WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1922, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE MEAT POOL. MR. MASSEY’S RESPONSIBILITY. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Feb. 10. Though Mr. Massey has made light of the disapproval of the Chambers of Commerce of some of the vital features of his meat pool scheme, it is evident he is not quite comfortable in having the representatives of the business community against him in this matter. In the House yesterday, replying to a suggestion made by Mr. T. M. Wilford, the leader of the consolidated Opposition, to the effect that the eon timers should be represented on the board' of control, the Prime Minister admitted he was not satisfied that under the existing system of representation the third party was properly protected. He referred particularly to labor disputes, and asked members to think out th 6 problem for them-, selves during the recess. Meanwhile he wished it to be understood that the board need not consist entirely of farmers. As a matter of fact it need not contain a single farmer, though adequate representation of the producing interests obviously was desirable. Meanwhile Mr. Mhssey has provided by An amendment to the original Bill for the representation on the board of the “stock and station agents” and this may be a prelude to the further broadening of the base of the controlling body. THE STATE GUARANTEE. But the objections of the Chambers of Commerce have not been so much to the constitution of the board of control as they have - been' to the- pledging of the State credit in support of what is, in a great measure, a private enterprise. Here the representatives of the business community have the sympathy of many others than the mere political opponents of the Government. It is not at all probable, but just conceivable that some fine morning the public might wake up to find itself involved in a loss of three or four millions through an unlucky turn in the market which the shrewdest business man could not have foreseen in time to avert the catastrophe. Such things have happened in the phst and they may happen again in the future. But without contemplating any such disaster as that it is plainly intrinsically unsound, as the Wellington Chamber has put it, for the Government to use the taxpayers’ money or credit in backing up a scheme from which the taxpayers can expect to receive no benefit. It is no answer to this to say the risk is a very small one. Neither the greatness nor the smallness of the risk can effect the principle at PAYING THE PIPER. The Evening Post in elaborating this point makes it quite clear that it is anxious to see the farmers assisted in a legitimate way and that it has no wish to make party capital out of the Government’s proposals. “But we are not certain,” it says, “that the consumer both in New Zealand and in overseas markets is giving the Government and its supporters much concern in their framing of this meat marketing scheme. The country should not be called upon to pay more for its meat and at the same time back the meat producers’ bill. With the pledge of Governi\<Jdt to make good any default the banks might be disposed to advance up to 100 per cent., but that would not be for the good of the country as a whole, however beneficial it might be to a section of the farmers. The credit of the whole country is pledged to assist a section of the people, and yet the country has but little say in the management of Jhis great business scheme.” That, broadly, is the view of the man-in-the-street, who, in his numbers constitutes the public. THE OPPOSITION.

That there is something more than mere talk in the revival of the old Lib-eral-Labor alliance is suggested rather bv the attitude of its opponents than by the rejoicing of its friends. The local organ’ of Reform by its somewhat crude assumption of contempt for the numerical strength of the united, par-, ties betrays a concern for the maintenance of the status quo which is wholly inconsistent with its professions of faith in the electors’ attachment to the present Government. The whole truth of the matter is that the frank Reformer realises as fully as any unbiased person watching the course of events must that the fate of the Reform Party hangs on the personal popularity and political achievements of Mr. Massey alone. The present Government is even more essentially a “one man” affair than was the Liberal Government at the very zenith of Mr. Seddon’s all dominating power, and deprived of its head it would fall to pieces much more rapidly than did the Ward Government, simply because it contains no other figure that would appeal to the country for a single week. Of course the Opposition is in much the same plight, but the present Liberals and Labontes at least have the advantage of not having tried and failed. THE HOPEFUL VIEW. A cheering sign of the times is the increasing frequency with which business men in the capital city, which must of necessity be the reflection of the conditions prevailing throughout the Dominion, refer to the improving economic prospects. At the meeting of the Central Chamber of Commerce yesterday, the president, Mr. A. L. Hunt, said he thought the outlook now was a good deal brighter and more favorable than it had been for some time past. Even if the war clouds had not altogether rolled away, there was the prospect of a much better state of affairs throughout the world as a result of the Washington Conference. There had been raised in London lately several large loans at quite a reasonable rate of interest, promising easier finance. Supporting the president’s view, Mr. C. B. Buxton said he thought there was every reason for high hope. New Zealand was the most favorably situated country in the world and it was on the eve of a great era of development and prosperity.