WELLINGTON NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 February 1919, Page 6

WELLINGTON NOTES.

| THE HIGH COMMISSIONER. SIR THOMAS MACKENZIE'S [ APPOINTMENT. I I I (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Feb. 19. The announcement of the Minister of Internal Affairs that the successive reappointments of Sir Thomas Mackenzie to Hie High Commissionership are being limited to four months at Sir Thomas' own request is creating some amusement in political circles to-day. There is a suspicion abroad that the limitation of the periods to four months is due not to any wish the High Commissioner has expressed, but to a desire on the part of the Government to have the position reviewed at short intervals. Sir Thomas' intimate friends, without, of course, quoting the High Commissioner as their nuthority, hold strongly to this view, und declare that the position is being kept warm for a prominent member of the Cabinet who is letting his constituents understand he will not seek reflection to the House. THE RESIDENT MINISTER.' The discussion of this subject has revived speculation concerning the Dominion's permanent political representation' in London. It was stated with some show of authority shortly before Mr Massey's departure for the Peace Conference that the offices of Resident Minister and High Commissioner would be combined, but apparently at that time there was no very clear understanding as to what the status and duties of the Resident Minister while acting in concert with the High Commissioner,!will not supplant him in the discharge of .his present functions. The rumors that Mr Massey himself has his eye on the political office still persist and obtain some color from the activities of his party friends. THE EFFICIENCY POLL. It seems that the apparent lull in the licensing campaign, mentioned in this column some days ago, is not due,:to any lessening of effort or enthusiasm on either side, but to the concentration of the leaders' attention upon preparations for a final appeal to the public. The prohibitionists have covered the whole ground pretty thoroughly during the last five or six months and profess to be confident of securing a majority of the votes polled within the Dominion. They are not quite so sure about the absent soldiers' votes, which probably will be the deciding factor in the struggle, and are prepared to see a majority of these cast against them. The moderates are sparing no efforts to sustain their view 3 and though they have not been making so much noise as their opponents have probably their organisation is just aB effective. THE COAL SUPPLY. The statement made by the Hon. A. M. Myers, the Minister of Munitions and Supplies, in Auckland yesterday to the effect that 50,000 tons of Australian coal will arrive in the Dominion this month is helping to relieve the local anxiety in regard to the supply of winter fuel. Many house-wives fared very badly in this respect last winter, anil they have been fearing a repetition of their unpleasant experience. The State Coal Depot, while probably keeping prices from soaring as high as they might have done in its absence, has been quite unable 1> satisfy the requirements of its regular customers, even at this season of the year, and private dealers have made a personal favor of supplying an odd bag from their depleted stocks at their own price. This distribution of those 50,000 tons will be watched with much eager interest.