WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1920, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE DEFENCE POLICY. STILL INoUBATING. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, .July 18. Some months before his departure for London Sir James Allen was credited with being busy on the preparation of a new policy for his successor at the Defence Office, but so far no trace of the promised heritage has been discovered. People who Concern;"'themselves about such n'.aW.rrs are .beginning to suspect that tiir James, finding it"' tife great an undertaking for his own crowdded hours, handed the task over to the Special Committee of Officers, of which whispers iare heard occasionally, and that the members of this body are puzisi'mg their heads to devised scheme that will strike the happy me#: betivoentlin big battalions they love and tho little ones the public demand. Sir Heaton Rhodes' appointment is a goal augury for a sane solution of the problem. Tiia new Minister wants security withoc.-, ittravagance and a sound system -?r mining without militarism. Ths country wants the same things.

AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION That the portfolios of immigration and Agriculture should be in one pair of hands seems quite an admirable arrangement, in theory. The Minister who is looking after the rural industries of the Dominion ought to be the ve.-y person to care for the immigrants landing on its shores. But at the moment the combination does not appear to be working out very well in practice. Mr, G. Mitchell, the member 2or Wellington South, who, was interrogating the Hon: W. Nosworthy on the subject the othT day, is not the only person who has heard complaints from recent arrivals. It is no answer to these complaints <o say the High Commissioner's Office has neglected to supply particulars of people it V.ss sent out here. Gross r.eglij.' it one end does not excuse stolid rence at the other. Canada is bea! New Zealand in the competition for population because the bigger Dominion is doing the job well and t'ue smaller one extremely badly, THE MINING DISPUTE.

The Miners' Federation has presented an ultiraatum to the Prime Minister and the Coal Owners' Association and will brook no delay beyond Monday night. The Federation wants Mr. Masv ey to call a conference of four from each side with himself as Chairman to settle the dispute between the parties "along the lines followed at the drawing up of the National Agreement". If Mr. Massey is unable,to preside, then the Federation will accept Mr. P. Halley as Chairman, but it will allow neither of the gentleman to exercise a casting vote, and if these terms are not accepted it will "take drastic measures to force the issue". There is nothing very conciliatory about this and the men evidently are in deadly earnest, but it is hoped the Owners' Association will agree to the conference if only to give the public an opportunity to ascertain the real nature of the difference between the parties.

THE RACING CONFERENCE. Though the racing conference which if sitting in Wellington this week is concerning itself about many other matters connected with the national fport, the general public v is chiefly interested in its proposals for the betterment of the lot of the jockeys who with more cr less unanimity have b'een in incipient revolt for the last six or seven months. Sir George Clifford, the president of the Conference, has beenf handling the oroblem with great tact nnd has won to his side the sympathy of most of the prominent professional riders,' but his refusal to recognise the principals of trade unionism in connection with the sport has aroused, the animosity of a number of irresponsible workers who are rendering the jockeys a very poor service by giving a personal turn to" the quarrel.