WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 January 1919, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

. THE FERRY SERVICE % V MAORI HELD UP;," ' ' [(Special Correspondent.)' Wellington, Jan. M?.\ The Ferry Service between Welling*' ton and Lytteiton serves to many in« terests from the North Cape to the [that its present partial dfclnpatfoa lg causing widespread inconvenience and j los 3. 'iiie popuW disposition is to blame the Union Steamship Company fop every disorganisation of tho serf ice,' but is the present case the responsibility seems to rest upon the circumstances that h&ye ! ereated a shortage of regular firemen' and given casual hands, commonly known' as "runners" an opportunity to exploit the company. These temporary have been demanding £6 for the round trip between the two ports, that is by> | signing on and signing off at of their own choosing they have managed to make three days' wages at an ex* orbitant rate out of tan or twelve hours' work. THE SEAMEN'S UNION PROTESTS. The patience of the company, which endured through the holiday season, was exhausted at the beginning of this week, and rather than be exploited further it did not send the Maori south on Wednesday night. This brought matter* to * head, and yesterday the secretary of the Seamen's Union strongly protested against his organisation being held responsible for v hat was happening. "The action of tho runners," Mr. Young said, "is in no- way endorsed by.the union, which is anxious to carry out the conditions of the existing agreement in every particular. The runners are mere selfish individualists who entirely disregard the best interests of their fellows by bringing discredit upon the principles of uiuonisju." The effect of this official statement, approved by all the responsible member? of the union, has been to clear tho atmosphere, and it if hoped the service will resume its regular running to-night.

PUBLIC WORKS. Mr. F. Mander, the member for Marsden, who has been in Wellington this week looking after the interests of his conbtituents, sneaks very emphatically of the need for tho active prosecution of public wurks in view cf tho demands that arc being made upon the country in connection with the war. "We have taken ■up a tremendous burden of debt," he saicl this morning, "and the only way we can make it tolerable is by developing to the utmost the productive resources of the Dominion. Our waste lands must be roaded and railed and settled, our occupied lands must be turned to the best possible account, and every individual in the community must realise the responsibility that lies before him." Naturally Mr. Mander ia specially concerned for the development of the North of Auckland, but he does not take a parochial view of tho position, and would have every province put in a position to do its utmost towards th* common weal t) , DEFENCE MATTERS. < The practical close of the war, so far as New Zealand is directly concerned, has not lessened nor modified the criticism by which the Defence Department has been fuwaitod since the dispatch of the Main Body of tho Expeditionary Force. It is generally recognised that the Minister at the head, of the Department has accomplished cpeat things nnd that this ia not the time to fee recalling his eajrlkr mistakes; imt grave di»> satisfaction with the administration o£ some of the branches of the Department) continues and is finding the frankest «c.\ preseion. It is complained, for instance, that the Financial Assistance Botxd ia altogether out of joint, seeming anxious to evade its responsibilities as long as it can, and that at the same time owtlyi military appointments of no obvious value except to the recipients are being, saddled upon the country Then plainly) ia a lively time before the Minister? when the tongues of his critics are loosened by the final declaration of; peace. CHILDREN'S ALLOWANCE FOB TEACHERS. Among suggestions made to the Minister for Education by the Women Teachers' Association to-day was that an al-, lowance of £l6 a year for each chili should be made to married teachers. The teachers explained that they were not abandoning the principle of equal pay for equal work- The allowance was not to count as part of salary at all. It was to be paid in recognition of the special responsibilities imposed upon the parent. The proposal would apply to teachers of both seexea. The Government, the Hiiputation claimed, had alployers generally adopted it. The ous ways.

The Minister for Education said that the proposal was big :;nd far reaching. A special payment on eccount of children could not bo made in the teaching profession unless it were made also in other-branches of the public service, and he was not sure tint tho Government could adopt such a scheme unless employers generally adopted it Thee question was one of policy, and lie woii.d refer it to the Government for a leply. SHORTAGE OK COAL The shortage of coal in Wellington in becoming serious njiiin, from the point of view of the householder, r.t a time ot the yt'cli when the demand should ba small and the supplies plentiful. samu of the dealers can supplv nothing but slafk of inferior quality, which i* scarcely Durnable by itself. Coke can be obtained, tat wood i»* 6 ° ai ' o °- , The «planaffo n rounded of the shipping -in iuffjii fluenza epidemic, and the ChriKs. holidays. The Minister for Munitionsand\ Supphw states that the situation will U > e * 4 '* r Presently, but it is admitted (hat •-fiaaagg-aLWrt