WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1920, Page 8

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

~s . MINING MATTERS. | j MORE DISPUTES. (Special Correspondent ) Wellington, June 12. It would.seem from the- correspondent? between the secretary of the Mini Owners' Association and the secretary of the Miners' -Federation published on Saturday that the Federation is placing a very severe strain upon its friends' faith in the admirable professions its representatives made at the National Conference held under the presidency of the Prime Minister only a few months ago. The additional correspondence between the secretaries available to-day simply shows that the Federation n* fuses to accept'any form of arbitration over the differences that have arisen between the parties in regard to the interpretation of the agreement reached at the National Conference, which cou'.d by any possibility go against its preconceived ideas of the rights and wrongs of the matters in dispute.

FILLING AND BACKING. The Federation would not have Mr. Massey as arbitrator, nor Mr. F. V. Feasor, of the Mines Department, and then after itself nominating Mr. P. Hallf, of' the Conciliation Council, it declined to have that gentleman when it discovered his appointment would satisfy the Owners' Association. The Prime Minister was ready to preside at a meeting of two representatives from each side on Saturday afternoon on the understanding that in the event of the delegates being unable to agree between themselves his decision on the points remaining in dispute, should be final Either Mr. Fraser or Mr. Hally would have acted as promptly, but the Federation, on second or third or some later thought, would accept no mediation of a conclusive, character. It really looks as if it were out for the creation of trouble.

STANDARD TIME.

The Standard Time Bill is the only Government measure that has yet made its appearance in the House of Representatives, and it would appear that even this has been hurried forward mainly as ft stop-gap to keep members out of mischief while the finishing touches are being put to m«re important proposals. The Bill, as already explained, is in : tended to round off the difference between New Zealand mean-time and Greenwich standard time, making it twelve hours instead of eleven and ahalf, but some of the country members see in the proposal the thin edge of Mr. Sidey's perennial Daylight Saving Bill, and "are threatening to resist earlier rising by half-an-hour being imposed upon the farmers. The Bill is pretty sure to provoke much talk, and so serve its immediate purpose. THE PARTIES.

The week-end discussion of the proceedings in the House during the past fortnight has centred around the tactics of the Labor Party, the Liberal Party airtl Mr. Statham in tabling their motions of The general opinion appears to be that so far as the party attacks were concerned they were a distinct help to the Government, first by giving it the time Governments always seem to want at the beginning of a session, and then by compelling it t> make a demonstration in force at the very beginning of the life of the ne«v Parliament. The debate on Mr. Statham'? motion toolj a turn which cannot have been so gratifying to the occupants r.i the Treasury Benches, particularly to those of their number who had joined in the abortive revolt against Mr. Massey. The revelations made by the member for Dunedin Central are likely to dwell in the memory of the public longer than tne good deeds'the penitent rebels have donr