WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 April 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE CABINET

DISTRIBUTION OF PORTFOLIOS. (Our Special Correspondent;. WELLINGTON, April G At the time of writing no official announcement lias been made as to tlie distribution of Air Massey's portfolios during his impending absence from the Dominion, but it is understood that Sir Francis Bell will take Finance, the Hon D. H. Guthrie, Railways, the Hon J. G. Anderson, Alines, and the Hon W. Nos worthy, Imperial Supplies. In the circumstances, probably no better sirrnngemcnt than this could be made, | though it is obvious that with the excep- j tion of Finance, where Sir Francis may , be trusted to assert himsell, the direc- J tion of these departments will revert | for the time being to their permanent j heads. The. policy of the Treasury dm- | ing the next few months must he to i exorcise. the most rigid economy and no j one would be more likely than the At- i I lorney-Gcneral is to discharge this j task with thoroughness and discretion. I i As for the rest, Railways, .Mines and Imperial Supplies will ho run by competent Undor-Scerctaries and with normal conditions will sufler little from the absence of their political ohiol. LAND AGGREGATION. | The Minister of Lands lias not yet : succeeded in demolishing Air G. Al.it--1 (-hell's contention that land aggregation lias been going on to an alarming . extent during the last few years. The j member for Wellington South based his indictment upon the Government’s own | statistics, which, for what they are ! worth, show that the number of large j holdings has been on the increase and I the number of small holdings on the decrease. But the -Minister attempts to brush this aside by declaring that j the statistics do not represent the true ! position. The retort to this is, of j course, that if the statistics are in- | accurate they never should have been I issued. Rut the member for Wellington I South and his friends go further and i quote numbers of specific instances of ! aggregation that are not merely paper 1 offences against the spirit of tlie Dominion’s land laws. But still the Alinister seeks refuge behind the inaccuracy of the statistics, claiming that when the facts are ascertained U'c beneficence of the Government’s administration will lie revealed. A CANDID FRIEND.

The *’Evening Post” which cannot he numbered among the unfriendly critics of the present Government, joins in tln,\ controversy with its accustomed candour. “In order to answer the prim a facie ease stated by Air H. Alilebell, ALP., in the matter of land aggregation,” it says, “the Hoveniimnt is placed in the unenviable position el throwing doubt upon its own dai-isUr*. and oven when it lias done lids it still tails to repel more t han a. I factional part of the aggregation indictment.” From this it proceeds to examine the Hon D. 11. Guthrie’s amended figures on its own Recount. “Tlie Al.inister admits,” it points out, "that during the four years 191 G-20, tlie county of Kaikoiira made a net loss ol 29 holdings. In other words r-ftur crediting the county with all new holdings, the net debit admitted by the Minister is 29. Is this aggregation or is it noli'” The Minister may have in reserve some explanation of the figures marshalled against him. lint if this is the ease the time for producing them certainly Inis a rri veil. the new political party. The new Progressive Liberal and Moderate Labour Party seems, so far as Wellington is concerned, to be in grave peril of collapsing through sheer lack ol publicity and opposition. Everyone agrees that a coalition between progres-i si vo Liberalism and AI ode rale Labour would be a very real and effective force in the political affairs of the country at the present time, hut no one outside the confidence of tlie promoters of tlie new movement appears to know anything about its constitution or its platform. .So far it has boon damned much more by faint praise than bv serious hostility and this, of course, is the most unhappy position in which a political party can find itself. Mr Alassov, though he claims to lie the leader of Progressive Liberalism and Moderate Labour himself, professes nothing hutgoodwill towards the new movement. There is no need to question bis sincerity. Afr Holland, the leader of Extreme Labour, is scarcely so complacent, but lie evidently contemplates with satisfaction, a third division in the ranks of Liberalism. And so the new party stands still.