WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 April 1920, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

ROUGH WEATHER. SCARCITY OF FUEL. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, April 9. No sooner were the Easter holiday* over than Wellington, which had revelled in a week of delightful, summerlike weather, was swept by a furious gale of wind and rain, and plunged into all the discomforts of winter, including a prediction by the Government Meteorologist that snow is at hand. Shipping is utterly disorganised, and all .but absolutely necessary outside occupations suspended, while people compelled to come into town from the widely scattered suburbs are doing so with the utmost discomfort. Wellington, in short, is at its worst. The disagreeable visitation has brought home to many a household in very disagreeable fashion the gravity of thecoal shortage, The State Coal Depot and the private dealers have been kept busy during the last forty-eight hours telling a shivering public they have no supplies, and will have none till next week—at earliest. The former method of distribution seems to have utterly broken down.

ELECTORAL REFORM. It is significant of the trend of public opinion in regard to the question of electoral reform that the Evening Po»t, which three or four years ago was scoffing at proportional representation, is now implying it is the only system offering safety for the Democracy. It declares that "first past the post is better than tho second balolt, or rather that the second ballot is worse than first past the post," and - urged Mr. MaeDonald, the leader of the Liberal Party, to come forward with a bold proposal that will give the country a lead. Mr. MacDonald when seen on the subject thin morning, said he could not commit the Liberal Party to any particular system of electoral reform till he had cqnferred with its members on the BUbject, but personally he thought electoral reform should be one of the first questions dealt with by the Government, and that the object of Parliament should be tc make itself as nearly as possible a reflection of public opinion in the coun> try. THE PRINCE'S SAFETY. A good deal of curiosity and somi amusement has been occasioned here bj a statement made by the General Mail' ager of Railways to the effect that i: would be unsafe to bring tho train b>. which the Prince of Wales will arrive in Wellington on to Lambton Station, and that his Royal Highness will havo to alight at Thorndon Station, a dingy edifice dumped down in a part of the capital city of which its people are not particularly proud. The Dominion referring to the matter this morning suggests that an easy way to settle the controversy that is going on would be for the General Manager "to" explain exactly what the hidden perils are that make communication between Thorndon and Lnmbton so precarious." . As a matter of fact hundreds of people travel between the two stations every day of the week. The public is waiting for the manager's retort. REVIVED ZEAL.' Another subject of more or less amused comment in the city is the publication this morning of new regulations designed for restricting the use of the Post and Telegraph Office for betting purposes. Of course the use of the offices for these purposes is prohibited by the Gaming Act, but of late years the law has been more scandalised in its breach than honored in its observance. In Wellington, at any rate, both the post officce and telegraph office have been as freely used for betting transactions as they have for business communications, and apparently no effort at all has been made to repair this state' of affairs. Now, however, renewed threats have been sprung upon the offenders: and if the authorities prove themselves to be in earnest they will do much for the correction of public morality.