WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12822, 14 April 1916, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MEN REMAINING AT HOME. THE MEDICAL I'NION. (Special .Correspondent.) Wellington, April 12. V_-Even 7 the Hon. James Allen's, most unsparing critic—if he is fair arid reasonable, 'and decently well-informed—-:niust admit that the Minister of Defence, with all his brusque manner and inscrutable ways, has ] accomplished wonders in the -despatch of troops to t,'ie ; front since tho beginning of the I war.- Of course, he has made mistakes in - plenty, some serious and some trivial, but none of a character that any man, merely human, might not. have jjiade. in aimilar circumstances, and he has atoned for them all. by turning out month after month soldiers fit to take their place'with the very flower, of "the British Army. This-much must be said for the Minister. But Mr Allen himself would be the very first to admit that a great deal of the creditfor this notable achievement is due to the officers he has kept in New Zealand to assist him iri his stupendous task, and Colonel Potter's address to the troops in camp at -Trent-ham yesterday is another reminder of the great debt the Dominion:, and, indeed, the Empire, owe to- ithese men who have •'stayed'at honie," nuicli against their own The Camp Commandant's kindly* simple words on discipline, moral and physical fitness, and »he sacred duty of service were characteristic of the spirit in which all the senior officers of the Headquarters Staff arc hacking' Sip the efforts of the Minister, and when the history of the part New Zealand has played in the war comes .to be written the Staff will be entitled to an honored place in its pages. - DOCTORS AND LODGES.

The deputation representing the Wellington Branch of the British Medical Association that waited upon the Minister of Health and the Minister in charge of Friendly Societies yesterdav to state the case for the doctors

in reply to the. allegations of the Societies was led into the discussion of finite a number of social aiid economic

problems., Briefly, the Societies had complained to the Minister of the doctors raising the annual charge to their members from 15s to 245, and pi-event-ing them from obtaining medical assistance from outside. The deputation emphatically denied all the minor allegations of the ' Societies—that they had created a monopoly for themselves, j penalised the Societies for not having submitted to theirtterms. and so forth —hut the statement that the local Societies are not being so well treated as those in other centres remains unchallenged. One member of the deputation bluntly asserted that "the Lodges had done their best to. brow-beat us and have got the doctors' backs up," and. when mildly rebuked by Mr Russell for hU aggressive attitude, declared his readiness to fight the question. Another member contended that the workers were better off now than they were before the war, and that the time was opportune to insist upon their paying loss inadequate fees, for medical at- , tendance. The Ministers were tactful* but quite firm. After Mr Hanan had deprecated the- idea of punishing the 'Wellington Societies for having sought medical assistance elsewhere, Mr Rus>c.ll again urged a friendly conference between the parties, and finally the deputation withdrew with a promise to consider the suggestion. It seems likelv now each side has had its say that' the spirit of conciliation will prevail and that a satisfactory arrangement will be concluded in the. course of a few days. J.AND FOR SOLDIERS.

In his address to the members or the New Zealand Club, who entertained him at luncheon liere yesterday, MiAshuiead Bartlett made a passing allusion to the settlement of soldiers ori the land which ought to help towards stimulating the National Government into some definite and comprehensive action in this respect. Mr 'Bartlett seems to have taken it for granted that New Zealand would make provision for its own men, and his appeal was chiefly on behalf of the soldiers of the British Army, many of whom, lie thought, would he 'disinclined to return to factories and workshops after the war. but, as a matter of fact, the Dominion has not yet made a beginning with the solution of its own problem. The legislation of last session was ivell-meaiit enough, but it was whollv inadequate, arid so far has served oiilv as a, cloak to the indifference of lho*authorites. The fuss that is being made over the disposal of the Benmore jtim is undoubtedly justified, tlie interests of returned soldiers having been shamefully neglected, but the right to compete for patch of pastoral land here and there is not the kind of provision needed by the men coming hack from the war. If the Prime Minister, who is carrying an enormous load of work and responsibilitv, cannot find time to prepare a comprehensive scheme himself, he should hand over the task to the Minister of Agriculture, who is specially qualified for such ah undertaking, and shouldl not give Mr Bartlett and Sir Rider Haggard time to discover that what thev. want us to do for soldiers from the Old Land we have not yet begun to do for our own men. This is not a party question in any sense, but a great national obligation, second only to the obligation of assisting in winning the war, with which it is closely allied. „■ MORE MEN. Tlie, close analysis of the National Register which is being made m connection with the new recruiting scheme has disclosed tlie fact that a considerable'number of men, presumahlv, of military age, have omitted to return' their cards. The Government is not going to trifle with this matter, and it is announced this morning that defaulters who'do not repair their omission within 14 days will be proceeded against as the law prescribes. Probably some of the omissions are due to inadvertance, but there is good reason to believe' that numbers of persons have deliberately attempted to evade the requirements oT the Statute. Unless these, people get busy during the next fortnight they will find .themselves- in a very unenviable position at the end of that time. Meanwhile the Minister of Defence is much cheered "by the improvement in recruiting prosnects down south; the result, no doubt, of his own and Sir Joseph Ward's platform efforts,' antl is again hopeful of keeping the country's engagements with the Imperial authorities without resorting to further compulsion than is represented 'by the efforts of the Recruiting Committees. Tlie Dominion, which in- these days is rather the mouth-piece of tlie big men behind tlie Farmers' Union/than of the Government, does not .share the Minister's optimism, and this morning makes an insistent demand for the immediate introduction of conscription.. Its assertion that many men are refusing to enlist on account of the unfairness of *he voluntary system reads curiously like an echo of Major Lusk's contention, and it is Ward to believe that an caller patriot would be prevented from enlisting by the failure of his. neighbor to do his duty.