WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1920, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

(Our Special Correspondent)

THE LIBERAL LEADER

A SICK MAN

WELLINGTON, Aug. 4

The Hon W. D. S. MacDonald has never fully- recovered from the effects ol the accident which befel him last year and since the beginning of the session he has been suffering acutely from a re. currence of his troubles, llie memhcis of his family and latterly his friends in the House, (who include many political opponents) have been urging him for some time past to take a complete rest; but he has thought it his duty to stick, to Ilfs post and it was only at the beginning of the present week his inabilty to carry on was brought home to him. He could not open the debate on the Budget in the House last night, his place being taken by Air T. M. Wilford, and in course of. a day or two ho will go to his home in Gisborne where he probably will remain till the end ol the month. THE LEADERLESS PARTY. Naturally there is some speculation at to the leadership of the Liberal Party, during the absence of Mr McDonald. Mr Wilfonl assumed the” role last night, at the request of his chief, by leading off in the Budget debate, and on the whole acquitted himself remarkably well. Finance is not his long suit, but as everyone knows he is exceptionally ready and versatile and quite one of the most attractive speakers in the present House. He always has been numbered among the most “progressive” members of the Liberal Party and of late years has developed a distinct jeaning towards Labour of the same and constitutional brand, a tendency which does not count to his discredit among his own constituents. For the present, however, he is not a candidate for the Liberal leadership. THE FUTURE. All the members of the Liberal Party indeed, would strongly resent any attempt to supplant Air AlacDonald. Though the present leader is neither a brilliant speaker nor a ready tactician, bo has experience and good commonsense on his side and is loyal to liis friends and to the ideals and traditions of his party. The possibility of his medicai adviser insisting upon his laying down, for a season, at any rate, the burden he has taken up has to he laced, however, and in that event it would be no easy matter to fill his place, even temporarily. Mr Wilford, even if he were disposed to act as locum tenons, _ would ‘not be acceptable to ail sections of the party, and Air Sidey and • Mr Forbes, whose names have been mentioned and who personally are two of the most popular men in the House seem, nowadays, to have no ambition in this directio*. THE PARTY IN POWER. In these circumstances Air Massey and his colleagues have little reason to fear any serious assault upon their occupancy of the Treasury Benches during the life of the present Parliament. Their majority, in addition to being a large one, is a very docile one, always of course, excepting the Independents like Dr Newman and Air Stadium wlc have definitely refused to be tied i" any party. These enterprising fpints can he spared without the existence of the Ministry being imperilled. But it still remains for the Liberal Bar tv to do a lot of useful work in the House. Air M’assey is daring a great deal and risking a great deal in the policy he unfolded in his Budget last week, and never before was a vigilant Opposition more urgently required. Here Liberal and Labour members will find a common ground for service.

COLLAPSE OF FINANCIAL DEBATE

AIEMBERS’ UNREADINESS

WELLINGTON, Aug 6,

The collapse of the Financial Debate in the House on Wednesday is still the subject of- more or less flippant discussion about the lobbies. -Some members insist they were betrayed into missing their opportunity to speak on the Budget,. others declare they had no desire to waste time in useless talk, and others again frankly admit they had nothing to say. The “Evening Post” finds in the incident further proof of the great loss the country is suffering through the absence of Sir Joseph Ward and Sir James Allen, “two of its finest financial critics for many years,” from Parliament. Probably this points to the truth of the whole matter. Apart from the Prime Minister, there is not a member of the new House who even pretends to an expert’s acquaintance with the finances of the Dominion. ELECTORAL REFORM.

Mr Massey, from whom the advocates of proportional representation have been hoping against hope for some assistance towards their goal, made it quite clear in the House yesterday that he had not the slightest intention of interfering with the system of election which has served him so well in the past Mr T>. Sullivan, the Labour member for Avon, asked the Minister if lie'had noticed that, the Christchurch City Council, after .abandoning by a narrow majority proportional representation in the election of its members had reverted to the system hv a unanimous vote. Mr Massey said he was interested to learn w.hat the Christchurch City Council had done, hut the information did not

uli'ect his view in the least. He believed proportional representation would be just as unsatisfactory in New Zealand as it had been ‘in New South Wales. DISPROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. The Prime Alinister’s allusion to New South Wales lias drawn a strong and somewhat pointed protest front the friends of proportional representation here. They declare that the use of. the, system in. New South Wales was unsatisfactory only to the length that the insistence upon the electors marking a preference for every candidate on the ballot paper led to an unusually large proportion ol iulormal votes. This was an innovation grafted on to the system which all tl in authorities condemned, and, it is stated in round terms, was primarily introduced for tile purpose oi handicapping the Labour candidates. These critics attribute Mr Massey’s opposition to the system to no higher motives. He owes his position on the Treasury Benches, they say, to votesplitting and lie is taking care votesplitting shall continue. And the Minister smles.

STATE CONTROL. Mr McCallum’s State Control of Licenses Bill, which was up for its second reading in the House of Representatives yesterday, gave the opposing Prohibitionists an opportunity to poke some rather outrageous fun at the member for Wairnu. Mr J. McCombs stigmatised the Bill as a “Very green, ill-thought-out measure,” and Mr L. Al. Isitt suggested it should he embalmed by the Law Reform Association as an example of tyhat the legal mind was cnpnble of doing when it was concentrated on legislation. Air David Jones .thought the Bill was worthy of “Punch” and Mr A. S. Malcolm, whose sense of humour is not of the keenest, fell upon the measure with some heavy denunciation. But the Bill got its second reading all the same, only, it is feared by its friends, to be ruled out of order on its.next appearance on account of its taxation proposals interfering with the prerogative of the Crown.