OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 12956, 22 November 1910, Page 4

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

ESSENCE OF VaULLA MF.NT. • The main tiling of the week is the Public Works Statement. A fair enough and larger statement than usual: a ''million for railways and. three quarter?, of a million for roads; three hundred thousand for water power and a modest few thousands for irrigation. This last for the benefit of Central Otago.. And acouple>of most excellent repprts oh tlie water schemes with a crystallisation of two in the forogroundiaad you (have a fair idea of the statement of 1910. Of course the usual criticism has been levelled by the local member who has not had enough.' and tovthis has. been superaddtid the denunciation of the amount as "extravagant." These criticisms neutralise each other. The general public is satisfied apparently . allover the.Dominion. One ttiing . stands out very clear— the water schemes are now, seen to have, been founded on the solid rock of the most detailed estimate in- which nothing has been forgotten from the engineering minutae to the sale prices, from the history of what is* done elsewhere to the prospects of the business to be done here ; and bringing up the rear is the possibility of profitable: manufacture of nitrates, carbides, and other things to absorb whatever power can not be sold. On the whole a grand Statement. :'■'.' The loan in London comes as a shadow athwart the pictures of the Statement. Never was an announcement received with.such an> appearance of consternation as the news that the underwriters ar© to be left with the bulk of the loan. Out of the five millions tho public has subscribed, but three hundred thousand.^ It givjes one. a shock? But what would you ? The Government was generous enough, to lot out the terms before the date of the issue. "Most unfortunate" was the comment of. the High Commissioner who ; has had to, face the fact of the terms standing before his eyes in "The Times," and of course going: the rounds, of the pressr' immediately af tori But the. uncertainties of the political situation were added and- the situation •from the political point of vi^w is riot apod. It is, in, fact, disquieting, not because there is anything disquieting in it, but by reason of what the opposition writers have put forward on. behalf of all the vested interest, hit hard •but not;, so hard as they;' ought to he by the Budget. However, we fiave the certainty of ihe money — ive presume because it is the fashion to get the ldahs underwritten .by. men who oan stand the racket if the public prove slow. The underwriters will-'inot lose because the situation is boun4 to improve and there is no real financial crisis. Nervous politicians declare that there was a time when such a failure of loan would have

! ])iit out any Government. But the fart j happens to be that Joans have failed j ! :>.'\ -cr:il times and no Government lr}* ; i ever been one penny the worse-. > !'.- --! failures were the prompters of the underwriters. They will soml over all the j r^sh wanted by the Pnb'.i? Works | Fund and they will make their prohtin good time -though perhaps not the profit they originally expected. In the lobbies there is a disposition in some quarters to hold that the failure is a reminder on the part of the market that we were asking just a -'leetle too much at one go. But the experienced men insist that the market never looks so close. .ii tr • Licensing has been finishea oft in the Council and there are those who declare that the other ptace will not stand the. amendments. But a way will be found. . Much worso is tho position o the Gaming Bill. The Lords altered rt considerably in two places, and the friends of the bookie in another place see their way, it is said, to block the BUI for the remainder of the session which is only a week. There will be some pretty tactics. Meanwhile, there is some tall talking from tho Council ot the Churches and their allies. Among the latter just at present are some racing men, showing how strangely are bedfellows assorted by political exigencies. „ , . . The disappointment of the session is over the Finance, Bill dealing with the new method of buying settlement lands. Everything was done by both Houses, to make the measure a success. All the flaws of the existing Act were taken out and. we wore all expecting a straight run through for the Bill when it was discovered by the SoucitorGeneral th%t a clause put into the mU at the instigation of the Prime.minister would prevent buyers from- getting a valid 1 title. The Council— when Dr Findlay explained the position, lost no time in, throwing out the. ■clause; But tho other place turned restive and refused to listen to the explanations of the Prijno Minister about the title difficulty ; tho mutineers or t"he* Government camp were strongly reinforced by the Opposition, and the House refused by a serious majority to agree to tho amendment of the ; Council. Thereupon the Government dropped the Bill. They might have let the thing go back to the Council and the ■ subsequent negotiations between representatives of the two Houses might have saved a good Bill brought, forward' this 'year in the, interest of Land Settlement. Buying by guaranteed bonds has received a set back for twelve- months. Pity! HLne has- gone back into 1 the Council in company this time with a report of the committee exonerating the accused.- member. '.-.Contrary to expectation there was no talk, the report being received in a silence solemn enough for a funeral. But there is no doubt that the Government and the officers; are handsomely and completely exonerated. Tammany Jias really been thrown out by the Council. ; The Innocents have been massacred but the air is by no moans quite clear j as to the business to be done. But the Bills not dropped are seething in the pot. We will know about them more when tho last day conies, which will probably be next Friday. The main interest for the present centres on -the Hike business. But for that the House would have risen long ago. Everything now is marking time for this! drama to come to a climax. The rer port will be the special mark of tho session of 1910. What a lot of copy wo shall have when it is out. ■ Mill ■■ |l j