WELLINGTON ITEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 June 1922, Page 3

WELLINGTON ITEMS

TRAMWAYMEN’S AWARD.

(Special to “Star”).

WELLINGTON, Juno 15

The present award of the Wellington Tramway Employees Union will run out at the end of the month, find a sot of fresh demands is being forwarded to the City Council; As these include ft variation of present award m favour of the men, a conference will probably be held in the near future.

WAR GRATVITIES. In the annual Defence report to Parliament, mention is made of the fact that there are still eighty-six men who were entitled to war gratuities ranging from £l6O downwards, who have made no application for the money. A belated applicant turned up at the Defence office the other day nearly four years late, and made his claim good to a gratuity the. Government rewarded returned soldiers with on the termination of their service in our Expeditionary Force. TRADE WITH GERMANY. Trade with Germany is one of the matters to be mentioned during the coming session of Pamament, says the ‘•Dominion.” Britain has bee , trading with Germany for a. long tune past, Australia is now resuming direct trade with Germany and Canada has already done so. New Zealand is sti maintaining a barrier against goods which are not_ permitted to enter the Dominion, save oy consent the Minister of. Customs. The Minister generally speaking, does not consent unless the goods are by a Dominion industry, and «ie obtainable from another soute-. Whether or not the time has C.on e relax this restriction is a matte! f Government and Parliament to con sider. Legislation, apparently wiR ot be requited in any case, since> can amend the regulation by .j Council. It has boon stated y that some German goods are finding their way into New Zealand through Britain, but this seems to ]y to articles that contain German parts, or that, have been partly manufactured in Germany and fin-shed m British factories. The direct entry German goods into Australia is going to increase the difficulty of eep ing them out of New Zealand,. ai d may have the further effect of givin n some Australian industries an advantage over competing New Zealand industries, in case where manufactured materials and parts a r e used.

GRADING OF APPLES.

Does differential grading ot applet affect the price of fruit on the London market? At the Fruitgrowers Conference to-day, a Nelson delegate stated that the first shipment of fruit this year included two grades of good and fancy. One parcel of good fruit realised the highest price namely ZL* 6d"T)n an average there was only a difference of 6d in the prices realised for “good” and “fancy” apples. The delegate was of opinion that “good grade tended to keep up prices. A motion was moved having for its object the abolition of the “good ’ grade. This was discussed at length, but. a vote was not taken, the point being left to_the Export Committee. iho Marlborough delegates proposed that the grades should in future be known, as “select” and “choice,” in order to distinguish them from American fruit. The motion was lost.