WELLINGTON TOPICS

Marlborough Express, Volume LIIII, Issue 82, 8 April 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

TiiE HOLIDAYS

F.WOilABt'lZ WEATHER- ANBV

BKt CROWDS

(Special Corrcsnoi^fiont)

1Y Apiil 7. The Easter holidays were obsc'rretl" <>\ mi ipmsually large number of busiro.--.-; |..-o^:i>ie i\:i : : year for i.Jic- Ml j'tM-if-d vi'_ five days, from Friday tot Tuesday inclusive, and favored' fcyj fi-io y.-oatliei; werec«!ebi;Ucd with f-xV t-ciK-ionai unanimity and hcurr-JHess., Th« trami\uyr. ■could, pro-.----v-:do only a restricted service, butt. the holiday-makers found other means. of getting about the. city, ;uid an.ex-?-cepoionally large munber wentjfi:rt.:;©r afield by rail and steamer.,. Tho race meetings-at Auckland, Vvai*rarapa, Feilding, asd Christcliurchi ■ drew large crowds, and those who* have returned from the two inet»o--polit-iu fixtures report fine vreatker,. eiijoyable sport, and record speculation. An enormous amount of money, ihusu have been spent duriiig the*.week, and the cyni(^s r.ro 'scofSngi; airesh at the complaints concerning the cost of living when people in oil station? of lifo !,avo so much- do*se cash available for pleasure and fort tJie thrills of the totalisator.

CLOSE SETTLEMENT. Tho Hon. I>. H. Guthrie, who hag. been able toj^ei away from his office - ; for one or two days during the week: to see .some .of the soldier settlements, within easy reach of town, is increasingly enthusiastic over the possibilities of close occupation and intrusivecultivation. Chatting this morning^ he insisted that the" salvation of thecountry., lay in every man adapted to rural pursuits having his opportunity on the land and putting .forth Met best effort. It might have been the* leader of the -Liberal Opposition thai* -.<*. was -speaking. '.'lt is the laud," 'Tie* said, "that will enable us to bear withput discomfort- the great financial • burdens the war has thrust upon us.i \ Let us have production, more proauction, and still more production,; under the best possible conditions for the producer and for the Stats, and. / we shall scarcely'feel these burdens. . except to stimulate us to our best. ,' efforts." Mr .'Guthrie has progressive' schemes, for civilian settlement as welß as for soldier settlement,* but these must be reserved for tlic approval ot Cabinet. ■ • THE BY-ELECTIONS. '. . It is nois* necessary to assume that? the delay ift issuing the writ for the Stratford by-election- is due to anjr desire on the part of the Prime Minister and his colleagues to gain anadvantage- in the contest. vlt is obvious, .however, after reading Mr; Massey's explanation' of■iho position! that if action had been taken by the* responsible authorities immediately, after the. decision of the Election;, i- ■ Court was known the delay would; have been avoided. If the courseprescribed by the law prevents, a vacancy occasioned by petition being; filled less promptly than a vacancyoccasioned by death, then the law again is a "hass" and ouglft to be* promptly amended by the new Parliament. . As a matter of fact Mr Masters, who is fighting against) forces which only the party in power can set in motion, is likely to suffer more than his opponent from theelection beings hung up., but it does i>ot follow that Mr Massey desires . Inm t6 be placed at this disadvantage. Apparently it is the law and:' officialdom that are to blame. THE LIBERAL LEADER. The statement made by the Hon.,. W. D.: S. Mac Donald in regard to the ■ attitude of the Liberal Party towards- ~ the j Government lias received verygeneral approval' and in some quarters warm eulogy. "Nothing could! be better," the New Zealand Times*.', says, "than the clear view of the. liohtical situation announced hy the leader of the Liberal Party' 'Withfc regard to the -'Reform Party, •' Mr jl ■Mac Donald refusing to accept thenv as truly representative 'de jure,' ac- " knowledges their wight 'de facto' to govern. It is the attitude of a man. atf once: ■honest a/id sane."' /Official! Labor; is not quite so well pleased by the suggestion of the "soft pedal "•' but Mr Mac Donald stands well .withf the rank and file of the workers, and' ' they trust him to fight when fighting seems necessary. The Reformers- are a little'sceptical about, the Liberalleaders rbility to restrain his more-, impetuous followers, but they profess to be .pleased by his own determination to discourage the•■bitterness of. '■?'■ '■' party politics. •