WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15131, 27 January 1917, Page 9

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

FIXING PBICES.

MEAT SHOPS. THE AUCKLAND EXPERIMENT. (From Our Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, January 26. The confident message addressed by the Secretary of the Board of Trade to the —cting Minister of Industries and Commerce, though it does not assure the success of the State meat shops just opened in Auckland, suggests that the housewives of the northern, city are favourably upon Mr MacDonald’s experiment. The only criticism offered here so far is that the Minister is taking no steps to initiate a similar experiment in the other large centres, and the answer to this is that in none of the other cities have meat prices soared to the level they have reached in Auckland. Mr Mac Donald, whatever bis sympathy with State enterprise may be, does not wish to inferie” o 'with the private butchers so long as their charges bear a reasonable relation to the cost of stock. He has taken action in Auckland because the Board of Trade has satisfied him the retailers there are not observing this condition.

SAMOA. Mr Massey’s intention to fight hard at the Empire Council “on behalf of i\ew Zealand” —as the cabled summary of his statement runs—against the restoration of Samoa to Germany after tfie war, is being generally acclaimed here by both politicians and business men. The Imperial Government is not likely to be so supine ove'T'the fate of the islands as it was thirty years ago, when Sir Robert Stout, instigated by tbe late Mr John Lundon, in the hope of forestalling the Germans, passed an Annexation Act through the New Zealand Parliament, only to have it vetoed by the authorities at Home. Unfortunately, Sir Robert did not remain in office long enough to overcome the inertia of Downing Street, and when Hr Seddon took up the fight in 1894 the difficulties of the position had enormously increased. The system of triple control bad been practically established and Germany had begun her plotting and scheming against British influence in the Pacific. Now, however, the way is open again, and Mr Massey will have the warm goodwill of all political parties in New Zealand in completing the work the two distinguished Liberal leaders began.

THE GAMBLING EVIL. It is understood that the action taken against certain bookmakers in Auckland is the first fruits of recent instructions issued by the Attorney-General for the strictest enforcement of the provisions of the Gaming Act. There is no suggestion that the police, speaking generally, have been neglecting their duties, but the hundreds of bookmakers now infesting the country have so cleverly and cunningly got round the law that the Minister is determined to ascertain if further legislation is- necessary to defeat their machinations. If it is, Parliament probably will he asked to deal with the matter in a separate measure, altogether apart from the Gaming Act, and to make professional betting of any kind an offence punishable by imprisonment without the option of a fine. Perhaps it may be permissible here to advise the patrons of the bookmakers to move very warily while this investigation is in progress. /

Wellington is in trouble with its milk again, but happily the trouble this time is one of price and not of quality. During the last four or five years, the war appearing to make little difference, the dairymen have been supplying the retailers at from 7£d to BJd a gallon, but at the beginning of this summer they fixed the price at lOjd, and a few weeks ago announced the}r intention to raise it to llsd. The Board of Trade just tolerated the lOjd, hut when the Hid was announced it stepped in and advised the Acting-Minister of Industries and Commerce to veto the rise. This Mr Mac Donald did by proclamation the other day, and now the dairymen have extracted from him a promise to have a public inquiry held into their prices. In the meantime the proclamation holds good, and consumers are looking forward to learning all about the milk trade.