WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 January 1917, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE WAR AND POLITICS. ACTIVITIES AT HOME. j (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, .January in. The statement of t|i-c Daily Chronicle in regard to the recommendations for electoral reform made by tlio joint committee of the House of Lords and Commons, cabled to the evening papers on Thursday, got sufficient start of the contradiction of the Press Bureau to net people here drawing comparisons between the attitude of the Imperial Government and the attitude of the New Zealand Government towards domestic legislation. Members of Parliament on both sides of the House, as well a; a much larger number of outsiders, are still expecting the statement of the Dajly Chronicle to prove very near the truth and to find the Imperial Government dealing with electoral reform, ineluding proportional representation, without waiting for the conclusion of the war. In any case an effort will be made, liere to have the subject considered on non-party lines during the next session of the Dominion Parliament. Op. this point a number of members ha, expressed themselves as quite determined, i THE TWO MA.JOR-CEXF.RALS. An article appears in the New Zealand Times this morning drawing a somewhat invidious comparison between the services and the rewards of Sir Alexander Russell and Sir A. Robin. The writer insists that tlie spirit of justico, strict, impartial and clearsighted, should always animate the svttem of promotions and rewards, and then implies that this bas not been the case in the distinctions conferred upon these two officers. The one, ho mvs, bas gained every step and honor 011 the battlefield and the other was not fortunate enough to be sent to the front, and, therefore, has had no battle service and no campaign service. The criticism is not. likely to attract much attention outside of Wellington, but it seems only fair to Sir A. Robin to say for wide publication tnat lie lias used every effort military discipline will permit to get to the front, and bas been detained in New Zealand only by the desire of the Minister to have hi? assistance in getting through the vast amount of miiltary work that has to be done in the Dominion. (POPULATION AND REPRESENTATION. The, number of seats in tlie House of Representatives that will be lost by the South Island and gained by tlie North Island as a result of tlie census is still the subject of £omo discussion here. ■When ti)e figurts were first announced the Minister stated that the North Island probably would gain four seats and possibly five, and he ha 9 not yet amended his calculation; hut a, closer examination suggests that the exchange of seats will not be more than two. Tlie North has increased its preponderance by 75,495 souls, and apparently by dividing this number by the probable electoral quota Mr. Russell has reached Ilia estimate of four or five seats. But the little sum does not work out in exactly that way, and in 1911, when the north increased its preponderance by 54,087, the transfer was only one seat. Of course, the transfer of two from 0110 island to another would make a relative difference of four, the North gaining two and the South losing.two, and perhaps that was the point in tlie Minister's mind. RIVAL DEPARTMENTS. Among the aftermath of the holidays is the usual number of complaints irom travellers concerning the confusion created by two Government departments competing for the tourist traffic. Intending holiday-makers go to the railway hooking office under the impression that it is the Tourist Bureau, or to the Tourist Bureau under the impression that it is the railway booking office, and when half-way through their trip they discover that some concession or convenience they might have obtained f.rom one institution is not' included in the ticket they have purchased from the otlicjr. This naturally is very annoying to the individual, and ais both institutions seem about equally to blame, State control is tamndly denounced and the business drifts away to private enterprise. From the public point of view there is the still moic serious aspect that work posting ,£'2ooo or :£300(1 a year in one office might be done in the other, a couple of hundred vards away, without a penny of expense. MOBILISATION OF LABOR. The Government's scheme for the mobilisation of labor is not likely to inako its appearance 'publicly for some time yet. It is an elaborate scheme, which has involved in preparation a very great deal of work and study. It has been before Cabinet lately and it is to undergo i some further examination and possible levision before its details are published. The scope of the scheme, in actual practice, will depend upon the duration of the War and the extent to which shortage of labor in essential industries becomes apparent. The Government is prepared, if necessary, to mobilise labor on a large scale in order that the' supply of fit men for the reinforcements may be maintained without involving reduced nroduction.