The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1909. THE BUSINESS OF THE COUNTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 529, 9 June 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1909. THE BUSINESS OF THE COUNTRY.

The public, which realises more clearly than ever since thq meeting at Parliament House on Monday there is no good reason of any kind for the adjournment, of the session, will be glad to notico that the Opposition has no intention of neglecting its duty , to the country. Mr.Massey announces that he intends to demand information as to. the Government's intentions with respect to the many important matters which the Prime Minister appears so anxious to say 'no-' thing about until his return from England. The Leader of the Opposition will certainly find that he will have plenty to do in this rcspcct, for we have on record the Prime Minister's own assurances that the business tho attention of Parliamont is of much'importance.. The lengthy list of measures which the Prime Minister promised in his Invercargiir speech is in itself a com. manding reason why the session should not be .interrupted, but it did not require Sir Joseph Ward or anybody else to make us acquainted with the fact that the questions demanding the earliest possible.considoration are woighty ones, and riot few. Despite the Prime Minister's denials; and Mr. Hogg's refusal to face the facts of the position, the state of the labour market is really serious. Unemployment is widespread, and the severer part of the winter has yot to come. The figures of tho Labour Department are practically useless, and cover only applications to the ■Department. ; Nobody desires, that; the' Government shall apply the remedy • of relief works'' pure and simple,. but tho problem is one that calls for consideration, and for a serious tempt. at solution. The Government'cannot be unaware that a refusal on its p'avt to deal with th? matter will be remembered, not only by ithe people directly' concerned, but by the public as a whole. We arc really surprised a Government which is , above . all opportunist should be willing to so risk tho alienation of support in itsanxioty to study tho personal desires of its ehiof. A change, however, may be. effected in its' attitude before Sir Joseph sailß for England. Of tho other subjects upon which the country has a right to cxpect' full information from. the Government, the most important arc the Civil Sorvice and«the railways. Although the campaign; of criticism which,has demonstrated the rottenness of the railways finances, silenced Sir Joseph Ward, and has driven Mr. Milur into a hurried zeal for reform, was in full progress last session, the question received practically no attention 'from Parliament. ■ Public opinion, however, has developed very rapidly since then, and it is the business of the Government ■to see that Parliament iB horded the information and tho opportunity for discussion which will assuredly be demanded before the session is a week old. What is tho Government going to do in respect of a Department which is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds every year, which has been steadily'going from bad to worse,_ and which resulted in the past financial year in tho largest loss to date ? Mr. Millar has been valiantly talking of economies, but the position is ..too serious to bo loft to the care of any onq man. Tho fullest information is required, in order that the country may see whether- a Royal Commission should not bo appointed to report upon the advisableness of placing the_ railways under the control of Commissioners,. The public is still in. the dark on many important points in.connection.with the schemo of retrenchment which the Government is struggling to make coherent as it goes along; Not only is it necessary that the country should be given particulars of the whole scheme j it should bo given, through Pnrliainent, full details of the dismissals which have been ordered alleady. There is strong reason to believe that the hand of favouritism has been at work in tho selection of the victims of misgovcrnment, and tho public is sufficiently distrustful of the Government to feci curious upon the point. In his Invercargill speech tho Prime Minister promised that he would legislate to bring economy and efficiency into the service. Surely ho will not expect, the public to tolerate delay in making his intentions known. Tlio general question of finance will necessarily come under review, since oven tho supremacy of tho Prime Minister's . over tlio needs of the country is limited by Parliament's control over the granting of aupplla. There ia no occasion, we should

Bay, to go to any troublo at a time like | th'e present to show the gravity of tho financial question. Whatever else might be postponed to a date late in tho year, the Budget cannot be treated with contempt. .The Government's intentions are not known, but it* is inconceivable to us that the Piume Minister; should he still determines to go to London, will ask the country to allow him to shelve the Budget until. October or November. These aro the most important of tho questions which must be considered too urgent to admit of postponement.

But the duty of the Houso will not end with insistence upon a full consideration' of these unci other subjects. In his Invercargill speech the Prime Minister announced quite a long list of Bills, 6omo of them, such as the National Annuities Bill, of tho greatest moment. In the past the practice has been to bring down the Government Bills in accordance with the convenience of Ministers and every session tho result has been that highly important measures have had to be considered, and have been passed,, in such a very great hurry that every statute book contains measures neccssary to amend the grossly imperfect < and injurious Acts of the preceding year. Tho Government members who sat silent on Monday and who, in many cases, sacrificed, their principles and abandoned their expressed convictions in their anxiety to serve tho personal ends of.the Piume Minister should feel that they deserve this return for their fidelity, that tho measures in the Government's programme shall be submitted for their consideration and study, without delay, whatever may happen. Assuming for. the momont that the Prime Minister leaves New Zealand, and instructs his colleagues to do nothing until he returns, the withholding of the promised Bills will guarantee that tho worst vices of the legislative methods of the pasi •will be greatly intensified. Members on j both sides of the House should co-operate in insisting that if there is to be a rocess, the Government's Bills should bo brought down for consideration during that recess. It was fondly, anticipated that the present Parlia'mont would be a great improvement on tho Parliaments of recent years. It was belieVed by the bulk of tho people that it contained a sufficient number of men of principle and courage to onsure that the Government '-would bo forced to discontinue the old bad legislative methods, and that those 1 members were not confined to tho ranks of the Opposition. We have seen no signs of independence of-action on the part of Buch Government members sinco they came undor .the control of Ministerial influonco in Wellington. They have done their duty to' the, Piume Minister; thoy havo placed his wishes in the matter of the postponement of the session before the interests of the country; cannot they now insist on reasonable and proper procedure, and do their duty to the country ?