POLITICAL NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1789, 30 June 1913, Page 8

POLITICAL NOTES.

QUIET TIMES,

NEWS, VIEWS, & OPINIONS,

' A peaceful calm pervades the political atmosphere. Parliament has been opened, and such interest as was aroused by the election of the Speaker of the House, tho new appointments to,the Legislative Council, and the delivery of the Governor's Speech, has subsided, and has given way to a period of dullness. It is "a time of truce," as Opposition mqnibers have expressed it, it being the period of adjournment Agreed to as a fitting mark of respect to the memory of the late Speaker. In any case, so,many Liberals arc still absent that their parly is yet not well prepared for the warpath. Whether it is a case of the calm before the storm, time will prove. The debate on the Audress-in-Reply will be opened oil M'cdnesday eveniug, and the wheels of the Parliamentary machine may then bo fairly said to have begun to move. Tho Adclress-in-Reply debate is one of those much-prjzed occasions on 1 which members in their speeches arc per- ' niitted lo run- the full length of the political gamut, .ill matters aft'eeting Hie Dominion as a whole, as well'as the many and varied grievances of their constituents, may receive a full airing, and each member whose eloquence is equal to an hour's flow is allowed to occupy tliat spaco of time, as against only half an hour on most other occasions. The Imprest Supply Bill—the debate 011 which is usually a medium for the ventilation of grievances and dissertations on the sins and shortcomings of tho Government of the day—was for the reasons already stated allowed to pass practically without debate on this occasion, and therefore it is expected that full advantage will be taken by many members of the opportunity of unburdening themselves during the Address-in-lieply debate. Mixed sentiments are expressed in Labour circles regarding the appointment of Mr. Earnshaw to the Legislative Council as a representative. of Labour. Many of the prominent lights in the Labour world say that tlieir party is not likely to lie assisted materially bv the appointment in the attainment of the "sciuaro deal" that it was promised by the Prime Minister when the present Government tool; office. All admit the unquestioned individual ability of Mr. Earnshaw, but ho is largely regarded as a "back nuni: ber" so far' as the Labour movement is' i concerned. It is pointed out that he has not been identified with Labour for many i years, and he has in fact passed out of the public ken during the past decade. On the other hand, those whose knowledge of Mr. Earnshaw extends back to the time wheii he was n prominent figure in the political arena, say that they are satisfied that he will prove a faithful representative of Labour, and that his appointment may be taken as an earnest of the sincerity of the "square deal" declaration. LAND FOB SETTLERS, HOLDINGS AVAILABLE IN JULY. The Government settlement programmo for July is an extensive one. Holdings advertised for disposal during the month liumbor for the whole Dominion 186, tho total area being 20,660 acres. Tho Hon. W. P. Massey (Minister for Lands) informed a reporter on Saturday that iho lioped to maintain this rate of progression in providing land for settlement for a long time to come. Most of the land to be offered next month is Crown land, which will be oponed on the optional tenure. Following are details of the holdings to bo offered in the different land districts:— Auckland: 108 holdings, with an aggregate area of 12,4-68 acres. Hawke's Bay: 13 holdings, totalling 6811 acres. TaraJiaki: 17 holdings, 3714 acres. Wellington: 29 holdings, totalling 4418 acres. Canterbury: 15 holdings, totalling' 1433 acres. Otago: 3 holding. l ;, totalling 551 afcres. Southland: One holding, totalling 260 acres. Ten of the twelve smsll holdings which | have been opened by the Government at Willowbridgo, in South Canterbury, Jmve been allotted. The Prime Minister intends to introduce legislation this session to mako tho conditions regarding area under the country workers' homes scheme more elastic than at present. The existing maximum are,! of ten acres is sufficient in the case of first-class land, but not in tho case of second-;lass land, which it is .hoped to bring under tho scheme in the future. REFORM PARTY CAUCUS. A B-eform party caucus was held on Saturday morning. It was one of a series which is to be hold during the session in order that members may have an opportunity of making themselves acquainted with tho principles of the Bills to bo brought down, from a policy point of now- A statement has been published to tho effect that the caucus arrived at ail understanding that Mr. A. S. Malcolm should succeed Mr. Lang as Chairman of Committees, but Mr. I). H. Guthrio (Chief Government Whip) stated when lie was questioned that tho matter of the chairmanship was not even considered at Saturday's meeting. The Hon. W. Earnshaw will second tho Address-in-Heply motion in the Legislative Council on Wednesday. THE OPPOSITION. • Most of tho Opposition members who have still to arrive will do so this week. Probably by the end of the week tho only absentees will be Sir J. Ward and Mr. T. Buxton, who are retrain? from England, Sir Jas. Carroll, who has not yet fully recovered from the effects of his recent illness, and Mr. A. T. Ngata, who is expected to reach Wellington on July 10. In general, members of the Opposition party preservo strict reticence as to tlie party's aims and prospects, but some of them profess to believe that before long it will present a united front in the House under a single leader, who will probably be Sir Joseph Ward. Admittedly, however, there are difficulties in the way. The Radical element which figured so prominently in the Mackenzie Cabinet will be a troublesome factor to reckon with when tho party comas to settle., its affairs, and the reported attempt to form an Independent Moderate party is another symptom of unrest within tho Opposition ranks. In spite of their guarded reticence it is impossible to talk for any time with Opposition members without realising that, the circumstances surrounding the creation of tho short-lived Mackenzie Ministry liavo lef* a legacy of open sores which will take a long time to heal. THE MEW SPEAKER. Commenting on Mr. Lang's election to the Speakership, the "New Zealand Herald" says: "The general tendency of the Reform party has certainly been to ele- - vate tho tone of politics in New Zealand, and tho election of Mr. Lang to the Speakership is in keeping with this commendable characteristic. If Mr. Lang has a weakness, it is that he is too courteous and chivalrous to bo altogether adapted ti every phase of modern politics, and it is not altogether impossible that some of the coar-er members of the House may prove toVclHoub to his mild and urwissuni" ing rulo. When this has been said, the onlv possible criticism upon the new Speaker has been delivered, and every other comment to be just must bo warmly favourable."