The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 1917. BACK TO THEIR POSTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3120, 26 June 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 1917. BACK TO THEIR POSTS

The return of Me. Massey_ and Sir Joseph Ward to their duties in New Zealand is happily timed. This week Parliament reopens its doors, and the presence of the two leading spirits of the National Government will be particularly welcomc. There, are serious problems to be faced, aJid the experiences which the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have passed through in Great Britain and the opportunities they have had of studying at first-hand the course of events at the nerve-centre of the war should give them a truer perspective and a sounder understanding than is possible to those living, as we are in .New Zealand, so far removed from the heart of things. In some respects the returned leaders will no doubt find themselves a little ,out of touch with local conditions. They have been absent .from the Dominion nearly a year., and during_ that period there have been_ important changes, including the introduction of the system of compulsory service. The Acting-Prime Minister, Sir James Allen, and the other members of the Cabinet have carried out tho tasks left to them with care arid caution, and in some instances with conspicuous success. But. at times it has been obvious that questions of importance have been held in abeyance pending the return to the Dominion of the Prime Minister and his first lieutenant. During the coming session of Parliament these matters will have to be fully gone into, and it may be hoped that there will be no unnecessary delay in dealing with them. It is generally suspected that tho Efficiency Board has presented, or has ready, important recommendations, possibly of a sweeping nature, which Cabinet will require to,take into consideration, and in this respect wo trust there will be no paltering or timidity shown. It will be noted from the speeches and interviews of both Mr. Masse? and Sir Joseph Ward that th&y are very _ uncertain regarding future events in connection with shipping and the fate of our produce available ■ for export. Everything, wo are told in depends on tho success of the Allies efforts against tho submarines. This is not altogether unexpected, but it is not cheering. Members of the Government hero and in London have been doing their best to secure ships, but the interests of New Zealand in this matter have to be subordinated to tho vital issue of winning the war. That is what tho position amounts to, and much as wo will suffer, unless some of the vessels which are running on shorter routes with food supplies for the Motherland can bo returned to the Now Zealand trade, wo shall have to endure tho loss and hardship. Out of this problem, however, will ariso others deeply affecting our financo and conditions generally throughout tho country, and it is thereforo most necessary that any proposals of the Efficiency Board for the elimination of waste and the strengthening of our economic system should be given sympathetic consideration. The position regarding tho shipping of our produce may not provo quite as bad as it at present seems, but it would bo_ folly to shut our eyes to tho possibility of having to face serious losses and to tako no steps in advance to minimise their effect. It has been suggested that during tho coming session tho -National Government will be subjected to sovero criticism by a body of malcontents amongst tho rank and file. It would be a remarkable thing, indeed for any Government in war time to escape criticism, and no doubt there is room for differences of opinion regarding the conduct ot affairs by our National Government. But the little groups which in tho past have been the most persistent critics of tho Government have failed to create any strong impression, mainly because they have based their attacks on solfish or un-national grounds. Tho grievances ventilated by anti-conscriptionists, for in-

stance, command littlo general'support, and equally those wlw selfish.-, ly object to special taxation, make complaint about restricted travelling facilities, or <„'rte thousand and one little or j n _ conveniences which Vhey discover in the War Regulations, havo but «i small backing But there is a very solid body of opinion in tho I)o----r"lnlPn "ivliich holds tho view that tho National Government, though it has much to its credit, has not given trie country 'the lead expected of it. That some injustice may be dono Ministers in this respect we frankly admit. Their difficulties are not fully appreciated by the public, and the danger attached to tho frco and easy solutions of economic problems so readily advanced by tho unthinking is not always realised. Still, admitting theso things, there still remains some justification for tho prevailing impression that tho Government, on occasions, cither from lack of unanimity in its ranks or from inability to adjust itself to ' tho magnitude of the times, has halted timidly behind public opinion. Tlffre is hope for the. future, however, in the fact that Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward have reI turned fresh from_ witnessing tho tremendous revolution which the war has created in tho lives of the people of Great Britain and France. They have seen for themselves the measures —in somo cases belated i measures—taken to secure tho safety and the welfare of tho people of Britain. They havo observed tho habits and traditions of peace times swept aside in all directions and in all classes of lifo where tho interests of the nation demanded it. They have beheld tho great'mass of the people willingly acquiescing in the changed conditions, making sacrifices, enduring hardships, bearing up under sorrow at the call of tho leaders of the nation. Surely our leaders who have witnessed these things will not hesitate, where occasion requires to give a plain and a bold lead to tho people of New Zealand 1 There 'aro some in this. Dominion who ha.vc condemned the visit of Mr. Massf.y and Sir Joseph Ward to the Mother Country, and who have attempted to prejudice tho' Ministers in the eyes of 'their countrymen by speaking of it as a holiday jannt. Such reflections are contemptible and havo birth only in malice or ill-will. Much that has occurred during the stay of the Prime 'Minister and his colleague in London is necessarily, at tho present time, of a confidential nature, but, apart from what we already know of their doings at tho Imperial Conference, the events of the next fow months should provide the fullest justification for their journey, and their stay in England. With tho rest of New Zealand wc congratulate them on their safe return.