WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 1919, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

A RAILWAY EXPERIMENT. / A TRIAL RUN. (Special Cqrrespondent.) Wellington. Nov. 12. The Prime Minister has arranged to make his big policy speech at Maiuku in his own electorate to-morrow night. He intends to speak later in Wellington and the other chief centres. Mr. Massey lias been a very busy man during recent weeks. He has carried more tiian liis share of the work of the Ministry, in Parliament and out of it, and at the same time he appears to have been performing most of the work of organising his party for the general election. It was natural, therefore, that Wvhen he was able to leave Wellington on his way to the Franklin electorate, after being detained longer than he expected, he should be in a hurry. Bold Ministers iu other days have taken special trains on these occasions. But Mr. Massey has often expressed his disapproval of such wasteful expenditure of •public money. Some Wellington people, nevertheless, were inclined to smile 'when they read in the newspapers on ■Saturday," under the heading "Trial Train Bun": To-night an express will leave Wellington for Auckland for the •purpose of ascertaining the best time in which the run between the two cities ■can be done. Palinerston North, Marton, Ohakune, Taumarunui and Frankton will be the stops. The Minister of Railways (Mr. Massey), the General Manager of Railways (Mr. R. W. Mc•Villy), andlceveral railway ofilcera will •be on board. It Is to be hoped that the "trial run" was entirely successful. WHALE riSHING. Mr. Ernest Joyce, who is to be second •in command of the new Antarctic Expedition, has had something to say about the prospects of whale fishing in the southern waters. The late Captain •Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton and other "explorers have reported the existence of whales in very large numbers in the Ross Sea, the Weddcll Sea and other isemi-enclosed waters within the vast ice-fields of the Antarctic. Norwegian whalers who have been working among the islands southward of Cape Horn 'have shown that xhe fisheries are capable of profitable development. They brought out oil to the value of over £500.000 in one year of the war and there is no reason why {he Norwegians should be left without competition, particularly as most of the known portions of the Antarctic coast are under the ißritish flag. But it will be a grent pity if the stimulus given to British enterprise by the new expedition results merely in a few years of ruthless •slaughter, with the consequent extermination of the whales in the accessible waters. Whale-fishing always has been conducted in this way in the past. Control has been lacking and the whales Jiave bpen harried in season and out un■til thev disappeared from their accustomed haunt?. Tf whale-fisheries are to be developed in the Rn c s Sea. which is properly within New Zealand's sphere, the Dominion Rovernmer.t should arrange to exercise supervision and collect lieenso fees. The Imperial authorities would not be likely to withhold their consent if representations were made to them in the right way.