WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 June 1919, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

<mm> Safe 3Ms^'<xra^Eß!^iiF^.. '■■ p i. '<SEeodW > 'Comßpondejii!s)J. Wellington, June -lfc. It is easy to understand the anxiety of the Hon. A. M. Myers for the early r* turn of the party leaders. During thew absence the acting-Minister of h'inance has had to bear the liqp's share of the burden of administration. Before their departure the armistice had relieved thi Minister of Defence of some of his mora pressing work, but with the counting of the cost of the great war Mr. Myers' responsibilities largely increased. Of course Sir Joseph Ward has been keeping a close eye upon hia departments during his absence, and has done much to prepare the way for the financial operations which will be necessary in the near future, but the -bulk of the detail work has fallen upon his locum tenens, and it has occasioned a strain which well may make the Minister pray fervently for the return of his chief..

THE BOBBOWED IMHXION& During the last four years and a half, as Mr. Myers showed in the statement he made: the other day, the public debt ha? grown $y some eighty-one millions—-fifty-five millions borrowed in. the Dominion and twenty-gix millions ail Lorn don. Few people can think in nuUions, but what all this' increased debt'meanß. may he realised from the fact r that the annual charges for interest and sinkingfund whjch before the war amounted to about three millions are now closely in the neighborhood of seven million* Then pensions, which before the war stood at about half a million, are now on a fair way to reaching three million. In other words nearly five-sixths of the revenue that wbb sufficient for all our needs in, 1913-14 will now be absorbed by pensions and war loan charges. FACETO THE MUSH?..

The Dominion this morning, in a thoughtful article on the situation, touches upon at» political aspects with a careful avoidance of party issues. "The war and its aftermath," it says, "have dwarfed issues that once loomed large. The vital interests of the Dominion demand simply a loyal union of all constructive forces in furtherance oi a policy based upon a recognition of the j necessity not only of taking bold measures to cope with the burdens the war has imposed, but of meeting the new ipirit that is abroad here and in other parts of the world—a spirit which crystallises in a widespread demand for rapid progress in social development." Having delivered itself of these admirable sentiments the journal, which before the war was popularly ■ supposed to be devoted to the exclusive interests of the 1 Reformers, says that any attempt to reestablish artificial divisions or to satisfy personal amibdtions will be a blow at the welfare of the Dominion. ' . . . ■

THE PARTIES. There is a wide difference of opinion here as to what would ba the correct attitude of the two older parties to adopt at the approaching election. The extreme section of the Labor JParty will hear of no compromise, and sees in any rapprochement between the Liberals aid Reformers only a conspiracy directed against the welfare of the workers". Sut there is a much larger section of workers fully alive to the gravity of the situation that will not lend itself to the revival of the old profitless dissensions. The three parties will appeal to tihe constituencies with separate and distinct programmes, and the election will be very keenly contested, but so far the old parties have not got to the length of discussing their candidates. It is'expected, however, that on both sides there will be an unusually large number of aspirants for parliamentary honor? and that the changes in representation will i be correspondingly marked.

GENERAL RUSSELL A CANDIDATE.

It is. reported that Sir Andrew Russell has practically decided to accede to the request that he should enter politics. His health has shown improvement since his return to New Zealand. It has been generally understood that if the General contested a seat at the general election he would not cast lin his lot with either of the existing political (parties. THE WELFARE LEAGUE.

Much comment ha? been made here- on the appearance of Mr. C. P. Skerrett at fch<? annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealand a 9 an advocate of improved eonditions of employment for bank employees, and, by implication, for other classes of employees. Mr. Skerrett is president of the New Zealand Welfare League, the new party which produced its initial manifesto some time ago. This League is by no means inactive, and its members appear confident that it will make itself felt later in the year,

MINE SWEEPERS. The three mine-sweepers that reached Wellington yesterday re to be set to work at once in the coastal areas where mines were laid by the German raider Wolf. They are big, handy boats, equipped with the gear used by the Navy's mine-sweepers during the war, and it is expected that within a few weeks they will be able to report that the minefields are clear. Indeed, the areas have been swept bo carefully already it in not improbable the new boats will find no mines. But the trouble will not be all over when the original mine-fields are reported clear. There are still a dozen or more mines to be accounted for and it is possible 1 for one of these evil things to drift at large for months. The suggestion is being made, by the way, that the Government should try to retain the three mine-sweepers in New Zealand waters as State trawlers. They would be particularly suitable for the work and it appears that the Imperial Government will have a surplus of mine-sweep-ers on hand in the near future. Three large trawlers, used systematically, couid add very largely to New Zealand's present inadequate supply of fish.

SOLDIERS' HOMES. Tne Minister for Lands has issued a return showing that up to the end of last month 937 discharged soldiers had been assisted to procure homes, while 497 were still under consideration. The figures indicate that useful work is being done as far as. the soldiers are concerned* but they do not represent any real contribution to the solution of the housing problem. Most of the men have been h assisted to buy bouses already, built. Th» former owners or tenants have been left to seek homes elsewhere. There is evidence, moreover, that the State-aided purchasers of the soldiers are having the 1 tSaakM i&oaaiiltK further ih&

houses. The officers of the Labor Department are hastening the preparation of plans for the erection of 200 workers' homes authorised by the Government, and it is expected that most of these houses will be ready for occupation within twelve months. Sufficient land is already available for all the sites required, though when the aplicationsi have been received it may be found that the land is not always in the right place. But even the 200 workers' homes will not do very much towards relieving the congestion, The country needs a much broader scheme and unfortunately it appears that the harassed tenants and home-seekersi must wait until nest year before Parliament will be ready to begin considering their needs.