The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1919. THE DUTY OF CARRYING ON

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 281, 23 August 1919, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1919. THE DUTY OF CARRYING ON

No one who has given even cursory attention to the aspect of political and other affairs in this country at the present, time needs to be told that- if Sin Joseph Ward had made, it his - deliberate'', aim to paralyse useful and helpful activities he could.not have selected his moment fqr disrupting the National Cabinet better than lie did. The announcement of his. resignation was dated just a_ week prior to, tho opening of a, session in which as exacting and imperative demands will be made upon tho Government and Parliament as at any period in the constitutional history of New .Zealand. As if...this were not enough, lie, has resigned at a time when Ministers, particularly . those of them who hold the more important portfolios, are of necessity devoting much time and attention to the exceedingly important questions of policy in connection with which Admiiui, Jei.licoe is visiting the Dominion. At- best an arduous tasTc would have been involved in making such preparations *as will facilitate a maximum amount of useful work by Parliament in the time at its.disposal. Now. the difficulties of . the task are multiplied arid intensified by the withdrawal of half the 'members of the Cabinet— Ministers, 'many of''.them, who are laying down at an indeterminate stage camples affairs in connection with some of which they were subjected *0 not a -little public criticism. It now falls to other Ministers to take up in an emergency and as best they can at such short notice affairs which called imperatively _ for careful handling by those familiar with' their details; ■ Nothing is more certain than that the action of. the Liberal Ministers in deserting their posts at such a time, and in such 'circumstances, except in so far. as. its.' effects can. be minimised, is , wholly .md-seriously to -the; detriment of the .country. It is not Mr; M.'iSSEY and his supporters who'are. being : injured by . the lack .of consideration shown,.by. Sir Joseph Ward. It is the, country, generally*. The facts which more than justify these.'strictures are- in .plain, sight. Sir Joseph Ward himself is handing over to another Minister at a moment's notice all:, responsibility for the finances of the Dominion. A Minister who has been engaged in other, duties' must not\ Only, prepare and present the' Financial . State-' .mentv'.biit must: deal-in short order with such financial problems • as never arose before in the history of the Dominion. It was a comparatively simple matter, in the.circumstances which-have prevailed in the war years, -to pile on hca-vy taxation and raise big loans: A vastly more difficult task 1 is involved in adjusting' the finances of the. Dominion to a normal basis and meeting unexampled calls for expenditure, and it is at this stage, and on the immediate eve of a session, that Sir Joseph Ward has elected to desert his post. Much the same is to -be said of the other. departing Ministers. Generally they have abandoned uncompleted work continuity in-which was for the time I being vital to the public interest. Mr. Mac Donald, was intimately concerned with the attempt to promote such an understanding between those engaged in the ooal industry as would permit the increased. output the country so greatly needs. Mn.. Myers, was primarily responsible fo"r organising coal supplies. Mr. Hanan was in the midst of plans for. the.sweeping 'reforms and improvements in education ..which/arc demanded not by any particular party,'but by the whole community. As Minister of Public Health, Mr. Russell was in an analagous position. Citation on these lines might be extended, but the damaging break in the continuity of defined -and immediately urgent activities only in'part fills the indictment. Besides doing all they could to hamper efficient administration and preparations for the session, Sir Joseph Ward and his followers have by their, action raised obstacles to every useful activity -in which • Parliament when it meets ■ will be asked to engage. It has already been said in some quarters that the session will now of-necessity be restricted to essentia! formal business. If the prediction were verified the whole country would suffer and bitter wrong would be done, to those who have the best of all claims upon the country, and Parliament.- Pionipt android measures are needed, for instance, to make the machinery of repatriation fit to bear the strain to which it will be subjected in the immediate future. Much more than has yet been done must be done, and that speedily, in'" the interests of soldier settlement and in'' other directions. .Another big_ .question which ought to be. faced without loss of time is the reduction of taxation and the. elimination of such manifest anomalies and injustices in the incidence of taxation as are now in vogue. Sir Joseph Ward and his associates certainly have not made it easier fgr Parliament to do its duty where, such questions arc concerned, but if the effective treatment of these questions were postponed the country would be terribly handicapped and impeded in attaining normal conditions. The fact which stands out most clearly at this time is that the responsibilities of the Government arc not lightened or altered by the defection of a part of *its membership. Mn. Massey and his colleagues arc not entitled, betause their position has been iriade difficult and their task arduous, by the failure of their political opponents to rise •to the greatness of the occasion, to abate in the slightest degree sueh activities as make for tlic reorganisation, of the, country and the pro--1 motion.of development. Under the rules of the party game the correct procedure in such conditions as have been created would perhaps be to cut the business of the session to a bare minimum and go to the country. But the party game at the stage to which it had been carried in New Zealand before the war was largely a sham imposed upon the country and accepted by it. in.,care-free days when the pranks of politicians seemed to matter little enough. These are sterner times. The e.ves of the people are fixed as never before on realities. In the mood the war has developed they are unlikely to. tolerate shams and ought not tb be asked to do so. The' Government; will best honour' its', responsibilities and meet the demand of the. times , by, concentrating undividedly on the work

that lies to its hand ami asking of Parliament an equal spirit of application. The first/duty devolving upon Mr. Massey ' and those \yho stand with him is the reconstruction of the Ministry with an eye solely to .efficient service by the strongest working combination obtainable. The, j redistribution of portfolios foreshadowed to-day can only be regarded as provisional and temporary. In the more deliberate reconstruction' which should be possible in the next few days there ought to be the widest range of choice and the most definite regard should be paid to ability and qualifications and to nothing else. The country wants the best men it can sccurc and it would gather confidence too Irom a generous_ addition of new blood ,to the Ministry —men who would approach the problems of the hour with fresh minds and unimpaired energies. There arc men in Parliament today outside of the ranks of the National Government who arc fully qualified for Ministerial office, and the Pmjie.Minister would be well advised to consult with his party and with others who may place national interests first as to the stops to be taken to make the new Cabinet as strong as possible. Much as the se'opc of co-opcration has been limited by the action of the Wardists this is not a party matter. The reconstruction of the Ministry is or should be the concern not solely of the lieform. Party, but of all who arc prepared to co-operate, in forming and supporting a Government which .will, forget and ignore the interests of party and conccntrato its energies, on honest, and. publicspirited scrvicc.