WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 December 1918, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

• SCHE. LIQUOR REEERENBUM. j " / SHE SOLEDSRS' VOTE: { ii&: KSpscial Corerspondent.Jjj " \ '" Wellington, Dec. 23. '' _ Acting Prime Minister received o*. ■' Saturday what described itself asun unoilicial deputation from the Returned . Solders* Association and to urge that 1 j )New Zealand soldiers abroad should.-' have the fullest facilities Tor voting in the liquor referendum. They suggested ?' that every soldier should have posted to him a voting paper and an explanatory, ltaflefc and that the possession of a ■ pay-book should entitle him to vote; The Minister did not commit himself to.' 1 ; i 'i the adoption of the deputation's nig*' ■' gestions, but promised that every effort would be made to enable the soldiers to exercise their rights as electors. It might not be possible to reach every.'/ man i» the Expeditionary Force, but that would Ibe the goal at which th&f&U- ' thoiitieg would aim, " THE ALLIA3TCJB VIEW. •* \ 'i The officials of the New Zealand Alliance dec Tare themselves to be just as - J anxious as the presidents of the Be- \ turned Soldiers' Association and the Sec- '"jend Division league are to see every. jj absent soldier recording Ms vote. TMs' *| is not a question of advantage to one : side or the other, they say, but a <juestion of right and justice. They have -V taken it for granted, however, that the! ' Minister would ta£e every possible " i measure to ensure the facilities for voting. They also have presumed tiiat 'J active propaganda work and tlio distrlbution of party literature at the front would not be allowed !by the military j authorities and they are quite content '' that the soldiers should vote'witKout in*" terferenea from either side. THE PARTY TRUCE.

Several southern members of'Payliac' ■ ment spending their Christmas holiday* in Wellington have expressed themselves • strongly of opinion that the "party; truce" should be renounced and the N&-, tional Cabinet dissolved as speedy as 'f>, possible after the return of the party •" leaders to the Dominion. Tlia original * agreement -was that the trues should continue till the end of tha war and in ' ;f; the ordinary course it would expire an- s ! tomatically on the signing of the treaty of peace; but the party cauonoes pro>:'s longed the term to cover the absence of ' Mr Masaejr and Sir Joseph Ward, pyesinning this would extend beyond the. official declaration of the cessation of hostilities. The southern members, re«' .presenting both sides of polities, insist there can be no further extension with- ■ out entering into a fresh compact, and' -'J to this they are unanimously opposed, 'm STATE MONOPOLIES. '< Members oi tho Labor Party are very i "ij jubilant over the Hon. G. W Russell's 1 statement in Christchurch to the etl'ect' '/rf that the State • should assume a *"" monopoly of the sale of certain commodi* 4 ties, such as tobaoco and petrbl; and V while supplying them to the consumers' ■ and lasers at l ower prices than are be- " l ing.paid now make a substantial profit 'i itself. They profess,to repaid this as--:| an admission by the Minister that all / ? they have benn saying in rogajrd to th» .3 excessive cost of Jiving is correct andl that their remedy for ihe evit is the n'#, only one he can see, Mr Russell, who. -■s' returned to Wellington vesterday, ia j not perturbed by the jubilation of th«-';S critics of the Government He has been preaching the gospel of Platr co-opera- I"; tion for years, he says, and has nothing' ho ever has said on the subject to will!