WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 July 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

AIR MASSEY. IIIS TENTH YEAR OF OFFICE. (Our Special Correspondent;, WELLINGTON. July 11 Yesterday Mr Massey entered upon the tenth year of his occupancy of the office of Prime Alinister and received cabled congratulations from his colleagues in the Cabinet and trom a number of his personal and political friends. When the Reform leader mounted the Treasury Benches on July 10, 1912, by the grace of four or five recruits trom the other side of the House, even his most sanguine admirer never expected him to retain possession of them so long. He had gained office through the schism in the ranks of the Liberal-Lab-our Party and lie held if by the will of a minority oi the electors. Rut ho quickly developed unsuspected qualities of leadership, including a nice appreciation of the drift of public, opinion, and at the election of 1914, assisted hy the war’s extinction of many party issues, • e returned from the constituencies, still without a majority of the electors at his back, but with the narrow margin of two votes in the House. Then came the National Government, in which, apart from finance, he was the dominant

igure, the spread of dissensions among bis opponents and his triumph at the noils in 1919. Though his term of office still is four years and some odd weeks short of that of Air Scddon, so practised a tactician and so versatile a politician, blessed with good health, Aetl may reach the record of the great Liberal leader. THE HOSPITAL COMMISSION. The report of the Commission appointed in accordance with a promise made by the Minister hist session to inquire into hospital cotUrol and kindred matters was made available to the Press on Saturday and is summarised in the papers this morning. Its recommendations support many of the suggestions made in more or less definite tonus by the Miniate- in Parliament, ami the obvious comment of Mr Part’s critics is that they might have, been embodied in an amending Bill without putting the country to the expense ot a commission which could cover only familiar ground. In answer to this, however, it may be said that the Commission made a much more searching

inquiry than a sessional committee could have done and that it looked into a number of matters that probably

would have been overlooked in the usual perfunctory examination of Minister s proposals. On the whole the tenor of the report is in harmony with the growth of public opinion, and though there may he some adverse criticism of the proposal to use the public hospitals for private patients there really is nothing in it to offend the most democratic sensibilities. A FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The Acting Minister of Finance is finding the honours and resjKmsihilities thrust upon him by the absence of the Prime .Minister no sinecure. During the last three or four week's this most courteous and tolerant of administiators has been pestered by the representatives of the newspapers and by still more insistent people for an explicit statement of the Dominion’s financial position. With the late of the five million loan uncertain and the commitments of the various departments of the Public Service unascertained it was impossible to furnish a statement that would havo thrown any useful light upon the figures already made public. But sufficient information concerning the loan and other matters involved is now available to enable the position to lie placed before the public in a concise and definite form. This will he done in the course of a day or two, probably on Wednesday, and all that need he said about the matter in the meantime is that the figures will confirm the view repeatedly expressed by the .Minister that while the financial position of the country is perfectly sound there is need for strict economy and prudent administration. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TRUSTS. The American Government is making it perfectly clear that it is not disposed to leave the Armour issue just where it stands at present. However sincere it may be in its efforts to restrain the Trusts in its own country it is not inclined to submit quietly to any undue interference with its traders abroad. Not altogether unnaturally it is contending that Armour having been allowed to buy meat in the Dominion should be allowed to export it to tbc hest- possible advantage. This is the view of a great many people here and, of course, of a vast, majority of the economists and traders at Home. The question so far as New Zealand is concerned seems likely to become a .very grave, one, involving problems ol great international importance, and at the moment the Acting Prime Minister is not prepared to discuss them for publication.