WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 February 1918, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

ZAXV FO3. SETTLEMENT. .. SOLDIERS' FAKaS, (Special Correspondent). Wellington, Feb. 4. The statement made by Mr. Massey on Saturday in reply to the criticism that has -been levelled against the Government's land settlement policy particuLrly in its application to the needs of returned soldiers, was merely a recapitulation of the information he has [supplied to the Press from time to time. [Roughly 14,000 or 15,000 men had come back from the front up to the end of the year and of these 600 had been settled on the land and were in occupation of their sections. This does not represent a very large proportion of the men, but it must be remembered that the great majority of,thc discharged soldiers are not yet ready to undertake strenuous occupations. The Minister, however, is looking ahead to the time when thousands of hale young fellows, imbued with a desire for the open life, will be returning and is keeping the Land Purchase Board busy lookiiv out for sections suited to their requirements. CIVILIAN SETTLEMENT. The complaint that the Government in its anxiety to provide for the returned soldiers is retarding ordinary settlement by locking up great blocks of land against men who have not been to the war, would not ohtain a great deal of sympathy even if it were well founded* Rut as a matter of fact there still are considerable areas of land in the North Island available for civilian settlement and large areas in both islands waiting, sub-division after the "war. Mr. Massey and his colleagues realise thai th'o great need of the Dominion in the years to come will be increased production and that this can be obtained only by inducing more and more people to. settle oil the land under the very best possible conditions. Sir Joseph Ward, the Minister of Finance, and the Hon. W. D. S. MaeDonald, the Minister of Agriculture, have been emphasising these , truths wherever they have travelled and pledging the Government to do its utmost towards the desired end. MORE BEER. The announcement that the beer duty collected in the Dominion during lanmonth was substantially larger than the amount • collected during January. 1917, the figures being £23,881 and £17,523 respectively, has come a.s a surprise to people unacquainted with recent changes in the bar trade. They had expected that with six o'clock closing there would be a diminution in the consumption of liquor of all sorts. But just before the initiation of this war experiment there-had been a rise of 50 percent, in the retail price of spirits and a consequent decline in the demand for the more ardent beverages. Hotel frequenters wlio had been accustomed to drinking whisky took to-ordering beer with the inevitable result that while the consumption of one, across the bar, went down, the consumption of the oilier went up. TEMPERANCE REFORM The figures showing the duty collected on spirit:: during the respective periods are not available at the time of writing, but presumably they will show a considerable decline m the consmnption. If they do not, they wil' suggest grave doubts in the minds of unbiassed people as to the efficacy of six o'clock closing. There certainly has been less drunkenness in the streets of Wellington since the institution of the experiment llian there was before but if promiscuous whisky drinking in. the bars ias been simply exchanged for deliberate lvinking in the homes the Prohibitionists will not be persuaded there is any remedy for the evils of the traffic short of their own panacea. As it is many of the more moderate among thorn admit the police reports are not helping the, in their campaign.