WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 July 1922, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

theseGonGcut.

HOBSON’S CHOICE.

SFEOIAL TO GUARDIAN.

AVELLINGTON, July 7

Mr Massey’s good excuse for insisting upon the second cut from the bonussalaries of the State employees was the excuse of necessity. t‘ I have, got to keep the Treasury in a position where it will be able to pay twenty shillings in the pound,” the Prime Minister said in announcing the unpleasant news to the House on Wednesday afternoon.” . . . “There is only one way to cut down the cost of Government, and that is to cut down wages and salaries.” In making the latter statement the Minister, of course, was speaking scarcely by the hook. He himself had mentioned the alternatives to reducing bonus-salaries. They were retrenchment by wholesale dismissals from the Public Service, and increased taxation by way of Customs duties. But the adoption of both or either of these would have been of doubtful efficacy. Drastic retrenchment of this kind would have seriouslv aggravated the “ unemployed ” trouble, already assuming grave dimensions, and increased Customs duties, even had they not defeated their own purpose, would have intensified the difficulties of the struggling wage earners. COMPUTING COST OF LIVING.

That Mr Massey’s task was an extremely unpleasant one, even his political opponents will not doubt. That lie went through with it, in spite of the disapproval of it number of his political friends, says much tor his tenacity and courage, jlut without taking sides in the matter at all, it is easy to question the abstract justice of tlio basis on which the cost of living was calculated. The president of the Arbitration Court evidently had some misgivings at tinhack of his mind on this point. His ready command of lucid English had not deserted him when lie framed a report which Mi Massey could not understand. But the Prime Minister held confidently that for the purpose of the agreement between himself and the representatives of the public servants it stood as the onlv admissable basis of calculation. The fact that the basis was obviously incomplete made it extremely regrettable that the point had not been more clearly defined in the legislation of last session. A LARGE AMENDMENT. The length of the amendment to the Addrcss-in-Reply moved by Mr AN ilford is probably due' to the anxiety of the leader of the Opposition to keep before his supporters in tlie House the multiplicity alld variety of the subjects on which they may belabour the Government. But really a reminder of this kind was not required on the present occasion. There is not a member of the Opposition without sufficient ammunition to maintain a lively fusilade against the government’s policy and administration for his full hour without anv prompting from his chief. However, Mr AYilford’s speech was better than his amendment. Beginning with electoral reform lie confessed himself as a recent convert to proportional representation and then proceeded to discuss the system with very considerable facility. He found a congenial task in showing how .Mr Massey had “wobbled” on the question, and inevitably drew from the Minister the obvious retort that he had as much right to change his mind as his critic had. Mr Nos worthy followed and amused himself by drawing attention to the suspicious resemblance between tlio policies of the Liberal and Labour parties. Then Mr Vcitoli talked interestingly «and instructively of railways before Sir John Luke prepared the House lor its night’s retirement. THIN ICE. The debate was resumed yesterday afternoon and continued throughout the evening sitting. None of the speeches readied a very high level, even that of the Minister of Justice being devoted mainly to a laboured attempt to show that there was no material difference hot ween the policies and intentions .of the Liberal-Labour Party and tlio Social Democrats, and that the two loaders .were conspiring together for the overthrow of the Government. Mr Lee’s ill list rations were drawn Lorn the Dunedin North by-election, and here he ventured on very thin ice, inviting tlio very gibes that c-iinie from Mr Atmorc later oil. Whether or not the AN ilfordites and the 11 ollanditos joined forces for the purpose of discomfiting the Government in Dunedin North was not made very clear, hut it remained notorious that at the election of 1919, which still is recent history, the Reform newspapers and the Reform electors contributed largely to the sucoss of Labour candidates.