WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 July 1919, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

( ♦ THE RAILWAY CUT. CONTINUED COMPLAINTS. ' (Special Correspondent) Wellington, July 23. The telegram from (»isborne this morning stating that the arrival of 200 tons of Westport coal at the East Coast port has enabled the railway authorities to resume the ordinary service on the Gisbome lino has done nothing to allay the indigna.tion felt here at the inconvenience and loss inflicted upon this and other communities by the fajlure of the management to make provision against the crisis that has arisen! The i story .that the "cut" has been made for some political purpose still persists, though no one is able to explain very clearly how it is going to effect one side or the other and the Minist-.' laughs at the suggestion that lie is going to obtain some personal or party advantage from doing of necessity an extremely disagreeable and unpopular thing. The contention that sweeping reductions of services might have been avoided had even ordinary foresight been exercised is much more reasonable and obtains credence in many quarters. THE INEVITABLE. A paragraph has been going the rounds of the papers attributing to some well informed authority in the South Island a statement to the effect that the shortage of coal has provided a plausible excuse for a reduction of services which, in any case, would have been forced , upon the management in the course of a few months by the dilapidated condition of many of the locomotives and much of the rolling stock. Some sort of color is given to this very grave allegation by the constant failure- of trains to run up to .time, the neglected appearance of some of the passenger carriages and the bruised and battered condition of many of the goods trucks. It is «\ot so very long ago that this subject was brought up in Parliament by tne member for Hntt, but Bince then Mr Wilford has joined the Ministry and is no longer , at liberty to discuss it with his former [ freedom, I THE GERMAN PROFESSOR. The way is being felt cautiously by .. people in high places towards the re- ■ appointment of Professor von Zedlitz to i tho chair of Modern Languages at Victoria College. The facts in connection, s with the professor's "retirement" from , this position nearly three years ago will I be fresh in the memory of everyone who i still takes an interest in the matter. , A majority of the members of tho Col- ■ lege Council were, favorable to the re- ' tontion of the professor on the staff of i tho institution, in spite of his sympfti thies with his German fellow country- / men, and an Act, of Parliament was> ne- ■ cessary to secure his withdrawal. This ' Act will expire in. the course of a few , months and the Professorial Board of the i College already is asking for there- ; appointment of their old colleague. How i the College Council is disposed towards , the request is not known, but that Par- . liament will he moved again to interi vene if necessary is fairly certain. i THE CENSORSHIP. .'.' ! "From midnight on Wednesday, July 1 23, the censorship of all cables and wirc--1 less telegrams for offices throughout the ! British Empire wil cease." This', is the substance of an announcement made by ' the Secretary of the General Post Office • this morning, which will bo heartily welcomed by the public and by the news- < papers of the Dominion. On tlie wholp the censorship has been very sanely and ' very judiciously administered in. this ; country during the course of the war, but 1 there have been exceptions to this very ! happy rule and the newspapers, in p&r----1 ticular, have been hampered by restrictions which served no useful purpose and at the same time interfered with their legitimate activities. Now these restrictions have been removed the press i will be able to resume its old place in .the public life of the community and to play its allotted part in the great work of construction.