WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 July 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

AN UNINSPIRING SPEECH.

(Special to “ Guardian ”.)

WELLINGTON", July 2. Even ihe “Dominion” finds it difficult to discover anything inspiring in tlio speech pub into the mouth of the Governor-General by His Excellency's advisers at the opening of Parliament the other days. It expresses a hope that the stereotyped phrase with which all “speeches front the Throne” conclude, praying “that Divine Providence may so guide the deliberations of the legislators that the result will he for the good of the Empire,*'’ on this occasion will not be- without influence; but its timorous hope is not I sustained by confident expectation. “How many members, we wonder, approach their duties in the last session of a. Parliament in the lofty spirit of service envisaged by the GovernorGeneral.” it asks. “It is election year. The thoughts of members arc concentrated on the struggle for seat.' a few months hence.” Of the Government’s finance and taxation the | speech says nothing and of its legislation. the two measures the “Doinin- ! ion” thinks of most consequence, those | dealing with “universal pensions.” | and “third party motor risks,” arc ; reserved for a more convenient occas- ■ ion. NON PARTY MEASURES. For the time being the three nonparty measures sure to come up for discussion during the present session of Parliament—the Licensing Bill, the. Bible-in-Schnols Bill, and the Summer Time Bill—are arousing good deal more interest and speculation thaUj are any of the Government's measures that have yet been mentioned. It is rumoured now that the Prime Alin ester will seek in the Licensing Bill to embody a number of reforms in the liquor trade to which lie i ; : pledged without meddling with the questions of “two issues” and “bare majority.” The supporters of No-License would not he likely to accept an arrangement of this kind, since by removing same of the defects of the “Trade” it would lesson the clamour for prohibition and strengthen th.e position of License. A compromise of a similar kind would be more feasible in the case of the liible-iri-Schools agitation and tlio supporters of “.Religious Exercises” seem to be moving in that direction, though they still claim to have a majority in favour of their original proposition. The failure of the city people to make any adequate demonstration in favour ,of the continuance of “daylight saving” sciims to barb lelt the Summer Time Act in grave jeopardy and Mr Sidey himself fears the count of heads is ..gainst his “habv” surviving the approaching ordeal. SEVENTEEN TO NIL. Telephones were kept busy yesterday morning in distributing the news of the defeat of the All Blacks by the South Africans at Durban. Wellington, generally, bad figured it out that the New Zealanders would just about hold their own in the first test and would go on improving from that .onward. In Saturday’s “Evening Post,” Air B. McKenzie, the chairman of the New Zealand Committee that selected the players for the tour, took a correspondent severely to task for suggesting that two or three experienced players should he sent to the

assistance of the travellers. LJo ro-c-ailed that when the team was chosen he described it as "the strongest side that over has represented New Zealand,” and declared lie still held to that opinion. The veteran who was quoted in these columns two or three weeks ago as saying a heating would do tlip New Zealanders good, would add nothing to his comment this morning ‘beyond giving it as Ills opinion that they 'would do better in the next test. 9 TRIBUTE TO THE BRAVE. When Sir Charles Fergusson returns to the Mother Country, as all Gover-nor-Generals must, he probably will be best remembered in the Dominion by the eloquence and sympathy wit}} which ho has expressed the sentiments of its people. Yesterday }io unvpi|ed a soldiers’ memorial at Eastbourne, a little subni'b of Wellington on the far side of# tho harbour. “I am extremely thankful for an opportunity to paysome small tribute to those gallant men,” lie said. “. . . The lffen who fought and died in the Great War left us something of inestimable value. They left an oxaniple. They showed among other tilings, liow ad.versity makes us unselfish, how danger makes us brave, haw pain apd suffering make us splendid, and most of all, they showed us the value of self-sacrifice. We wish to do something more than raise monuments of brass or of bronze or of stone. The lesson of tho memorial is to raise our lives to a higher plane, and to give us nn incentive to try and live lives worthy of those men and the sacrifice j they, made.” And. the crowd' felt j what the speaker said. ;