WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 April 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

REFORM CAUCUS. THE LICENSING QUESTION. (Special to “ Guardian.”) WELLINGTON, April 10. It may lie quite true, as the I’riine Minister stated the other day. that the caucus of the Reform Party to he held here to-morrow has not been called to liscuss the licensing question. It would be just as easy to say it has not been called to discuss the incidence ot taxation, or the revision of the Customs duties, or the increase of members’ salaries, or the Government’s railway policy or any other matter that may :e engaging the politicians at the present time. Rut it*is finite certain that the licensing question will be mentioned at the gathering of the Reform forces, and it will be strange indeed i( the members of the party who were so ardent about this subject less than six months ago should be silent about it n )\v. The bones of contention are the two issue ballot paper and the simple majority anti when these were beiore the House last session, thirty-two Rcforemrs, Including six Ministers,' supported them, while twenty-one members of the party, including the Prime .Minister and four of his colleagues, opposed them. If any member has "hanged his mind since then there has been no announcement of the fact. THE GOVERNMENT’S INTENTIONS. The members of the executive ol the New Zealand Alliance, who naturally take a very keen interest in the situation. accept the Prime .Minister's assurance that the caucus is not being held for the purpose of discussing the licensing question. ‘‘Rut,” the general secretary of the Alliance added in tie course of an interview on Saturday in view of the position of licensin' legislation as it was left last session i' 's difficult to imagine the Reform Party liscussing its general internal policy without specially dealing with the ques ion of licensing legislation.” This ■- lie view of other people of consequence who have discussed the matter; but, o r

nurse, tbc ultimate decision as tr whether or not licensing reform shall bo included in the Government’s pro-

rnur.me for the approaching session vests with .Mr Coates himself. It is ibvious enough that he would prefer to nostpone the problem until next year. T this could he done without impairing

>ho prestige of his party and estranging some of his prohibition followers; but he could not on the eve of a general election afford to flv in the taeeo! miblie opinion. Plainly he is confrontv,l by the gravest difficulty ho has en--oiintered since his assumption of office. LA HOUR’S ATTITUDE. The Labour Thirty at its annual conference last week very sensibly decided that as a body it would take no part in ibp licensing controversy. The Palmerston North branch urged that all supporters of Labour should urged to vote against the liquor trade at the next general election, because the liquor trade always bad used its organisation to defeat Labour, and the Wellington North branch moved that State Control of tlui liquor traffic should be a plank in the party’s platform; hut a majority of the conference preferred to leave members of the party free to vote as they pleased on these issues. During its sitting, however, the conference took occasion to emphasise (he fact hat the plank in its platform providing fora referendum with preferential vnt-

hig when more Ilian two issues were ( dimiltcd to the electors applied to the housing poll. In this respect the rhorr Party is far ahead of any of the other parties and must have the sympathy of every elector who subscribes • a the nrineiple of majority rule. The ittitude of the Prohibition Party on his point is inexplicable. All the Labour Party is seeking is to give ■very elector a voice in (be ultimate decision.

THE UNITED PARTY. The public still remains in ignorance as to the policy of the United Party in regard to the licensing question and in regard to every other question of poll tical consequence. Air F. IV. Manton, who was announced a little while ago ns'the chairman of the party, is a cap able business man in the city, and, it seems, lias come over from Reform with views which do not altogether harmonise with those of some of the Prime Minister’s colleagues. Rut the public’s knowledge of the new party is gathered mainly from the controversies carried on by its secretary with any one time will meet him in the correspondence columns of the newspapers. This gentleman’s latest tilt is with the veteran secretary of the Reform Party, who had ventured to protest mildly against “long-winded and ill-tempered attempts to annihilate” him. “Mr James speaks of spoils to the victors,” retorts the United Party’s secretary. "Is his memory sufficiently retentive to recall, as I do, a certain conversation that we had during his visit to my home in Auckland concerning spoils to the victors.” This sort of thing may be entertaining enough in its way, but what the public is looking for is some exposition of the now party’s policy.