WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 14 December 1927, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

REFORM AND PROHIBITION. PRIME MINISTER'S PROBLEM. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON. Dec. 12. Those Reform members of the House of Representatives who hurried away from Wellington on the close of the session last week to proclaim to their constituents anil to the world at large their intention to call the Prime .Minister to account at the earliest possible moment in connection with his handling of the Licensing Bill were not treating their leader fairly. Mr ( nates may have been indiscreet in delaying the submission ot the Bill to the House till the concluding days of the session : he may have Keen inexcusably ignorant of the attitude of a majority ol his own party towards the measure, and he may have lacked resource and even dignity, when the avalanche ol dissent fell almut his ears. From the beginning to the end of the short shrift given his proposals, however, he was frank, courteous, and obviously sincere. Ihe icproach levelled against him to the effect that ho was pledged to the Modera to s’ view of tlie licensing finest ion and that his efforts were directed towards the realization ol that view. is. after all. no graver than the one levelled against other members ol the House to the effect that in order to secure votes at the last general election they had pledged themselves to facilitate the abolition id the liquor traffic. All this, however, is by the wav. THE TWO PLEDGES. Mr T. D. Burnett, the member lot Temuka, who declares that twenty-one private members of the Reform Party and six Cabinet Ministers are "definitely for prohibition.” takes upon himself to speak (or this formidable force. "We intend.” lie stated tbe other day, " at the next caucus, which will probably he held early in .January, to assert ourselves. 'I lie voice ol the people is going to he upheld at all costs, no matter whose personal feelings or interests are hurt. . . I

yield to no one in my allegiance to the Reform Party, or in my appreciation of tiu> magnificent work that party Inis done for the Dominion ; but when firmness in a Prime Minister degenerates into obstinacy, and is cutting right across the expressed will ol the people. I have seriously to consider my position in regard to the party and the Go\ eminentOi i curse Mr Burnett las a perfect right to consider his position m regard to the party and the Government, hut just what he would do in the event of his licensing pledges eonlliitiug with hi> political pledges naturally is a matter ol widespread speculation. It he should elect to honour his licensing pledges rathe! than his political pledges, then, presumably, he would appeal to his constituents for tlieir endorsement ol their preference.

DELAYING PROHIBITION. But it well may fie asked il there is any need lor all this luss being made over the fact that the Prime Minister differs from a large section ol his party, including six members ol the Cabinet, on the licensing question. Mr Coates never has posed as an advocate of prohibition—though on rare occasions lie has suggested as much—anil he always has left the members of his party free to vote on the question as they pleased. His nearest lapse trom grate in this respect .was when the House set about mercilessly slaughtering his recent proposals. He then reminded dissenting members ol his party, probably with his eye upon Mr Burnett in particular, that they owed something to their party and to himself. The pity of the whole thing is that prohibition has invaded the realm of polities in an over-whelming measure in this country, and the blame for this catastrophe must rest mainly with the New Zealand Alliance which by its disregard for other desirable rclorms probably has delayed its own by a quarter of a century. If paid propaganda work of the electioneering order wore forbidden on both sides by law. piohihition of an effective and benefi(ial character would lie established in ibis country within the life of a single Parliament.

FROM SI OK TO SI OK. The Cii.so will] which official prohibition limy ho turned from one side t-> iinotlior in politics wus never hotter illustrated than it was when six o'clock closin'* was brought into operation in this. Sir Joseph Ward by an interjection in the House a week or two aiin recalled the incident to the memory of many an old habitue of Parliament Buildings. The Prime Minister intended that the closing hour should ho eight o’clock and had obtained the approval of his colleagues in the National Cabinet to this arrangement. Pat a majority of the House would not accept eight o’clock dosing and thereupon Mr Massey named six o’clock as the hour and his .proposal was carried, as history records. It was stated at the time that there were words in the Cabinet room about the matter and threatened resignations. Put the war covered a multitude of little misunderstandings in those days, and nothing happened till the arrival of peace and the withdrawal of the Liberals from the Ministry. The net result of the institution of six o’clock closing was a swing-over of official prohibition to Reform and tlie Liberal debacle at the general election of 1919, Reform remained in favour with official prohibition, more or less, up to the time of M.r Massey’s death. Now official prohibition is looking with grave suspicion upon the great Reformer’s successor.