WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 May 1920, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(Our Special Correßpoudcut). THE DEPARTED GUEST. PLEASANT MEMORIES. WELLINGTON, May 10. Wellington is returning to work today after having devoted much tile better part of a week to loyal holidaymaking in honour of the Prince of Wales. The city wears a somewhat drab appearance with its brave show of bunting and greenery well advanced in the sear and yellow and its streets and enclosures still littered with the debris of feasting and festivity, but its people carry about witli them very pleasant recollections of tueir departed guest and a now conception of the part lie plays in the solidarity of the Empire. The visit of the Prince was much less formal than that of his father nineteen years ago—in the days before the Empire had found itself —and it has left behind a wide-spread feeling of personal attachment to the Throne which was scarcely known by the native-born Now Zealander before. LABOUR AND LOYALTY.

One of the minor outcomes of the Prince’s visit is a challenge appearing in the local papers to-day from Mr John Eos one of the founders of tließeturned Soldiers’ Association and one of its most sturdy pillars fo-day, to Mr Peter Eraser, the member for Wellington Central, to resign his seat in Parliament and re-contest it with the challenger. Mr Fraser, holding the perverted view a small minority of the Labour Party does in regard to the position the Crown occupies in the Constitution, declined to sign the address of welcome presented to the Prince by the City Council, and Mr Fox wishes to contest his seat with him on this question Mr Fraser is scarcely likely to accept the challenge and the Prince would be the last person to wish him to do so, but the incident fairly represents the temper of the community. A vast majority of the member’s constituents are utterly out of sympathy with his attitude. THE MINISTRY. Mr Massey’s last excuse for delaying the completion of the Cabinet re-con-struction was extinguished by the defeat of the Hon ,J. B. liino at the Stratford election. Even the Prime Minister’s own personal and political friends are becoming more than a little impatient of the system of “One-man Government’’ which the Reform leader was wont to denounce so fervently in the days of Mr Seddon and which he lias maintained .nimself since the general (Section in December. They find no fault with his loyalty to Mr Hide now with a sent hi the Cabinet having been kept vacant for that gentleman, hut they object very strongly to the administrative drift that has been going on during the last five or six months and that is threatening to land the country into even more serious 1 rouble than the railway strike, which, they say, is directly traceable to Mr Massey’s inability to give adequate attention to all the duties he tins taken upon himself.

PUBLIC FINANCE.

One of the troubles facing the Government is the perennial trouble of finance. The public accounts for the financial year ended March 31st last, now some two weeks overdue, have not yet been presented and their absence naturally is giving rise to a good deal of criticism and speculation. Mr'Massey holds the portfolio of Finance Himself—burden enough for any one man—and his long experience in Parliament and his close acquaintanceship with the affairs of the country well qualify him for the responsibility. But no one seeing tile Prime Minister at work in these •times can imagine him having sufficient leisure to master all the pressing problems that beset the Treasury at the present moment. The accumulated war surpluses have boon spent, the ordinary surplus has been anticipated and additional taxation is inevitable. Never lias a strong Cabinet been more urgently needed.