WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 March 1918, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

I <■> 1 THE WAR LOAN. SIR JOSEPH WARD' APPEAL. (Special Correspondent). Wellington, March 5>Q. The Minister of Finance had to speak in the open air yesterday'on" behalf of the second instalment of the big war loan, but at the time appointed for his address rain was. falling in tarn I'ert? and r.o much of the assembled crowd an could squeeze itself into tjis large room of the Chamber of Commerce and adjoining corridors listened to him there Sir Joseph Ward was as cheery and npilmntic as ever, expressing continued confidence in the determination of ' the people of New oJCahincl to bring the war to a satisfactory end, whatever the cost might be, but lie had some plain; blunt words for those of his critics whfl were finding fault with him for having issued the loan on the same terms as had been adopted by the financial authorities of the United Kingdom, the United .Stales, Canada and Australia for then" loans. Ho was given a very cordial re-cc-p'.'nn and at the conclusion of his re< inn'to those present, pledged tbenwelvei ■in the motion of the chairman of the Rn.uk of New Zealand to give all the; aw sistance within their power in raising the loan. , NO MORE RANCIITNG. People who ar« looking for the speedy realisation of the "political jy-volution l '■ of which politicians are talking, attaoh' some significance to it remark made by the new Minister of Lands at the con- ■ pr.tnlntoiy reception meordod in him at Fcilding yesterday afternoon. Mr. Guth. rie deprecated discussing t'to question of t"'.lire c-. such an occasion, but he d»i dared the day oj ranching in' New Zealand W as past and the day of closer settlement coming. In the old days of b'Mcr political divisions the tenure que** tion was the 0110 plainly marked -hie be- , tweon the contending parties and. though Vk former aspirations were modified to, 1 sone extent, by the passage of the vearsv it remained t!ie most perilous roek in the :: fairway to the pari , truce. But the.ojw; timisfs on both sides are making heart - of grace from Mr. Guthrie's words and interpreting them to mean that "settle F i ; inert" rather than "tenure" is to be tw? f'lure watchword of the politicians and*', profitable occupation the goal to .whidgl' their efforts will he directed. • THE PRICE OF BREAD. A rise of 10s a ton in the price flour was the argument which a deputaft? tion from the bakers of the city submit*' tort to the Board of Trade yesterday iBJ support of a request for permission to raise the price of the two-pound loaf bjr!, one farthing. Just what passed between? ill- 1 Board and the deputation has not| been disclosed, hut it may be judgefci from a notice which appeared in r Gu*-, : ; ette Extraordinary last night fixing the' maximum price n„ the price charged OB ' March 4, IMB, that no increase is to b». : a"owod. The Wellington bakers wera'A net in a very strong position from th»s tirpf,, the price they have been charging': tor the 21b loaf being considerably higherf than that charged in any other centre,', At the end of January the price In Wel< -liugton was o'/„d, iii Auckland sd. in Christohnreh 4d and in I>nnedin sd. Not'' '■ven ene of the small centres was paying;' so high n price as the Wellington bakers were charging, Tt is little wonder, therefore that the Board of Trade was obf 1 duratc. '■'•■ . THE BUSH FIRES. Wellington woke up in n cloud of*' smoke'on Tuesday morning, and'it will not until well after mid-day the majority of the citizens learned from whence the wierd visitation was coming. At firs'; it was supposed the fire could not be further ::.vuy than the hnvli across the harbor at Day's Bur or on the r.cenio rwm-c at the bad,- of the Tinakori Hills, \ Ever; when (lie farts Ivvmp generally known incredulous people refused to bclicve the dense arid mantle could havetravelled so far as two hundred raihw ard still are expecting reports of nearer; tires. The Dominion seizes , the oppor? tnritv to rend afvesii the lesson bv the recurrent bush fires of the last? fifty years.- "This," it says, after re-,, counting the bitter experiences of thepast and nrcsent. "by many is regarded n.s inevitable, but such is not the* fa**,';: rational methods of forestry and reglihW tion would go a long w:iv towards check. ing and minimising Hie incurrence of : Mich disasters." And to-day the whoW 1 , community is full of good resolutions, ■'