OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 15, 13 April 1910, Page 4

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

April 9, 1910. Honest and Above Board. THE purity of municipal life has suddenly dawned upon our city with light reflected from Napier, and the Council has carried a resolution of cleansing force and sweeping vigour. Here it is: — ( 1 > That in the opinion of this Council, paragraph (h) of section 42 of The Municipal Corporations Act. 1998, relating to the disqualification of councillors be amended so that the exception therein contained will read as follows: — “Other than as a shareholder in an incorporated company which contains more than twenty members, and is not a private company, and of which such person is not a director or genera! manager, or an association or partnership consisting of more than twenty members.** (2) That, pending such alteration in the law. this Council should decline to accept any tender from any company in which a councillor is a shareholder, and which does not come within the exception above set out. This is thorough enough not only to suggest improvement to the rest of the Dominion, but compel improvement of the Wellington practice. Every one agreed during the discussion that nobody had ever done anything wrong. Some persons had been aimed at by a certain resolution for information in the shape of returns of contracts ami that sort of thing, and these persons had it out on the floor of the Council. They had very honestly and with the very best motives -—one of them in a protesting speech seemed to go so far as to suggest with the motive of benefiting the Council, which could not get contractors to tender for its work above a certain volume - —supplied goods to the Council, though they were not within the reach of the except ions mentioned in the resolution. The plea was in vain. The general opinion was that these very good Councillors had done an indefensibly bad thing. The Council's interests had not sutlered it was true, but if a. bad practice was continued there might not always be the same honest men to refrain from abusing it. Therefore the Council passed the resolution, with the addition of a tag forwarding the same to the Municipal Conference about to meet in a few weeks. But whatever the Conference may do, it is clear as daylight that the Wellington t’ity bathers will for ever set their faces against the recurrence of the history of the past, honest and above board as it lias been. There is general agreement among the ♦dtizens. But as there are always grumblers for the sake of impurity, so there are those who insist that this change must have been caused by improprieties, and those insist on knowing who were the guilty parties, ami what the improprieties are of which they ought to be convicted. Here we touch the protoplasm out of which the Philistine is duly ami rapidly developed. I he question of forming limited liability companies is not discussed in consequence of this business at all. Every one who knows anything about business knows that in an ordinary private firm, death of a partner stops the business, and that at any time tin* perniiketincss of one partner may make irreparable trouble, especially in family partnerships, which are, as every one knows, l!i<‘ most liable to disturbance from the personal equation. At the same time, no one wants anything else hut the rule laid down by the motion. If there are only certain firms that can supply the city requirements adequately, there is mi reason for their principals to either refrain from forming the ordinary limited liability company or to keep out of the Council. By their own showing they will, by staying out ami supplying their indispensable goods of good quality ami cheap rates, do more good to the city than by entering in ami breaking the spirit of the city rules. The City Purse. The Mayor made a review of the city financial position at this meeting of the Council which has greatly pleased hia

friends. These have always held that Dr. Newman is a very able exponent of public affairs. This speech reminds them how the steadily working Doctorused to do his Parliamentary work—how careful he was always, and how full of detail; they do not forget to point out that his grip of the city finances has justified all they have ever said about the standing of their champion, and they are in proportion grieved at his persistent refusal to remain in the Mayoralty. It was a very practical statement, and it made the most of some very good figures embodying exceptional results. The city has paid its way, and been economical during the year. It has successfully established a system of accident insurance “on its own”; the tramway revenue has reached the unprecedented figure of £39,400, with a net profit of over £6,000, and is paying for some necessary extensions; the electric lighting has distinguished itself by the patriotic feat of introducing a metal filament light which has diminished the revenue considerably by giving the citizens more light for less money, making them a present of £3400 on the year’s working, which money, said the Mayor, remains in the pockets of the citizens; the city has watered and made clean and sweet the high-lying suburb of Northlands and Wadestown, at a cost of only £20,000, and is doubling the supply of water - from the Wainui-o-mata; lastly, the rents and rates are coming in fairly without unusual delays. On the whole, the citizens have reason to be proud of the financial position and of the capable manner in which it was put before them by the Mayor. The Mayoral Contest. The contest for the Mayoralty has produced a promise from Mr. Wilford that in case of election he will resign the Chairmanship of Committees. There will be, therefore, grief in political circles, where the ability and impartiality of Mr. Wilford’s reign in the Committee chair is well understood and highly appreciated, as something that has not been seen in that place for many years. The ambition from which Mr. Wilford suffers is acknowledged to be highly honourable, of course, and everybody wishes him well. At the same time, his political friends of both sides (for both sides appreciate Mr. Wilford in the chair) object to any interference with his political usefulness. Tie is showing remarkable knowledge of the city’s affairs, and why not, seeing that he has fought—• and lost—four Mayoral elections. His chairman introduced him the other night as a lineal descendant of Robert Bruce, and the Spider. Whereat the audience laughed. The British public always likes a “game un.” who comes up smiling, no matter how often he may be knocked down. On the Money Market. The success of the loan has been misunderstood for a time, as there are people inclined to regard the account as referring to some of the business loans authorised under the legislation of last year. But the Premier has removed that impression. Considering all things, the subscription by the public of 80 per cent, of the, loan is very good. The underwriters are for the moment left with the balance, but they will in all probability get that off without much delay. At any rate, they are satisfied, and that settles the matter. Our finance is secure, anyhow. Wo cannot, of course, conceal from ourselves the fact that it would have been better if we had met with an oversubscription—if, in other words, the loan had been rushed. But as we were by no means alone in the market, the result is not to be regarded as anything but satisfactory. Railway Revenue. Mr. Millar’s announcement in Australia of the large excess of a-quarter of a million in the railway revenue, is a sterling piece of news, which has rejoiced the hearts of the party. In the face of the agitation for the formation of a Northern railway league for the division of the railway spoil every year, something of the sort was necessary. The Minister of Public Works has given a fair reply to the demand, showing (1) that the last Southern railway vote was largely representative of past eventst

