WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 7 May 1919, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

—— ■— LABOR AND MUNICIPAL POLITICS. LABOR PARTY CONFIDENT. (Special Correspondent.) - Wellington, May 5. At a Labor gathering held here last night, Mr. P. Eraser, the member for Wellington Central, said he had no doubt that the workers could control the municipal affairs of Wellington whenever they chose to make the necessary concerted effort. This followed immediately upon his congratulations to the workers on "the great demonstration of solidarity" they had given during the recent municipal elections, and may seem a little paradoxical, but unless the other parties in local politics bestir themselves Labor will have a very good chance of further strengthening its position on the next appeal to the constituency. In the matter of municipal enterprise Wellington remains the most backward among the big cities of the Dominion, and slowly its people are awakening to the fact. DEFEAT OF PROHIBITION. The president of the National Council of New Zealand, the controlling body of the licensed trade in New Zealand, finds plenty of reasons for congratulating the members of the trade upon the result of the recent "Efficiency Poll." The majority of the civilian votes for prohibition he attributes to "the preponderance of women" in constituencies which are really opposed to prohibition, and the majority or soldier votes for continuance to the sound sense and knowledge of affairs possessed by the men who have been fighting the battles of the Empire. The significant feature of the interview he has given to the Press is its tolerance towards State control. Prohibition, the president of the council thinks, is beyond the reach of practical agitation, but State control, lie admits, is an issue which people who wish to retain their liberty and self-respect very well may consider. THE APPROACHING RENUNCIATION. Politicians here are finding another indication of the approaching renunciation of the party truce in the Acting Prime Minister's speech at Dunedin. Sir James Allen always has been an advocate of a New Zealand Navy, maintained and controlled by the Dominion, but during the war he did not discuss this subject in public, and exercised an admirable selfrestraint when mentioning it in private. This, of course, was in deference to a different view of the question taken by other members of the National Cabinet. But in his Dunedin speech he appears to have returned to the subject with all his old enthusiasm, and to have gone very nearly to throwing down the gauntlet afresh to his old opponents. This could not have been done with decency a year ago, but apparently all the Ministers are preparing now for the termination of their present relations. THE COAL SHORTAGE. Though -vit taking quite such a gloomy view of the "oal question ns Sir James Allen did in hi* reply to the deputation that waited upon him in Diuiedin, the Hon. W. D. ,S. Macdonald, Minister of Mines, and tlie Hon. A. M. Myers, Minister of Munitions and Supplies, are by no means easy about the outlook for the coming winter. They have had the matter under constant consideration for .months past—indeed, ever since the difficulties of last year —and they have surmounted various little troubles that have jjirisen from time to time. But stocks liave not been replenished, and unless the miners get to work in earnest in the J near future much public inconvenience i may be occasioned. It is with a view to i averting this that Mr. Macdonald is m»k\ ( coajS, ' v