WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1919, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

PARTY ACTIVITY. A DISCLAIMER. (Special Corrosponden't.) Wellington, June 4. Mr C, J. Parr's disclaimer on behalf of Air Vernon Reed and himself of any parly intent in visiting Napier the other uny is; complete so far as it goes. The playful allusion of the member for Eden co the political nerves of Mr Vigor jirown's friends was all in the game, ana probably was not altogether an effort of imagination. But if the members of th. New Party travel in pairs and find private business and social obligations in constituencies; far from the beaten dack they cannot be surprised if their movements are sometimes misunderstood. Mr Brown's friends doubtless have some reason for anxiety. The member for Napier hay been among the irankest critics of the National Cabinet from the very first day of its formation and to the outsider it is not clear as to which of the three parties he will look for support at the approaching election. THE RAILWAY MEN.

The Executive Council of the Locomotive Engineers', Firemen and Cleaners' Association having appealed from the decision of the Minister of Railways to the authority of the acting Prime Minister, the latter gentleman finds himself in a rather embarrassing position. The points at issue between the two parties; are too delicate and vital for outside discussion just now, but Sir .lames Allen may be congratulated upon the tact with which lie has dealt with a suggestion from the Council that the Hon. A. M. Myers should replace the Minister of Railways in the chairmanship of the impending conference. MiMyers is a periona grata with the men mi account of his business-like administration of the railways during his term of office in the Mackenzie Ministry, but, of course, he would not think of supplanting his colleague in the National Cabinet and Sir James expressed the obvious objections to such a course very delicately. RACE TRAINS. Race-goers have not forgotten the worry and expense inflicted upon them during the years of the war by the Hailway Department in refusing'to provide them with special trains or even to allow them to alight from the ordinary trains at the stations they wis.hcd to reach. Yesterday two special trains, ran from Wellington to Otaki, where a nice meeting was being held, and the New Plymouth and Napier expresses instead of rushing past the latter station, pulled up for the convenience of people who elected to travel in comfort and avoid the crush. To-day people are pointing to the great crowds' that travelled by these trains as proof of the ineptitude of the Department in turning away thousands of pounds race-goe-.'.-werc eager to contribute to the public revenue. Any stick is ;jood enough to labor the management in these times. THE REFORM PARTY. In re-a(Hrming the intention of the Reform Party to continue strictly loyal to the compact entered into between the Reformers and Liberals; at the time the National Government was formed till the compact was dissolved, Sir James Allen <*nve some hint of the future pol'cv of his own party. Should it be decided to end (he compact, he said, a pro-cres'-ive programme consistent wan the requirement? of the country and its; position as an imnortnnt part of the Empire will be issued bv the R ..formers. This statement was made with the atithnyiiv of the absent Prime Minister, and l!ior«!i it gives no idea of the details of the policy it is taken in political circles io ind'eate that the progressive policy will be very progressive .indeed sufficiently ?o to fo very far towards "dishing the Whigs." RACING REFORM.

At the moment, the remarks made by Mr. A, Iloyle in li'n presidential address ut Hie annua! meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club arc being mora eager - lv iiv four-fifths of the men in Hi" street than are the great problems of Rtnfe that are vovinn- the souls of the politicians. During the las.t year or two it has become more and more apparent that a very aravo menace in the shape of illicit betting is overshadowing tlm national snort. In Wellington the bookmakers r>lv their trade almost as openly as the barrowmen sell their apples awl yet the poliee seem to have in time to restrain their operations, "'lie racine; clubs in self protection do thp'r "art by employing detectives to bunt them off their courses, but there their authority ends and the police show no disposition to exercise theirs across the fence. The evil is: so rampant that raivntr itself is being dragged into dis-

'•race and unless the Government seriously concerns itself about the enforcement; of the law there very soon will be another prohibition campaign.