and (2) that the Northern road vote hist year was very much larger than the Southern.

The published railway figures show a great preponderance of profit for the Northern divisions, the net revenue being £416 per mile in the North, against £314 for the South. This, on the capital account of each, works out at 3.62 per cent, against 3.06. In figures (this is the case from the Opposition point of view) the measurement is a profit after paying all expenses, including interest, of £lO,OOO, against a loss of £82,000. The last four-weekly period of the year is not included, but the difference cannot be affected substantially between the railway sections of the two islands. The North has cause to rejoice that the time has arrived when the superior resources on this side of the Strait are making themselves felt. This is a fine contrast to the earlier - years of the system when the profit of the Southern sections was so much larger. That, however, was owing to the more rapid developing of the South from obvious causes. There, is, moreover, nothing in the North to match the white elephant of the Otago Central. It is added in some quarters that neither is there a white elephant like the Midland with its tremendous tunnel, of which it is said that the construction will reflect more credit on the constructing engineers than on the managers, who will take over the work in due time. Of these works, it is not necessary to enter into a detailed defence. Sufficient, for the purpose of the discussion between the rival claims of North and South, is it to point out that for neither of these works can the regime in power since 1891 -be said to be responsible. The Dominion was committed to them by former administrations. The Liberal Government had to do the best it could with the legacy to which it had fallen heir. As a counterfoil, the South used to hold that there was another white elephant in the shape of the Northern Trunk line. But that line is proving itself something very different; and it must be confessed that the Liberal Government finished that line with some energy, and in the end much concentration. There was a railway league in that case, it must also be confessed. The P. and O. The Auckland agitation in re the steamers of the P. & O. is not resented here. But it is scarcely to be regarded as favoured. The question uppermost

in many minds is, "why should every* body have to go to the end of the island to embark!” Many people prefer the idea of not having to take train or steamer to Auckland for the purpose when it would be so easy for the P. & O t boat to call at Wellington on an alter* nate scheme. The matter, however, has not a very serious interest as yet for any one. The Powelka Hunt. Powelka, who walked out of an open door, has been keeping the country lively ever since by walking into a dose bush. The state of tension it would be impossible to adequately describe. But the country is thoroughly roused, the police are out, and' shots have been exchanged. The end is bound to come soon. We can, at all events, congratulate ourselves that this is not a country in which the road agent has any friends.

Nothing Succeeds Like Conciliation Mr Millar has told the Australians that we have discovered here, apropos of the strike question, that nothing succeeds like conciliation. His point is that the new system has made conciliation really conciliate: that, in other - words, we have returned to the original idea underlying the compulsory Arbitration Act: that we are keeping the compulsory principle in the background for emergencies. If the Australians are reasonable they will see that at all events this country, if not to be branded absolutely as a land' w-ithout strikes, is on the high road to become so—partly by the sort of conciliation which relies for every case on the expert knowledge of both sides in that case, and partly on the compulsory principle, which leaves the irreducible minimum of unreason to be dealt with by the Court. Arbitration is going to win through after all. Already the judge of the Arbitration Court, which once never got free of its work, now continues to give much of his time to the Supreme Court work. Of course, we want common sense every time, and it is on the cards that the new system inaugurated in 1908 will get it for us every time. When everybody recognises that everybody cannot get everything he wants under the system, the system will assert itself in the way originally intended for it. And that is the approach of a great triumph after all.

