WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 March 1920, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

INSISTENT EAILWAYMEN.

DEMAND FOR ADEQUATE PAY

(Special Correspondent). Wellington, March 8 J he. raihvayrneu m the Wellington (iKti'iri. are just a little more insistent than those in other pints of the Dominion iu the demand for an increase in the wagea of the service. At a meetof the Thorndon branch of the A.S.R.S., held yesterday, a resolution expressing regret at the failure of Parmuient, the Government, and the uajjes Board to recognise the urgency of the question, and demanding a m i n i. mum wage of ] Bg a day, >wa 3 adopted unanimously, and those present pledged themselves to support the executive in any steps it might take, "no matter how es rcme," to obtain justice from the authorities The men are very mnch in ° earnest. They have shown that man" me»berß of the S ervice arc receiving ' css ? l,iln . «■ I'vwg wage, that they are rnm-ng ffito debt for the bare neces am* of life, and that a continuance of iSe." 16 SUte ° £ affah ' S Wi " * £

STRUCK? The men claim, with some justice Sdor rfV h ° ™? "*>' «»n" umer conditions which %n0 other lar°e and that their patriotism instead of be "S rccogntVd by the authorities is X wi fS Y r6aSOn f ° r leavi "S them 7el Q " a , t ° ? ay - The ? P'He themen tT" mVm ? passed t,lro »Sh a ve } trying period without talkintr stnke," but they are finding n ™« t'ey say, that their patience hasbeen lepresentations are ]gnored they will have to adopt more drastic MeasJe There can be no doubt that the Tos -' turn ~ an extremely critical one Th concerned. """sen is gravely

THE COST OP LIVING.

It is, of course, the continued increase • the cost of living that has drfven the railwaymen from, nrote.* 7 threats. Kealising the «„£,' * t t ZTT axiom that cbea P ~liS are of more importance to the workers a nn'o t n . «°n of ,h e war pnee.s would approach S7s , t0 ™ ml ratea ' fa. stwU of this happening, price, hare con turned to .soar, and it ?s a fact that raH ™y workers with families, wh L lowj v*W were ample f or their requh£ fh i,f und with the!r to thfir tradesmen and suffering all t },„ to make the lr income and their expendt>.'o balance. Men in tn,\, polk™, ™m,ot aflord to he very tolerant of de Jaj-. and unless (hey oVain relief i„ the near future the result mav he extremely uncomfortable for the commu'n-

THE PRIME MINISTER'S BURDEN

The task of dealing with the perplexus problems involved in this critical situation is falliiisr almost entirely upon Mr. Ma,;sey, who, it would sceni is receiving little assistance from either lus colleagues or the Board of Trade, tlie Board, after its meeting with the millers and bakers in Clirislchurdi, anproved of an advance of £3 a ton in tlie price of flour and 2d in tiie price of bread, hut the Prime Minister vetoed these proposal,-, and now is at heads wilh (he bakers, some of whom are refusing f 0 „ecept Ihe smaller advance m the .-ire of broad he has oflVrP'l- Their alternative is to cense hakmsr—to strike themselves in fact—and nmy, in turn, they are being taken to task bv the Welfare Lentnic'who deurceafes the omnloyers following the had example of the workers. Altogether Mr. Massev's lot at the moment is ve»y far from bein<r a hanpy one. but lie is plavin.n- ihe mr t „f tn(l s t ronf » man all( i doubtless will find a wav out of the trouble.

elective vppun house. LEGISLATION TO BE REVIEWED Wellington, March 10. Tlie Prime Minister let it be known some lime ago that lie had in contemplation (he review of the legislation pa=sed six years ago by which ihe Upper House was to become by instalments fully elective and entirely free from M ; ni»teriftl control. Now' he i» row*

tioning the matter again in his interviews with the representatives of the Press probably with a view to preparing the public for a material modification of his original scheme. The Act of 1014 provided for 24 member?, 14 from the North Island and 10 from the South Island, being elected to the Council at the first general election after the end of the year 1915 for a term extending from the date of election till the dissolution or expiry of Parliament next after the expiration of five years. At subsequent elections 20 members were to be elected, divided between the two Islands on a population basis. Each island was to be divided into two constituencies and the system of election was to be the isingle transforable ivote "which gives •proportional representation.

HASTY LEGISLATION It is to be feared that when the legislation of 1914 went through Parliament neither the Council or the House had examined its provisions very closely. Sir Francis Bell, the leader of the nominated Chamber, has made a very industrious study of the whole subject and he expounded the provisions of the Bill he introduced with characteristic ability. But the subject appeared to be somewhat above the heads of the great majority of the councillors, and but for a very able criticism of the measure by. the Hon. 0. Samuel there was very little to show that Sir Francis had made himself understood by any of them.- In the House the Bill was mainly the subject of a Party contention in which the Reformers extolled Ministers for their courageous handling of a difficult subject and the Liberals denounced them for entrenching themselves behind the remnant of their own nominees.

SECOND THOUGHTS. Perhaps it is just as well the acceptance of the Party truce and the formation of the National Government prevented the Act coming into operation as it passed on to the Statute Book. At any rate, Mr. Massey haa realised in the interval that a Council elected on a 'broader franchise than the other branch of the Legislature, and freed from the Ministerial control might become a very grave menace to what has for 70 years been regarded as the prerogative of the House. Whether or not he also has regretted the surrender of the "country quota" in the case of the Upper House there is no authority for saying, but it is well known that many of his most influential supporters have made strong representations to him on this point. The original Bill constitutes a more democratic Second Chamber than any other existing within the British Empire, and many of the Prime Minister's friends regard it on this account with a good deal of alarm.

PROBABLE AMENDMENTS. It is significant of the prevailing apathy concerning everything connected with politics at the present time that there is scarcely any speculation as to the amendments of the constitution of the Council Mr. Massey has in mind. He has hinted at the desirability of the Ministry retaining power to make a certain number of appointments, but of course a retraction of this kind would mean the abandonment of the main principle of the original measure. An elective Council was the popular cry with which the Reformers appealed to the constituencies—in all good faith, no doubt—and to go back on this cry now when its realisation is actually on the Statute Book, be apt to create a good deal of misunderstanding and, perhaps to provoke some resentment. The country quota cannot be preserved in constituencies as large as half an island and a reduction in the size of the constituencies would be another perilous experiment. On this point, at least, the Prime Minister may be expected to stand firm.