach of the truly progressive elements in the country, but if these elements arc kept apart by Labor demanding everything it want's at once the old-establish-ed parties, favored by the present system of representation, will keep the reform off the Statute Book for a decade or, in fact, for just as long as-they please. This view seems sound enough to the outsider, but unfortunately 'it is not at the moment finding, much favor with the majority of the Labor leaders.

LAX'BS. In normal times the. transfer of the portfolio of Lands to Sir I'rancis Bell while Mr. Massey is engaged upon business of Imperial importance would have provoked a good deal of heated criticism. Sii Francis is one of the most capable, as he is on • of the most courteous, members of the National Cabinet, but his practical knowledge of land—on which, by the way, the Hon. R. 11. Rhodes was complimenting' him in Canterbury this other day—has been acquired in an office and not on the soil. The result is that :ic does not understand the needs of the man of limited means who wants to get out into the country and make a home for himself there. During his temporary occupancy of the particular pair of the Prime Minister's shoos allotted to him the administration of the affairs o.' the Lands Department must lie: left to the permanent heads, and these gentlemen, though highly qualified to give effect to u policy, have no. power and probably no inclination tc vary a. policy which may not readily adapt itself to a special set of circumstances. The immediate tfou'ble arising out of this state of things is that no far-sighted provision is being made at this opportune time for the settlement of returned soldiers on the land and for other matters that are calling out for attention. There are Acts of Parlia-

merit, for which Sir Francis may he trusted to have the utmost respect, but Acts of Parliament without instructed and sympathetic, interpretation may be made a hindrance rather than a help to the purposes they were intended to serve. MORE' MEX WANTED. Wellington, September 21. The shortage in the 21st Reinforcements is proving larger even tha» was expected earlier in the week. Each military district appears to be having the same experience in the neglect of many registered men to answer the mobilisaitou call, and it is apparent now that the total shortage will be not fewer than 000 men. This includes the shortage of 218 men carried forward from last month, when the 20th Reinforcements failed to muster in full strength. The Wellington military district has a shortage of SOS men. The Auckland draft, which went into camp on Wednesday, proved to lie 170 men short of the quota, and the Canterbury draft, which reached camp on Thursday, is not less than 100 men below requirements. The Otago draft is reported in a telegram from Dunedin to be "about sixty short." The call in every ease is for additional men for the infantry.

CENSUS ARRANGEMENT,* Preparations are well forward for the taking of the census on the night of Sunday, October 15. The work has been entrusted, for the first time, to the Postal Department, which has provided 05 officers to serve as- enumerators, and the machinery of the Department will be used as much as possible in the distribution and collection of the forms. Each enumerator has charge of a carefully dofined district, and it is his duty to divide it into smaller areas, and to arrange for the services of sub-enumerators, who will see that every house is accounted for. Postal officers will be the sub-enumera-tors in the, city and borough areas, where the population is dense. The methods of taking the census have been amended in some minor respects in the light of previous experience. The main form, the large "householder's schedule," is very nearly the same in wording and arrangement as it was when the last census was taken in 11)11. The sole change of general interest appears to be the insertion of Some questions relating to rural postal services, the information being required by the Postal Department. , An innovation of importance to many people is the use of a special schedule for inmates of hotels, boarding-bouses, clubs, ships, trains, etc," The old system required that all the persons resident in a boarding-house, for example, should record the facts about themselves on one large form, which could be read by everybody concerned. This arrangement did not make either for secrecy or for accuracy. Under the new system a personal schedule will be filled up by each boarder or passenger, and then all the schedules will be attached to a ''householder's covering schedule,'' so that no boarder will see another boarder's paper. Another new form, rendered necessary by the war, is a "personal schedule for the use of inmates of military camps and internment camps." Each soldier and each inmate of an internment camp will receive one of these forms, which wilt be distributed and collected by the military authorities on behalf of the census staff. The soldier Who might he embarrassed by a question regarding his age—all soldiers are officially over twenty years of age and under forty-six years—receives an assurance that "the information given will be" treated as confidential; the returns are not to be used for proof of age or for any purpose other than the preparation of statistical tables."

THE HIGH COMMISBIONERSHIIP. The - political gossips are very busy with rumors concerning the High Commissionership, and the future movements of Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward. Sir Thomas Mackenzie's extended term of office expired last month, and though he is carrying on the duties of the High Commissioner for the present, it is stated quite confidently that he would like to return to New Zealand some time during the next/few months. Prophecies in a matter of this kind are apt to be mere guesses, often wrong guesses, and your correspondent has no wish to indulge in them. But it will be safe to say that neither of the party leaders has the least intention of <nn-nn" in l.o»"l«r this year. Each of them has e duty to his party in this country, and it is doubtful if the High Conimisskmership would attract either of them in any case. After the close of the war there will be an Tmperia! Conference of a momentous ijatnre, and one outcome of that conference may be the creation of an Imperial Council or even a true Imperial Ministry. Appointment to a body of that kind as the representative of New Zealand would provide the very widest for service and distinction, but speculations along that line are idle at the present juncture, while the developments of the future remain unknown. The subject is worth mentioning only because sonic people appear to he convincing themselves that New Zealand is about to lose a party leader,

■SHORTAGE OF PTG-IRO^. A shortage of pig-iron is reported to be troubling the ironfounders in the South Island, where the suggestion has been made that some works may be forced to close down owing to lack of raw material if supplies are not made available during the next few months. The export of pig-iron from the United Kingdom is prohibited at the present time except by license, and checks have been placed upon exports from India. Southern firms have blamed these conditions for the shortage they are experiencing.

Wellington ironfounders state that, generally speaking, tliey do not see reason for anxiety in the present position. Supplies of pig-iron are limited in comparison with other years, but the foundries are in no immediate danger of an actual shortage, and enquiries suggest that iron will be procurable provided that shipping arrangements can be made. Prices have advanced materially, but that is the case in many other lines, and importers .'ecognise that the war has created a special situation. Some of the foundries had fairly large stocks in hand when the war began. During the first seven months of the present year the quantity of pig-iron and scrap iron imported into 'New Zealand was 44T!) ton-, valued at £22,203, as compared with 5337 tons, valued at j;2.">,C32, in the corresponding period of IDIS. The lignrcs, it will 'be noticed, show a substantial decrease in quantity, ■with a less marked decrease in /alue, prices having increased materially in the interval. Some of the pig-iron . came from Japan, via Australia, but exact figures bearing on this development are not yet available. The Japanese iron has not a very good reputation for quality, and the trade is regarded generally as a temporary one. due to the exig encies of the war