■Wellington's Exhibition. 'Wellington citizens are not rushing the secretary of the industrial exhibition with their cheques in furtherance of the industrial exhibition which it is proposed to hold during the coming winter. They are, in fact, standing solidly aloof from the project. At the end of March Mr. A. F. Allen, secretary of the Wellington Industrial Association, sent out about a hundred circular letters to representative citizens, including manufacturers. merchants, and business men in general, inviting them to guarantee £lO, £l5, or £2O to assure the Association against any loss on the proposed exhibition during the winter. Mr. Allen has repeatedly explained that the guarantors will stand practically no risk of incurring a loss, but this assurance has not yet stimulated many receivers of the invitations. They were urged to send in their replies before April 11, but very few had sent an answer up to to-day. The nine days have produced some guarantees, but they make only a small fraction of the hundred to whom the request was posted. Mr. Allen to-day •expressed disappointment, especially at the manufacturers’ lack of response, but mentioned that delay might have been caused in some cases by the fact that the proposal for a guarantee would have to be referred to the directors of such firms and limited liability companies. Four or five years ago, when it was proposed to have an industrial exhibition here, crowded out eventually by the International Exhibition, some £3OOO was guaranteed in twelve hours to one gentleman who approached a few leading citizens. In the present ease nothing like that sum was required by way of guarantee; even if £5OO was underwritten, Mr. Allen would recommend the association to push on with the project. If the letters failed to bring in a reasonable sum by Monday, the members of the Association’s financial coynmittee would make a personal canvass. Better Than Music. After four years’ absence from his tribe, the Ngapuhi, a young Maori, Thu K. Ngawaka, returned to New Zealand on Wednesday on the Turakina. He has Ibeen trained as a vocalist, being the possessor of a fine baritone voice, but, says the "New Zealand Times,” the musical profession has no attraction for him. He appeared in concerts at the Town Hall, Sydney, and Queensgate Hall, Kensington, but otherwise did not seek to obtain distinction before the footlights. There are too many trying to earn a somewhat precarious livelihood from music, he found, and the thing was not worth following up. “I preferred to pay attention to work among my own people,” he explained, “and it is my intention to leave music alone and take up farming among my own people near ' Hokianga.” He has observed the methods of European farming, and is anxious to see his people co-operating to make better use of their land, now providing them only with the barest necessities of life. The Fort of Call, Concerning Auckland's agitation in reference to the port of call of the P. and O. steamers, Mr. Trelawney, general manager in Australia for the company, seen by a “Post” representative, said ha had no information to give at the moment with reference to the company’s operations. Mr. H. C. Tewsley, president of the Chamber of Commerce, denied that there was any Wellington feeling in the matter. He strongly deprecated, the entry of the P. and O. steamers into New Zealand trade being made a parochial question. So far as he was aware no influence had been exercised, or would 'be exercised, by Wellington commercial men because Auckland got the service. There surely could not be any reason why Wellington should not strive for an extension to this port? The only feeling that would actuate Wellington was what was best for New Zealand as a whole, certainly not what was prejudicial to Auckland or peculiarly favourable to Wellington. Wellington-Tahiti Trade. When the Mokoia was at Papeete the inhabitants manifested great interest in the steamer, as the largest passenger vessel that had ever visited the group. The results attending the placing of the Mokoia on the Wellington-Tahiti run are ■omewhat disappointing, ad only ten passengers travelled from Tahiti and Rarotonga to Wellington, where the vessel

