AN ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 20, 19 October 1920, Page 8

AN ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE

' MR. STATHAM'S BILL OPINIONS THAT HAVE CHANGED Mr. C. E. Statham (Dunedin Central) moved the second reading of his Elective Executive .Bill in the House of Represen- ' fatives last night. His Hill, framed on lines familiar to students of politicalsystems, ■ proposes that tho members of the Ministry shall be elected by the members of the House of Representatives instead of being selected by the Leader of the strongest party in tho House. Mr. Statham reminded members that the change had been advocated in the New Zealand Parliament nt various times during the last quarter of a century. He quoted tho report made to ■ the House by a Parliamentary Committee in 1891 in favour of the system, and quoted from Hansard to show that Mr. Massey had supported an Elective Executive Bill in 18M. Mr. Forbes (Huruinii): He has learned a lot since then. Mr. Massey: Thnt is so. Mr. Statham delved into Hansard again to show that Mr. Massey had sunported the cleetivo Executive principle in 1902. He suggested that tho enjoyment of tho privileges of office had caused the Prime Minister to ohnngo his opinions regarding tho control of the Cabinet by Parliament. Still reading copious extracts from Hansard, Mr. Statham added Mr. Wright (Wellington Suburbs). Mr. Hannn (Invercnrgill). flit Hon. J. G. Anderson (Minister of Internal Affairs), Mr. Harris (Walternate), the Hon. J. G. Contes (Minister of Public Works), Dr. Newman (Wellington East), Mr. Hunter (Waipawa), and other members to his list of members who had supnorted the elective Executive principle in other years. He extended the collection considerably by quoting a number of division lists. "Now I come to the present Bill," said the meml>er, after he had Ifeen spa-iking for over half an hour. Several members said "Henr, hear," heartily. ' Explaining the details of his Bill, Mr. Statham said he proposed that enchi House of Representatives should fleet its own Ministers, who in turn would elect a Prime Minister and allot the portfolios. The House would be able to vote.any individual Minister out of office without disturbing the Ministry as a whole. He admitted that a party which had an nbsolu!); majority in the House would be able to select its Ministers in caucus and elect them to oliiqa. Mr. Maesey: Caucus rule. Mr. Statham: "We have caucus rulp now. Tho'Prime Minister consults his party in caucus. My complaint was that lie did not consult them enough." The member added that if no party had an absolute majority in On House the elective system would give the country a strong Ministry. It was not necessary from the national standpoint th'at all the members of tho Ministry should think and vote alike. Hon. E. P. Lee (who had ten consulting Hansard): How did you vote in 1912' Mr. Statham: Against the elective Executive. (Laughter.) •'' • Members: Yon didn't tell us thnt just now. You blamed the other fellows for changing their mind. Mr. Statham hind something to sny about the privilegl. of independence and then made the House smile again by admitting thnt the Independent members sometimes had a "little conference. Mr. Massey's View, The Prime Minister said it wa» curious to hear the member for Dunedin Central talking about consistency. Mr. Statham had voted against a similar Bill in 1912, and he had shown his own inconsistency bv the manner in which he had left the Reform Party. Mr. Massey denied that the party system hat. been abused by him. Members on the other side of the House were perfectly <vell aware that they had just tho same privileges as Government members, turnin" to the question raised by the Bui. Mr. Massey said that the election of the Ministry would simply aggravate the evils of the party system if ono party hat. an absolute majority. If no party had a majority, the election of;, a '•Ministry might give a result like this: Massey. Wilford, Holland, Nosworthy.' Dr Newman, Malcolm, Isitt, Lysnar, M Combs, and M'Leod. (Laughter.) That was the sort of Cabinet that would be createda Cabinet that had no policy'and coulu not agree on a single point, tho elective Executive .proposal'was absolutely absurd and impossible. He had voted for it*when he was young politically anu liable to be led astray by tlieoms. Mr. Massey quoted the late Mr., beddon n--having opposed the elective Executive. The fact was that a Government would not work effectively, if it contained strong men holding diverse views. ' the National Cabinet had served-tho country well in difficult days, but on some que - tions it had been unable tp move at all, becTuse 'its members could not agree. That had been the position as far a* ti.P land question was concerned. ■ Mr Massey quoted Sir Joseph Ward as another opponent of the elective Executive He said that he could not