WELLINGTON NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1923, Page 1

WELLINGTON NOTES

CHANGED TIAIES. AfE.MBKRS ASSERT i'll K.MSKLVES. [Special To 'l’m: Guardian.] WKI.I.JXGTO.N, .1 uly IS. It is an open set ret- now that the Government had made up its mind to brill" the Budget debate to a close before the House adjourned on Friday night. A whole month having been occupied with profitless talk. Air Massey thought.-it time to get clown to serious work. But when Hie whips passed the work round they found several Reform members averse to the arrangements and one or two prepared to defy their leader's wishes. They had something to sav on the Budget and they would not say it to an attenuated House and a somnolent Press Gallery. 1 hey would move the adjournment themselves, they said, if the leader of the House per.istod, and show the Government, they were not mere counters in the game of politics. AYithout lul l her tn.-s they got their way and the adjournment was taken with the tie hate still unfinished. The incident was significant of the ■ hanged times. Party discipline always is weakened with the shrinkage ol majorities and Mr Afassev’s experience is no different from that of his predecessors in similar circumsta-nces. R FX'ONSTR I'CTIOX OF PARTIES. Owing to the adjournment of the House on Monday afternoon out of respect to the memory of the late Sir William Fraser—a very sincere tribute to a notable figure in the public life of the Dominion—-the debate was carried on till nil early hour yesterday morning and the later speakers, after all. expended their eloquence upon a weary House. The most impressive speech was the one delivered by Air J. A. Veiling, the member for Waikato, who did not. as was generally’exported he would, air such grievances as ho may have had in connection with the reconstruction of the Cabinet. Ho let it he known, however, that, in his opinion, the “sham light” between the Liberals and the Reformers would stop. “This sort of thing can't go on.” He said: "If these two parties cannot unite. 1 lien the sooner we pass electoral reform and go to the country, the better it will he. The present position is very had for tlie country and should bo ended.” Mr Young’s idea is that matters should stand as they are until the Prime Afinister returns from the Imperial Confereice, and that then the two older parties should get together, ;\rranjie Jt Inisis of fliul allow i lie Labour Party intake its legitimate place as the official Opposition He doubts, however, if the Liberal anil Labour parties have yet “siillered enough adversilv” to bring them m . |,;.■ reasonable conclusion. ELECTORAL R EFORM. The particular brand of electoral re form Air Young favours is “some kind of preferential voting,” and this seems to be what Air Alassey has in contemplation in the Bill he has promised lor the present session. I’he Labour Pints on the other hand, denounces preferential voting as worse than the present haphazard method of election, and me Liberal Party of course is demanding the "whole hog” ill the shape of prooort lonal repres.-ntat ion. B i' 1 understood, however, that Air AYdford and his followers, while unshaken hi their belief that proportional representation is the only truly equitable system. would accept prelereiitial toting as a step towards their ultimate goal. The Labour members, who also are pledged to proportional representation, object to preferential voting heeiin.se they think a combination of Reform and Liberal votes always would he east against them. But in this they probably are misled by their reiterated asin that there is no real difference between the Reformers and the- Liberals and that they always are ready to combine against 'Labour. If this were true perferential voting certainly would prejudice the chances ol Labour at Hie pells, blit it is notoriously untrue, except of a comparatively few electors, who stand on the margin, as it were, of one or other of the older of the other parties .and might he easily persuaded to cross over. VGItICri.TT'R A L AND ST ATI', RANKs. During the course of the speech with which he closed the Budget debate yesterday morning the Prime Alinistei linnllv extinguished the hopes of the good’people who have advocating the institution of an agricultural hank. Having pointed out that the New Zealand Advances Department was lending tiionev at 2 per cent, less than was being charged bv the New South Wales agricultural hank. Air Alassey was twitted by Mr AVilford with not having enough money to go round. “AAell 1 guarantee this.” was the Ministers retort, "that with the capital I have ifjit 1 w ill do more and lend more to the settlers than twenty agricultural hanks could possibly do. I have enough to go oc, with. lam cpiite confident ol that, and I am going to.ask Parliament this session for additional borrowing power, in ease it should he rec|iiircd hepire the House meets, it may sound like boasting, hut I am not going to stick at iritles so far as this matter is concerned. A Liny of the people of this _ country are in difiiculties. and it is the business of the Covei iimeiii to see them out if possible.” It looks as il Air Poison's -chenio would have to wait awhile vet.