arrived on Wednesday. The number carried outward, however, was satisfactory. Eight Persons Drowned. A distressing drowning accident occurred at Castlecliff, a popular seaside resort at the mouth of the Wanganui River, about noon on Sunday, the result being the death of eight members of two families named Ludlam and Anderson. A number of residents had arranged a picnic on the south spit on the opposite side of the river from Castlecliff, and a flat-bottomed boat was used to ferry the picnickers across. The first trip was safely accomplished, and the boat left on a second trip w’ith 10 occupants. All went well until the middle of the river was reached, when a strong tide and swell from the sea caused a nasty jobble. An attempt was made to turn back, but when the boat w’as broadside on it capsized, and all the occupants were precipitated into the water. A fisherman on the south spit noticed the catastrophe and put off to the rescue. He succeeded in saving two boys (a son of Mrs. Ludlam and a son of Mr. Anderson). He then saw the body of a woman floating. This proved to be Mrs. Ludlam, tightly clasping a young child. Both were dead. An alarm was given, but owing to the rough state of the river dragging could not be carried out. Later in the afternoon one of the bodies was recovered. It is expected that the other bodies will be taken out to sea and washed ashore along the beach. A large party of police and residents are searching for the bodies. Those drowned were: Mrs. Ludlam (aged 49), Walter Ludlam (aged 20), James Ludlam (aged 18), Claude Ludlam (aged 10), Gladys Ludlam (aged five); Mrs. Anderson (aged 48), Maude Anderson (aged 18), Ernest Anderspn (aged three). The body recovered was that of Walter Ludlam" Mrs. Ludlam was clasping Ernest Anderson to her breast when their bodies were found. Both families are well known at Castlecliff. Silver Coinage. With reference to the decision of the New Zealand banks not to accept the new silver coinage of Australia, the position is one of negotiation between the New Zealand Government and the banks. At the moment, it appears to be the banking opinion that, as an enormous profit will accrue to the Commonwealth through the new silver coinage, New Zealand, which has no share in the profit on it, should not circulate it. The seigniorage (or profit) on the coinage belongs theoretically to the King, but actually to the Government on the Commonwealth coinage. The Commonwealth Government makes about in every shilling, -while New Zealand has to pay one shilling for every shilling of the British coinage, and the profit goes to the British Government. The time has come, it is held in some quarters, that if Australia is to have her own silver coinage, the Dominion of New Zealand should have hers; or, if the Commonwealth silver is to circulate here, then it should be effected at a profit to this country, and arrangements with New Zealand should be made by the Commonwealth Government to that end. So far as can be ascertained, there is no desire, at least in New Zealand banking circles, to change the design of the Imperial coinage circulating in this country —no wish to substitute the head of a Maori rangatira for that of Edwardus Rex VII., or the Royal coat-of-arms for a kiwi couchant. Even supposing arrangements are made between the Government of the Commonwealth and that of New Zealand for the latter -to participate in the profits arising out of the new coinage, it will take some time before legislative action to give effect to it can be carried out. Tn the meanwhile, the Commonwealth silver will have no more than a sentimental or numismatic interest for New Zealanders. Visitors or travellers returning from Australia will no doubt find it very awkward if they come here with pockets full of the new silver, for ■it will have no more chance of becoming current here than French francs or Gorman marks; for, as has been said, if the banks will not take it the traders will not lake it either. There must shortly be a lot of the new silver money 5n circulation in Australia. There is to arrive in all £200,000 worth of the new money in the following sums: £50,000 in shillings (already in Australia), £lOO,OOO in florins. £25.000 in sixpences and £25,000 in threepenny piece*. Silver withdrawn from the Australian

banks to a correspondiug amount of the new silver will be forwarded to the British Government. The schedule to the Commonwealth Coinage Bill shows that the new silver coins have to be thirty-seven-fortieths of fine silver and threefortieths alloy. The Commonwealth Treasurer may cause to be made bronze or nickel coins, an well as silver and gold. Hitherto the New Zealand banks have drawn their supplies of silver from Australia for convenience and to save expense, and have returned the worn silver to London via Australia; but New Zealand has been ignored altogether in the matter of the new silver coinage by the Commonwealth, which has assumed that it would secure the seigniorage on the circulation in the Dominion. Hence the trouble. Our New Governor. It is officially announced that Sir John Dickson-Poynder, D. 5.0., is to succeed Lord Plunket in the Governorship of New Zealand. Lord Plunket has been granted the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George, of which order he is at present a Knight Commander, the honour being granted in recognition of his services while Governor of New Zealand. The name of Lord Plunket’s successor will not be known to many of the people among whom he is to live for the next five years. Sir John Dickson-Poynder is a Baronet of Scotch descent, and is now forty-four years of age. DicksonPoynder is a daughter of R. 11. D. Dundas and the sister of the second Baron Napier of Magdala, and she was married in 1896. They have one child —a daughter. Sir John is a son of Rear-Admiral John B. Dickson, and assumed the name of Poynder when he inherited certain property from a maternal uncle. Since 1892 he has been connected with politics, and about five or six years ago came into prominence by leaving the Conservative ranks and going over to the Liberals, the point of divergence between him and his former party being the question of Tree Trade. In addition to his political career he has taken an interest in municipal matters, having been a member of the London County Council for six years. Sir John was educated at Harrow and Oxford, and subsequently wont into the Army. He saw service in South Africa, serving •with the Wilts Imperial Yeomanry, in which he holds the rank of Major, and acted as A.D.C. to Lord Methuen. For his services in Africa Sir John received the Queen’s medal with three Gasps, and also got the D.S.O. The baronetcy, of which Sir John is the sixth in line, was created in 1802, and was a reward for the services rendered by Admiral Sir Archibald Dickson, during the struggle of the British fleets against Franco. Since then there have been a number of sailors in the family, and the title has been held by three admirals and one captain. The present holder of the title inherited from his uncle, Captain Sir A. < . Diik-on of the Royal Navy.