remember receiving a complaint from members o ftße orm Party that'they were not consulted about policy and legislation. The fact that tlte'elective Executive> suited Switzerland was no proof that it would suit New Zealand, the Sw.ss people were divided into three sections French, Italian, and German, speaking their own languages, and an elected Ministry met their peculiar needs. Mr A. Harris (Waitemata) said that he did not go.so f»r as to approve entirely of the "elective Executive" proposed by the Bill, but he did believe in the election of the Executive by the dominant party. Ho had been a member ot the "Progressive Party" that had sprung up for a brief, time in the last session ot Parliament. The first plank in the plal • form of that party was that the Executive should be elected by the dominant party. If the Government had been elected by that party .its personnel would not have been quite what it was in the session referred to, though the Prime Minister would have been the same. Mr. V. H.-Pottcr (Itoskill): What portfolio do you reckon you would have held"' (Laughter.) , ~,.--.» Mr. Harris said he wished to avoid personalities. He went on to affirm his •belief th'at the present Prime Minister and the present Government enjoyed the confidence of the Reform Party, while the Prime Minister probably enjoyed tho confidence cwn of some who were not on the same side of the House. Dissensions, however, had at tinws arisen because it happened that members of a Government did not enjoy the confidence of tlifir party; and in view of the danger that such troubles might recur ho favoured the general principle 'of the Mr L. M. Isitt (Christcluirch North) admitted thnt there was a difficulty about the operation of the elective Executive system, but he contended that it might do somothing to remedy defects in the present system of party Government. He doubted whether all the ability was on one side of,the House. Was it not regrettable, In; asked, that a man nosse<=sing, for instance, outstanding iapacitv for the conduct" of educational affairs," should be debarred from the Ministry merely becnuso fyi belonged to a pnrtv'thnt was not in power? The pre. sent system tended to bring about the appointment of the man who, of those eligible for a portfolio was ho o lie that "pushfid his barrow" the hardest, A Prime Minister ought to consu t his party, at least, about tho appointment of Ministers. A Caucus Stcret. , Mr. Massey observed that ho would let tho memlvr into a secret. At the vnrv first Reform caucus after the Just elections ho had announced 1»-J willingness to receive suggestions for the formation of tho Ministry. The members ° the nartv liml declined the offer, and had said that they preferred to leave the appointments to him. , The Hon. G. J. Anderson (Minister ol Internal Affairs) said that up to 1914 he had consistently voted for the election of Ministers by the House. He was not "oing back on anything he linn raid in the post, except to say that from W, experience of the National Govern, nent he. bad learned that the election n AHnUtors bv the whole House woulo network out well. He had felt that some of the arguments, used in favour o the Bill had been aimed at him andi

two others members of the Ministry, but he- was vain eniugh to believe that it his party had been asked to. elect Hit Ministry lie would have beon returned to office. Mere geographical considern- | tions, of which some account had to bt taken, would in,- a measure have ensured his election. Mr. D. Jones (Kaiapoi) had a few words to say about the Progressive Party. He ascribed, its formation tc dissatisfaction caused by the sort ol thing that the Dill proposed. If Hit Prime Minister had Imd full charge during the war, the difficulties that had arisen would have been avoided; but the National Government, which was almost an elective Executive, was in existence, and to that fact the formation of the Progressive. Party might be ascribed. The selection of a Ministry was safer in tho hands of the Minister than in the hands of new members who mißht know nothing of the qualifications of their fellow members. Mr 11. E. Holland (Buller) said that ho intended to oppose the Bill. The only Elective Executive that could logically be proposed was an Executive elected by tho whole House; and the members of such an Executive could never in hi« opinion, work together successfully. He did not earo whether the lieform Party to-day elected tho Ministry or tho Prime Minister appointed it himself. The Parliamentary system of today was not imimitable or eternal. It would adapt itself to changed economic conditions, and in its next form it would represent industries and not geographical districts. Tho debate was continued until after midnight, chiefly by the Independents, who approved of the Bill. The motion for the second reading was negatived by 34 to 16. NATIONAL WAFftIEMORIAL