WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 March 1923, Page 1

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

TIIE TAI'RANGA SKAT. •SIR JOSEPH WARD’S INTENTIONS. SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN. WELLINGTON, March 2 •hidgiim- from the reports that have l,ee„ reaching Wellington during the lasi i!a>. or two ihcro is a very .widespread "idi throughout the Dominion that Sir Joseph Ward should eontesl the vacant Tauranga seat in the House of Representatives. It is not. only pie ol Sir Joseph’s own particular colour that are expressing a desire to see the ex-Liheral leader in piddle >'•*' again. Reformers, Liberals and 1 ourites, of varying shades ol sunny am. infeii.siiv are hoping to see him take i.p his old political activities in the very near future. IT> to the present the members of the Liberal-Labour lartv in lhe House have given no uI.■ 11 li• Ition ol thuir wishes in ma Their silence naturally has exeiU-d some eommetil and it has been ■•ugg- s. ed that Mr Wilf.nd ami his colleagues are not particularly anxious to ‘re Sir .Joseph in Parliament again I lie story obtain- some colour from what happened at ihe general election. In,; it l>rohahlv rests on the assumption thai • n Joseph ami Mr Wilfor.l would be rivallor the Opposition leadership. his. iis Kderahlv safe to say, would not the ease. " Sir Joseph w0t.1,1 re-enter rile ! louse with a desire to heal the dissensions in the ran!-.- of tlm Lu.era:Labour Party, not to "jawin' i.iom. \ N IN DEPEN DEN i . M I u . The iheral leader could take up i' rnle’of imlepondunt critic with perfect consistency and dignity ."'id it -■>’l >■■■■» rlVl"- it Umo-v. lit' 1 was in no way responsible |„r the policy with which the Li’eral!at hour Party went to the constituencies and he would he m no way i.lcogo.i to its adoot ion. So.me ol his atlnoiei s have already alloled to him Iho tasof bringing about a now coalition " - tween the Reformers ami the Lioeraiin which he again would hold the P" 1 ' 1 ' e.jjo of Eit.iinee am! again have an opp:o‘t unit v of exercising Ids faculty lor handling figure-. Rut unless h- lias great!-, ,-.hanged hi- views in DPs r'daring the I: or few months he ;il i ,i". vlt'u lY.oiir upon, any prn- ! j,„l !’ •• it is easily conceivable that as a private member lie might afford the Government very " able a.-.si.-iat-.ee in the Hom e and on 1 he |.'i j,.| me ("ommiti ee. How-oei. ' : -.- tv'mle matter is in ihe air mJoseph w.dt not make up his mind till onrlt next week. He has been '■leaclif. prngres-ing towards fully >y-=t.,red health since Ids return Horn England -ml 10-dav is better than he has been for m-iiiv -rears past. MR \YI I.EOI! IV -l CRITICS. The --Post.” whirl! had its parly eonilibriam rather sadly disturbed by ~f the general el-etiun, seem- , , i... ~ :.f d Mr WiKmaUnot the correct horse lo heck in toe ~~, ~-is|. merits and dcit told its readers last evelt- ||, ■ --(lie suhst all t iallv those ol lue h.w-er .a n dilies, ami there is _ h-' ih-ii'-,-l!hood of their eham-ang loi- net > '-i Utrse. Elneney ~i speech, .kill in verbal thrust and parry, the capacity it- mastering a brief at short notn-e and expounding it- o-ntoids a s thoui-.i , 1,,0 represented the moled convict lulls fa life line-, and immunity from the i-mharra snieui pcr-oua! eoitvietioits t epical finalities oi ll'.r lawyer-unlit ii MU and in the-e respeols Mr Wilß.rd it > tie to t v))e. Rut in popular clorpicuce ]„, r js,.s far above the normal foi-nsu--1 -ml in phrase-making he has recent |‘v developed a tah-ul which neither the lawYer nor the layman is ott-n able rn rival." .1 u-1 vl at all this means is not verv obvious, hut it hears a a t -1 y close 1-,-seiiihl .nice to the kind of erii i-,-i-mi tliiil is lining diroeied again.-t the la! oral leader bv Ids more pronounced opponents and probable is intended lo 1,,, ~v-ra helming and unanswerable. Mr AY i I ford greets ii all with a cheery smile. THE I’OUTK'DN 'ND THE I’.P. V The irreoressihl-. Rev Howard Elliot l he- a word or two to say in the newspapers (OIK.-riling Mr Ce -rge M'M'dl -J gentle protest against his name and reputation being drawn into t.lm cnnli o-vei-sies arising on- of iln- activities *>l (he P.P.A. -it was most interesting 10 me.'’ he writes lo the evening paper. ‘-to read- the report n! Mr M’-!-cheH's speech explaining amongst i.tlmr mailers that his name iinpeared upon 1 1 a- |isl nf candidales endorsed by the p p.\. without his knowledge or con-

seal. Thai is I rim.” One would have thought this admission would have been accompanied bv some sort of aoidogv. But nothing nf the kind. ■We know now.” Mr Elliott continues, ••that Mr M it-i-dl dm" noi desire tin-MlPimi-t of the Protest am s. and that he has no iii; cut ion of allow ing his urnfossod Protestant Km to influence him “i his niihlie actions. That is precis R •die type of mditician I lm P.P.A- ,I( '' sires to see eliminated from the ' ' life of New Zealand Mr MiUliel s wishes so far as the suppmi ot tic P p \ in future elections for P'ddnpositions will ho carefully observed. This presumably means that it the (.nidi,late will not allow ■•Protestantism to shape Ids politics the inllm-me ol the P.P.A. will he agamsi him.