SITE NOT YET SELECTED. The Min:'i;ter of Defenco (Sir Heaton Rhodes) stated yesterday that the question of tho National War Memorial, for which a sum of ,£IOO,OOO had been voted by Parliament, had been furtlior postponed by tho Government until after the session. Various sites had been suggested and various forms of memorial had been proposed, but Ministers were unable to deal with the matter until they had more tftne at their disposal. It had been started already that the .National War Memorial would be in Wellington; the capital city of the DoininDr. Thacker (Christchurch East) asked the Prime Minister for information on the subject in the House- Inst night. Mr. Mnssey replied that nothing would bo decided before the end of the session. He had read a newspaper statement to the effect that he had visited the Mount Cook site in Wellington for tho purpose of selecting a location for the memorial, but that was not correct. He hod gone to Mount Cook to visit the'school. Ho was not at all sure that a suitable arte for the memorial could not be found in the locality, but ho was expressing no opinion at that stage. prodccelr cash? ■ RELIEF OF STARVING PEOPLE IN EUROPE. A suggestion of Mr. Malcolm (Clutha) that New Zealand should send produce instead of cash to relieve the starving peoplo of .Europe was replied to by tho Prime Minister in the following terms:— "Inquiry from the High Commissioner indicates that dried and condensed milk, vice, dripping, children's foods, new and'second-hand clothes would be nra'iitable to -tin.- .Save I lie (JliiUli-pn Fund Committee, London. The High Commissioner reports that the stato of transport .in Kuroue'is such n« to make distribution of meat impossible. Collecting committees will, of course, have to mako their own arrangements in regard to shipping and freight." WAIMREMOANA WORKS FRESH TENDERS FOR MACHINERY. Speaking in the House of Representative." last week, the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Coates) stated that tenders t'onjji portion of the machinery required for the hydro-electric works at Waikarc■jioaim had jus* been let. The Minister referied to tho matter again in the House last night. He enid that tenders ■had closed for'the contract he had mentioned, involving an expenditure of about ,£14,000, but the prices had been found to be unsatisfactory in tho opinion of his chief electrical engineer and himself, and he hnd .decided' that the proper course would be to call for fresh tenders. There appeared to have been some confusion regarding; the date of these tenders, and the decision he had announced would be in. the interests of all concerned. . NINE PINS LIGHTHOUSE Mr. H. Atinore (Nelson) ask'. 1 the Minister of Marine when he expected the light to bo erected on the Nine Pins, near the Chetwode Islands,' which was authorised some months ago . The member said this light was ratitir* for the eater navigation of ships between Wellington and Nelson, and it reported that all apparatus necessary tor its erection was in tho Dominion. Sir William Hemes (Minister of Marine) replied that the apparatus for this light was at present in the Dominion, and arrangements were being made ,to construct the neceslsiry .concrete pedestal to hold the light as so£ii as the lighthouse artificer could be spared for the work. WAITOMOIAVES hostel The Hon. W. Nosworthy (Minister In charge of the Tourist and Health Reworts Department) stated last night thai extensive additions and renovations to the Waitomo Caves Hostel would be proceeded with at an early date.' Thf matter of improving the grounds would also receive attention. PRICES OF DRIED AND PRESERVED FRUITS The Hon. E. P. Lee (Minister of Industriel: nnd Commerce) stated in reply to a question that inquiries had recently been made by the Board' of Trade into the landed costs and wholesale and retail prices of.dried .and preserved fruits. "All hough .presont prices ,are high compared with pre-war prices," said Mr. Lee. "tho increases aro in every instance due to causes beyond the control of merchants and retailers in the Dominion. The board found generally that a small margin of profit only is being made by traders on those goods." , TRAMWAYMMLATIONS "When does the Government, proposo gazetting the regulations under the Tramway Act, 1910?" Mr. P. Eraser (Wellington Central) inquired of the Minister of Public Works. The Hon J. Of. Coates replied: It is proposed to hold a conference of tramway companies and employees' representatives to discuss the proposed regulations, which will bo gazetted as soon as an agreement is arrived a!." Mr. B. Masters (Stratford) is asking the Ministor of Mires whether, in view of the grave shortage of coal for industrial purposes in the Taranaki district, he will liave a survey of the Tangara- ■ kau area made as early as possible, in oroVr that Hip coalfields of that district may be developed.